Over a million preorders for PS4 - Sony

File photo: Attendees play videogames on the new Sony PlayStation 4 at the Sony booth during the Electronic Entertainment Expo, in Los Angeles.

File photo: Attendees play videogames on the new Sony PlayStation 4 at the Sony booth during the Electronic Entertainment Expo, in Los Angeles.

Published Aug 21, 2013

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Cologne, Germany - Sony has had more than 1 million preorders worldwide for its new PlayStation 4 console, the head of its SCE computer entertainment division said on Tuesday.

SCE Chief Executive Andrew House added that the console will be available from November 15 in North America and will hit stores in Europe from Nov. 29.

“The response we have received is nothing short of incredible,” he said at a news conference on the sidelines of Gamescom, Europe's biggest videogames fair.

He added the console will be available in 32 countries worldwide during the holiday season.

Microsoft has said it will start selling its latest console at some point in November, intensifying competition ahead of the year-end holidays and gift-giving season.

Sony has priced the PlayStation 4, its first new console in seven years, $100 (about R900) lower than the new Xbox One by Microsoft at $399.

Microsoft unveiled the Xbox One in May, its first new gaming console in eight years, marking its strongest push so far to dominate consumers' living rooms with an array of exclusive media content.

Microsoft Europe's Vice President of Interactive Entertainment Chris Lewis said on Tuesday preorders for the Xbox One were “unprecedented” but declined to give more details. - Reuters

In related news, Twitch is another step closer to becoming the Netflix of the videogame world.

The popular videogame footage streaming service will be available on Sony's next-generation PlayStation 4 when it's released later this year. By tapping the new “share” button on the PS4 controller, users will be able to broadcast gameplay directly to Twitch.

Microsoft announced similar Twitch integration earlier this year for its upcoming Xbox One.

Currently, more than 600 000 Twitch broadcasters are watched by more than 38 million viewers a month.

Sony previously announced that the PS4 would allow users to share gameplay experiences on the social networking site Facebook and video streaming service Ustream. - Sapa-AP

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