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The box is cool, sure…
Sam Machkovech -
…but I have a sneaking suspicion it’s the tissue paper it came in that’s gonna get people really riled up.
Sam Machkovech -
Precious child posing with PS5, for scale.
Sam Machkovech -
A handle!
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See, it’s just like the Nintendo GameCube.
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Sales pitch on the back. The fine print at the bottom is pretty insignificant, except for reminding users that a portion of the built-in memory is dedicated to system functions. (But then why advertise the drive as 825GB instead of 1TB, with such a notice? Does that mean it’s less than 825GB of game-download space?)
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What’s that fine print on one side?
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It’s the contents.
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Last side.
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Copyright notices and Dolby/DTS confirmations.
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Instructions on the bottom of the console for PS4-to-PS5 transitions. Funny that they put that on the box instead of inside an instruction manual, but I suppose some buyers want that last assurance before walking out of a brick-and-mortar store.
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Another angle of the front, with more tissue paper.
Sam Machkovech
This morning, the PlayStation 5 arrived at the Ars Orbital HQ, which means we’re allowed to say a few things—emphasis on “few”—as the new console’s November 12 launch date draws nearer.
First off, take a look… at the box! You can look as long and hard at the console’s box as you wish. As part of our console review agreement with Sony, we’re not allowed to share photos of anything inside the box yet, but we are allowed to confirm that there is indeed a working PlayStation 5 console in there. (Not cake.)
But we really can’t say anything else about its contents. Anything that resembles an “impression” is off limits at this point, so if your many questions haven’t already been answered by a Sony promotional video or social media post, we can neither confirm nor deny. (Our box absolutely pales compared to one of Sony’s lead hardware engineers tearing an entire PlayStation 5 apart.) At the very least, we can zoom in on the box’s fine text, which you’ll find in the above gallery.
One of those images confirms the exact contents you can expect, including a single DualSense gamepad, a packed-in copy of the new Sony game Astro’s Playroom, and cords for HDMI and power. Curiously, the box doesn’t confirm the HDMI cable’s rating. Is it HDMI 2.1, to support the box’s claim of “4K/120fps” imagery in HDR, or freaking 8K? Or will newer TV owners need to buy an additional cable? Even we’re not allowed to clarify at this point.
