Despite the launch of the Playstation 4 being on Friday, people are already queuing in London to get their hands on the much coveted console. As the queue begins to form, filled by those who did not pre-order their next generation consoles, videos of Americans smashing their brand new Playstations 4s have hit the net. In one video, a young guy smashes, stamps on and runs over his Playstation 4 while other videos see queues full of people shocked by consumers smashing their consoles as soon as they leave the shop.
Is this simply an extremely expensive way of attention seeking or is there anything else going on here?
PS4 Vs Xbox One
Some have claimed this is a result of the massive rivalry between Microsoft and Sony fans. Xbox fans are so appalled by their rivals that they might be willing to stand in line for hours and then smash a PS4 to bits just to express their negative feelings towards Microsoft and its consoles. Perhaps (but highly unlikely) Sony are even paying these kids for a bit of free publicity and to drive demand up but that seems like a bit of a strange publicity stunt and one that is sure to anger many. The videos certainly do not look fake with the consoles that are destroyed appearing tough and very convincing The huge cost of one of these consoles is the main reason these videos seem so unbelievable but perhaps there is an answer as to why someone might throw away $400.
YouTube hits
One explanation is that the offenders are hoping to rack up such a huge amount of YouTube views that they will make money off advertising and cover the cost of the $400 console. It seems like a ludicrous way to waste and then make money but then stranger things have happened. People will check out the videos often out of curiosity, complete incomprehension and to check the videos are not faked. Either way, there will be a lot of very upset gamers out there who are desperate to get hold of one of these consoles and will be shaking their heads in disbelief at what they have just witnessed.
Protest
Could these videos actually not be the work of dedicated Microsoft fanboys, shrewd businessmen or just very silly and far too rich and spoilt children? Could they in fact be considered protest performance art? Perhaps these young men are making a profound statement about the evils of capitalism and the market forces that enslave us into queuing endlessly for products we don’t need while people around the world are starving. I doubt it. There are far better ways to spend $400 if you want to help the poor of this planet and smashing a PS4 is not going to make any difference. No this is more than likely the work of kids with far too much money and a desperate need for attention. What an utter waste of $400.
Why do you think people are smashing their Playstation 4 consoles?
Pete is a regular contributor to Yahoo on a range of topics from technology to television. He barely has time to play his Xbox 360 but would never smash it for attention. Follow Pete on Twitter or check out his film and TV blog: I Love That Film.
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Why are people smashing up brand new Playstation 4 consoles?
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