Dear NBN, That Is A Very Old Video Game Controller

This is a story that starts out weird, and gets a whole lot weirder.

Let’s begin with this tweet.

Hey @NBN_Australia if you want to make people feel like they are getting the future how about not using stock photos showing a PS3 controller when the Sony PS4 came out in 2013…

The controller shown came out in 2006. pic.twitter.com/hkVVohWfIZ — Scott Rhodie (@ScottRhodie) January 2, 2018

This is a tweet about an advertisement from the NBN, about “gaming online in a whole new way”. Presumably we’re talking about how fast internet will TRANSFORM YOUR ONLINE EXPERIENCE.

Okay. Cool. Fair enough.

But yes, as the tweet points out, that’s a pretty old controller. Looks like a Dualshock 3 at first glance. A controller that came out in 2006. 11 years ago.

11 years ago.

Folks, your PlayStation 3 online experience is about to be changed forever.

But the story gets better.

Check this out:

Syama Mishra found the original. The image used in this NBN advertisement isn’t a Dualshock 3, it looks like a Dualshock 2 (a 17 year old controller) photoshopped to look like a Dualshock 3 (an 11 year old controller). They’ve removed the cable and added a USB port. Also worth of note: the massive gap beneath the controller where the girl’s torso should be.

(Update: some people think it might actually be an original Dualshock, it’s tricky to tell.)

Oh dear.

Hardly the best look when you’re trying to market the NBN as cutting edge technology.

Perhaps the craziest part of this story: Scott Rhodie, who made the original tweet calling out the ad, actually ran digital communications for the NBN from 2011 until 2013. Once upon a time he’d be the person typing out this tweet:

We apologise for your frustrations, Scott. We appreciate your feedback and have passed it on to the relevant team for consideration. Thanks, Jordyn. — nbn™ Australia (@NBN_Australia) January 3, 2018

Obviously it’s not a huge deal, just a badly put together image but symbolic perhaps of a tough couple of years for the NBN.