The exasperating PlayStation 5 wait might be the greatest trick Sony ever pulled - but don't worry, the PS5 does exist
There is a well-known line from the classic neo-noir thriller The Usual Suspects that goes “the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist”, and there may be some PlayStation fans convinced at the moment that Sony and the PS5 could fit into that sentence quite well: “the greatest trick Sony ever pulled was convincing the world the PS5 didn’t exist” – but we all know it actually does.
In simpler terms, regardless of your personal levels of frustration or exasperation with “Soony” and its strategy in regard to sharing PlayStation 5 details, the clamor for information from the company is constantly rising without a ceiling, and all this din is basically contributing to Sony’s free PR for its next-gen console. The odd fatigued fan here and there may be claiming on social media that they will switch to Xbox because of the perceived PS5 rigmarole – but Sony definitely has a plan here – and it’s working.
So fans are left scraping up every possible PS5-related piece of news that can be found while the wait for official details continues: Images of open packets of Doritos that may contain a PS5-winning coupon on the inside and 4chan and its random leak outbursts that always have to be accompanied with a salt shaker. By the way, the latest outburst from that most dubious of sources claims there is a gameplay/UI/backwards compatibility event apparently coming on September 17 – but no prices or release date information will be included. Get that salt anyway.
In fact, it’s even got to a point that one of the more well-known PS5 commenters, Foxy Games UK, has resorted to posting a parody song on YouTube basically pleading “we got our money ready, but PS5 ain’t ready”. But all this fist-shaking, both genuine and jocular, is gold for Sony. There could be demonstrations in the street by anxious gamers demanding Sony gives up all the juicy details and one would suspect that the company still wouldn’t budge from its game-plan of mostly keeping mum about everything. In fact, you could almost accuse the company, and its PlayStation brand, of trolling its fans thanks to a recent tweet that recommends “find some time to relax and reflect” (and not just while playing Ghost of Tsushima).
Find some time to relax and reflect. pic.twitter.com/yO0HpXInZd
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) September 7, 2020
Not even the just-announced likely controlled leak (now confirmed) of the existence of the Xbox Series S and the supposed estimated retail prices for that console and the Xbox Series X (US$299 and US$499, respectively) is likely to shake Sony out of its gargantuan slumber. There were many rumors that Sony would dish up some PS5 details on September 9, but so far there hasn’t been a peep out of the company about any imminent console-related event.
Doritos, 4chan, Soony, parody songs – even a cake that was a lie - it just all adds to the fuel that is sending the PS5 hype train speeding around the globe. Since the hardware reveal, it’s almost as if Sony has acted like the PlayStation 5 doesn’t actually exist…but the next-gen console is coming, and when it finally arrives fans are going to forget the extensive waiting time and declare the PS5’s full reveal a masterclass of marketing tactics. Even if the price is US$599/£549/€599 for the Blu-ray model…
Source(s)
YouTube (Foxy Games UK) & 4chan & @PlayStation & Reddit (1/2)
