It’s like the excitement just before Christmas, only without the tinsel and fairy lights that don’t work anymore.
For gamers, anticipation has been building and this week it is finally time to get at those presents under the tree.
From Tuesday, people will be unboxing the latest Xboxes (if they managed to get a pre-order in on time) – with new PlayStations following just days later.
It’s a big moment, not only because there are new experiences to look forward to, but because it’s a taste of what the future holds.
Microsoft and Sony executives always say in interviews that it’s not a competition between the two – and get frustrated sometimes if you ask them about it.
But in reality, gamers compare them all the time, and so does everyone in the industry.
With most people not having enough cash to buy two new consoles this month, they’re facing a choice – which one to buy?
Who won last time around?
PlayStation heads into this new era of gaming having come out top in the previous generation.
Sony’s PS4 significantly outsold rival Microsoft’s Xbox One.
When it was first released, the PS4 focused solely on becoming a hub for gaming. Slogans such as “4 The Players” made it pretty obvious the machine was all about gaming.
Meanwhile, the Xbox One team was spending a lot of energy on advertising its broader offering including the Kinect camera and live television capabilities.
At the start , the Xbox One limited which older titles you could access on the console as well – this turned many gamers off.
Nintendo’s console at the time, the Wii U, also failed to capture the public’s imagination.
With a competitive price tag and a conveyor belt of exclusive games, PlayStation took an early lead and sales kept rising.
What can we expect this time?
This time, Microsoft and Sony are offering different visions for the future of gaming.
Xbox has certainly learned lessons from its 2013 Xbox One launch.
It is making its new machines very gamer-friendly and focusing less on all the other things a console can offer.
Microsoft is also going big on its Netflix-like subscription service Game Pass – offering gamers access to more titles than you can shake a stick at for a monthly fee.
However, don’t expect a big blockbuster exclusive to convince you to part with your cash on day one. Game Pass is made up mainly of experiences that are available already.
The latest Halo game, which was supposed to be a launch title, has been delayed.
Meanwhile, Sony is following a similar strategy that worked for it in 2013, selling discs and downloads for premium prices.
But at launch, it will not have a brand-new exclusive blockbuster game ready either – although an updated Spider-Man adventure featuring Miles Morales will appeal to some.
BBC