I don’t mean the console as some kind of overall experience, or as a platform upon which to play games upon. Who knows what’s going to happen, it’s not even out yet! But I do know that the PlayStation 5 hardware itself, for all of Sony’s experience and money, looks…bad?
https://kotaku.com/everything-sony-announced-in-todays-ps5-event-1844000486
The entire show today was building towards one thing: our first look at the PS5 hardware, which despite being all but meaningless in a practical sense, still for bizarre reasons feels very important! Maybe because this thing may be sitting in our living rooms/bedrooms for years to come. Maybe because, months out from release, all we can do is look.
Every single one of Sony’s previous home consoles, even the memey “grill” PS3, has had some kind of shared DNA, and has looked at the very least “OK”. And sometimes, in the case of the PS4 and some of the slim console variants, better than OK!
But this….with its white case, flowing lines and “shell” look, is a complete break from what anyone would have expected from a new PlayStation. Which might be the point! Fresh start and all. But it’s also making the point that this expensive new console, a premium high-tech addition to your modern household, looks like something out of a 1999 music video.
The internet has some other comparisons, few of them positive:
The PS5 design memes have started strong pic.twitter.com/C7nwEg4W17
— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) June 11, 2020
— LGR (@lazygamereviews) June 11, 2020
https://twitter.com/embed/status/1271189544692400128
PS5 – complete 'broadband router that came with your TV package' vibe
— Pete Donaldson (@petedonaldson) June 11, 2020
i'm glad my router developed the confidence to pop its collar pic.twitter.com/AcvPwSW2lN
— SungWon Cho (@ProZD) June 11, 2020
https://twitter.com/embed/status/1271188782167932928
Playstation 5. The Wii cosplaying as Batman. pic.twitter.com/BDt38ttayB
— Richard Cobbett (@richardcobbett) June 11, 2020
https://t.co/HzYRNZJYnh pic.twitter.com/hbNLJ3GFvm
— AmericanTruckSongs9 (@ethangach) June 11, 2020
just remembered what the ps5 reminded me of pic.twitter.com/eZ4s0tTInt
— Joshua Rivera (@jmrivera02) June 11, 2020
This thing looks like it fell out of the sharper image https://t.co/sIVN35iM6g
— chris person (@Papapishu) June 11, 2020
Playstation 5 pic.twitter.com/EvvxS4xjmF
— dunkey (@vgdunkey) June 11, 2020
— Follow me on the one not run by a nazi – bye! (@stevenmessner) June 11, 2020
https://twitter.com/embed/status/1271199588804853765
https://twitter.com/embed/status/1271201258293145601
PS5 reverse image search reveals inspiration for console design pic.twitter.com/rtlCzrxOP6
— Tina Amini (@TinaAmini) June 11, 2020
I’m crying LMFAOOOOO pic.twitter.com/5r6YL8qppy
— JC (@AIRSTEVEJOBS) June 11, 2020
似てようが似てなかろうが、私は欲しいよPS5 pic.twitter.com/IYGhaHmxiL
— SHARP シャープ株式会社 (@SHARP_JP) June 12, 2020
Who knows, maybe by the year 2027 we’ll have all grown to appreciate it. Or, more likely, maybe by 2022 there’ll be a slimmer, cheaper model released that looks 10x nicer.
