TORONTO – Sony’s highly-anticipated gaming console PlayStation 4 hit store shelves Friday, much to the delight of gamers who camped out at stores across the country for the device’s midnight launch.
Retailers across Canada opened their doors at midnight to start selling Sony’s first gaming console in seven years – including Best Buy, Future Shop, and EB Games.
Lineups ranged depending on locations – on Twitter some users noted that they waited hours in long lineups to buy their PS4, while others didn’t have to wait long at all.
Alberta resident Chris Penner tweeted Global News and said that he only waited 45 minutes to buy the console at the Spruce Grove, Alta., EB Games location.
Another Twitter user told us they waited in line for nine hours outside a Bowmanville, Ont. Wal-Mart location – but noted it was “definitely worth the wait.”
Gallery: Lineups for the PS4
According to CNet, the first person to get their hands on a PS4 in North America was Brooklyn resident Joey Chiu, who told CNET’s Jeff Bakalar that he waited in line for 20 hours.
Meanwhile, in New York City, hundreds of fans lined up outside the Standard High Line hotel where Sony held a launch event.
“Today’s launch of PS4 represents a milestone for all of us at PlayStation, our partners in the industry, and, most importantly, all of the PlayStation fans who live and breathe gaming every day,” said Andrew House, President and Group CEO of Sony in a press release.
Read More: New video game consoles face changed landscape
But some gamers who were eager to test out their new toys had trouble getting online due to the high volume of users Sony’s PlayStation Network was experiencing.
As of Friday afternoon, the PlayStation Knowledge Center that provides users with updates about service outages and issues, was still noting network issues due to high volume.
PS4 currently boasts a lineup of over 20 game titles, including Knack and Killzone: Shadow Fall. Popular titles including the recently released Call of Duty: Ghosts will also be available for PS4. Sony says that the console will have over 30 game titles by the end of the year.
Sony also released a PlayStation app on Wednesday allowing users to turn their mobile devices into a second screen while gaming.
The app – released for Android and iOS – gives users the ability to use their phone or tablet to chat with friends during games, receive game alerts, and allows devices to be used as an on-screen keyboard.
The PS4 will face steep competition with rival Microsoft’s new console Xbox One which will be released next week.
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