IGN is reporting that several publications and end users who received the next-generation
PlayStation 4 console ahead of its launch in the US on Friday, via special contest or promotions, have received consoles that were either bricked when they arrived, or soon developed a fault that stopped them from displaying correctly.
In many cases, the issue was identified as a faulty HDMI jack, and
Sony will replace the units under the standard twelve-month warranty. The issue is not too worrying, but it does set a bad trend ahead of the launch, with the units in question likely being the first units in the full-fledged retail wave. Sony has reportedly been quite helpful to the major media houses that reported their consoles' displays were broken, replacing the units shortly.
However, few regular users who struck gold are apparently not being treated too well, as in some cases, Sony's replacement units would only arrive by launch day, negating the benefits of winning a contest that gave them early access to the PS4. In another case, IGN reported Arogon (Reddit name), who also received a bricked console, followed up persistently with Sony's support service, and because of his non-central location in Maryland, was not helped as actively by the company, which said it would take 5-6 days for a replacement unit to arrive.
IGN
does admit that early runs of console hardware do often experience minor issues, with the myriad interactions between "hardware, software and user behaviour" resulting in some use scenarios that were not adequately tested for, with only the gauntlet of actual full-scale public adoption serving to help the manufacturer remove all bugs.
Early US adopters who are experiencing trouble are encouraged to contact Sony support at 1-800-345-SONY.