While Sony has officially indicated that the PlayStation 6 could be expected in 2027 (giving the PS5 another 4 strong years of dominance), a viral fan concept imagines what the console will look like… and more importantly, whether its design will still be polarizing.
Designed as the next-generation gaming console from Sony, the PlayStation 6 concept is a towering behemoth of the gaming industry. Just like its predecessor, it’s poised to be the most popular gaming console in the world. Its design, however, feels like an about-turn after the PS5’s widely-debated organic ‘alien-tower’ design. The PlayStation 6 takes the same vertical console approach, but instead, has an imposing ‘skyscraper-inspired’ design that looks like it could easily be a part of a futuristic city skyline. Straight lines, incredibly wide curves, and signature blue lighting define the PS6 concept’s design, combining the best of the PS5 and the PS3 into one superlative package.
Designers: Junwoo Kim, Hyeon Jeong Ra, Eun Kyung Shin, Kim Jiwoong, Gaeun Kang, LFD Official
The upper profile sports a boat-shaped design, which works incredibly well in creating the illusion of slimness. You’ve got wedges on both the front and back, mimicking a MacBook Air-ish approach to sleekness, while also pretty much showing you where the air would flow in and out of. Where the similarities with the PS5 tie in are in the presence of distinct panels on the left and right, and the color scheme (especially the blue lighting). Just like with the PS5, the panels cover the electricals, and provide distinct vents for air intake and exhaust, helping keep the console cool. LED lights hidden within the panels create an internal glow that makes the PlayStation 6 look like it’s alive. The designers even propose a smartphone app to be able to change the lighting as a gamer-friendly RGB custom feature.
The skyscraper-inspired design gives the PS6 its majestic appeal. This one’s definitely not as polarizing either.
Other details on the design front include the iconography running along the central rim of the console. This fun detail gives the PS6 a slight sense of whimsy, bringing a little element of playfulness to an otherwise serious and intimidating-looking piece of hardware.
Move over to the back and that same rim houses the PlayStation 6’s ports. Although controversial to begin with, this console concept doesn’t have any of the traditional ports, like the HDMI and Ethernet inputs. Instead, the PS6 has 3 USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports that support power, data, and video at 40Gbps bandwidth. I guess you’ll need to keep one of Satechi’s multiport dongles handy if you want to hook in traditional displays, projectors, or connect your PS6 directly to the internet. There’s also a noticeable lack of a disc input, suggesting at a digital-only device.
The conceptual console also comes in color variants (so you don’t need dbrand plates to turn your PS matte black). The next-gen console comes in pure silver and satin grey, along with a smartphone app that lets you play around with the built-in RGB lighting. Although entirely conceptual, this design exercise is a fun way of imagining what the next console will look like. Will Sony lean into the weird organic design? Will they circulate incredibly ugly dev-kit prototype images just to throw us off course? I guess we’ve got another 4 years to speculate!
A look at the interface shows a few tweaks to the experience.
