More than a year after the PS5 launched, many people are still struggling to find one. There are a number of reasons for that. Demand is incredibly high and more than 13.4 million PS5s have been sold already. That's not including sales over the holiday period so that number will be far higher by now. Add scalpers and component shortages to the list and suffice to say, 14 months later PS5s are still notoriously hard to find.
The new-gen console has been available for even less time in China, only launching there in May of 2021. There's even a dedicated PlayStation Store in Guangzhou where you can go in an attempt to find a new PS5 in the wild. However, hardened PlayStation fans might be a little confused by the mascots waiting at the door to welcome them in.
As you can see in the tweet below, Mario and Bowser are outside of Guangzhou's PlayStation store on either side of a blue and white balloon arch. While the color scheme matches that of the PS5, the video game characters underneath definitely do not. The two are dressed in their wedding gear from Super Mario Odyssey, and even though the color of their garb meets the theme, their attire just makes the whole scene even more confusing.
As for why Guangzhou's PlayStation Store employees opted to use Nintendo mascots to advertise the PS5, that remains a mystery. Some of the explanations offered up online include PlayStation getting their own back for the time a PS5 was displayed in the middle of a Nintendo store, or perhaps it is simply a quirky joke. Maybe the store used to be a Nintendo outlet and they found the cutouts out the back.
The timing of Mario and Bowser shilling for PlayStation couldn't be any better, or worse depending on how you look at it. Nintendo is preparing for the launch of the Switch's OLED model in China on January 11, so just a few days from now. Someone needs to pop by the PlayStation Store and tell Mario and Bowser they need to get their priorities in order.