How do you make the PS5 less…as some critics would say…”ugly”? Just make it look more like the original, apparently.
Sony Interactive Entertainment threw a going-away party for its soon-to-be-ex CEO, Jim Ryan, and during the event, the executive received a surprise gift in the form of a limited-edition PS5, one that swaps the console’s typical black and white color scheme with that of the original PlayStation, colored logo and all, including a matching DualSense controller that brings back the original button colors, which, for whatever reason, was dropped for the system’s fifth generation.
A photo of the system, which was shared by the @InstallBase account today, has prompted waves of PlayStation fans to ask where they can get their hands on one, with some suggesting that it would be a brilliant way for Sony to sell even more PS5s.
Sad I won’t be around for #TheGameAwards but I couldn’t pass up the chance to go to Jim Ryan’s thank you party and be around some legends and this one of a kind “Jim Ryan” PS5 with PS1 style. pic.twitter.com/WP7qwtxDI0
— 🎮Yuichi (@InstallBase) December 7, 2023
“Oh man that PS5 colour scheme would sell like hot cakes to the public!” said one user. “Well even hotter cakes than the PS5 already is.”
“Yooooo that PS1 style PS5/DualSense is fire,” reads another comment. “I love that the USBC is shaped like an old school PS1 controller input.”
Of course, there’s no word yet on whether Sony is planning to mass produce its PS1-styled PS5, but previous limited editions, such as the PS4 20th Anniversary Edition, would suggest that it could very well be on the company’s roadmap.
As for Ryan (someone who was apparently loved by Sony so much that he even got cookies made after him), the executive announced in September that he would be retiring from his position as President and CEO of SIE in March after almost 30 years with PlayStation, explaining that he had gotten tired of all of the traveling that the job required:
I did not take this decision lightly and I absolutely love SIE and our community, but of late I’ve been finding it increasingly difficult to strike the right balance between having my home in the UK and my job in the United States. As mentioned in the press release, I will continue my role as President and CEO until March 2024. Effective April 1, 2024, Hiroki Totoki will be appointed Interim CEO of SIE while he continues his current role at Sony Group Corporation.
The PS4 20th Anniversary Edition is currently going for as high as $13,000 on eBay, so if Sony does release that PS1-style PS5, it might not be a bad idea to get one, even to keep in a box.