Is the PS5 dev kit better looking than Sony's actual console?

Unless you've been living under a rock (which is fair enough after the last 18 months), you'll know that the PS5 looks... interesting. The design was mercilessly mocked for its gargantuan shape on release, and that white-and-black (or as we call it, reverse-Oreo) colour scheme is a bold choice. But could the PS5 have looked very different?

A pair of PS5 dev kits (test consoles used by games developers) made their way to eBay recently, and while they were promptly pulled – perhaps Sony got involved – the photos are enough to give us a fascinating glimpse at an alternate reality for the console. (Fancy your chances? Here's where to buy a PS5.)

The most obvious thing to note as that this looks nothing like the regular PS5. Nothing at all. For a start, it's entirely black – as is the controller. And that 'V' shape has nothing in common with the tall, wifi router-esque design of the final version. If anything, it reminds us of that other alphabetically-shaped machine, the original Xbox.

While the listings were quickly yanked from the auction platform, we're able to enjoy the photos thanks to one Twitter user (above). And while console dev kits are traditionally unsightly beasts that bear no resemblance to the console itself (presumably to protect the design from leaks), the PS5 dev kit has a few fans. 

Indeed, while the PS5 dev kit is arguably as love-it-or-hate-it as the final design, there are clearly some gamers out there who wish this was the console we'd ended up with. Even our sister site TechRadar prefers the dev kit, calling the industrial design "bold, big and beautiful". We're inclined to agree – it's certainly a statement. And it looks like it can only be positioned in one horizontal configuration, which makes things simpler – even Sony gets confused about which way up to place the actual PS5.

While it's unclear exactly how the machine ended up on eBay, for a moment there it looked like the super rare dev kit might be easier to get hold of the PS5 itself. But don't worry, there are plenty of other amazing games consoles out there while you wait for stock to get moving. Check out these awesome Nintendo Switch deals, and find more games console offers below.

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