Prior to CES 2020, many expected Sony to finally and outright reveal the PlayStation 5 — given that Microsoft recently revealed their next-generation Xbox console. However, Sony simply revealed the logo for their upcoming system during their press conference.
Despite its simplicity, the logo still managed to ruffle some feathers. Many didn't take too kindly to it being a rehash of the PlayStation 4's logo and many mocked it for being lazy and uninspired. Despite this, the simple reveal of the logo proved to be a fruitful and successful endeavour for Sony and it now stands as the most popular image on Instagram —
more on that here.
The simple image of the logo has managed to top even the full reveal of Xbox Series X in terms of views and reactions. For example, the former topped five million likes on Instagram while the latter is yet to even hit two million.
Sony PlayStation boss Jim Ryan recently provided an explanation for the logo and its similarity with that of the PlayStation 4. According to Ryan, it's all about consistency and recognisability.
“It is important to give off a sense of consistency for products within the PlayStation brand,” he told
Business Insider Japan (via
Gematsu).
“It is a must for anyone who sees [the logo] to immediately and positively think, ‘That’s PlayStation’." This line of thinking certainly paid off given the success of the logo reveal that we mentioned above. The PlayStation 4 is the best-selling video game console of all-time. Therefore it certainly makes sense that Sony would want to associate their next endeavour with it.
Ryan continued, explaining that it's important for players to feel as if they're a part of the same community regardless of which generation they're playing on.
"There are over 100 million PlayStation 4 owners – there is a community there. We have an obligation to keep them happy, interested, and absorbed [in PlayStation].”