PlayStation 5 is futuristic fun

Sony’s latest console looks like it’s from The Jetsons, and it’s sure to be a hit this Summer.

Sony on June 11 gave the world the first look at its upcoming PlayStation 5 (Photo by - / Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc / AFP)

Sony is not-so-subtly pushing the PlayStation 5 as the console of the future, revealing the next-generation machine’s official design in a livestream this morning ahead of its anticipated launch in the lead-up to Christmas.

The livestream presentation – delayed by a week due to civil unrest in the USA – was watched by more than seven million people around the world and comes at the end of what would have been the key E3 gaming expo period in Los Angeles, had E3 not been cancelled due to coronavirus issues.

The design of the new console certainly looks like something that would be at home in a science fiction movie, with its sleek lines and stark white-and-black contrast. While visually distinctive, it has also been copping some (mostly) good-natured flak online for resembling a wireless router or a coffee machine.

Sony also announced some of the official accessories accompanying the console at launch, including the Pulse 3D wireless headset, an HD 1080p camera, a media remote, and a charging station which can simultaneously charge two of the DualSense wireless controllers for the console. The accessories feature the same sci-fi design aesthetic as the console itself and I have to say as I found them quite appealing; as a kid I vaguely thought The Future (when I grew up) would look something like The Jetsons and to my eyes the PS5 definitely looks like something that’s part of the World Of Tomorrow we’ve all been collectively promised since the 1950s.

The design of the PS5 and its accessories could also be seen as a shot across the bows of arch-rival Microsoft, whose also anticipated Xbox Series X console takes the form of … a black rectangle.

Under the bonnet both systems are fairly similar (at least without getting into technical differences which the average user isn’t likely to appreciate), so the real battle is largely going to come down to whether gamers want Sony’s highly regarded field of exclusive titles and aesthetically distinctive console or the versatility and home entertainment centre potential of the Microsoft offering.

The decision is further complicated by the fact neither manufacturer has revealed a price for their consoles, apparently locked into a corporate staring contest where the first one to blink and reveal a dollar figure loses as the other may then be able to undercut them.

As much as I like the futuristic look of the console itself, I’m also not convinced white is a good colour choice for accessories, especially the controllers. Given they’ll be in sweaty hands for many hours at a time, I can’t help but wonder how long it will be before the controllers are looking closer to ivory than space shuttle white.

I have to be honest and say few of the games announced during the livestream made me sit up and think “That looks like a must play!”, but there are still several months to system launch so I’m looking forward to finding out more about the games spearheading the PS5’s arrival into living rooms and bedrooms around the world in the latter part of the year.