PS3

Today, the Playstation 3 was unleashed across North America. This next generation console is equipped with a hard disk, online capability, a blu-ray dvd player, and wireless controller. It promises to display graphics in 1080p, and is more powerful than the XBOX 360 or the Nintendo Wii. Naturally, I'm itching to get one!

As usual, there is a supply shortage from Sony, so people have been lining up for days just so that they are guaranteed to get one. Yesterday I drove past Best Buy and Circuit City, and sure enough, people were literally camped outside, complete with tents and folding chairs. I did contemplate braving the cold wind and rain to try to buy one (and sell it on Ebay, of course), but prior commitments prevented me from doing so. However, today made me think back to when I waited in line overnight when I bought my Playstation 2...

October 26, 2000. I will remember that date as long as I live. The date the Playstation 2 (PS2) was released in the USA. I just moved to Atlanta then, and was there for about 3 months. The arrival of the PS2 was hotly anticipated. A new era of gaming had arrived. 128 bit processing, and the power to play DVDs! It would make any geek drool at the technical specifications. Then Sony announced that due to production problems, there would be a shortage of supply during the first few months of release. Almost immediately, online shops sold out, and normal stores took reservations, which were quickly taken as well. That did not deter me. I was going to get a PS2 on the first day of release. I hatched a plan… I would go to a 24 hour store that didn’t accept reservations and was going to sell the PS2 at midnight. I was going to try my luck.

Fortunately, there was a Walmart that did exactly that. I scoped out the store a few days before, taking note of where the electronics department was, and any other things that would aid me in my mission.

The day finally came. I went to Walmart straight from the office that day and got there at around 6pm. I was a bit worried that a line formed earlier that day, but fortunately there wasn’t a line. However, there were a lot of people that had the same idea as me. Every time a line would form, a Walmart employee would break it up. So, there were a lot of loiterers in the shop that night. Trust me, one can only do so much in Walmart. 11:30pm. Still no announcement. Things were tense. People were waiting by the supply doors, to see when they would bring those blue boxes out. Then, 10 minutes before midnight, there was an announcement on the PA. “Everyone waiting for a Playstation 2, please make your way to the electronics department and form a line”.

It was a blur, a mad dash to the electronics department through children’s clothes racks and cheap handbags. I made it to the line and was given a number in the high teens. Not bad given the circumstances, but the fear of not getting one was still there. After all, no one knew how many units this Walmart was allocated. It could be as little as 10, maybe as much as 30. We all thought that the store would start selling them at midnight. We were wrong. They only allowed the line to form at midnight. They would actually be selling them at 6am. So… you would actually have to be in line for 6 hours if you really, really wanted a PS2. We all sat down and prepared for the long night in the electronics department. It wasn’t so bad, really. We were indoors (others who waited in other stores weren’t as lucky), and it being a 24 hour store, we could buy whatever we needed. Bottled water, Doritos, and a sleeping bag? Walmart got it covered. Everyone was friendly too. I met people from all walks of life. From a fellow gamer wanting it for himself, to some college students planning to sell it on Ebay, to a mother who wanted to give it to her son for Christmas, everyone had their reasons. It was an organized line… everyone remembered their place and respected it. We could go to the bathroom or buy some food whenever we wanted. Somebody even bought a deck of cards and we started playing poker right there on the floor. I am sure that if someone brought a guitar from the music department, we would all be singing campfire songs (without the campfire, of course). I didn’t get much sleep, but it didn’t matter. It was fun. 6am finally came, and I was able to get my PS2. There were about 25 units, but more than 30 people waited, so their night was spent in vain. I didn’t care. After I paid for mine, I rushed out to the car and locked all the doors quickly, lest I get ambushed.

So, after 12 hours in Walmart, I got what I came for.

I think I will wait a few months for the price of the PS3 to drop (did I mention that the basic unit is $499 and the deluxe unit is $599?), and for supplies to rise to a level in which I can simply walk into a store and pick up one of a couple of units. I'm in no hurry this time. With so many other expenses weighing in on my bank account (wedding, flight expenses, house!), the last thing I need is another 'toy' to distract me. Besides, Caroline would kill me if I bought one for myself! And hopefully by that time I will have an entertainment system worthy enough of bringing out the full potential of the PS3... HDTV, surround sound system... thats another couple of thousand right there (but I'll save that for a future post)!

La Vita e Bella!