The Sony PlayStation 4 launched today in the USA, and I got my hands on one. I'd preordered back in August at Target, though I discovered this morning that they received more consoles than they'd been allowed to sell through preorders; the first 32 people in line at 8 AM this morning went home happy. Those same early adopters also cleaned the store out of all their software, including launch exclusives Killzone: Shadowfall and Knack, leaving only Call of Duty: Ghosts and Just Dance 2 for preorder customers to purchase.

I got the console home and found it no quicker to configure than the Nintendo Wii U. A day-one patch updates the OS to v1.50, introducing such basic features as online play, video chat, and DVD playback. If you're new to the Sony ecosphere, you'll also want to create and configure a PlayStation Network (PSN), which appears to be overwhelmed with new users today; I had more success using my laptop and a web browser to complete this step.

Watch my unboxing and installation video. Unfortunately, HDCP prevents video capture, at least in my experience and that of other day-one users. Let's hope a future patch removes this "feature" as promised.

Read more about the PlayStation 4 at Computerworld.com.