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Goodbye for now!
Right I’m hitting the pause button on our live coverage and will come back to this tomorrow morning as we approach near UK pre-order time!
Keep all those links above close if you’re looking for a resource though, and I’ll catch you tomorrow!
Almost time for a break for a few hours
It’s nearly the end of business hours in the UK, and that’s when I’ll put this live page down for a bit before picking it back up tomorrow to help UK folks first find and nab their limited edition DualSense.
In the meantime, here’s a collection of the best links of all US and UK retailers to keep close to hand or bookmark now.
US early pre-order links
UK early pre-order links
Why release a new variant now?
This is a good question that I’ve been wrestling with, too.
The only broadly relevant point or factor I can think of is that we are now just over a year from Astro Bot‘s PS5 release on September 6, 2024, and the initial announcement of the Joyful edition was even closer to that anniversary (September 5).
Could it be a broad anniversary-timed thing? Maybe, though it’s also dangerously close to the Ghost of Yotei PS5 console pre-orders and Ghost of Yotei controller pre-orders that started recently, too.
Curious, but I’ll always take another limited edition DualSense release, whenever it comes.
Where will it be available?
Luckily, this isn’t locked to PlayStation Direct as an exclusive – but that online shop is still likely to be the best bet for stock, availability, and timeliness of pre-orders starting.
Here are the best links to PlayStation Direct’s DualSense pages in both the US and UK, which is where the controller is going to pop up at 10am local time tomorrow!
Cut to the chase – key details
While we haven’t got all the details about this particular controller yet – chief among them, the price tag.
We know that pre-orders begin tomorrow at 10am local time at PlayStation Direct and other participating retailers. We also know that it comes out on October 12. Nice
Now, we don’t know how much it costs exactly, but I’d wager it’s the same as other limited edition controllers and will be $84.99 or £74.99.
What actually is the Astro Bot Joyful Limited Edition DualSense?
Taking me a little by surprise with an announcement – only on social media – Sony and PlayStation revealed the Astro Bot Joyful DualSense rather out of the blue this week.
It’s a wonderfully cheerful controller in the design of PlayStation’s new leading mascot, and features joyous little eyes on the touchpad to make it stand out.
In reality, it’s not that different from the original Astro Bot controller design. However, that controller was immensely popular and sold out very quickly. So there was always cause from that perspective for Sony to either go for more stock or to create something like this: another Astro Bot Dualsense.
Hello!
Hi there, and welcome to my live coverage of the imminent Astro Bot Joyful DualSense controller pre-orders that are kicking off tomorrow!
I’m getting in position early with this page, so you guys have a complete and single resource when the time comes, complete with information and the best early links to keep to hand.
Welcome, and let’s get into everything Joyful…
