CustomizeMyPlates.com, the company behind those glossy custom plates for the console, will be shutting down following apparent legal action from Sony.
In the official teardown video for the PlayStation 5, we saw how these pearly white plates slide off with a little lift and budge, which will let users perform their own diagnostics on the doohickey. The PlayStation 5 is a unit, in more than one sense of the word, and it's all to do with that ginormous cooling fan. Players won't need to fret about the console getting clogged up with gubbins, though, as there are two "dust catchers" which are able to be vacuumed out. Nifty.
The sleek monochromatic design of the PlayStation 5 divided the masses when it was revealed in summer. Some loved the "leftover prop on a sci-fi show set" look, whereas it reminded others of a villainous anime character, stifled with a ridiculously high collar. And, as the PlayStation 5 is the tallest console ever made, there's no overlooking it when it's placed vertically or horizontally on your shelves. That's when CustomizeMyPlates.com stepped into the spotlight.
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Also known as PlateStation5.com, it offered a range of colours for the original white plates to be swapped out with. There was a beautiful matte black, a snazzy chrome, a sophisticated red, a Pharaoh's gold, and even a purple nebula skin for those hankering after the simpler times of 2014. Despite the buzz for these plates, Sony spoke to PlateStation5.com and requested that it rebrand owing to trademark infringements, and its troubles didn't end there.
"Before we launched, we did our due diligence and were of the opinion that because Sony only had pending patents on the faceplates there would be no problem," said a company representative in an email to Video Games Chronicle. "We thought this switch [to the new name] would be enough to keep everyone happy, and honestly [we] were hoping so since we were already underway with our product development." However, Sony's lawyers returned to state that the PlayStation 5's faceplates were also its intellectual property.
"This all came to light yesterday and we are now cancelling and refunding all faceplate orders worldwide... we are extremely disappointed about this but we have no other option," concluded CustomizeMyPlates.com. Orders for the flashy plates continue to roll in according to a widget when you visit the website, so it's evident that consumers are into the idea of customisation. Seeing as Sony is yet to announce any sort of custom console shell for the PlayStation 5, one could assume that it is considering the possibility, and wants to corner the market.
Another @PlayStation #PS5 fun fan art for #HorizonForbiddenWest and the amazing @Guerrilla games well done and good luck with everything guys #Xboxpope #PlayStation5 #horizonzerodawn2
Fans have also offered their own visions of custom PlayStation 5 consoles, from God of War, to Fall Guys, to Horizon Forbidden West. We'll have to wait and see whether these will have turned heads at Sony. The PlayStation 5 launches on November 12th or November 19th, depending on where you are in the world.
Topics: PS5