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A new billboard in Holland advertising the white PlayStation Portable has sent a US civil rights group, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), into an uproar. The ad itself boasts a white woman with white hair and matching clothes grasping a black woman's jaw; the text reads, "PlayStation Portable White is Coming."

The San Jose branch of the NAACP issued a statement claiming Rick Callender, chapter president, had referred to what was a recent assertion of racism toward the seemingly innocent PSP game LocoRoco, stating: "The days of blacks being portrayed in minstrel shows ["blackface" music and comedy skits] are long gone, and with good reason. The minstrel show was an awful chapter in history and this ad smacks of that age and time."

Despite currently being exclusive to the Netherlands, Callender refocused his ire on the billboard. "The latest Sony ad conjures up bad memories of when stereotypical and offensive images of people of color were accepted means of selling a product. Sony should immediately apologize and discontinue these archaic advertising tactics." Leland Yee, California's Assembly Speaker, agreed with the comments made by Callender, adding: "I am deeply disappointed in Sony's senseless decision to publish this racially-charged advertisement. I can't begin to determine Sony's motivation but I believe this marketing strategy is unnecessary and is clearly offensive to many in our community."

In response to the NAACP, a Sony spokesperson has insisted that the images are not intended to be racially offensive nor are they meant to be taken as such.

"The marketing campaign for the launch of the White PSP in the Benelux focuses on the contrast between the Black PSP model and the new Ceramic White PSP model. All of the 100 or so images created for the campaign have been designed to show this contrast in colors of the PSPs, and have no other message or purpose."

One must wonder how different the arguement would have turned out had the same ad been for the black PSP instead...

Sources: EuroGamer
GAF - Billboard Images

In a somewhat embarrassing and very costly twist of fate for Nintendo, a shipping container carrying a multitude of DS Lite systems as well as a large assortment of games worth a combined total of over $2.3 million (US) - rumored to have gone missing last week during its delivery to the UK - was publicly confirmed earlier today by GamesIndustry, on behalf of Nintendo, as stolen.

Having begun its trip from China, the metal crate turned up missing in Hong Kong after a brief journey rather shy of its European destination. As such, Hong Kong's police unit is willing to provide a several thousand dollar reward to anyone with helpful information regarding the retrieval of the handhelds.

Nintendo, meanwhile, has worked hastily to replace the stolen game units prior to their release date in Europe on June 23rd: "Nintendo is making every effort to ensure that there [are] enough product[s] available in the UK to meet market demand at launch." And heavy that demand may surely be; after all, the remodeled DS has thus far garnered enormous support all over Japan and throughout the US, where 135,000 systems flew off the shelves within just the first two days.