By now most gamers have seen, and likely lusted after, the 20th Anniversary PlayStation 4 console. Brandishing the PS1 grey and blue as well as an old school logo and controller, this 20th Anniversary limited edition model was a thing of beauty, and as one might expect it was extremely hard to get.
Granted, it wasn’t impossible to pick up one of the 12,300 20th Anniversary PS4s, but it did require a little bit of luck. Some were able to pick up the console for only £19.94 (in honor of the PS4’s 1994 release date), while others ended up at the right retailer at the right time.
123 of the 12,300 consoles were supposed to go to winners of a contest in Japan, but unfortunately luck was not in their favor in this case. That’s because Sony Japan actually lost the list of winners and has to re-do the competition.
Sony Japan issued a public apology on their official website, but that is little consolation to those who were supposed to win. Although, it sounds from Sony's message as if the winners didn’t know. It’s more like an ignorance is bliss situation, where the ignorance involves the fact you may have won a limited edition, ultra rare PS4 console.
The good news is Sony Japan is starting the contest over again and qualified participants can resubmit their information or prove that they were eligible for the contest the first time around. Presumably, Sony would then draw from that pool and a new set of 123 winners would be announced. Hopefully this time they can keep the winners list a little more secure.
Speaking to that, Sony wouldn’t say how the winners list was lost, but they assured concerned PSN users that their information was not compromised. After the PSN hack of a few years ago and the Christmas DDoS attacks, the last thing gamers wanted to hear was that Sony has been compromised again.
And unless there are still a few 20th Anniversary PS4s floating around, it sounds as if the majority of the 12,300 consoles have found homes. It’s still possible to find one on eBay, though, but you will have to pay at least $1,000, and in many cases closer to $2,500, to get one.
How do you feel about Sony losing their winners list for this contest? Does it concern you that it just up and disappeared?