Gamers snap up first deliveries of PS4 console

ROCKVILLE, Maryland: The wait nearly over, Casey Karch was ready to get his hands on one of the first PlayStation 4 game consoles set to be released Friday.
Karch, a resident of the US capital Washington, was number 21 in the queue of those having pre-ordered the first 100 of the new Sony consoles delivered to GameStop, a retailer in Rockville, Maryland.
“There is a first-day magic about it,” Karch said. “It’s always great to be one of the first.”
Karch was at the store at 9 p.m. (0200 GMT Friday) but had to wait until midnight, when dozens of stores around the United States could release the new game device from the Japanese electronics giant.
“I’m going to go home and play the new edition of the game Killzone, and then sleep a few hours,” he told AFP.
Sony is counting on fans like Karch to help win over gamers in its fierce battle with Microsoft, set to release its updated Xbox One console next week.
Some buyers in Rockville are loyal PlayStation gamers, concerned that the console may sell out during the busy holiday shopping season.
“I’ve had the PS1, the PS2 and the PS3,” said Bethesda, Maryland resident Jesse Rosario, who was number 31 on the list and had purchased a new “Call of Duty” game along with an NBA basketball game for the PS4.