Xbox, send PS4 our congratulations - and the corpse of Crash Bandicoot

Xbox, send PS4 our congratulations - and the corpse of Crash Bandicoot
Touch me

Well it was hardly going to be a quiet one, was it? The US launch of a little known console called the PS4 just kicked off three weeks of next-gen mayhem, with the Xbox One to be sandwiched by Sony next week before the PS4 gets its UK release on November 29.

Exciting times all round, then. The initial sales numbers aren't too shabby either with over a million PlayStation 4 units getting moved in the first 24 hours.

Given Sony's swipes at the Xbox One during the pre-launch journey, we wondered if Microsoft might hurl some dirt at the PS4 on its big day. Instead it tweeted a congratulatory message on an Xbox-green card.

Is this Xbox being genuinely gracious, or can those letters be rearranged to spell out something much more obscene? This feels weird. We don't like it when people get along.

Xbox ONe

Wait, no, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

But where are the games?

As great as all that is, with DriveClub and Watch Dogs pushed back to next year, it's slim pickings for the early adopters. Knack and Killzone Shadow Fall are the headline acts but neither have had the stellar critical reception of a system seller.

Who'd have thought that the Wii U might have a stronger lineup that the PS4 this Christmas? Still, Sony whetted our appetites at its big New York launch event this week by dropping a few cheeky teasers.

PS4: Not too shabby

First, Naughty Dog announced a new Uncharted for PS4, surprising all of about 5 people. It also took the opportunity to announce some new DLC for The Last of Us, which will be set before the events of the main game. Neato.

But then - and an actual surprise - SCE Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida revealed that he'd actually played The Last Guardian, suggesting it might see the light of day yet.

Poor guy couldn't recall whether he played it on a PS3 or PS4. Or at least that's what he says. Maybe he has a better idea about what Crash Bandicoot was doing in that PS4 trailer?

Oculus Rift

Oculus Rift: turning your head into a controller since next year

It's a harsh, harsh reality

But whether you're team Xbox or team PlayStation, it sounds like Oculus Rift is going to give both boxes a wide berth.

Oculus founder and creator Palmer Luckey told us that the new consoles are just too limited for VR's ambition. Sorry folks, better hope that Sony is working on that PS4 VR headset after all.

Nuclear announcement incoming?

If the internet is good at one thing, it's winding us up with fake countdowns. Because of this we're using our brains and remaining skeptical of one particularly intriguing timer that popped up this week, but in our hearts... in our hearts we have to believe.

Thesurvivor2299.com has popped up with a ticking timer (now 23 days to go) and a peppering of unmistakable Fallout 4 hints. However it appears to have been registered by an unknown Polish developer, so we're not sure if there's

But things got more interesting when it was discovered that Bethesda had gone and registered a trademark for Fallout 4. Hardly a big deal by itself - companies register trademarks all the time - but the timing with that mysterious website feels a bit too convenient, don't you think?

So there you go. Next week brings the Xbox One madness. Sony might even send flowers.

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Hugh Langley

Hugh Langley is the ex-News Editor of TechRadar. He had written for many magazines and websites including Business Insider, The Telegraph, IGN, Gizmodo, Entrepreneur Magazine, WIRED (UK), TrustedReviews, Business Insider Australia, Business Insider India, Business Insider Singapore, Wareable, The Ambient and more.


Hugh is now a correspondent at Business Insider covering Google and Alphabet, and has the unfortunate distinction of accidentally linking the TechRadar homepage to a rival publication.