Seemingly, games companies like to take unboxing their consoles very, very seriously. When it comes to getting at our new purchases, it's usually an all out war with the scissors and cardboard, the battlefield strewn with little plastic bags and twiddly wire things as far as the eye can see, followed by a moment of panic when we think we're missing a cable and worry the cat might have stolen it. And then once we've managed to separate the components from their packaging, there's the setting up to do, and updates to run before we can actually sit down and play - although by then our cat's usually sitting purring to herself, having stealthily slipped into the cardboard box while we were distracted by HDMI cables, controllers and finding a free plug socket.
Doesn't even give us a chance to open the box...
Fortunately, the high ups at games companies tend to be a bit more organised when they show off the stuff you'll be getting in the box when you buy their latest machine. First came Nintendo, who raised the bar with their white gloves and ceremonial music unboxing of the Wii U last year, and now it's Sony's turn to unbox the PS4, complete with their own dramatic music, flashing lights and - that's right, they went there - BROWN LEATHER gloves. Showing off the controller, the power cord and USB charging cable, along with the console itself (which is suitably shiny), the video below also offers a look at the bundled (but still rather feeble looking) headset, and the 'Network Voucher', which sadly appears to be a US and Canada only thing at the moment. Netting you a free 30 day trial of both Playstation Plus and their Music Unlimited service, as well as $10 credit for use on the Playstation Store, we'll be keeping our fingers crossed we get a similar offer over here - but the signs aren't looking all that positive at the moment.
Still, if nothing else, the unboxing video is hilariously over the top, and rather reminiscent of a certain Daft Punk album unboxing video - except with Sony boss Shuhei Yoshida as the star, rather than two guys in flashy motorcycle helmets. Check it out for yourself below:
The Playstation 4 launches this Friday in America, with the UK a fortnight behind on the 29th November - with it's fairly wide-reaching launch line-up of cute co-op platformer Knack to the more shooter-y Killzone: Shadow Fall, it'll be interesting to see how it does this Christmas, especially with the Xbox One hitting stores at around the same time. We'll be bringing you a full review of both machines nearer the launch - so make sure you check back soon.
