The DualShock. When you look at the original PlayStation controller, you probably see an iconic game controller. These guys see something they can press into each other's backs.


Mitsuhiro Saitou, a writer from Japanese site Daily Portal, became a pro masseur. With his newfound knowledge of pressure points, he decided to see if the original PlayStation controller made an ideal massage tool.

Saitou took the controller to a shiatsu clinic in Shinjuku to see if the resident therapist, a Mr. Isshiki, could help him explore the pleasures of the PlayStation controller.


Isshiki thought the controller would be best suited for the muscles near the spine as well as the side of the buttocks.

And how did it work out? Isshiki said the PlayStation controller was easy to use. Though, there was a concern about the cord unraveling and hitting the patient. And Saito said getting a massage with the PlayStation controller felt good, too!

The two even tried out the original Xbox controller on each other, saying that it also felt good and noting how its shape wasn't as rounded as the PlayStation's controller.

According to the Daily Portal piece, in Japanese shiatsu, there are two styles of thumb massage: amate (甘て) and nigate (苦手). Amate is gentler, and giving a massage with amate will cover a larger area as you use more of your thumb. Nigate is a "harder" massage, pressing in a more concentrated area.


The difference between the PlayStation and the Xbox controllers that the PlayStation controller was more amate and the Xbox controller was more nigate.

The controller massages apparently felt so good that Saitou had some trouble telling the difference between them and a finger massage—which makes perfect sense once you consider their shapes. He even ended up recommending the game controllers as a massage tool for folks to try. Someone pressing down on my spine with a DualShock? No thanks.


プレステのコントローラーで指圧できるのか [Daily Portal]

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