PS5 dev kits briefly appeared on eBay – and I wish the consumer model looked like this

A pair of PS5 dev kits reportedly appeared on eBay, only to be pulled from auction after a few hours. However, the listing’s pictures provide a detailed look at the PlayStation 5 development kit, and it’s a radically different design to what Sony eventually went with.

The eBay listing of the PS5 dev kits, known as ‘DFI-D1000AA dev kit’ and ‘DFI-T1000A test kit’, was spotted by Twitter user Zuby Tech, who managed to snag images of the PlayStation 5 developer kit before the listing was removed.

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Even though the listing was only up for a few hours, we can see that the auction received 12 bids and reached €2,850 (or around $3,373 / £2,425) thanks to a screenshot from Twitter user iDCx1337. That’s actually not that bad considering standard PS5 consoles were going for a similar amount during launch – scalpers made the most of the incredibly high demand and limited supply.

We’ve seen the V-shaped design of the PS5 in pre-release patents before, but to see it from basically every angle in photos is another thing. It’s a sizable console, one that’s clearly lacking the sort of refinement we’d expect from a consumer product. The development kit is also more powerful than the PlayStation 5 system you’ll find in your home, and includes a number of extra bells and whistles like the five USB ports at the front. 

Noticeably, the console and accompanying DualSense controllers are all-black, which is a stark contrast to the two-tone white and black design Sony, though that has been rectified somewhat thanks to the release of the Midnight Black DualSense controller and Darkplates from skin maker dbrand.

Opinion: the PS5 dev kit is bold, big and beautiful 

I’ve never been a fan of the PS5’s space-age looking design, particularly the two-tone white and black color scheme. As garish as the PS5 dev kit looks, I’m actually kind of digging the industrial style design, and almost wish Sony would have opted for something similar with the consumer model. 

It’s clear that the PS5 dev kit wouldn’t work when placed horizontally, or at least would look incredibly awkward if you did stand it up. But the V-shaped area for the vents, which clearly signifies the Roman numeral five, and the prominent grills just speak to me for some reason.

It isn’t surprising to see the listing pulled from eBay, of course. Sony will be keen to ensure that development kits only end up in the hands of… well… developers, so we wouldn’t be surprised if Sony reached out to the auction site and requested the listing to be removed. 

We’ve contacted eBay for comment and will update this article accordingly should we hear more.

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