When the PlayStation 5 was first revealed in late 2020, fans saw the long, white blades that make up the sides of the console as a canvas for potential custom art circa the faceplates of the Xbox 360 days. When the official teardown revealed that they were purposefully made to detach and be replaceable, that pushed that theory even further along. It has been almost a full year since its release, but Sony has not officially made faceplate designs a reality. As such, creative fans are starting to make custom PS5 faceplates on their own.
Reddit user kamikazee786 took it upon themselves to add the customization they wanted to their PS5 and posted the results to the r/playstation subreddit. They chose a look inspired by Ghost of Tsushima and had the faceplates professionally hydro dipped that emblazed samurai helmets on either side of the plates. The kabutos (as they're called in Japanese) are colored in white and grey on top of a matte black background of the new plates. For accents, they got a red vinyl sticker wrap for the main body of the PS5 to make the console stand out even more. The red accent bleeds into the PS5 logo that is cut into the front of the faceplate, further improving the design.
Kamikazee786 claims that they got the hydro dipping done for around £80 (about $110 US) which, they admit was pricey, but the results made it deserving. Various companies do make vinyl stickers for PS5s, so it's assumed they repurposed one for the cause. The helmets used don't seem to harken to any found in the game, but the sentiment still comes across regardless. Fans in the comment section applaud the work despite the claim from kamikazee786 that their camerawork takes away some of the detail. Nonetheless, it's a great design and makes this PS5 console one-of-a-kind.
Got my PS5 faceplates custom dipped and added red vinyl stickers and I'm in love... from playstation
The PS5 seemed primed for using its faceplates for elaborate special edition designs for certain games, especially their first-party titles. Companies like SkinIt still sell full-body vinyl wraps and other places try to stay under Sony's radar and offer black mat finishes that the PS5 seemingly begs for. Either because of the ongoing supply chain issues that have continued to hinder PS5 production or some other corporate reason, Sony has not decided to capitalize on either making the special edition console or even just the faceplates.
The decision to not sell official faceplates is even more puzzling since Sony has sent cease and desist orders to various companies that sell them standalone. While it remains to be seen if the company will begin offering official designs, fans will surely continue to make custom consoles until that happens.
Ghost of Tsushima is out now on PS4 and PS5.