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Limited edition PS4 marks 20 years of PlayStation

See photos and videos of the 20th Anniversary Edition of the PlayStation 4 here

Sony is releasing a 20th Anniversary Edition version of the PlayStation 4. The limited edition console bears the same, battleship grey colour scheme of the original PlayStation launched in 1994, which quickly became the bestselling console of the decade, despite adopting the same colour scheme as a provincial building society. 

The console comes with a matching controller that is similar in design to the PlayStation original, with the addition of the two analogue sticks and the touchpad used on PS4 controllers. The internals remain unchanged, Sony wisely resisting the temptation to revert to 1994 components, leaving the console incapable of playing anything more sophisticated than Wipeout. 

The whole bundle comes in a “commemorative box” and will cost $499. But, of course, there is a catch. Sony is only releasing 12,300 units worlwide. That means it won’t be available to buy from traditional retail outlets, with Sony promising to tell us how we can get our hands on the device in the coming weeks. 

For those who don’t manage to land one of the limited edition consoles, Sony is still offering the chance to indulge in a little nostalgia. A new theme for the PS4 (a video demonstration of which is embedded below) comes with the vintage start-up sound of the original PlayStation. PS4 owners simply need to download the latest firmware update to get hold of the theme.

 

The PlayStation is enjoying something of a resurgence, after years of playing second fiddle to Microsoft’s Xbox. Sony claims to have sold 13.5 million PS4 consoles, and although Microsoft has yet to release unit sales figures for the Xbox One, most retail analysts report that the PS4 has a healthy lead, some even suggesting it has recorded double the sales of the Xbox One.  

Read our fondest memories of 20 years of Sony games consoles here

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