Well, where to start? In the long list of bizarre product branding tie-ins there have been some notable releases that have made us shake our heads in disbelief, but this one may just take the dunked biscuit. Yorkshire Tea, maker of teabags and tea-related paraphernalia in the UK, has added two new additions to its online store and, I can't quite believe I'm typing this, but they're gaming controllers. Specifically, a PlayStation 5 controller and an Xbox model, both resplendent in honest-to-goodness Yorkshire Tea branding complete with a pastoral scene featuring a sheep.
According to the product page this association came about via a tweet (is that what we're still calling them these days?) from controller designer POPeART, who was keen to show off a design he'd been working on featuring Yorkshire Tea's branding. A few Zoom meetings later and here we are, gazing with wonder upon the end result.
While Yorkshire Tea jokingly make mention in the product listing of a "special button that boils your kettle (not really)", the only difference between these controllers and their regular, non-tea related counterparts is the printing, which means that yes, both of them will work perfectly well on PC either via a wireless dongle or Bluetooth, depending on which you pick.
They're fully functional gaming devices, and yet something deep inside me wonders how I've been able to play my games all these years with a controller that doesn't remind my British soul, by the power of suggestion alone, that I need a cup of tea at least once an hour.
Nor can I think, off the top of my head at least, of a gaming controller design featuring trees, a stone wall, a figure tending the fields and a member of the woolly ovine community.
Best gaming mouse: the top rodents for gaming
Best gaming keyboard: your PC's best friend...
Best gaming headset: don't ignore in-game audio
Leaning into the gag, the company is keen to show off its gaming terminology chops in the description text with plenty of references to looting, one-shotting, levels and more that come off less like a product description and more like your Dad throwing hand shapes as he talks about modern music and being down with da kidz.
Regardless, the controller designs themselves are at the very least unique, so let us take it as a blessing that all they've chosen to modify here are the aesthetics and not the functional aspects of the devices themselves.
Other than that special button that boils your kettle. Genuinely good idea, that.
Time for a cuppa, dontcha' think?
