Sup3r5, the designers behind an all-black PS2-inspired PS5, will no longer offer the custom consoles for now. The decision came after the company's original attempt at pre-orders went south and sparked outrage, which later resulted in threats to employee safety.
At the end of last month, Sup3r5 announced it would produce a very limited line of unofficial PS2-themed PS5s after a positive reception to the consoles on Reddit. The retro designs went up on its shop on January 5, featuring a Dualsense controller for $99 and a console for $649. The special designs were capped at just 500 controllers and 304 systems, small numbers for a high-demand console that was Sony's biggest launch ever.
Things appeared to go poorly once Sup3r5 began its sale, and the company acknowledged that some customers experienced payment issues and problems with their orders. Some reported that they were charged, but received no confirmation for their order. Sup3r5 responded with a message reassuring its customers it would be fixing the problem but later followed up with an additional tweet noting that all orders were canceled due to threats against its employees.
Sup3r5's announcement means the end of all orders of its retro PS5s and controllers, regardless if you legitimately purchased the system for personal use or not.
At the end of its statement, Sup3r5 added, "We intended this to be a fun way to celebrate a shared nostalgia. As it turns out, there are people out there who willing to interfere with that. If we determine that it's safe to try again, we will. For now, please stay safe."
There have been no further updates from the company after its cancellation message explaining the situation, so it remains to be seen if Sup3r5 has any plans for trying to launch its line of PS5s again. Meanwhile, shortages for Sony's next-gen system continue as scalpers continue to buy consoles en-masse and drive up prices.