Despite being titled as an “Unboxing“, Travis Scott’s PS5 launch event instead was a lot more, including a James Blake performance.
When Travis Scott became a “strategic creative partner” for the PS5, many wondered what path the partnership would go down. Part of the PS5 launch, now having happened, included a massive event culminating in the eventual post-apocalyptic currency of Travis Scott merch.
A ten-minute video titled A Travis Scott + Cactus Jack Experience – PS5: Unboxing Reimagined was uploaded to YouTube, but weirdly enough did not even include an unboxing. What we got instead was Scott playing the PS5 in the middle of the desert, him personally gifting two kids new consoles, a James Blake performance, and a Pop Smoke tribute.
In terms of actual gameplay footage, only very small snippets of various games such as Demon’s Souls, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales were seen. Some non-launch titles could be seen including Ghostwire: Tokyo, DEATHLOOP, and Resident Evil Village.
Following the gameplay, Travis Scott – real name Jacques Webster II – delivered brand-new PS5s to two kids from a Cactus Jack/PlayStation-branded van to the instrumental of his single FRANCHISE. The Houston rapper even sat down and played games with the kids.
However, nothing in terms of pure strangeness could top a performance from frequent Scott collaborator James Blake. The British singer performed his latest song Do You Ever on a piano. Finally, there was a tribute to Pop Smoke, consisting of footage of him and Scott filming the music video for GATTI. The Brooklyn rapper – real name Bashar Jackson – was tragically murdered in a home invasion earlier this year.
After the video ended, the store for Travis Scott x PlayStation merch went online. Much like his collabs with Fortnite and McDonald’s, Travis Scott merch has become highly prized and this time should prove no exception.
This time, there are no particularly unusual offerings compared to the McDonald’s chicken nugget body pillow or the Fortnite Nerf gun. The usual line of t-shirts, hoodies, and posters are available with estimated shipping ranging from 3-16 weeks, depending on product (possibly longer for Australians).
The most prized product this time around would be the Cactus Jack x PlayStation Nike SB Dunk Lows which were only available via a raffle which has since closed. Only five winners will be selected from the raffle. Unfortunately, the raffle was only available to US residents.