Not only Sony but Microsoft ever said that they spent a lot of money and time to combine through the revisions of their next-gen controllers to find the one that worked best for their consumers. Neither one are even remotely similar to the other. But in fact, they were similar at one point.
Sony Worldwide Studios Product Planning boss Toshimasa Aoki said in a recent interview they originally tried making the DualShock 4 controller like the Xbox 360, but didn’t because the DualShock layout is in their DNA.
“For the analog sticks, we did test having the analog sticks on top, since the Xbox has the left side on top [above the D-pad]. Especially from the shooter teams — we got feedback that that’s what they wanted. They knew that consumers liked the 360 for shooters.”
Has Sony ever Tried to Imitate Xbox 360 Controller for PS4?