Published , by TJ Denzer
Published , by TJ Denzer
We know what you’re thinking (or going to be thinking when you see it) as you read this headline. How could the PS5 be any larger than it was? The console is already an obelisk of shelf space-filling technology. Even so, there was once a time when it was slated to be an even bigger beast. PlayStation 5 console designer Yujin Morisawa recently revealed that the console he originally drew up was even larger before he was asked to reduce its overall size by the engineers at Sony.
Morisawa made this reveal recently, as reported by the Washington Post. According to him, the original design concepts called for a “much bigger” machine, but the engineering teams couldn’t acquiesce to that original design.
“In the beginning, when I started drawing, it was much larger even though I didn’t know what engineering was going to do,” Morisawa explained. “It’s kind of funny that engineering actually told me it’s too big. So, I actually had to shrink it down a little bit from the first drawing. We wanted to get it much smaller, so it’s the perfect size right now. If I made it thinner, there would be less air flow to it.”
Indeed, it’s hard to imagine the PlayStation 5 being any bigger than it is right now. In our PS5 review, we truly could not look past the fact that the console stands out outlandishly in the room from everything else sitting alongside it. We’re not so sure we would say “monstrosity,” but “behemoth” among our other shelf devices certainly fits. Ultimately, it looks like it could have been worse though. It’s not all bad either. The textured grips all over the PlayStation 5 plates and controller are an interesting Easter Egg and make for a good grip on the controller. That was a distinct decision by Morisawa to help make the console unique.
My intention was to hide something like an Easter egg or something that the player can find after they buy a PlayStation 5,” Morisawa continued. “But people already found out about that, so I can talk about this. Texture should be functional in a way. For the controller, it acts as a grip. For the [console], it gives you a different lighting effect to the form of the design.”
Players will be able to decide for themselves whether that target was found in size or whether the texture makes that much of a difference soon enough. The PlayStation 5 launches on November 12, 2020 in just a couple days. Stay tuned for any final information and our continuing coverage of the next console launches.