Sony ultimately sets the price. They were $60 at launch but most video game accessories and even games now have increased from the standard $60 people got used to to now $65 and $70. I don't have a link but I recall reading that inflation adjusted, gaming has held up very well as there were games back in the N64 era and maybe before that sold for $60-70+.
Only other thought is Sony has moved on to PS5 and they make less of the controllers which in turn makes them more expensive to produce and thus increase in cost to the end consumer. I know Xbox has done a good job making controllers from the Xbox One generation to the current gen all work very easily together. I don't think Sony has done the same thing.
Sony made some significant changes between the PS4 and PS5 controllers. I don't know the details beyond the dynamic resistance triggers, but if you buy a controller board to make your own fightstick, it'll work with everything up through PS4 and then you need an additional daughter-board to make it work with the PS5.
It does seem like these big companies know people will buy their stuff and so they set whatever price they want. Ya, I understand inflation is a big factor but I think complacency in the consumers is a bigger factor.
Honestly OP, I'd look into third party controllers. I'm assuming you're gaming on PS, but if you're gaming on PC, 8bitdo makes bang for buck xinput controllers. I got the pro (I think, has paddles round back) and it's held up through Rocket League, Elden Ring, Fifa, and For Honor. No drift issues just yet.
I am actually a PC gamer. I have been wanting to get a ps5 controller for a while now but not willing to pay the price. I have looked at third party controllers like the gulikit King Kong 2 pro. But from what I've seen, most of the controllers are in the Xbox layout (the joysticks are off set) and I prefer the Playstation layout.
The US. To me its absurd because the last gen console accessories shouldn't cost that much IMO. But I also don't think the new controllers are worth $70 either.
You are correct. They are absolutely not worth that much money. You are being trolled by what? A fucking smart shopper? None of this hardware should cost so much money. They get away with it because you have to use it to play the fucking games, dewd. That's their secret to profitable company success. They know people will pay it, so they charge it. You see different. So do I. I see different too. Plastic shit ain't worth a damn.
Maybe not a touchpad, but I DEFINITELY remember adaptive triggers while playing Super Mario Bros on NES. It made the jumps extra fun. Also the gyro controls on the card game were really neat.
I wish they’d finally add other cool features to controllers since than rather than just the trackpad.
The rest of the world who can't afford them set these prices. People go into debt to buy these things. If people could live without them and stop going into debt to buy them, the market could change. Who knows what kind of shit would happen then? People would stop buying them because they would rely less on credit. Then, the companies that make these things would have to find cheaper ways to make these things because they are greedy and need to make money from them. Or, the companies that make these things would go out of business because people would stop using credit to buy them. In turn, the banking system the whole industrialized world wide would sink. It's really a fabulous question more people should consider out loud on the internet, because it's a fair question. If people could live without this stuff, they wouldn't buy it, and it would cease to exist at its current price.