PS5: the console decried by the esports scene because of its … USB ports

EVO, one of the biggest masses in fighting games, took place last weekend in the United States. Except that an event worthy of the name is rarely free from small technical hiccups, and this time, they are Sony consoles which gave some headaches to the organizers and the participants.

Home consoles are regularly mocked, often rightly so, for their ability to overheat. The PS5 is no exception, far from it, but few could have imagined what happened at EVO 2023.

Plastigeddon

Imagine this scenario: you are at a video game tournament, and since you are not here to laugh, you have brought your own joystick or arcade stick. You sit next to a console, plug your hardware into one of its USB ports, and engage in intense combat as if nothing had happened. Except that at the end of the match, when you give way to the next participant, you realize that something is wrong, to the point that it will be difficult for you to continue the tournament.

This is exactly what happened to several players present at EVO 2023, who did not hesitate to testify on social networks during and after the event. For most of them, the blue plastic part of the USB 3.0 ports on the back of the PS5s had the annoying tendency to come off, to then lodge in the USB sockets of the peripherals. However, it is also through this that the consoles evacuate the heat. In fact, in conditions as extreme as a competition, where the hardware is often put to the test for several hours, the PS5s have heated up to the point of melting … their USB port.

An irony of fate that no one likes

However, this is not the first time that the Sony console has been used at this kind of event. But, the fact that peripherals are regularly disconnected and reconnected on USB ports already subjected to quite a lot of heat would be an almost obvious explanation for the problems encountered during EVO 2023. Moreover, the hardware used to play fighting games which can be very specific, some attendees resorted to adapters which some say didn’t help, further damaging the PS5s.

Either way, the EVO is clearly not the type of scenario Sony engineers must have thought of. Between your living room and an esports competition, where consoles are lined up side by side for hours, there is a world of difference. To reassure the participants, the organizers ended up replacing all the machines used during the final stages, and this, at each advertising break. Because obviously, the consoles now need a bench.

For some players, this kind of inconvenience would prove that the PS5 is unsuited to such events, with PCs and other Xboxes perhaps being more appropriate. This discontent is also fueled by similar cases, having taken place outside of EVO, which are resurfacing in favor of this news. Anyway, we must feel some discomfort on the side of Sony, which bought the American competition two years ago, which is why its console is widely used during the event. A beautiful irony of fate.

Source : Engadget