The second front in the battle of the consoles began at midnight, when Sony’s Playstation 4 hit Irish shelves.

The console, whcih has already been on sale in the US for two weeks, will go head to head with Microsoft this Christmas as the two games giants battle it out for the title of top games console. Microsoft’s Xbox One launched in Ireland a week ago.

Launch events for the Playstation 4 were held at midnight throughout the contry as some stores threw open their doors early to allow gamers to pick up the next-generation console. Some held invite-only events for those who had preordered the console.

The Playstation 4 has more powerful graphics than its predecessor, and brings new elements such as social sharing for critical games moments through facebook and Twitter, and the ability to stream your gaming session over onlinee service Twitch. Sony had a library of 20 first and third-party games available at launch, with that number set to rise to more than 30 by the end of the year.

Sony has focused firmly on the games element of the console, concentrating on the power of the console and courting indie games developers. At €399, Sony’s console is cheaper than its Microsoft rival, giving it a slight advantage.

While many prospective owners pre-ordered the consoles months ago to ensure they would be among the first in the country to get them, Sony said not all stores were accepting orders ahead of time. It is expected that supply of the console will be scarce in the run-up to Christmas.

Fergal Gara,

Managing director of PlayStation UK and Ireland said the response to the new console had been “phenomenal”.