Sony's PlayStation 4 officially arrived in North American stores on November 15, 2013, kicking off one of the most commercially dominant console runs in modern gaming history. The machine immediately capitalized on Microsoft's botched Xbox One messaging, securing an early sales lead that Sony never surrendered throughout the eighth generation.
During its active lifecycle, the PS4 delivered a ruthless cadence of first-party blockbusters like Bloodborne, God of War, Uncharted 4, and Ghost of Tsushima. Gamers routinely look back on the era as Sony's creative peak, especially when contrasted against the drawn-out development cycles and live-service pivots characterizing the current generation.
With more than 117 million units shipped worldwide, the PlayStation 4 solidified Sony's market footprint long before the PlayStation 5 arrived to take over the mantle in late 2020. If you still have the console hooked up under your television, its unmatched exclusive catalog remains proof of what happens when a publisher fires on all cylinders.
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