Sony's main office remains in Japan, but its campus in San Mateo is the headquarters for development and marketing for the PlayStation platform for the Americas. While the PlayStation holds the advantage in sales globally, the U.S. office is key for its future in the lucrative North American market. That's where the Xbox has the edge, said Brett Sappington, director of research for Parks Associates of Dallas.

"With this new platform, there's a real opportunity for Sony to turn that around," he said. "If you're Sony and you end up tied at the end of 2013 in sales, that's a win for you."

But some of the initial buzz favors the Xbox One because of a highly anticipated first-person shooter "Titanfall," which Electronic Arts will publish exclusively for the Xbox One, Xbox 360 and personal computers.

Sony might have an edge by pricing the PS4 at $399, $100 cheaper than its rival, Sappington said.

Parks Associates projects home video game console sales to hit 26.8 million units this year, down from 30.7 million last year. But as the next-gen consoles start to take off, sales should pop to 33.5 million units in 2014 and hold steady for a few years after that, Sappington said.

From the article, "It's game on for makers of PlayStation 4" by Benny Evangelista.

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