The 20th anniversary edition of the PlayStation 4, which Sony designed to commemorate the debut of the original PlayStation gaming console in 1994, has quickly become a premium collector's item.
As eBay auctions for the gaming console continue to see spikes in winning bids, the anniversary edition PlayStation 4 sold for £19.94, equivalent to about $37, in London.
A pop-up store was opened in Bethnal Green Road in central London, marked by neon lights that represent the four iconic buttons of the PlayStation.
The store was opened for the purpose of selling the anniversary edition PlayStation 4, which comes in the gray color that the original PlayStation came in, along with merchandise that evokes nostalgia for gamers that spent hours upon hours on the original PlayStation 20 years ago.
The shop sold 94 anniversary edition PlayStation 4 consoles for the special price, which of course were all snapped up almost instantly.
David Stockley was the first individual to purchase the £19.94 console after falling in line starting 7 p.m. in the previous night, well ahead of the 11 a.m. opening time for the pop-up store.
"I've been a huge PlayStation fan since the first console came out in 1994 and have been desperate to get my hands on one of the anniversary PS4s after it was revealed last week," said Stockley.
He added that after learning of the pop-up store, Stockley went straight from work to line up at the shop.
To maintain the nostalgic feel of the store, gamers were requested to bring with them at least one piece of memorabilia with them related to the original PlayStation, such as old controllers, posters and video games. There is even a secret passcode for store visitors to utter, which is "I crashed my Bandicoot," alluding to the popular Crash Bandicoot series that originated from the original PlayStation.
Some of the gamers that were not able to purchase the anniversary edition PlayStation 4 were added to a reserve list, which would allow them to come back on Thursday or Friday to pick up one of the consoles, albeit at the full price. Only 50 anniversary edition PlayStation 4 consoles will be sold in the pop-up store each day.
Meanwhile, on eBay, second-hand sellers of the console are making serious money. One of the auctions for an anniversary edition PlayStation 4 ended up with a final winning bid of $20,100, which is a stark contrast to the £19.94 price tag in the London pop-up store. It also represents a wealthy profit from the $500 retail price for the console.
The demand for the gaming console is heightened by the fact that Sony will be selling only 12,300 units, representing the launch date of Dec. 3 for the original PlayStation 20 years ago. This short supply cements its status as one of the premium collector's items in video game history.
