Gamers queue for days to get hands on Sony's new PS4 at Covent Garden launch party

Gaming fans queued for days to be first Londoners to get their hands on the new PlayStation.

Within an hour of the midnight launch the PS4 was changing hands on eBay for more than double the £349 retail price, with some sellers asking for up to £2,000.

Around 400 people queued around the block in Covent Garden, where energy drinks and Domino’s Pizza were handed out to games-hungry fanatics.

Sony, which is locked in a sales battle with Microsoft’s Xbox One released last week, opened the PS4 lounge on Bedford Street where rapper Tinie Tempah performed for the first 40 in line.

Imran Chowdhury, from Manor Park, told how he camped outside since Monday afternoon just to be the first in line.

He said: “I didn’t have a tent or anything or any camping equipment, just warm clothes. I haven’t had any sleep since Monday and on top of that it’s been raining and has gone to about minus 4 degrees.

“A friend of mine said I couldn’t do it, so I did it as a dare just to show I could. When I was the first to get my hands on one, I thought ‘this must be impossible’.

“Was it worth it? To be honest I’m still not sure yet. I will have to see when I get home and take it out of the box and start playing on it.”

Hassan Farooq, 21, a law student from Isleworth, had camped out with a group of friends since Tuesday.

He said: “We set up a tent in an alleyway just down the road with about five of us. We brought lots of food from home and just basically rationed it. We had blankets too and sleeping bags.

“Consoles don’t come around every day, only once in a generation.

“To anyone who says we’re crazy, I say everyone has a passion, and for us, that’s gaming. People camp out for the new iPhones any everything, and for us this is it.”

The PS4 Lounge, which opened two weeks ago so fans could test the console, has seen the likes of footballer Aaron Ramsey, boxer Amir Khan and rapper Dizzee Rascal drop in and battle it out with gamers on the latest releases, which include Killzone: Shadow Fall and Knack.

Ian Chambers, 37, Chief Digital Officer of Game, said demand for the console has been four times more than for the PS3, which launched in 2006, across its 330 UK stores.

He said: “It’s been an incredible response. The anticipation has been at fever pitch. People pre-ordered ten months ago, and now thousands of people, including hundreds here, are at our stores queuing up.”

Launch day pre-orders sold out in August, with the consoles available in stores on a first come, first served basis from midnight.