An angry attendee of the ChinaJoy 2019 gaming convention smashed his PlayStation 4 Pro in the middle of the showfloor as a form of protest. The man was angry over Sony announcing support of a game named Genshin Impact, which the ChinaJoy PlayStation booth was also showcasing. As for why the man was angry, it appears to be due to the fact that Genshin Impact's visual design and gameplay were influenced by The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Genshin Impact was first announced prior to E3 2019, an open-world action game with clear influences from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The game features a painterly visual style that is strikingly similar to Breath of the Wild, but it also features anime-style characters and more musou-style action gameplay. At the time, Genshin Impact was announced both for PC and mobile devices.
Since Genshin Impact is being developed by Chinese studio MiHoYo, Sony took the opportunity to announce at ChinaJoy that Genshin Impact would be coming to the PS4 as well. The new Genshin Impact PS4 trailer shown at ChinaJoy shows off a more diverse view of the game's content. It also teases new areas that are less comparable to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's various locations. In other words, it seems like MiHoYo is going out of its way to address criticism of Genshin Impact.
However, some either haven't noticed Genshin Impact's uniqueness or have judged it as not enough. Such criticism often descends into social commentary about China's looser copyright laws and proclivity for game "clones." Just what exactly this specific ChinaJoy attendee believes is unclear, but they obviously feel passionate enough about the subject to destroy a console worth $300 over it.
It's unfortunate, but the full story regarding the man who smashed his PS4 Pro isn't fully available. As the available photos make clear, he pulled the PS4 Pro from his backpack and smashed it in front of a crowd of attendees waiting in line. A nearby security guard was drawn to the situation, though he looks befuddled about what's going on like everyone else.
Genshin Impact development is likely to continue unabated.
Genshin Impact is planned for release in 2020 on PC, PS4, and iOS.
