Random: PS5's DualSense Controller Shares a Name with Washing Machines, Gas Detectors, and Hair Serum

Sony may have (Dual)Shocked us all with the reveal of the PlayStation 5’s new controller overnight, but perhaps more alarming than its form factor and colour scheme is its name: DualSense. To emphasise the idea of “touch”, the manufacturer has decided to reboot its long-running DualShock branding for the first time since the PlayStation 3’s ill-fated SIXAXIS controller.

Surprisingly, though, it’s not the first product to be named DualSense at all. In fact, while the Japanese giant is marketing and selling a completely different type of product with its pad, there are potential legal hurdles that it may have to overcome, as the trademark is already owned by multiple different organisations.

First, there’s a free-standing washing machine from AEG. “The new Kombi washer dryer with DualSense Technology tailors the temperature and drum motion to different fabrics and adjusts programmes to the specific load,” the product’s blurb explains. “Everything from textured jackets to soft jumpers can be carefully washed, dried and protected in one go.”

Then there’s the Industrial Scientific gas detector: “DualSense technology uses redundant sensors to determine the concentration of the target gas in the atmosphere and reduce the risk of instrument failure. Two sensors of the same type in one gas detector help to give you the most accurate gas reading.” Safety first, lads.

And that’s not all: the name DualSense is also attributable to a type of hair serum and mattress toppers. Sony’s legal team will have done its due diligence, of course, and the PlayStation Blog states that the platform holder already owns the trademark for the controller’s name. Seeing as none of these products are competing, it should be fine – but it’s interesting nonetheless.