There may be hope on the horizon for new PS5 owners looking to change their system’s appearance. After a website abruptly cancelled pre-orders for its custom faceplates, the owners are now looking towards crowdfunding as a potential solution.
Previously operating as PlateStation5.com, the website was forced to shut down production of its faceplates, available in an assortment of colours including the highly requested black shell. After Sony threatened legal action arguing that the faceplates fell under is intellectual property, the future for custom faceplate trading looked bleak.
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However, a report by VGC reveals that the website (rebranded as CustomizeMyPlates.com) has plans to lobby Sony into authorising the plates through crowdfunding. After asking followers on Twitter if they would be interested in a GoFundMe alternative, it now appears it has committed to this route. Full details of the plan will be imminently revealed on the site's social media channels, although at the time of writing nothing has appeared yet.
After the initial pre-order debacle, the companies owners said they would be “wiser” on trademark and product laws when dealing with console skins in the future. Whilst these legal issues haven’t yet been resolved, there is hope that crowdfunding could create an alternative path forward.
In the report, an individual from a major third-party peripheral company backed these claims and stated that Sony has little chance of preventing custom faceplates in the long-term.
Speaking anonymously, they argued that “there will be tons of companies making these faceplates and Sony will be powerless to stop them. If we look at something like a controller, Sony can reasonably battle unofficial third parties by updating the console firmware and blocking such knock offs, but a faceplate? There’s not much they can do in the long run. Sony can’t stop them making bits of plastic that just happen to fit their system.”
As Sony’s official teardown revealed, the original white faceplates are designed to be easily removable to access the storage expansion slot and remove dust. Therefore, it’s likely only a matter of time before these bespoke designs become widespread.
Fan console designs for Miles Morales and Cyberpunk 2077 have already proven incredibly popular. Fingers crossed that this situation is quickly resolved and fans can own the PS5 of their dreams.
Source: VGC
