There could be few things more disappointing than plugging in a new game console that you’ve been anticipating for months, only to have it not work at all. But for a few unfortunate PlayStation 4 owners, that is exactly what has happened. Sony released a statement today indicating that the incidents appear to be affecting only a small percentage of PS4’s that were shipped to consumers early, but they are continuing to investigate.
Sony Expected This
“A handful of people have reported issues with their PlayStation 4 systems. This is within our expectations for a new product introduction, and the vast majority of PS4 feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. We are closely monitoring for additional reports, but we think these are isolated incidents and are on track for a great launch.
There have been several problems reported, which leads us to believe there isn’t a singular problem that could impact a broader percentage of systems. The number of affected systems represents less than .04% of shipped units to date, which is within our expectations for a new product introduction.”
Broken PS4s = Broken Hearts
An article on IGN details the issue that some gamers are having, giving specific accounts of what the winner of the PS4 “Play the Future First” contest has gone through since receiving his system early. Reddit user Arogon received his PS4 on Wednesday, and while the system would turn on, it would not output to the television. Other reports have mentioned outright hardware failure.
He attempted a few times to get help from Sony’s customer service, but twice was told he couldn’t be helped until the official launch day, and was cut off by another. Sony’s social media team reached out to him and gave him $10 in PSN store credit and said to keep trying customer service.
While there has been no update whether or not Arogon has yet been able to successfully play his console, it appears that Sony is at least looking into it now, though this does nothing to alleviate the frustration those who received their consoles early are suffering.
What Does This All Mean?
The bigger question is whether this is truly an isolated incident, or something that will happen to a significant number of the PS4 pre-orders making their way into the hands of consumers at midnight tonight. This could certainly spell disaster for Sony if it becomes a larger issue, and could be a major blow to the company considering the Xbox One is launching a week later. If the problem is truly more than part of an isolated bunch, then Sony has a real nightmare on its hands.
Scores of gamers will be rushing home, plugging it in, and (assuming their consoles work) immediately heading online to download a required Day 1 patch and begin playing Killzone: Shadow Fall (or their launch title of choice). This will be the next potential obstacle for Sony, as the server integrity will be put to the test in a major way. Will the servers stand up to all those people logging on at the same time to activate their console and play online games?
There May Be Another Solution
For anyone concerned about going online for that patch update, Sony recently announced an alternate way of installing the update is available by downloading it to a USB drive from your PC. This method will keep you off Sony’s servers on launch night and hopefully provide an easy way to get the console up and running.
Hopefully, for the sake of gamers and Sony, these issues truly are isolated incidents, and not indicative of what is to come. Sony has seemingly made all the right moves in the lead-up to this release, it would be a shame for things to fall apart now.
