Empty Carts And Angry Tweets: The PlayStation 5 And Xbox Series X Console Launches Feel All Too Familiar

Gamers have always been a combative group — as the nature of video games pits a player against a team of computer baddies or other humans. This, of course, branched out to the home console fandoms themselves, which is collectively known as the notorious "console wars". In this eternal battle, gamers attack and mock the faults of the other side while attempting to establish their superiority.

The greatest battles in this war were fought between Xbox and PlayStation fans, and as the 2000s pressed on, the big three of Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo would stand defiant over the other now-defunct console competitors of old.

Over the years, the console wars have somewhat fizzled out as income streams among gamers increased and game exclusivity dropped (outside of first-party titles). In a hilarious twist of irony as the latest generation of Microsoft and Sony consoles were revealed, all gamers became united. United, that is, in making memes out of the designs and more recently the botched launches of the Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5.

The consoles themselves are solid upgrades over their predecessors, yet the designs for the consoles have been ridiculed and parodied since their unveiling. Interestingly, the Xbox Series S and the PS5 have taken opposite approaches in the design space.

Some of the earliest memes included Xbox Series X parodies that have been mostly associated with the console's rectangular, cuboid shape. Not too dissimilar from the Xbox One, it's very minimalist, likely to keep attention off itself as well as taking up smaller shelf space. As such, the main parody has been on the brick-like shape and replacing similar objects with the Xbox Series X, such as the infamous fridge, which Microsoft even turned into a real-life product.

On the other side of the battle, the PS5 attempted to set itself apart from the parallelogram shape of the PlayStation 4. Unlike the flatter design of the PS4, the PS5 is vertical with two long pieces of plastic on the sides. The silhouette is hard to miss, so unlike the newest Xbox, it draws attention to itself (as well as memes). The main PS5 design parodies focus on the elongated sides and the router-like design of the console.

However, the launches recently hit, and they did not go smoothly. As consoles are big-ticket items for the holiday season, especially when they're a new generation, many previous issues of older console launches now plague the current one. The console launch is different, however, in that customers have taken to memes to vent frustrations like never before. As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, many retailers have only been selling consoles online. This has created a huge host of issues ranging from scalpers and bots buying online in bulk to stocks instantly depleting from retailers and customers getting orders canceled as supply remains in limbo. Amazon, Walmart, Target and many more retailers have been grilled for this online since the launch of both consoles.

Additionally, the Xbox has had a dose of fake news in regards to the consoles having an alleged "overheating" issue, with viral videos surfacing en masse of the console appearing to billow smoke in recent weeks. These turned out to be faked as people were caught blowing vape clouds into them to create the illusion. Xbox’s Verified Twitter account even put out a statement to not do so as it can cause harm to the internal hardware.

Overall, the mangled console launch for the newest generation can be tossed onto the ever-growing pile of bad events in 2020. Logistics can be difficult, and this year especially, supply chains are often facing greater challenges than ever before. Yet, this widespread knowledge does not stop people from looking at the current mess and running to their favorite formats to showcase their anger in funny or ridiculous ways … and so the next-gen mirrors the past.

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