10 Huge Gaming Controversies That Rocked Sony PlayStation

6. When They Thought Masturbation Jokes Would Sell The PS4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3U7LYk0woH8 At some point or another the more enigmatic among us just want to make their mark on the world; either through controversy, bravado, innovation or anything in between. The problem for Sony was in trying to pitch a 'next generation' piece of kit to a world that were still unsure of its necessity, they elected to make a string of masturbation jokes. Y'know, just to really get those mothers and gift-needing grannies involved before Xmas. It was the timing and message of this that was just so spectacularly bad. The games industry is positively booming thanks to the likes of the Wii and Call of Duty completely crossing over into the mainstream - so to have an ad try and 'playfully' target such an outdated stereotype right as parents were considering the console as a worthwhile investment for their entire family was just straight-up dumb. Sony pulled the ad in response to overwhelmingly negative press labelling the piece as everything from sexist to outright bad taste, but you might be thinking you've seen this gag somewhere before - it was Microsoft doing the exact same shtick in 2010. The difference here is the old man talking to you - he's charming, playful, relatable to many generations and above all comes across disgusted and distanced from the thing he's describing - everything the Sony ad got completely wrong. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GP-QYguAbpM