Feeling somewhat defeated, he started considering his options. Thankfully, only moments later someone from the Sony PlayStation social media team contacted him. He couldn't remember the name of the representative, but was told after they spoke with their supervisor there was nothing they could do either. Well, almost nothing. They credited $10 to his PlayStation Store account, and said he should continue talking to support. The story doesn't end there, however. The issue was escalated at PlayStation support, and a representative called him back to tell him they would be sending him a box overnight to his house. It would be an empty, pre-labeled box -- a coffin, really -- so he could send back his broken console overnight free of charge and get it into support's hands. The representative told him it would then take another 5-6 days until he got a replacement. Arogon is still awaiting further details from support, but it currently doesn't look like he'll be privileged enough to play the console before others. He noted his original plan was to stream his gameplay all day and engage with the community.
Meanwhile, IGN experienced the same issue, but it happened after the console was already working. It may not have contributed to the issue, but ours stopped working the morning after we updated to version 1.50. You can find more details in the original post below. Furthermore, IGN had tried a wide variety of methods to correct the issue: new HDMI cables, new inputs, new TV, putting a disc into the system, connecting it to and from the Internet, and, of course, holding down the power button during boot-up for seven seconds to try to reset things. Nothing worked. Oddly enough, we tried adding light pressure to the top of console and it briefly flickered a few active home menu images on the television.
IGN received a response from Sony PlayStation PR, whose offices are based nearby our San Francisco headquarters. A representative was able visit and replace our broken PS4 with the goal of getting their hands on the seemingly faulty console and returning it for technical investigation. We should note, this retail system is a critical part of our ongoing review and launch coverage. We know what you're thinking by now: IGN got its system replaced and this poor consumer didn't. Trust us, we feel just as compassionate as anyone would in this situation. IGN reached out to PlayStation again to ask if they could escalate Arogon's issue. The representative understood the situation and promised, "We'll look into it."
Regarding the ongoing and unknown source of this hardware problem, Sony has no further comment at this time. Could it be related to shipping? Is the hardware itself experiencing production issues?
We will keep you updated as the story develops.
