An interesting picture (seen above) that surfaced from a lone tweet has been making the rounds on various web sites and social media of a supposed sweepstakes that Taco Bell is running that could see a lucky winner grab Sony's PlayStation 4 before the console's official release this November.
The odd thing is that there's no mention yet by the fast food chain that it's legit. Nothing on the official site or any press releases, the company's Twitter, anything. A call to the company's media center similarly turned up no results.
UPDATE - I did hear back from Taco Bell's press office, (a phrase I never thought I'd actually type out, but anyway...) a representative of which sent me the following e-mail:
"Taco Bell is giving fans another reason to Live Mas - and now Play Mas - by offering the ultimate food and gaming experience. FromSeptember 26 through November 10, Taco Bell and Sony are giving fans the first and only chance to win the highly-anticipated PlayStation 4 (PS4) before it hits shelves nationwide on November 15.
To enter for a chance to win, customers can buy a Taco Bell $5 Buck Box (which includes a Crunchwrap Supreme, a Burrito Supreme, a Crunchy Taco and medium drink) and then text in the unique code provided on the box. One prize pack will be awarded every 15 minutes throughout the promotion. The prize pack features one PS4, one copy of Knack, and a one-year membership to PlayStation Plus (PS Plus).
Consumer insights show that Taco Bell fans love gaming and gamers go to Taco Bell and the launch of the new PS4 will be one of the biggest events to hit the gaming world in years. Taco Bell is excited to connect fans' passions and bring exclusive access to next level gaming."
A full press release is now available here, and the contest rules can be seen here. The original story is as follows.
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However, looking at the tiny legalese at the bottom of the pictured poster says the contest isn't due to begin until September 26, three days from now, so it's possible the promotional poster was left out early by some foolhardy employee. Likewise, the site the poster advises interested participants to go to for the official rules, https://www.tacobell.com/winps4, is not yet up and running.
As such, it's hard to say exactly how the contest will work, but sifting through more of the poster's tiny font spiel about data and messaging rates, and "to cancel, text STOP," it seems likely that each Taco Bell Big Box will contain a code that hungry gamers will text to the proper number to try and win a next-gen console.
With retailers from GameStop to Amazon running ever low on pre-orders, buying a Taco Bell Big Box could be a decent way to earn yourself a fancy new PlayStation 4, provided your system can tolerate that much horse meat and sour cream. Still, winning a PS4 that retails for $399 by purchasing a smorgasbord of tacos for six bucks and change? I'll take that bet...
Under the hood, the PS4 boasts Supercharged PC architecture, X86 CPU, Enhanced PC GPU, 8GB Unified Memory, Local HDD. It will support the same PlayStation Plus service as the Vita and PS3. However, a Plus subscription will be required for online multiplayer games, but not for additional media services like Netflix. Sony has also updated the Dual Shock controllers with a touch screen and improved shoulder triggers.
The PS4 is set to release on November 15 in North America and on November 29 in Europe for $399. Day one games available for the system include Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Battlefield 4, Call of Duty: Ghosts,Killzone Shadow Fall, Madden NFL 25, Minecraft, NBA 2K14, Watch Dogs,Need for Speed: Rivals, and more.
