PS4's Original Design Was Totally Different

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PS4’s Original Design Was Totally Different

October 11, 2013

The first design concept for Sony’s upcoming next-gen console was a complete contrast from what it is now. Chief designer of the UX Platform Design Group Tesu Sumii, in speaking with PlayStation Blog, revealed his first design was “totally different” from what the PS4 is today. Despite the aesthetic changes made to the console, Summii’s core philosophy behind his work on the PS4 always remained the same.

“I just wanted to make a simple object for the living room. Sometimes products are a little too exaggerated. It should be simple. That’s my thinking,” he states.

Summii also put heavy emphasis on how the PS4 looked from every angle. He wanted his design to appeal from every direction.

“I think about the horizontal, not just the vertical,” he says. “I think about the 360 degree view. The reverse should be beautiful, too.”

With a new console-generation comes the ability to freshen things up a bit. While the PS4 certainly doesn’t throw the PlayStation heritage out the window, as it does have striking similarities to the PS2, Summii wanted to make sure this new console design implemented enough changes to the brand.

“One of my tasks is to create one single PlayStation identity. I wasn’t just thinking about the console but also about the DualShock 4, the DualShock 4 Charging Station, the Vertical Stand, the Mono headset, PS Vita — everything,” says Sumii.

“I think the PlayStation brand image needs to be changed a little bit, as it’s a new console, and we have to show what we’re pointing towards for the future. So I thought it should be one of the most smart, cool, and intelligent products from Sony. Not just from Sony Computer Entertainment, but the company as a whole.

“This should be one of the best, coolest, most sophisticated products we’ve created. That’s what we were striving for,” he reiterates.

The PlayStation 4 is only one month away from release, so you’ll have the chance to decide for yourselves whether or not you like Summii’s design. The console will arrive on November 15 in North America, November 29 in Europe.