The PS5 is a very unique console. Many have made fun of its bizarre look, likening it to such things as an internet router or a “penguin designed by Apple,” as comedian John Oliver said. One would be forgiven for looking at its oblong design and not knowing how to properly lay it on its side, but one would also assume that the Head of PlayStation Worldwide Studios would know how.
As demonstrated in an official teardown video of the PS5 released in October, Sony’s new console comes with a modular stand that helps secure the console in both vertical and horizontal display positions. If one does not use the stand, the PS5 can slide around rather easily, and the disc-version would be very crooked when laying on its intended side. If someone were to lay it on the opposite side, however, not only would it still look crooked, but they would have to put discs in upside down as well.
That is what Head of PlayStation Studios Hermen Hulst did, however. The once head of Horizon: Zero Dawn and Killzone developer Guerilla Games posted a video of his pet cat trying to catch some Bugsnax of their own. Looking down below the cat reveals Hulst's PS5 is awkwardly laying the wrong way. Hulst must have realized or been informed quickly that he was displaying his PS5 wrong, as he quickly deleted and then reposted a cropped version of the video. The original crop was saved by ResetEra user stryke.
While this does make it look like even Sony’s own company heads don’t know what to do with the PS5’s odd design, it’s likely a funny accident. Hulst could have just set the console down to catch some Bugsnax real quick, or he could genuinely like the way it looks without the chunky black stand. Regardless, it was probably best to crop the video, so it doesn’t seem like the Head of PlayStation Worldwide Studios is endorsing improper use of the PS5, which potentially could have led to some kind of gaming-related lawsuit.
This isn’t the first time one of Sony’s heads has ended up in a silly situation. Earlier this year, when Lead System Architect Mark Cerny gave his lengthy information session on the power of the then-yet-to-be revealed PS5, his soothing voice got edited into a weirdly peaceful ASMR video.
Source: ResetEra