Sony is making headlines this week over a French advertisement for its PS Vita handheld console. The ad, which CNet reports appears in French magazines, shows a woman's torso with breasts on both the front and back. The caption beside the image translates to, "Touch both sides ... Twice the sensation."
For those not familiar with the PS Vita, it features two touch-sensitive surfaces, a touchscreen on the front and a secondary touchpad on the back. Naturally, the image has garnered some attention. There are those that say the ad is sexist and implies that women are playthings or objects. Others just think it's a bit weird.
Aside from two touch screens, the PS Vita packs a quad-core ARM Cortex A9 CPU; a 5-inch 960x544 multitouch OLED display; a rear touchpad with multitouch; both front-facing and rear-facing cameras with frame rates of 120fps at 320x240 (QVGA) and 60fps at 640x480 (VGA); GPS; Bluetooth 2.1+EDR; PlayStation Vita card slot; memory card slot; a SIM card slot; and a multi-use port for USB data communication, DC IN, Audio (Stereo Out / Mono In), Serial data communication, and WiFi and 3G support. There's also a WiFi-only model for those with an aversion to data contracts.
Launched last December (just in time for the 2011 holiday season), the PS Vita hasn't exactly been a rip-roaring success. We wonder if this new four-breasted ad campaign will give things a jump start...
*Image via Gregoire Hellot