PlayStation 5 London Underground Takeover

It may not have been seen by as many people as initially anticipated due to the national lockdown, however Microsoft’s takeover of the Oxford Circus Underground Tube Station was still big news in November last year… why?

Well, from a PR perspective, for a number of really good reasons.

Firstly, the last PlayStation was launched back in 2013, there have been variants since then, but a brand-new model has been 7 years in the making. For the gaming market, that is a long time. Anticipation has been building since mid-2019, when a ‘leaked memo’ suggested there would be a release. Whether this was a genuine leak or not, excitement for the PS5 began building from this point, cumulating in a confirmation of the release just over a year later. Speculation and eagerness for a new product can really help a business to build a brand, and of course leads to FEVER PITCH EXCITEMENT!

The underground station symbols are pretty iconic in London, think red buses, Big Ben and Beefeaters… with the circular make up of the underground signs already resembling one of the PlayStation buttons, it doesn’t seem like too much of a leap to a triangular, cross or square sign. These symbols replaced the signs at each of the four entrances of the world-famous Oxford Circus tube station, which happens to be right next to the Microsoft headquarters on Regent Street, a playful ‘poke’ at its rival who released the new Xbox the week prior.

To complete the partnership for this launch, Transport for London granted the temporary re-naming of stations - Mile End became Miles End, after Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Lancaster Gate became Rachet and Clankcaster Gate, Seven Sisters was Gran Turismo 7 Sisters and West Ham was transformed into Horizon Forbidden West Ham. These stations were renamed for around a month, really cementing the idea of the new console in peoples’ minds.

In short, this was the PS4 OXO Tower launch, levelled up. The fact that the console is still unavailable on Amazon is proof of this. The clever teaser release, continuing to the 48 hour rebrand of one of the most well-known underground stations and echoing around London in the re-named stops ensured this was a hugely successful product launch.