TAIWAN – Gamers all over the world who reserved units of PlayStation 5 (PS5) were elated to finally have their hands on the much-awaited gaming console when it was officially released with limited stocks and in select countries on November 12. The excitement was short-lived for one man in Taiwan who had to sell his unit not even ten days after getting it.
The reason? His wife found out that the black and white gadget isn’t an air purifier.
A buyer named Jin Wu posted about the story online on November 21. He bought the console at a surprisingly low price from a reseller.
Wu scheduled to meet up with the reseller on November 20 for the purchase. But he arrived at the meet-up location earlier than agreed upon, so he decided to call the reseller.
According to Wu, he heard a female voice at the other end of the call who didn’t seem to be the type who would be interested in playing games. He also commented that the person sounded like she was eager to dispose of the gaming console at an affordable price.
“When the seller arrived, it turned out to be a middle-aged man. You could tell that he definitely played video games, just with a single look,” Wu recounted.
“‘Oh, you’re really quick at reserving the console. Did you manage to reserve two consoles? If not, why are you selling this?’ The man paused for two seconds before responding: ‘It’s my wife who wants to sell it…’ I went silent after seeing the look in his eyes. I could feel his pain,” Wu added.
The reseller then said, “Seems like women can still tell the difference between a PS5 console and an air purifier.”
PS5’s Unusual Look
Wu’s Facebook post went viral, and many commenters were quick to note that the encounter was reminiscent of YouTuber JangBijju’s South Korean cartoon. The skit was about a man who tried to make his wife believe that the console is a router. The character in the skit said PS stood for “Plash Speed.”
Compared to previous PlayStation versions, PS5 looks strikingly different, with its vertical orientation, bigger size, and curvy black and white panels. When Sony first unveiled the console, netizens poked fun at its aesthetics and compared it to routers and air purifiers.
In an interview with The Washington Post, Sony’s Senior Art Director Yujin Morisawa just laughed off the memes comparing the gaming console to household objects.
“I think it’s a good thing. When you design something, you want to make it feel comfortable,” Morisawa said. “Sometimes it looks like a plant or some animal or some object. I think that’s more comfortable than something that’s weird, or something that they’ve never seen before. I think there’s a balance there.”
Gamers don’t seem to mind the console’s unusual aesthetic, though. PS5 units sold out just a few days after its release, with Sony hinting at a restock event early next year.
