They were never headlines, they were Sony has done a pretty good job of releasing custom consoles throughout the life of the PlayStation 4. You know the drill: it’s a regular PlayStation 4 inside, but the case would be a new color or there would be a fancy faceplate with a game’s logo or artwork on it.
Aside from swappable colored panels, Sony didn’t seem too keen on the idea on the PlayStation 5, making the announcement of this new Lebron James console super weird.
For starters, it’s not even a PlayStation video game. Or even a video game. It’s a console tied to Lebron James the Manwho stands for many things none of them are video games.
And second, it looks like shit! It looks like a LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE stencil you would find on your friend’s mom’s kitchen wall. It looks like the box art for a set of colored markers for toddlers. And who but a Nike head of marketing would even know this had anything to do with Lebron?
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Most people walking into a house and seeing this would say, “Why did you buy a PlayStation 5 case on Etsy?” To which the owner would then have to explain, oh that’s a Lebron James PS5, the all-time scorer -Leader of the NBA describes himself as:
It’s still crazy to think that a kid from Akron who grew up playing games could create something like that. It’s a pretty cool thing to use PlayStation to design a console cover and controller that gives a nod to my I Promise students and our heritage. I hope it’s something that continues to inspire everyone who touches it and have a little fun finding meaning in every detail.
OK, I feel light Bad now because this is really nice for the kids at I Promise, a school funded by the NBA Megastar Foundation and located in James’ hometown of Akron.
But only slightly! It still looks bad for everyone else. And maybe just a taste of what’s to come; at the end of Sony’s announcement was told that this is just the first release in a whole series of stuff designed with “creators, athletes, actors, artists, gamers and entertainers”:
This is just the beginning for PlayStation Playmakers. We look forward to highlighting more stories from this dynamic and evolving network of talent looking to share their passion for PlayStation and video games with the world. They represent some of today’s most exciting creators, athletes, actors, artists, gamers and entertainers. PlayStation Playmakers is part of our journey to inspire gaming fans and prove the power of gaming.
If you’re interested in that Lebron console, it’ll be out later this year, but apparently it’ll only be available directly from Sony.
