I think Sony wasn’t sure for a long time whether they wanted their consoles to stand out as consoles or blend in with other electronics like sound systems and VCRs. PSX looks like a console, PS2, PS3, and PS4 looked like electronics, PS5 looks like a console again.
I think they were trying to differentiate themselves from Nintendo, whose systems looked very much like toys (other than the Wii and Wii U (the system, not the controller)… And NES, actually, that one didn’t stand out as much as SNES, N64, or especially the GCN).
The PS2 stood out because at the time all your video devices were silver or grey coloured plastic. The ps3 stood out because it was almost completely curves.
Iirc PS3 in particular was marketed as an all-in-one entertainment center, with the ability to play bluray and whatnot. By the time of PS4, that was probably already a non-concern, since most people were just using the web for everything through their computers and tvs.
I think Sony wasn’t sure for a long time whether they wanted their consoles to stand out as consoles or blend in with other electronics like sound systems and VCRs. PSX looks like a console, PS2, PS3, and PS4 looked like electronics, PS5 looks like a console again.
I think they were trying to differentiate themselves from Nintendo, whose systems looked very much like toys (other than the Wii and Wii U (the system, not the controller)… And NES, actually, that one didn’t stand out as much as SNES, N64, or especially the GCN).
The PS2 stood out because at the time all your video devices were silver or grey coloured plastic. The ps3 stood out because it was almost completely curves.
Yeah, the pattern has been to alternate between curvy and angular. The PS6 will probably be entirely straight lines.
Iirc PS3 in particular was marketed as an all-in-one entertainment center, with the ability to play bluray and whatnot. By the time of PS4, that was probably already a non-concern, since most people were just using the web for everything through their computers and tvs.
Though a part of the reason why I got a ps5 was to have a blueray/dvd player since my ps3 was ageing.