PS4 20th Anniversary PlayStation 4 Console 1

There’s no doubt about it: the 20th anniversary PlayStation 4 is the ninth wonder of the world. Sony’s nostalgic grey goodie box is a thing of sheer beauty, and an object that I suspect that every single one of you reading this article desires. The problem is that you probably can’t have one, as the Japanese giant only opted to manufacture 12,300 of the things globally – a cute, commemorative number, but nowhere near enough to satisfy the insatiable demands of PlayStation fans worldwide.

I get it: the platform holder wants this to be the most coveted item in PlayStation history, ranking up there with that golden NES cartridge that was doled out to a select few Nintendo Power readers. The difference is that when the House of Mario made 26 shiny Nintendo World Championships cartridges, they were merely intended as competition prizes, and not as a celebration of its brand; Japan’s Famicom-themed Game Boy Micro, for example, was given a much bigger run.

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PS4 20th Anniversary PlayStation 4 Console 2

And in my opinion, this is the way that it should be, because fans shouldn’t be forced to deal with scalpers to get their hands on a celebratory device. To be fair to the firm, it has attempted to mitigate this issue in the UK; the brilliant PlayStation ’94 shop is selling the system for £19.94 today, if you can prove that you have the credentials as a veteran of the brand. A pass code, as well as a memorabilia trade-in, should lock this down to true aficionados – but only a select few.

I genuinely hope that everyone that’s secured a system enjoys it – but I feel like more people deserve a chance

Indeed, you’d need to have been in London in the early hours of the morning to stand any chance of picking up one of the 94 systems available – a particularly impractical task for anyone living in the north. Perhaps the idea is to test your dedication, and those that want it enough will make the journey anyway – but it’s a weekday, and most people have work. There will be other ways to scoop up the systems online, of course, but then you’ll be at the mercy of a server like in the United States.

I don’t want to come across like a whiner here simply because I haven’t been able to get a machine myself; I genuinely hope that everyone that’s secured a system enjoys it – but I feel like more people deserve a chance. The auctions that were held in Spain, for instance, were all designed to raise money for a good cause – but should it really have come down to those few with the biggest bank balance to score a device? Already these are selling for up to $20,000 on eBay overseas.

PS4 20th Anniversary PlayStation 4 Console 3

This is, of course, the natural outcome where a sought after console is involved, but Sony reiterated several times during the PSone’s anniversary last week that we are central to the celebrations, so shouldn’t we all have the opportunity to commemorate the occasion? A second, larger run of these systems wouldn’t necessarily need to detract from the limited editions in the channel right now; the engraved casing and numbering could be stripped away to maintain the value of the originals.

Regardless of the approach, though, we reckon that the manufacturer’s missing a trick by not making these machines a little more widely available. As a lifelong fan of the PlayStation brand, I would have bought a second system in an instant – and I know that I’m not alone. I may get one online next week, but it's a long shot – and while I’m certainly not bitter about that, I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t just a little bit disappointed. At the very, very least, Sony – please let us buy the DualShock 4.

[ Image Sources: Engadget, The Verge ]

Do you think that Sammy’s being a cry baby, or does he have a sliver of a point? Would you have bought one of these limited edition PS4 systems given a realistic opportunity, or do you not feel the need to double dip? Whine with us in the comments section below.

Should Sony do a second run of 20th anniversary PS4s? (56 votes)

  1. Yes, I’d actually like to buy one75%
  2. Hmm, I don’t care9%
  3. No, they should remain limited16%

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