PlayStation 3 launches in U.S.!

[Dashken]

NEW YORK - Die-hard gamers and entrepreneurs shelled out $500 or more for Sony's new PlayStation 3 as the console made its U.S. debut early Friday. Many had camped out for days without knowing if they'd be going home empty-handed.

At a midnight launch event at a Circuit City store in New York, Sergio Rodriguez was the first to walk away with a new console as people still standing in line outside the store cheered. He had been camped outside the store since Sunday.

"This is the best game ever. It's so worth the wait," the 25-year-old graphics designer said. "Some people may call me crazy, but I really love to play."

With Sony promising only 400,000 systems for the nationwide launch, the chance of disappointment was high. While retailers tried to keep expectations low, lines snaked around the block at many stores — even those that weren't going to begin sales until later Friday.

Saby Madrigal, an 18-year-old college student who worked for a month at a liquor store to save up for a PS3, stood in line outside the Circuit City for 24 hours to no avail. Still, she vowed to keep looking.

"For the work we had to do to get all the money to get the stupid system, I'm going to search every single store in town," she said. "I don't care, I'm going to get it."

Sony, which has contended with laptop battery recalls and trails rivals in key products such as music players and liquid crystal displays, is counting on the PS3 to maintain and build its market lead in video game consoles.

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.

James Salterio, 27, explained the reason for his two-day campout outside a west Houston Target store: Greed.

"I'm gonna sell mine," Salterio said, figuring he'll make anywhere between $1,500 to $4,000. His 21-year-old brother, a gamer, wanted company in line so Salterio decided to make a profit in the process.

"It's capitalism at work," he said.

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."

Short supplies and strong demand were feared to be a formula for trouble as the PS3 hit store shelves, a half-year late because of problems completing work on the console's built-in, next-generation DVD player.

In Palmdale, Calif., authorities shut down a Super Wal-Mart after some shoppers got rowdy late Wednesday. 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.

Many stores reported calm.

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 got wristbands guaranteeing a unit.

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.

Machines sold out quickly in Japan when they went on sale last Saturday. Plagued with production problems, Sony only had 100,000 available for the Japanese launch.

Sony promised 400,000 machines in the United States for Friday's launch and about 1 million by year's end. Worldwide, it was expecting 2 million this year, half its original projections. Sony delayed the European launch until March.

Even as retailers drummed up publicity by throwing parties and inviting celebrities, Best Buy Co. Inc. and others tried to lower expectations and curb any frustrations by warning customers all week that supplies would be tight. Game retailer GameStop Corp. said it won't be able to fulfill all of its pre-orders on launch day.

Jack Tretton, executive vice president at Sony Computer Entertainment America, said retailers will be receiving new PlayStations daily — expedited by plane rather than ships.

"At some point we want to get to some degree of normalcy, but that remains to be seen," Tretton told The Associated Press, adding that seeing all the people camped out and lined up for the console "kind of makes all the effort worth it."

Enthusiasm for the PlayStation 3 wasn't dampened by its high price tag — $500 for the basic model with a 20-gigabyte hard drive and $600 for the 60-gigabyte version, which also has built-in wireless.

By contrast, Nintendo Co.'s Wii, which goes on sale Sunday, retails for $250. Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360, which had a year's head start over rivals, sells for $300 to $400.

Sony crammed the PlayStation 3 with the very latest in cutting-edge technology, and it dominated the previous generation of consoles with 70 percent of the global market. The company is counting on a boost as it struggles to mount a recovery after several years of poor earnings.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061117/...e/playstation3

[karhoe]

i pity those that got rob while lining up