Many people in the world play video games; and a significant number of those people have pre-ordered a PlayStation 4 or an Xbox One. However, that said, apart from a very select few, no one actually knows when these two behemoths of the gaming world are going to launch. Having had a serious look at all that we know, as well as the history of the two brands, we can actually formulate and make a few reasonable predictions about the release dates. Here they are:
Sony's PlayStation 4
History Says: PlayStation - Release Dates JP December 3, 1994 Saturday NA September 9, 1995 Saturday EU September 29, 1995 Friday AUS November 15, 1995 Wednesday PlayStation 2 - Release Dates JP March 4, 2000 Saturday NA October 26, 2000 Thursday EU November 24, 2000 Friday AUS November 30, 2000 Thursday PSP (PlayStation Portable) - Release Dates JP December 12, 2004 Sunday NA March 24, 2005 Thursday EU September 1, 2005 Thursday AUS September 1, 2005 Thursday PlayStation 3 - Release Dates JP November 11, 2006 Saturday NA November 17, 2006 Friday EU March 23, 2007 Friday AUS March 23, 2007 Friday PlayStation Vita - Release Dates JP December 17, 2011 Saturday NA February 22, 2012 Wednesday EU February 22, 2012 Wednesday AUS February 23, 2012 Thursday Points Of Note: - Every single home console released by Sony has been released in the EU on a Friday, following the traditional day that games are released. - Japan launches everything on a Saturday, apart from the PSP, which launched a day late. - The US has no particular pattern for hardware launches. But it seems likely with the new US/UK focus that the PS4 will launch on a date to focus on the gamers in those countries. IE, Tuesday in the US, Friday in the EU. - Australian launches historically hug the EU, meaning that usually the two aren't far apart. Sony's Behaviour Says: Team Sony have been riding a wave of positive momentum after a fairly astonishing E3 in which they said that the PlayStation 4 (PS4) will launch 'holiday 2013.' Now, several different retail outlets and internet sources have thrown different dates out. In particular Media Markt, who have placed signs in stores across Europe citing a PS4 launch date of November 13th, 2013. Where as Amazon had slated October 29th as the big day to coincide with the release of Battlefield 4, before changing it to December 31st. It seems as though there are dates being thrown around left, right and centre. The truth is that both of these dates have been confirmed as nothing more than place holders, a clever and deceptive tool that enables a heightened sense of excitement due to perceived 'knowledge' that the desirable item is coming at a specific time. This is better for retailers than an uncertain limbo state when there is no pinpointed date given and thus momentum and 'hype' towards a product falls. So with that in mind we can look towards what is realistic. Firstly, if history shows us nothing else it's that Japan will get the PS4 before any other territory. Let's get that out of the way. It's done. Secondly, Sony announced their new console at a conference that occurred in New York, stating that the console would launch 'Holiday 2013.' We now know that this also applies to the US - and it was also then confirmed as being the case in the UK (this was confirmed by a full page advert in The Metro - a free newspaper in London.) The difficult territory to predict for the PS4 is Australia. Historically the EU and Oz get a back seat to Sony's parties, but with Sony placing that full page advert, effectively confirming that the UK (by which we must assume means the EU as a whole) is a priority territory one must believe that Australia will also not be left behind, meaning a worldwide launch in 2013. It feels prudent to suggest that Sony will not do a worldwide launch all in one day. That would simply be too demanding on their resources. And, considering the astronomical pre-orders worldwide they will certainly want to stagger matters. which sadly means that Australia (and possibly the rest of the EU) might have to take a minor hit on the launch date. Sony's biggest launch game for the PS4, bar none, is Watch Dogs. You can talk about Call Of Duty, Madden and FIFA all you like. But Sony have secured exclusive content on Watch Dogs - and are likely to make sure that EVERYONE knows about it. So we can reasonably expect the PS4 to land in the US and UK with Watch Dogs already available - which likely means launching on or around the game's release date, one might conclude. Which would mean a US/UK launch in the week commencing November 18th, 2013. PREDICTED PLAYSTATION 4 LAUNCH DATE: JP November 9, 2013 Saturday NA November 19, 2013 Tuesday EU November 22, 2013 Friday AUS November 28, 2013 Thursday