PlayStation5 gets official detachable covers at long last

Plus three new colors for the DualSense controller, all becoming available to different territories throughout 2022

More than a year after the launch of the new PlayStation and after a couple of legal disputes in the meantime, Sony is ready to offer PS5 owners official covers of different colors for their console. Five of those, in fact. (Image: Sony)

As 2021 draws to a close, yet another tech-centric drama seems to have come to an end and an ugly situation is finally resolved in the way most of us expected: Sony announced that it will start offering official PlayStation5 covers of different colors in January. PS5 covers other than white was something many of the first owners of the system were asking for since its launch and third parties repeatedly tried to sell such covers only to be warned off by Sony in the process: first, it was an unknown company called PlateStation way back in October 2020, then it was popular Canadian customization company Dbrand in February 2021.

Beginning in January Sony will be offering PS5 covers in these five different colors. Some are cute, some are garish, some are smart. Consumers can pick up matching DualSense controllers come January too. (Image: Sony)

Both were threatened by Sony for copyright infringement and/or counterfeiting, both stopped selling "faceplates", as PlateStation called them, and "Darkplates" as Dbrand called them. Dbrand put up more of a fight, though, even challenging Sony to sue the company and take the case to court, but ended up ceasing production of its Darkplates because Sony managed to obtain a design patent for the shape of the PS5's side panels. Since then Dbrand announced that it found a way to get around the restrictions such a patent imposes and revealed a new design it calls "Darkplates 2.0", still available to pre-order for a February 2022 release. It's not clear what Dbrand - or indeed Sony - will choose to do now that there are official PS5 covers coming to market but, well, things do not look good for the Canadians.

If one had to bet regarding the most popular PS5 cover color among the five new ones offered by Sony, the Midnight Black would be a safe choice. Not only does it continue the tradition of predominantly black PlayStation consoles, but it’s much easier to fit in a living room or a home cinema rack. (Image: Sony)

In any case, Sony will offer PS5 covers in five different colors: Midnight Black and Cosmic Red (the same colors new DualSense controllers come since late spring), Nova Pink and Galactic Purple as well as Starlight Blue. The Midnight Black and Cosmic Red covers will become available in January at participating retailers in the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Korea and the Philippines. The Nova Pink, Galactic Purple and Starlight Blue PS5 covers will be offered in those locations during the first half of 2022. Sony plans to start selling these covers in additional territories at some point in 2022 and promises to announce details as they become available.

Not all the new PlayStation5 color covers will be made available at the same time, neither will they be made available worldwide at first. Based on past such plans, that’s both a good and a bad thing. (Image: Sony)

The new PS5 covers will be available for both the disc-based and the Digital Edition models of the PlayStation5 for $54.99, which is cheaper than what Dbrand is asking for "Darkplates 2.0" and not an inconsiderable amount of money for what is essentially two pieces of plastic. Being official products these covers are expected to carry a heftier price tag, yes, but it's still somewhat disappointing to think that two solid pieces of plastic, no matter what their production process, cost almost as much as a DualSense controller (and the advanced tech included inside of that). It's quite certain, still, that quite a few PS5 owners will snatch these covers up at some point or other, especially the Cosmic Black one which is easier to match with televisions and home cinema equipment.

Along with the new covers for the PS5 Sony announced three new colors for the DualSense controller too. Look, ma, now everyone in a 6-member family can have a DualSense of a different color! (Image: Sony)

Talking about DualSense, now that the PS5 will be coming in five different colors Sony decided to offer the controllers to match. The Midnight Black and Cosmic Red colors are already out, so the Nova Pink, Starlight Blue and Galactic Purple ones will be joining them in January too priced at €74.99. The purple version in particular will be offered by Sony directly in the US, UK, France and Germany and by participating retailers in February. With six colors available for covers and controllers during 2022 all PlayStation5 owners should now be able to find a combo they like. Now, for those custom Spider-man and God of War covers we were discussing earlier...