Gamers in China think the PlayStation 5 looks weird (but they’ll buy it anyway)

Console gaming is growing in China, but gamers say the look of the PS5 isn’t as important as the games it will have

PlayStation

Xinmei Shen

Published: 6:45pm, 12 Jun 2020

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This article originally appeared on ABACUS

While most gamers watched Sony’s PlayStation 5 unveiling in the afternoon or evening, in China the event was broadcast at 4am. But that didn’t stop the country’s gamers. Chinese social media is flooded with opinions and memes about Sony’s latest home console.

The PlayStation 5’s most eye-catching feature is undoubtedly the look of the console itself, and gamers in China are divided on whether it looks good or not. Those who like it say it looks high-tech and futuristic, while others shared memes poking fun at its resemblance to other home appliances.

One Weibo user posted screenshots showing that Baidu’s image search tool recognizes the PS5… as a fancy toilet. Twitter memes likening the PS5 to air purifiers, electric fans and Wi-Fi routers were also widely circulated on Chinese social media.

“The black Wi-Fi router is broken and it’s time to buy a new one,” one Weibo user joked. That’s a reference to a viral South Korean animated sketch, where a man attempted to “replace” his home Wi-Fi router with a PS4, telling his wife that the PS4 is a new router called Plash Speed.

Chinese netizens also jumped on memes mocking the PS5’s resemblance to a popped collar.

A popular meme of a woman raising a glass is now being used to mock the PS5. (Picture: Weibo)

One popular Weibo user says, “PS5’s design… is maybe too ahead of its time?”

Others pointed out that the console resembles ostentatious landmark buildings in big Chinese cities, an observation also made on Twitter.

One Weibo user even found an office building in Chengdu that looks very similar to the PS5.

An office building named Fucheng International in Chengdu looks like the PS5. (Picture: 月刊勇者KuMa君/Weibo)

While the console’s looks took much of the focus online, it likely won’t have much of an impact on the PlayStation 5’s fortunes in China. Instead, gamers are more concerned about whether China’s strict regulations will allow them to play a wide selection of games.

After a 15-year long ban on gaming consoles, China finally allowed companies like Sony and Microsoft to officially sell consoles in 2015. But their selection of games are severely limited: The PS4’s built-in digital game store reportedly only offers 124 games in China, while the Hong Kong store has more than 4,000 titles.

Why the impact of China’s 15-year console ban still lingers today

There was another way for Chinese PlayStation fans to get their fix of blocked foreign titles. Until recently, there was a trick they could use to access foreign stores on the Chinese PS4 -- but it was disabled last month, leading to questions over how open the PS5 will be to accessing foreign titles. Sony’s ability to balance the demands of gamers with the strict regulations imposed by authorities in China will have a huge impact on the PS5’s popularity in the country.

China also has a thriving gray market where foreign consoles can be found, leading some to wonder whether they’ll have to turn away from the official local version.

“I will definitely buy it. As for whether to buy the Chinese version or Hong Kong version depends on whether you can deliver,” one Weibo user commented on a post by PlayStation China’s official account.

But for others, whether or not they buy a PlayStation 5 comes back to the console’s looks. Because one poster in particular thinks Sony could have done more to make it look like a different tech appliance.

On Zhihu, one user joked, “Isn't this making trouble? How am I supposed to tell my wife that this is a Wi-Fi router now?”

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