Unofficial decal art showcases the new Xbox Series X console if it were redesigned to look like Sony's original PlayStation (the PlayStation 1). The unlikely fusion of Sony's revered tech from the 1990s with Microsoft's modern hardware evokes feelings that are deeply unsettling, to say the least.
After Sony's botched attempt to work with Nintendo on creating a peripheral CD drive for the Super Famicom in the early '90s, the Japanese corporation went on to develop its own home video game console for release in 1994. Even though the PlayStation (or PS1) was Sony's first attempt at making and selling a proprietary home console, the PS1 went on to outsell both of its generational competitors, the Sega Saturn and the Nintendo 64. Many current gamers got into the hobby thanks to the PS1, a now retro machine still held in high regard by gamers all around the world.
A disturbing piece of art that attempts to incorporate nostalgia for the '90s with modern gaming hardware has appeared on Reddit. The image shows Microsoft's Xbox Series X machine, released in 2020, redesigned to mimic the appearance of Sony's twenty-six-year-old PlayStation 1. User Pandafrosting posted the image in the r/gaming subreddit, along with the apt description, "This abomination I found on Amazon." Deeper research reveals that the image is from a product page on Amazon by company Adventure Games. Indeed, the design is for an actual decal (and two controller skins) being sold for the Xbox Series X. The legitimacy of the skin, however, which utilizes Sony trademarks and copyrights, is suspect.
Comments under the post range from genuine admiration to pure disgust at the bizarre combination. Though the simple rectangular design of the Series X makes it prime for decals and skins, creating a PS1 skin for Sony's latest home console, the PlayStation 5, would be more appropriate than for its long-time competitor. Fans who have a heritage with either of the two consoles may view the crossover as a taboo, a sentiment reflected in the comments. Meanwhile, others have opted to embrace the eldritch creation. The comments are filled with users attempting to name the mashup, with one user, ErrCode97, recommending "PlayBox X5."
The PlayStation's status as an original, successful console from the 1990s places it in high regard among retro fans, Sony fans, and general gaming audiences. At the same time, Xbox's long-time status as a direct competitor and rival to Sony rightfully puts the two corporations - and their gaming products - at odds in many people's minds. The PlayStation decal for the Xbox Series X represents a crossing of gaming borders that fans could almost never imagine. It's an implausible union of antagonistic brands, as well as a point where the fondness of old meets the progress of new. That, or it's a horrifying, painful amalgam of things that should never touch.