I was a PC gamer for nearly 15 years before I fell in love with gaming consoles again after the launch of the Nintendo Switch. As a '90s kid, I grew up playing arcade and console games, and I think the PlayStation 2 (PS2) is still one of the best-looking consoles ever made. Imagine my surprise when I saw a PS2 lookalike in the middle of Samsung's TV booth at CES 2025.

When I first laid my eyes on the new Samsung Wireless One Connect box, I really thought Samsung brought a PS2 to CES. It almost felt like my brain glitched out and my heart skipped a beat. It took me a moment to realize the absurdity of what I was imagining.

Why would Samsung bring a 25-year-old console at a trade show in 2025? Even though I'd like for that to happen, I can admit it makes little to no sense. But of course, Samsung didn't do that. It was just a case of mistaken identity.

Even so, now I can't shake that image out of my head. I can't be the only one who thinks the Samsung Wireless One Connect box looks a lot like the PlayStation 2 console. Am I?

Granted, once I looked at the Wireless One Connect box more closely, the differences become more obvious. The PS2 has a thicker base, and the two devices have different dimensions. Plus, the One Connect box has side-facing connectors, whereas the PS2 has front-facing ones.

Nevertheless, I find the black slab design with ridges highly reminiscent of the PS2. Even the position of the red LED light on the One Connect box reminds me of the red-dominant PS logo on the PlayStation 2's disk tray (see the image gallery above).

I don't know if Samsung's design was intentional or merely a result of the function-over-form approach. It could be the latter, as there are cooling vents between the Wireless One Connect box's ridges.

But regardless of whether these similarities were intentional or accidental, I may never be able to look at the Wireless One Connect box from Samsung without thinking about the Sony PlayStation 2. And as far as I'm concerned, that's not a bad thing. But I do wonder how many other people may have made the same connection I did.

As to what the Samsung Wireless One Connect box is, it's a convenient accessory designed to eliminate wires sticking out of your high-end Samsung smart TV. It ships with select high-end TVs, including the upper-tier Neo QLED 2025 and The Frame Pro. It has its own HDMI ports and connects to the TV via Wi-Fi 7.

So, no, it doesn't play any games, and in case you're wondering, you can't connect an actual PS2 to the Wireless One Connect box without a third-party mod or an adapter. Sony's retro console uses outdated A/V composite connectors, which the Wireless One Connect obviously lacks.

The post My heart skipped a beat spotting Samsung’s PlayStation 2 lookalike at CES appeared first on SamMobile.