PS4 designer wanted to change "the PlayStation brand image" a little bit

The PlayStation 4's slick outer shell was designed by one Tetsu Sumii, who wanted the new console to break away from the brand's past image.

Speaking to the PlayStation Blog, Sumii said the console's sleek, simple, living-room friendly design was a conscious break away from the very console-looking shells of previous PlayStation machines.

“I think the PlayStation brand image needs to be changed a little bit, as it’s a new console, and we have to show what we’re pointing towards for the future," he said.

"So I thought it should be one of the most smart, cool, and intelligent products from Sony. Not just from Sony Computer Entertainment but the company as a whole. This should be one of the best, coolest, most sophisticated products we’ve created. That’s what we were striving for.

"When we started the product design for PS4, we didn’t start by thinking about what the shape would be. It was more about how we were going to create a new brand identity through the product. I just wanted to make a simple object for the living room. Sometimes products are a little too exaggerated. It should be simple. That’s my thinking,” he added.

The PS4 launches in November. Can you believe how close that is? Gosh.