Sony PlayStation 4 Pro 1TB Marvel Spider-Man Limited Edition Console Unboxed
Sony PS4 Pro 1TB Spider-Man: A Marvel-ously Themed Console
To celebrate the launch of Marvel's Spider-Man, the hotly anticipated game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment exclusively for the PlayStation 4 Pro, Sony released a limited edition PS4 themed after the arachnid super hero. Themed consoles are nothing new, though this one seems to have struck a cord with gamers. Every time a retailer replenishes its inventory, it sells out faster than Peter Parker can change from an unassuming teen to a web-slinger in tights.
Lucky for me, I was able to snag one at my local Walmart, which for a brief period of time claimed to have exactly five units in stock. I placed my order online, picked it up, and promptly sold it on eBay for a tidy profit. Just kidding! I realize that's the way of the world these days, particularly with limited-edition electronics, but I wasn't about to hawk this gorgeous console. Instead, it's destined to sit in my entertainment center, as the foil to my Xbox One X.
Owning two consoles—three, if you count the Nintendo Switch—is admittedly excessive. It my case, it's also required if I'm to see what all the fuss is about with Spider-Man, because it's not available on any other system. For others who might be considering a PS4 Pro, it's worth noting that the game comes with the system, and the bundle costs the same as the regular 1TB console—$399.99 (MSRP). With that in mind, it's easy to see why this thing keeps selling out.
As you might already know, the PS4 Pro Pro is the fastest version of the PS4 to date. It's armed with an AMD Jaguar 8-core CPU clocked at 2.1GHz, a custom Radeon GPU capable of 4.2 teraflops of compute performance, 8GB of GDDR5 video memory, and 1GB of conventional DDR3 RAM to store background apps like Netflix when switching to a game.
You're not here for a recap of the specs, though, so let's jump right into the unboxing and pictorial tour of this themed console.
Sony calls the color of the themed console "Amazing Red," and it certainly is amazing, if you're a fan of Spider-Man (and if you're not, you probably won't be trying to track down one of these semi-rare consoles). It's also glossy on the top panel.
A glossy finish also means it's going to attract fingerprints, though that's easily remedied by wiping it down after installing it into your home theater (or wherever you plan on putting it).
An angled view gives you a better idea of how glossy the finish is on the top panel, as you can see some background reflections. It's tough to capture in photos how great this system looks—it's absolutely gorgeous in person.
Though the top panel is glossy, the rest of the console sports a matte red finish. Overall, Sony kept the theme simple, opting not cover the console in lined webbing or blue accents even though both are displayed prominently on Spider-Man's full-body suit. It would be interesting to see what that might have looked like, though as it stands, it's just a red console with Spider-Man's logo adorning the top.
The port selection is the same as it is on every PS4 Pro console. From left to right, you have the AC-in power plug, HDMI 2.0a output (supports 4K and HDR), auxiliary port (for the PlayStation Camera), digital out (optical) port, USB 3.1 Gen1 port, and a gigabit-LAN port for wired networking.
The limited edition bundle comes with a single DualShock 4 wireless controller. It's also themed, with a matching matte red paint job and bright white buttons. Unfortunately, these are not being sold separately. The only ways to get a matching set are to either buy a second themed console, or hit up the second-hand market and pay a grossly inflated price—these controllers are selling for north of $100 on eBay.
I've yet to really dig into the Spider-Man, but it's garnering positive reviews from around the web—on Metacritic, it currently has an 87 (out of 100) score among critics, and 8.8 (out of 10) among users.
Here's one last look at the console, controller, and game. It's hard to find in stock, but if you're interested in buying one, keep checking Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop, Target, and Walmart.
If you enjoy these unboxing galleries, let us know in the comments section, along with what items you're interested in seeing!
