17 Nov 2006 by
argentinadog In Malaysia, we usually only get to see queues this long at buffet spreads or concert ticket counters on the 11th hour….gosh.
Personally, I’m not sure if the upcoming launch of PS3 will draw similar, illogical crowds as in the USA, but I was shocked to read of the many obstacles some of these fanatics were willing to overcome to lay their hands on this ptiece of treasure (which would probbaly become obsolete over the next year or so when PS4 comes out…heh)
Here are some extracts taken from AP article about this craze:
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NEW YORK – Die-hard gamers and entrepreneurs prepared to shell out $500 or more for the new PlayStation 3 console that goes on sale Friday, many of them after waiting in line for days despite the likelihood they’d go home empty-handed. |
Retailers across the country arranged midnight sales at some of their stores. Lines sometimes stretched around the block, even where the first consoles wouldn’t be sold until Friday morning. Deliveries went down to the wire with FedEx vans sending boxes of the sleek black or silver consoles to individual stores Thursday.
Nine months pregnant, Julie Mosley said she tried to ignore her contractions for the chance to score machines for her family, her daughter’s father and her younger brother.
“I’m going to hold out as long as I can,” Mosley said Thursday as she sat on a cooler in the 19th spot outside aCircuit City in Mount Laurel, N.J., joking about giving birth on the sidewalk.
Potential customers braved freezing temperatures in Fargo, N.D., and heavy rain and winds in Baltimore and other East Coast locales.
“Katrina could come through here and I wouldn’t switch,” said Marco Cajas, 20, of Baltimore. “I spent the night on the cold street.”
In Palmdale, Calif., authorities shut down a Super Wal-Mart after some shoppers got rowdy late Wednesday and started running around inside the store. In West Bend, Wis., a 19-year-old man ran into a pole and struck his head racing with 50 others for one of 10 spots outside a Wal-Mart.
At a Circuit City Stores Inc. location in New York, potential buyers traded accusations of line-cutting and tried to avoid fights amid heightened emotions.
Some customers were buying PS3 machines for themselves or as gifts, but many were hoping to resell them at a profit. Even before Friday’s launch, units were fetching four or five times their retail price at the eBay Inc. auction site.
“As soon as I buy it, I’m going to sell it,” said Jose Mota, 26, who grabbed the first spot in line Tuesday outside the Union City, Calif., Best Buy. “People will pay whatever just to get their hands on one.”
At a Best Buy in Boston with 140 machines for sale, employees simply gave out tickets for the first 140 in line so that everyone can go home.
At San Francisco’s Sony Metreon mall, a “sacred scroll” notebook kept track of the first 505 people in line so they could go to the bathroom or pick up food without losing their spots.
Some even got wristbands guaranteeing a unit.
“It’s pretty cool that I’d be one of the first people in the country to have it,” said Chris Toribio, 21. “Being in line, waiting here with all these other people and making a big deal of the introduction — in some ways this all feels even better than actually buying the game.”
There was even a vibrant economy in Mount Laurel, N.J. Restaurants not only delivered pizza and wings, but also dispatched workers to hand out menus. The Dick’s Sporting Goods store nearby sold camp chairs and more than a few tents.
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PS3 by the numbers -
US$500 with 20-gigabyte drive (basic); US$600 for the 60-gigabyte version, with built-in wireless.
(Originally posted on allandog.multiply.com)
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