Sony's PlayStation 4 is scheduled to drop on November 15 in North America and when it does, PC gamers will be able to use the DualShock 4 controller for Windows-based games. The revelation comes courtesy of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios President Shuhei Yoshida via Twitter.
Yoshida specifically said basic functions like the analog sticks and buttons will work just fine on the PC. He didn't mention whether or not more advanced functions like the touch pad, motion sensors and lightbar would be supported but odds are, they won't - at least not though official Sony drivers. As we saw with the DualShock 3 controller, someone will probably produce unlicensed drivers at some point.
It also remains to be seen whether or not the PC will recognize the DualShock 4 as just that or a generic controller. When pressed on this topic, Yoshida said we would have to wait until for a post-launch field report.
As Joystiq points out, many non-Microsoft controllers use the Xinput API which allows the PC to detect them as an Xbox controller. Sony's current DualShock 3 controller doesn't use Xinput, however, so it would be a change if the DualShock 4 does.
Being able to use the DualShock 4 with the PC will certainly have its advantages depending on the type of game you are playing. I typically prefer to use a gamepad when playing a driving simulator but for most other PC games, the keyboard and mouse combo give me the most accuracy and control.