Sony generally hits it out of the park with its peripherals, and offers them at a fair price, but the announcement of a wireless Sony fight stick has me scratching my head because—who asked for this?
I’ve tried to figure it out (and maybe I’m just missing something obvious), but as far as I can tell, this stick is aimed at a market that doesn’t really exist. Then again, I thought the PlayStation Portal wouldn’t sell at all, but apparently plenty of people saw the appeal where I saw none.
Say Hello to Project Defiant
Project Defiant is the (temporary) name of a wireless fight stick announced at the June 2025 State of Play presentation. In terms of layout and design, it’s just a normal fight stick.
PlayStation talks up a few key selling points here. The big one is a proprietary “ultra-low latency” protocol for wireless communication. The other KSP is the inclusion of different restrictor gates (the little thingy that restrict how the lever can move) that can be swapped out without tools.
Sony also says that there’s a lot of custom design for the lever, the mechanical switches, etc, etc. Basically, it’s being marketed towards the higher-end of the market. I might even go as far as saying Sony wants to get the attention of professional fighting game players, so it’s an eSports product like their high-end DualSense Edge.
The Fight Stick Market Is Niche and Crowded
One thing that surprises me about Defiant is that arcade fightsticks are a pretty small niche. If you thought the PS VR2 would only appeal to a niche audience, that’s nothing compared to the number of people who would be interested in this control system. It’s basically people who are serious about fighting games, and people who want to play retro arcade games.
One of the reasons I bought the 8Bitdo arcade stick for Switch (and PC) was because the Switch has such a huge number of retro arcade games, making it a perfect companion for a retro gaming fan like myself. Well, you call it retro gaming, I just call it still playing the same games I always have.
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Arcade Stick
The 8Bitdo Arcade Stick for Switch is a premium arcade controller designed for Nintendo Switch and PC, perfect for fighting game enthusiasts and retro gamers. It features a classic layout with highly responsive, customizable buttons and joystick.
Anyway, most of these arcade games are also on PSN, but personally, my perception of the PlayStation 5’s fanbase doesn’t scream “retro game fan” the way the Switch does, but maybe I’m wrong and Sony has data to the contrary. Of course, if you wanted an arcade stick for casual retro gaming on your PlayStation, you’ve probably already bought one.
There are tons of options, like the officially-licensed HORI Tournament Grade stick or the Fighting Stick Mini. So what baffles me is that this clearly isn’t a stick aimed at casuals, but also serious professional players already have options, and most likely customize those sticks with their own components to suit their play style. That’s a hard market to crack, so I really hope whatever secret sauce this arcade stick is meant to have leads to plenty of converts, for Sony’s sake.
Serious Players Won’t Use Wireless No Matter What
When it comes to that much-harped-on wireless feature, I just don’t see serious players going for it. Even if the technology is objectively good enough for tournament or ranked play, I can’t imagine many pro players would trust a wireless connection in a sport where tiny fractions of a second can make all the difference. “Ultra-low” latency is still too much latency, not to mention the possibility of signal interference, or simply a dead battery.
Since Sony seems to be positioning this as a premium product for pros (there’s even a competition carry bag) I have to wonder why the wireless aspect of it all gets so much attention (and presumably R&D spend) since even people playing ranked online matches at home are going to almost certainly plug it in. In other words, it’s a feature that adds to the cost and complexity of a product that’s too fancy and expensive for casual players with a feature that doesn’t appeal to professional players.
It’s Probably Going to Cost Too Much
As of this writing, Sony hasn’t said anything about pricing, but I suspect it’s going to cost too much compared to other tournament-grade wired sticks. It’s certainly going to be too expensive for casual retro gamers who can simply pick up a $60 HORI or something similar and be perfectly happy with it.
I don’t doubt that the quality will be exceptional, or that Sony isn’t one of the best hardware designers in the world, but that didn’t save the PS VR 2, and I don’t see how it will save the Defiant—but I’d be thrilled if I were wrong.