Things About The PS5 Fans Can't Stand

The hype continues to grow for the PlayStation 5. The new console will feature plenty of awesome advancements for PlayStation gamers, including the exciting new PlayStation Plus Collection and the DualSense controller. However, ahead of the system's Nov. 12 launch, some fans have noticed a few things about the PlayStation 5 that they just can't stand. 

One of the very first things that people weighed in on when the PlayStation 5 was first revealed was its overall design. PlayStation decided to go against the grain when it came to the design aesthetics of older consoles, eschewing the blacks and grays of the previous generations in favor of a brighter, all-white design. The PlayStation 5 is also significantly larger than older PlayStation consoles.

While it's a bold choice on the part of Sony to go so far in a new direction, it has led to plenty of jeers from gaming fans. Some people have compared the design of the PlayStation 5 to a router. Computer hardware manufacturer ZOTAC has accused Sony of cloning the design of one of its gaming PCs, but this issue seems to have been dropped in the last few months. Some gamers have also taken issue with the PlayStation 5's color scheme. During a livestream following the PlayStation 5 reveal, Shroud told his viewers that he was unimpressed with the console design and hoped that the PS5 would eventually be available in other colors. 

Luckily for those fans, it has been heavily hinted that there will be a ton of color options available in the console's future. PlayStation's Matt MacLaurin has told fans that they can count on "more beautiful (and hopefully radical) special editions" with the PlayStation 5. Although the PS5 design has proven to be divisive, it does look as though there will be alternatives at some point in the future.

Since the full announcement of the PlayStation 5's price and release date, another major issue has arisen for PlayStation fans: A lot of people simply couldn't manage to pre-order one of the consoles. It has been rumored for quite some time that issues during the production of the console could result in the PS5 being limited at launch. It seems like that was actually the case, as many people who logged in to purchase a PS5 found themselves unable to do so. 

Almost immediately after the price was announced, the console went up for pre-order. This is despite the fact that Sony previously told fans that pre-orders would be announced with plenty of lead-up. In an interview with IGN back in July, PlayStation's worldwide head of marketing, Eric Lempel, said, "I think it's safe to say...we'll let you know when preorder will happen. It's not going to happen with a minute's notice."

That plan was apparently tossed out. As reported by EssentiallySports, pre-order sites went down due to the sheer volume of customers trying to get their hands on one of the consoles. The ones that didn't crash were sold out within actual seconds. Some fans were able to get all the way to the checkout screen when they were informed that the system they were trying to order was out of stock. All in all, it was a frustrating experience for even the most diehard Sony customers. Pre-orders should hopefully be restocked in the near future. However, Bloomberg has reported that Sony has cut the system's initial production run, so even the restocks will be severely limited.

The pre-order hysteria actually prompted a humorously sarcastic response from Microsoft. The official Xbox Twitter account reminded fans that the Xbox Series X and Series S are also coming in November and that pre-orders are set to start on Sept. 22. However, this tweet included a nice little dig at the preorder hysteria, adding, "don't worry – we'll let you know the exact time pre-orders start for you soon."

Another thing that has divided fans regarding the PlayStation 5 is the lack of backwards compatibility. Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan recently confirmed that the PlayStation 5 will not support games from the PS1, PS2, or PS3 eras. This revelation came after months of speculation regarding the possibility of a fully backwards compatible PS5. On the positive side, it has been estimated that roughly 99% of the PlayStation 4 library will be playable on the PlayStation 5, so that should encourage fans who are looking to make the upgrade but don't want to lose access to any of their current-gen faves. This hasn't stopped some fans from expressing disappointment in the fact that older PlayStation family games won't be playable on the PS5. Hopefully that will become a possibility at some point in the PS5's life cycle.

Despite these issues, there are still plenty of reasons to be excited for the release of the PlayStation 5. There are a ton of amazing PS5 exclusive games coming in the next year, and the recently-announced PlayStation Plus Collection is going to make revisiting some of the best games of the PS4 era easier for PS Plus subscribers. Hopefully the issues that fans have with the console won't seem like such a big deal when the PS5 is finally in their hands.