The rumor mill marked today, March 3, as the day on which Sony would finally unveil the PlayStation 5 (PS5) in all its glory .
As we edge ever closer to the end of the day, that grand reveal seems even more unlikely, if it wasn’t already.
Yet, today has produced one intriguing PlayStation 5 nugget in the form of a supposedly “leaked” design that is the easily most fanciful to date.
Surfacing on Reddit earlier today, an alleged internal document (with the PlayStation logo and strategically blacked-out redactions) showcases diagrams of what purports to be the retail design of the PlayStation 5.
It’s definitely not the real PS5, but top marks for creativity:
Spherical and looking like a botched amalgamation of a Poke Ball and Star Wars’ plucky BB-8 droid, the design is by far the most technically improbable we’ve seen yet.
The headache of cramming components into such a restrictive shape would be a feat in itself, let alone packing in all the next-gen features expected in the PlayStation 5.
The form also departs significantly from Sony’s historical design style, as seen in the rectangular shape of each iteration of the PlayStation console.
Aside from the questionable aesthetic qualities of the sphere, imagine trying to find it a permanent spot on a shelf or TV stand. This ball-shaped PlayStation 5 design would not only encroach on precious surface real estate – it’s also obnoxiously tall.
We’d issue the usual warning of approaching this leak with a pinch of salt, but doing so feels superfluous in this instance.
It’s unquestionably a fake.
If the design itself doesn’t give it away, the facts that the ports on the back look hand-drawn and that many of what appear to be vents are misaligned confirm as much.
Nevertheless, it should provide a smile or two as we wait for Sony to unveil the real PS5 design.