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OPINION: Why it’s good that we don’t get the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 right now

This past Friday saw Sony launch the PlayStation 4 in North America. This coming Friday we’ll see Microsoft do the same with its Xbox One. And then, we wait.

It’ll only be on the 13th of December that South African gamers get their first taste of next-generation console gaming. Even with a launch date so soon after the international introduction – our market is usually a few months behind international launches – some feel that they’re missing out on the action. True, the launch day hype is alluring. Standing in line with fellow gamers. Grabbing the last console on the shelf. Making do with only two or three of the launch titles. Plugging it all in for the first time. Sharing the excitement with others across the world who’ve all done the same. There’s a sense of belonging and camaraderie.

But, in reality, it’s just another case of FOMO. Other people are enjoying cool things, and we aren’t. That’s pretty much the long and short of it.

Except, the only missing out we’re doing is of terrible things. Judging from current reports in international media there are issues with the PlayStation 4 that result in it being unable to display visuals on a connected TV. This is only in a handful of cases and Sony is said to be working on the problem, but it’s got to be deflating nonetheless. A year spent waiting for a new console to arrive, only to be unable to use it.

Even without those issues (which, again, only affect a small number of users) there’s the matter of functionality and fixes. Just today Sony rolled out its first official, post-launch update for the PS4, which fixes a few things and refines some other bits of the interface. At the same time, reviews for Microsoft’s Xbox One have hit the web and even Microsoft’s considerable efforts to provide an excellent out-of-box experience have seen criticisms. Polygon writes, in its Xbox One review, that the console is missing Twitch live streaming, social network integration, and the Kinect lacks gesture support.

Some of this does reek of rushed-out software. It can’t be a coincidence that Microsoft’s console launch is a mere week after Sony’s. Similarly, it’s not coincidental that both consoles come with day 1 patches that have to be downloaded before they can be used online. The Xbox One patch, weighing in at 1GB, is required to make the console function. Without it, you simply have an expensive paperweight with a Blu-ray drive.

More disappointment is had in the selection of games. The PlayStation 4 has only eight disc-based games available at launch, and three of those are ports of existing games. Meanwhile, the Xbox One has only three or four games that really stand out in its launch lineup.

Thankfully, with time comes change.

When the PlayStation lands here on Friday the 13th, this December, a few of those issues the early adopters experienced will hopefully be resolved. If anything, a few more games will be available. And if you don’t get a console this year – because, as we’ve been told, stocks are limited – then there’s no harm in waiting another month or two. Pick up a PS4 early next year, as a belated Christmas present to yourself. Your wait might be rewarded with a less disappointing unpacking experience when you plug it in, and everything works. After the obligatory system update.

Further down the road, there’s the Xbox One. While local online retailer Kalahari.com expects Microsoft’s console to only land in June 2014, that shouldn’t be seen as an inconvenience or annoyance. Rather take it as a blessing. Let the European and American markets suffer the first wave of stock shortages, unexpected problems, software glitches, and crashed servers.

By the time it arrives here, Microsoft will have had a good few months to sort things out, and we’ll get a far more complete product than the guinea pigs in the 2013 launch markets.

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