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5 memorable moments from 2020’s eventful next-generation console launches!

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November 20, 2020 | 4 min read

Next-gen is official!

Next-gen is official!

Unless you’ve been living under a Twitter rock, you may have noticed that both the next-generation Xbox’s and PlayStation’s have been launched worldwide! Across the last couple of weeks, amazing campaigns, shocking revelations, and tear-jerking moments have plagued the web, as the latest in console hardware finally came to our living rooms!

1. NO STOCK!?

4K capabilities, 120Hz refresh rates, haptic controllers! The hype was big, and the demand was high. Managed to get hold of one? Nope, me neither…

Both Xbox and PlayStation have struggled to meet the demand from consumers. There’s no doubt COVID-19, and the restrictions they incurred, had a part to play on a disjointed pre-order release and predictably, the actual launch was no different. Sony had warned of reduced stock upon release, but the optimism in gamers remained high. However, many customers were left with a message of “currently unavailable” or “this item is currently out of stock” on both Xbox’s and PlayStation’s big day.

As often is the case in these situations, the memes helped ease the pain:

2. The infamous Xbox/Vape hoax

When the latest and greatest Xbox was launched, I bet nobody expected this tweet:

How did that come about you ask!?

Well, it all started with some internet pranksters and their pesky vapes. A series of videos went viral seemingly showing the new Xbox Series X going up in smoke. It’s not uncommon for the first batch of releases to have problems, remember the exploding Samsung Galaxy Note 7? Therefore, people were quick to jump on the news of exploding Xbox’s. Obviously, it was all a hoax, but we still feel obliged to tell you: do not use your Xbox as a vape!

3. That time Xbox made everyone cry

I’m not crying, you’re crying!

The Xbox vs PlayStation war has been rumbling on since the beginning of time. Well, at least the early 2000’s. Admittedly, the battle has been fierce. But something we can all agree on, is both platforms have been a force for good in bringing happiness to millions of lives.

Therefore, when Xbox put the weapons down for a second and congratulated PlayStation on their launch, as Twitter would say, “Everybody like that”.

4. Mayday, Mayday, Wifi down!

Those who managed to get their hands on a new Xbox (lucky you), were predictably keen to play…In fact so keen, they managed to cause record-breaking data usage in the UK.

BT, Virgin Media, Sky, TalkTalk, Vodafone, City Fibre, and Zen Internet, all stated they had coped with the spike in demand.

Was Call Of Duty to blame!?

Coinciding with the launch of the newest Xbox consoles, Activision released updates to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone that ranged up to 65 gigabytes in size. Plus, pre-loads of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, potentially 130GB, launched at the same time.

Naughty Activision!!

5. PlayStation leave it late!

As folks in the UK patiently counted down the hours to release date, PlayStation was quietly busy making their mark on London.

The marketing stunt saw Oxford Circus’ underground station signs transformed. The underground's iconic symbols were converted into PlayStation’s iconic action buttons. Inside, the artwork of PlayStation’s famous symbols covered the walls of the Oxford Circus station.

We see what you did there PlayStation!

As soon as the images went up, they went viral! But it was another angle that gathered a lot of conversation. Sneaky PlayStation had the square button right up in front of a Microsoft store… The disrespect!!

That’s our top 5 from a magnitude of moments so far!

While we wait for the next classic next-gen moment, we’re going to go get involved in the action! Happy next-gen launch week to you all!

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