Let's start today off with something of a good news/bad news situation. The good news is that the PlayStation 5 is out today in the US and Japan. The bad news is that it looks like at least one advance review unit has already perished, which obviously might not be the most reassuring thing for anyone booting up their new PS5 for the first time today to read.
YouTube content creator Jeremy Penter, also known as ACG, recently took to Twitter to reveal that his review unit appears to have died. The PS5 seems to have been bricked, and is currently unable to turn at all - although he notes that he's working through some troubleshooting with Sony support to try and get the issue resolved.
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As I say, this is obviously a little distressing, but I should also point out that it's fairly normal for every console launch to have at least a few problematic units among the hundred thousand or so that are shipped around the world. That doesn't make this any better for Penter, of course, but it also doesn't mean that we're looking at some kind of widespread hardware failure on Sony's end.
The PS3, Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox Series X have all had reported hardware failures around their respective launches. 99% of the time these issues are found in a very small number of units and are swiftly resolved or replaced by the manufacturer. Reddit threads and YouTube videos compiling these issues can make them seem more common than they are, yes, but that's only because you're seeing all of the reported errors in one place.
I'm not saying the PlayStation 5 is completely flawless, of course. The console only launched in the US and Japan today, so we'll have to wait and see how smooth the first few days are for the majority. I can, however, at least acknowledge that our PS5 review unit - which we've had for over a week now - seems to be working fine, as do the vast majority of other review units obtained by press and influencers. Here's hoping Penter's issue isn't representative of a wider problem, but based on the evidence so far? I highly doubt we've got anything to worry about.
Featured Image Credit: SonyTopics: PlayStation 5, GAMING, News
