Sony announces release date for PlayStation 4

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Sony revealed that the PlayStation 4 is due out Nov. 15 in North America, the publisher announced during its press event at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany. In Europe, the console will launch Nov. 29.

The PlayStation 4 is Sony’s next-gen home console. It retails for $400, which is $100 cheaper than Microsoft’s Xbox One (and which doesn’t have a release date yet, though Microsoft has said it’s coming out in November). The Nov. 15 release date is important — it’s two weeks before Black Friday, which is Nov. 29 this year. Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year, and electronics dominate such purchases.

Sony first debuted the PlayStation 4 at an event in New York. It will feature more powerful graphics and a focus on online and sharing features. The company plans to launch the console with titles like Killzone: Shadow Fall, Watch Dogs, and Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag.

PlayStation 4 is going head-to-head with Xbox One. Both consoles feature similar graphical capabilities and features.