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Fighting game pro Punk says PS5 problems are to blame for his Evo Japan loss
Maybe it’s time for Evo Japan to get good


With casual gaming, consoles usually remain at safe temperatures. However, esports contestants put the systems through hours of torture. For not the first time, PS5 overheating caused drama at the latest Evo Japan fighting tournament. The problems continued in the grand final, leading to pauses to investigate the issues. Several players are now questioning whether future competitions should involve Sony's console.
American RedDitto was one of the most affected by the suspected PS5 overheating. At several points during Guilty Gear Strive matches, controllers began to malfunction. Characters would only move backward while other inputs stopped working. In other instances, viewers noticed frame rate drops during critical moments. RedDitto recovered to make it to the final, but lost to his Korean opponent, Daru_I-No.
In the 2023 Evo Japan, there was evidence of PS5 USB ports melting. As a result, players noticed damage to controller cables and adapters. The console's rear ports are especially vulnerable as warm air exhausts through vents. The same scenario may have repeated itself in the latest tournament. Still, organizers could blame the adapters that players use for third-party controllers.
PunkDaGod X post on Evo Japan PS5 overheating (Image source: PunkDaGod X account)
Accomplished Street Fighter 6 competitor Punk was the most critical of the PS5's performance. After losing his match, he claimed that the console's cooling system was inadequate to handle a full day's worth of competitive gaming. Punk also suggested that he would stop attending future competitions if the problems persist.
Some observers suggest that officials swap out PS5 consoles more regularly during Evo Japan. Others propose that the tournament should switch to an Xbox console, which arguably has superior cooling, or a PC. Considering Sony acquired the Evolution Championship Series in 2021, these changes are unlikely.
"PS5 is so ass," Punk posted on X (formerly Twitter), saying he lost at Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves due to a "PS5 malfunction where it will make your pad walk backwards and nothing else works." Punk said the same thing happened at last year's Evo Japan during a Street Fighter 6 match.
Punk wrote on X, "If this PS5 problem consists and TOs just keep making players lose games to things that isn't them actually losing to the player and rather the console they make us play on because, they decide to run tournaments on this console i will personally stop attending tournaments. I spend tons of hours practicing, traveling, spending money to go to these events and stuff like overheating PS5s controlling the outcome of a set is literally the same feeling as someone spitting on you."
When Punk posted his frustrations, his detractors immediately wrote him off as someone salty about losing a game. But some FGC members posted similar stories; a similar issue happened in Guilty Gear Strivesets. Some contestants complained about PS5s overheating, causing frames to plummet and controller inputs to stop working.
Evo Japan had multiple problems with consoles and setup this year, according to those who frequented the event. Evo Japan, which debuted in 2018 as a spinoff of the main Evo tournament, has a history of console malfunctions affecting sets and even ruining the top 8 of multiple games. Viewers and competitors hope for a solution before the next event.