These Custom PS5 Plates Are A Neon Throwback To Your Favorite '90s Consoles
When it comes to fashion and style, it's often not long before what was old is new again. For the neon, transparent plastic trend of that dominated tech for a period in the 1990s, that time has come. Tech accessory company Dbrand is now offering side plates with throwback transparent plastic in four different colors that you can attach to your PlayStation 5, replacing its clean, modern look with a retro '90s style.
The transparent plastic aesthetic was extremely popular for a few years around the turn of the millennium, especially with gamers. Everything from Tamagotchis to Nintendo 64 controllers and even full consoles were available in the style, allowing you to look through the material and see the circuit board guts that made everything run. At the time, the combination of neon and circuitry felt like a breath of fresh air compared to the grays and darker tones most console manufacturers opted for earlier in the decade.
How much are the PS5 plates and how can I order them?
If you want to pay homage to the '90s style or simply enjoy the look, you can purchase the Retro Darkplates for your PS5 from Dbrand's website. Plates built to fit either the disc version or digital version of the PlayStation 5 are available, and come in four colors you can choose from: fire orange, atomic purple, ice blue, and smoke black. All colors for both versions come with mesh grilles for ventilation, and all cost the same: $69.00. Additionally, you can purchase a matching middle skin for your PS5 for an extra $14.95, as well as left and right lightstrips for $19.95.
Customizable plates are among the PS5's design quirks, because usually you only get one chance in the life-cycle of a console to choose its color. With interchangeable side plates, you can alter the look of your PS5 without having to buy a completely new system, and installing and replacing them only takes a minute. You don't even need any tools, because the plates are designed to slide and snap right onto the PS5's body.
Retro Darkplates arrive after dispute between Sony and Dbrand
In addition to PS5 Retro Darkplates, Dbrand makes cases and skins for a variety of different gadgets and devices, like iPhones, Android phones, and other game consoles. The reason custom plates are available for the PlayStation 5 is because Sony built the console's casing to be customizable. However, Sony's intent was to sell its own interchangeable plates for the system, or sell licenses to other brands, allowing them to make their own. When Dbrand and other companies came out with third-party plates that fit the PS5, Sony threatened legal action, claiming its patent was being infringed.
Dbrand eventually got around this lawsuit by altering the design of the plates, changing the shapes of their corners, and adding vent grilles. This and similar loopholes have allowed other third-party manufacturers to sell PS5 plates as well, giving gamers several options when customizing their consoles. You can now find custom PS5 plates everywhere from Amazon to Etsy.
You can also buy original first-party plates directly from Sony. Color options include starlight blue, nova pink, cosmic red, and gray camouflage (pictured above). One advantage to buying Sony's own plates is that you can also purchase DualSense controllers in matching colors. However, if you want to travel back in time and give your PS5 the iconic, transparent neon look of the 1990s, your best bet might be to go around Sony and pick up some plates from Dbrand's Retro Darkplates collection.