Playstation’s ‘Masturbation’ Ad Didn’t Last Very Long

The ad above was yanked from Playstation’s YouTube channel even before The Verge first criticized it, so someone on the inside must have realized it wasn’t going to fly.

In the ad, a female doctor talks directly to us, asking how much we’ve “done it” today. We’re clearly supposed to think about masturbation, though we know that can’t be what she’s talking about. It turns out she’s referring to the PS Vita, which is also somewhat habit-forming and not something to be ashamed of.

The Verge’s criticism is that the ad shamelessly targets a teen male demographic with a hypersexualized subject. It ignores any and all straight women who might also be interested in playing the PS Vita (and there are, I’m sure, many).

From Business Insider:

It makes assumptions and potentially offends everyone: that gamers are sex-starved teenagers who see women as nothing but sexual objects and that women can only be included in the gaming conversation if they’re stereotypically drop-dead gorgeous.

The PS Vita is available now and sells for $199.00, which is way more expensive than masturbating.