After Sony revealed that the PS5's faceplates could be removed, it wasn't long before someone jumped on the idea of selling customizable faceplates, but before the PS5 even launched, they were bullied out of business.
PlateStation5.com had already changed their name to CustoimizeMyPlates.com after Sony directly complained to them about the original branding. But according to the company, Sony has sent multiple threats about taking them to court if they don't stop selling the product.
- See the best PC games and best Xbox Game Pass PC games to play now
- Check out the Xbox Series X games and PS5 games confirmed so far
- This is what we know about the Xbox Series X and PS5 so far
What actually happened to the PS5 plate seller
This is what the company told to VGC in an email: “Before we launched, we did our due diligence and were of the opinion, that because Sony only had pending patents on the faceplates there would be no problem."
They continued: "But after only a day of our website being live, Sony’s lawyers asked us to change our name (at the time PlateStation5), due to trademark infringements. We thought this switch would be enough to keep everyone happy, and honestly were hoping so since we were already underway with our product development."
"But then Sony’s lawyers told us it was their opinion, Sony’s intellectual property extended to the faceplates, and that if we continued to sell and distribute them in any country, we would end up in court."
"This all came to light yesterday and we are now cancelling and refunding all faceplate orders worldwide… we are extremely disappointed about this but we have no other option."
This is not a very surprising action on Sony's part, but jumping from forcing the company to change its name and then telling them to stop selling the product completely is just a petty move. It's like Sony was beating around the bush just to see if it could bully the company out of business before the business even started.
Originally, the UK-based company was selling the face plates for $39 and intended to ship the plates two weeks after the PS5 launched. It's unclear if Sony even intends to create different faceplates, or if they're going to keep that exclusivity to themselves and not act upon it whatsoever.
I guess we'll see in due time. The PS5 is slated to launch on November 12, so stay tuned to our full review.
