A new console era officially kicked off a few hours ago when thousands of Sony fans waited in line and walked home from retailers just after midnight with the new $399 PlayStation 4 in hand — and some of them didn’t even drop a dime thanks to an NFL star.
Sony livestreamed its big launch event from New York City, mostly using the time to talk about upcoming launches like a new Uncharted game and Destiny.
Not every PS4 owner went home happy, though. It appears at least a few gamers are having trouble with their new consoles, with Sony telling IGN that 0.4 percent of PS4’s have problems. Others are having issues with the PlayStation Network.
Microsoft, which launches the $499 Xbox One next Friday, tweeted a congratulations note to Sony on Twitter and Facebook, while Xbox executives and employees also used social media to congratulate their rival on the launch.
Congrats to the PS4 team @PlayStation, @amboyes, @CEOJackTretton, @yosp on the launch of PS4.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) November 15, 2013
Congrats to all my friends @PlayStation and @amboyes and @yosp on the launch of PS4. Great job, looking forward to Gen8!
— Albert Penello (@albertpenello) November 15, 2013
Congratulations to @Playstation on their North American launch cc @yosp @amboyes
— Larry Hryb ? (@majornelson) November 15, 2013
@majornelson @PlayStation @amboyes Thanks Larry, your turn next week! :D
— Shuhei Yoshida (@yosp) November 15, 2013
Here’s video of the first guy on this planet to buy a PS4. Man, he sure does look thrilled:
And Sony’s official PS4 launch video is here:
We’ll have coverage of the Xbox One launch next week, so check back on GeekWire for that.