It’s been a full twenty years since the original PlayStation launched in Japan — arriving in The Land of the Rising Sun on December 4, 1994 — and to commemorate the occasion of two decades in the business, Sony has unveiled a limited edition PlayStation 4 model designed to resemble the beloved PSOne.
Those looking to get their hands on one of the eye-catching systems may be out of luck, though, as just 12,300 were created. Still, each of those rare, ash-grey machines are to be individually numbered and will be available to pre-order across Japan and North America beginning on Saturday, December 6.
As you’d expect, Sony has issued a warning to would-be buyers that the newly-unveiled model will only be available to pre-order “in very limited supply”, while also touching upon the chances of bringing the hardware to other territories.
“Given this very limited production run, the 20th Anniversary Edition will not be available via traditional retail channels in the SCEE region. Look out for more information soon on how you can get your hands on one of these highly collectable consoles.”
Alongside this PSOne-themed PlayStation, the Japanese publisher also released a free theme that can be downloaded across PS4, PS3 and even PS Vita. Changing the appearance of the home screen to an ash-grey, the new skin changes the system’s various icons and even uses the classic start-up sound from the PlayStation One when you power up to play. It is, for all intents and purposes, a potent blast of nostalgia.
December 6 also happens to mark the start of Sony’s PlayStation Experience event in Las Vegas, where the company will remember and celebrate the past of the PlayStation brand while also revealing what’s in store for the future.
We’ll have full coverage of the event as it happens, but for now, let us know your impressions of the limited edition PlayStation 4 in the comments section below.
