PS5 console design evolution: Is the PlayStation 5 design the best yet from Sony? History of PlayStation console designs, from the PS1 to the PS5 via PS2, PS3 and PS4


Well, here we go again. The PS5 console design has been revealed, and we're here to chart its place in PlayStation history.

The design of Sony’s PlayStation console has been a highlight of every generation; people want to know just what will be sitting underneath their television for the next five years.

DON'T MISS OUT:Register interest in buying a PS5 NOW!

Ever since 1995 the design has been iconic, it’s a staple of what the PlayStation is.

You only need to look at the reception to the DualSense PS5 controller from a few weeks ago.

With that, here’s a look back to the previous four consoles while we admire the final design of the fifth iteration...

PS1 console design

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The original and the most iconic. It introduced millions of customers to Wipeout, Tekken and many more games throughout its years.

It was a rectangular-grey-design which was to-the-point of its time; it had power, it had reset, and a open-disc button, with two slots for the memory card and controller.

For its entry price of $299, it opened the gates to so much potential of what polygonal games could bring, and it also introduced the concept of ‘demo discs’, starting with Demo 1 and its memorable ‘T-Rex’ demonstration.

A redesign came in July of 2000 called the PS One, which had a fluorescent-white look, in a smaller, more rounded body than previously designed. But by then, all eyes were on its sequel.

READ MORE: Spider-Man Miles Morales PS5 game revealed

PS2 console design

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After six years of success, Sony knew what worked and what didn’t, and significantly ramped up what the PlayStation 2 could be capable of.

Released in March of 2000 in Japan, it had an ice-blue logo, a jet-black design and it could even stand up by itself, almost a metaphor for how it would do in the market against the Dreamcast, Xbox and GameCube at the time.

It was able to play DVD’s, which cut through many living room’s of having a games console by front and centre, while the jet-black design made it fit in with many televisions in their pride of places.

It had a mechanical disc-tray this time, so you could press the ‘eject’ button and out it would go.

If you wanted to, you could change the angle of the PlayStation logo as well.

Featuring a newer Dual Shock and a bigger-sized memory card, it also had USB ports, so future peripherals such as the Eyetoy could be used, while an expansion slot could enable online-play for the first-time, allowing games such as ‘Final Fantasy XI’ and ‘SOCOM US Navy SEALs’ with this, right on your PS2.

A slimmer build was released in 2004, bringing back the open-top style for the discs, while being significantly smaller than its brethren, something that’s yet to be beaten in the amount of size reduced fifteen years on.

READ MORE:PS5 game cases look awesome!

PS3 console design

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Announced back at E3 2005, we entered the HD era with the third iteration. Blu-Ray was the next standard in movie-watching wars, alongside HD-DVD, but this is where the console from Sony, yet again made the format theirs to win.

With the logo being borrowed from the original Spider-Man games, the design had this black-sheen all over, looking chunky, rounded, and a lip to the side where other expansion slots could be found. The first iteration of the PS3 had too many ports to count, with HDMI ports, SD card, PS2 Memory card slot, USB, all of them being ready to use, and most being removed after a few re-releases of the console.

It also was the first PlayStation console to ship with a hard drive, so any game saves and even games themselves could be stored here, thanks to the PS Store. Patches were also possible for games, so any bugs that shipped, could be resolved in its near future.

A slim model eventually appeared in 2009, three years after the original’s release, but still had that ‘curved’ look, and this was when the console began to be more affordable for people. Demonstrating games such as Uncharted 2 and Resistance 3 for the console, recovering it from its disappointing high-price launch.

Another model, dubbed the ‘super-slim’ debuted in 2012, making it even more affordable and smaller for customers. But eyes were once again on what the fourth console could bring.

READ MORE: The full list of confirmed PS5 games

PS4 console design

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The fourth console was almost an amalgamation of the previous consoles, alongside the handheld variants of the PSP and PS Vita. It was jet-black once again, but much more angle-orientated, similar to the PlayStation 2, while having a pulsing blue light.

It had a few USB slots but it seemed like a much more focused design this time around. It was all about games and how the console could be an extension of that, right up to the refined Dual Shock 4.

Being released in November of 2013, the console had a 500GB hard drive at the ready, with a price of £349 ready to go.

Both a slim and a ‘Pro’ model debuted towards the end of 2016, with both adapting a design where you could tell which was the slim and pro model.

They introduced faster WiFi and USB 3.1 support, but with the Pro, 4K rendering and better performance for the PlayStation VR peripheral was brought to it. But even though it supported 4K, it couldn’t, and still cannot play 4K Blu-Ray movies, a bizarre move that puzzles owners to this day.

READ MORE:Latest PS5 news!

PS5 console design

PS5 CONSOLE DESIGN OFFICIAL 1
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Play Has No Limits it seems, and the PS5 Event on 11th June showed that with the unveiling of the design of the PS5 console.

There's now two for launch; one with a disc drive, a PS5 Digital Edition without the option for discs.

But apart from that, the design is the same, featuring a white curvature, almost like a Swan, while the PlayStation-branded black and blue is in the middle, where a USB and a USB-C port can be found.

It seems as though Sony want the console to be standing, due to the curved nature of the console, but you can lay it on its side if you wish. But the philosophy of the PlayStation is in abundance here, and you know its the fifth coming of PlayStation, ready to use, ready to be front and centre in your living room.

A range of PS5 products was also announced: 3D-headphones, HD Camera and Media Remote are all coming, in all their glossy-white glory.

The PS5 price hasn't been announced yet, but for a premium-design such as this, expect to pay over £400 for the digital version to start with.

There you have it, a quick run-down of the five PlayStation consoles.

And now we know what the PlayStation 5 design will be - something totally different to what’s come before in the last twenty-five years.

DON'T MISS OUT:Register interest in buying a PS5 NOW!

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