Lisa's limited-edition DualSense lands on 30 October

PlayStation has unveiled a limited-edition DualSense wireless controller designed with Lisa, the follow-up to the pair's first collaboration on the global PS5 campaign last year. It goes on sale on 30 October, with pre-orders opening on 2 October at 10am local time while supplies last.

Chroma Pearl, with her eyes on the touchpad

The design leans on details meant for her fans rather than a colour swap. Her fringe and eyes are printed across the touchpad, joined by her signature stars and the letters LL. The finish is Chroma Pearl, which PlayStation says is Lisa's own favourite.

PlayStation describes the run as highly limited, sold directly by the company and through participating retailers worldwide. The recommended price is $84.99 in the United States, ¥74.99 in the UK, €84.99 across the eurozone and ¥12,480 including tax in Japan.

Lisa said the collaboration gave her a new outlet. "Gaming is something I do whenever I have time to relax, so getting to create this collection with PlayStation was very exciting," she said. "I had a lot of fun adding in little details that I knew my fans would notice, and I wanted the fans to have something they can connect with."

A merchandise range, mostly in the US

The controller is one part of a wider collection. Lisa x PlayStation merchandise covers apparel, hats, tote bags, keychains, stickers and a carrying case for the controller, launching in October in the United States in two assortments. Select items can be pre-ordered from PlayStation on 2 October at 10am ET ahead of a 30 October release, while additional pieces arrive on Lisa's own Amazon store on 23 October.

PlayStation has not said how many controllers make up the run, and it has not broken the availability down by country beyond the retailers it names. The British pricing was confirmed in the same announcement, so UK buyers are at least spared the usual conversion guessing game.

Our opinion

Artist controllers usually amount to a colour and a logo, so it is worth saying that this one has had some thought behind it. Putting her face on the touchpad - the part your thumbs almost never touch - is a strange choice that works, because that panel is the one place a designer can print something you will notice every time you pick the thing up.

The word to be wary of is limited. Sony has form with brand and artist collaborations that sell out within minutes and reappear on resale sites at several times the ticket price, and a controller that most fans only ever see at three times £74.99 is not much of a celebration. A pre-order window with a per-customer cap would have been the braver announcement, and it costs the company nothing. As it stands, this is a well-designed piece of hardware attached to a purchasing process that nobody has bothered to fix.