Nobody knows what to do with the big, honkin’ PS5

Have you heard? The PS5 is large. So large, in fact, that it is impossible to just put it out of your mind and place it inside of your home without worry. The PlayStation 5, which is 15.4 inches tall, 10.24 inches deep and 4.09 inches wide, has to be considered and wrangled.

Will it fit inside your current TV setup? This is apparently such a source of worry that news outlets are testing out how the PS5 fits within popular Ikea furniture, just in case folks need to devise a plan for their console purchase. Many people are spending time explaining where they’re putting their PS5 consoles and why. But perhaps the most telling piece of evidence that the PS5 might be Too Big is that one of the go-to solutions for folks worried about space or the potential eyesore is literally hiding the console from view.

“To be really frank, I hate the design of the PS5 hardware,” says Polygon editor Russ Frushtick, who is currently testing out the console for the site. His dislike isn’t about the apparent fact the PS5 is the hugest console to ever be made, or the fact it makes the original Xbox look like a miniature. The issue is that the PS5’s visage is too commanding, which means it can’t just easily blend into your home.

“It’s that the design commits so hard that it absolutely dominates whatever space it’s in,” Frushtick explained. “The swoopy outer shell is unlikely to match anyone’s existing media set-up, and it’s extremely difficult to tuck away in a corner because of its size. But that didn’t stop me from trying! After about 3 hours of having it horizontal and facing me, I decided that maybe I could tuck it back behind my TV and point it to the side so that I didn’t have to face the glowing blue light emanating from within its, err, creases.”

Image: Polygon via Russ Frushtick

In this, Frushtick isn’t alone — other journalists reviewing the console also say they’re placing the Sony hardware out of view, either out of space concerns or a dislike of the design. All of the talk about this aspect of the console has even launched debates as to whether or not it even matters what the system looks like, and why people seem to care so much about it.

Every new console generation is baptized with a size comparison, which is true for the PS5, except this time, the head-to-heads are way sillier. You can’t just show the PS5 next to other measly consoles, oh no. To get a true sense of its girth, you must see the PS5 next to all sorts of other things, living and dead.

Perhaps the most absurd comparison shots place the Xbox One X packaging box next to the PS5’s packing box, which is undoubtedly the least useful piece of information one could have. Most of us will simply put away the boxes in storage, if we keep them at all.

What these conversations reveal, in a way, says less about the PS5 and its design and more serves as a reflection of the limited number of things journalists can divulge with embargoes in place. Our embargo specifically states that, for now, we can only, “Talk about console look and feel (while turned off).” So, this is about as much as anyone can say about a console that is not even turned on: Look at how big it is.

But hey, at least the jokes are good! And whenever Sony decides to give us a slim version of its massive console, it’ll look that much more compelling, too.