These retro PS5 cover plates are a must-have for N64 fans
Give your PS5 the gift of translucent plastic thanks to dbrand
Want to kit your PS5 out with some retro-inspired cover plates? Dbrand has you covered.
The tongue-in-cheek hardware skin manufacturer has released a set of new retro PS5 cover plates that will delight anyone who grew up in the 90s, and especially those who owned an N64.
Four colorways are available, including fire orange, atomic purple, ice blue, and smoke black. The ice blue color is my personal favorite, as my beloved N64 sported exactly the same design.
While some believe translucent plastic is an eyesore and rather cheap-looking, I’ve always been a fan. There’s something weirdly satisfying about being able to see all the components and technology inside a device, and we’ve started to see some manufacturers embrace translucent plastic once again.
➡️ The Shortcut Skinny: Retro PS5 cover plates
🆕 dbrand has announced a new set of PS5 cover plates
👍 They’re made from translucent plastic and are reminiscent of the classic N64 designs
😎 Sadly the PS5 components are hidden behind a shield, but they still look cool
💰 You can pick them up for $69 and customize things further with optional extras
British company Nothing, which is set to reveal the Nothing Phone 2 on July 11, has designed various products with translucent materials like the Earstick 2, and more recently, Apple released a translucent product of its own: the Beats Studio Buds.
The new Starfield Xbox controller also takes advantage of translucent plastic to let you see what’s happening when you pull the trigger, and other Xbox Series X controller colors, like the Forza Horizon 5 limited edition controller, also sport translucent elements.
Even though I think these dbrand PS5 plates will be incredibly popular for nostalgia reasons alone (and I must admit I’m tempted to pick up a pair myself), the design of the PS5 makes them a little less tempting than they should be.
The PS5’s insides are, unsurprisingly, protected by a large metal shield, meaning there’s not much to look at when you pop off the plates. That means that although you can still achieve the translucent look that was commonplace back in the good old days, it doesn’t quite have the same wow factor as it should.
One aspect that I think elevates the look, however, is the optional middle skin you can buy, which is color-matched to the retro darkplates of your choice. It covers the glossy plastic midsection of the PS5, which is frustratingly prone to scratches, and replaces it with a real X-ray scan of your console. It may not be real, but it looks incredibly cool nonetheless.
You can also change the PS5’s LED lights to match the colors, and dbrand’s cover plates sport a sleeker design and more prominent fan grilles to aid with ventilation than Sony’s default plates.
If you’d like to kit out your PlayStation 5 with an old-school look, the retro PS5 plates are on sale for a limited time on dbrand’s website and cost $69. The optional middle skin and retro lightstrip pack cost an additional $14.95 and $19.95 respectively.