Playstation Madness - 6 images

[ayotnoms]

Haven't posted in a while so here goes...

Here's a series of random shots taken at the local SF Sony store where the gamers were queued up waiting to buy their $600 toys. Some had camped out for 2 days.

Go figure.

I imagine it's similar to what happens at B&H when Canon announces a new camera...except our toys are more expensive! :) :)

http://steve-montoya.smugmug.com/photos/110916717-L.jpg
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http://steve-montoya.smugmug.com/photos/110917017-L.jpg

[BigBlueDodge]

What will be funny is that probably the first 10 will get a PS3 and the rest will get sent home empty handed...lol. I know when the XBox 360 came out, every store got a very limited supply, 5-10 during the first couple of months. If Sony has learned anything from that, they will have their supply chain ready for the demand.

I think the downfall for the PS3 is its enormous price. $600 for a game console is rediculous when its competitors are 1/2 the price. I'm sure the hardcore gamers (read 18- 35 yr old males) will be willing to fork out the money, but I can't see the mom looking to buy her 10yr old son a birthday present will do it.

[Titus213]

There's a group waiting in line since last Monday. 28 units for the Best Buy store near the Portland Airport. I would NOT want to have been out there last night with the wind and rain we had here... crazy I tell you, they are crazy.

[Rumrunner]

ExaWhat will be funny is that probably the first 10 will get a PS3 and the rest will get sent home empty handed...lol. I know when the XBox 360 came out, every store got a very limited supply, 5-10 during the first couple of months. If Sony has learned anything from that, they will have their supply chain ready for the demand.

I think the downfall for the PS3 is its enormous price. $600 for a game console is rediculous when its competitors are 1/2 the price. I'm sure the hardcore gamers (read 18- 35 yr old males) will be willing to fork out the money, but I can't see the mom looking to buy her 10yr old son a birthday present will do it.

Exaaactly :lol::lol::lol:

[lostdoggy]

I know Circuit city is offering 100 per store for those that are selling them at midnigtht.

You might miss the part that PS3 plays Blue Ray DVD and that stand alone lue Ray goes for $1000. So, $600 is cheap even if you are only using it for Blue Ray.

[michael88]

The shot of the first guy makes me feel pain.

[Elphaba]

I imagine it's similar to what happens at B&H when Canon announces a new camera...except our toys are more expensive!
*chuckles* Funny! :D

We were out in a different part of the 'burbs a few nights ago... I kid you not, people were camping out at WalMarts. Thing is... a majority of the people that have been interviewed by various DC stations, are saying that they aren't buying the game, to play... but to put it on Ebay for big money. And get this... people on Ebay were auctioning their places in line.

[hart]

I so wish I had time to go to one of these lines....with a paint ball gun and paint ballons.

[NewbieXT]

there is one going on ebay right now for 10,200 U.S. Still has 20 minutes left on auction. Walmart stores only has 6 actual units and 4 vouchers per store. first ten get something everyone else gets to contemplate jacking them in the parking lot.

[bdj3]

crazy...if they wait a year....they could get them easily! oh wait....they'll be waiting in line again for the newest wii, xbox or ps4!

[SuzyView]

I heard it on the news this morning! You caught it before the news! Nice shots. I don't know if I'd do that waiting game. I'm old. If I were a teenager with $600 burning a hole in my pocket I may just do it. There were times I did things like that. I remember getting in line hours before the second Star Trek movie came out and the theater didn't get the film in time for the showing. We were devastated. :(

No waiting at B&H, just order on line. :)

[Ariane911]

Haha....I'm guessing you where one of those itching to get your hands on one:lol: :lol: :lol:

Or...just part of the media frenzy???

[D. Craig Flory]

Hmmmmm. I am still using a Nintendo. I would not wait in line for something like that.

[gjl711]

....If Sony has learned anything from that, they will have their supply chain ready for the demand..... I think what they learned was that if the manufacture enough to fill the market right away, no one would be talking about their new product. But if they make it hard to get, everyone is talking and it becomes a media event all xmas season long. Think of the billions of free advertising they are getting. I bet every newspaper across the country will have some photo similar to the one above.

[Dante King]

Did you get yours Steve? Nice captures. Something makes me just want to pull on the loops on first shot! :(

[mrclark321]

Check this out:
http://cgi.ebay.ca/Sony-Playstation-3-PS3-Premium-60GB-Console-System-NIB_W0QQitemZ190051846425QQihZ009QQcategoryZ62054Q QrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[ayotnoms]

Haha....I'm guessing you where one of those itching to get your hands on one:lol: :lol: :lol:

Or...just part of the media frenzy???

A San Francisco Sony flagship store is just up the block from my office so I got a chance to view the frenzy as it was building. I simply remembered to throw my camera into my bag yesterday morning so I could document the atrocities. LOL

Did you get yours Steve? Nice captures. Something makes me just want to pull on the loops on first shot! :(
Nah. I'm a complete klutz when it comes to video games. I did have a thought of hanging around longer to catch a glimpse of Paris Hilton and P. Diddy who were supposed to make an appearance at the event.

A friends kid who did wait until 5am this morning to snag his Playstation said that in the end, only P Diddy made an appearance...something about Paris doing a video at a different SF venue:eek::rolleyes::lol:

The 1st guy was very proud of his walrus-like decorations and was very willing to strike a pose. I've seen my share of piercings but this was a new one to me.

Cheers!

[Chio]

The 1st guy was very proud of his walrus-like decorations and was very willing to strike a pose. I've seen my share of piercings but this was a new one to me. One of them looks like its infected or rejecting or something.. There's a red bubble around it.

Nice shots! :)

[ayotnoms]

One of them looks like its infected or rejecting or something.. There's a red bubble around it.

Nice shots!

Whatever it is, that was just the tip of the hygiene-free iceberg. Notice in #3 the guy was wearing a plastic shopping bag that probably still contained remnants of a e-coli laced spinach salad. ewww!

Put a bunch of semi-clean 18-25 yr olds in an outdoor queue for 48 hrs and we get close to a situation that would normally require an government environmental impact statement. Y-I-K-E-S !!!

:) :)

[mrclark321]

Average going price on ebay is over $3000....LOL

[GMACK24]

cool pictures.
I am all set with waiting in the rain for a PS3
ha ha ha

[urbandancer]

Lol they are so crazy........well we like toys too dont we ;)

[SuzyView]

Buy my kids a toy that costs over $500 that will give them another excuse not to do chores or study or read or eat or bath or sleep or . . . . That sounds like something I would do. :) Yeah, right. In your dreams. ;) But I have to say, SONY only manufactured 400,000 of them for the US. That's it before Christmas, people. The demand is for millions, so if you get one, you are really lucky.

[Hellashot]

Sony should be learning from Canon on how to release and deliver products fast. It does no good to limit production to make the product more desireable at the beginning. If people can't get it, they'll spend their money somewhere else.

I have heard that many that get the PS3 will turn around and sell it for a lot more than they paid.

[SuzyView]

Also, first copies have problems accepting old games. SONY said they'd fix them. When?

[Carzee]

<deep>
In some countries they line up and wait for water. Or food. Or meds. Or a guru. Or even for a vote. Our kids line up for new toys.
</deep>

[joegolf68]

San Francisco? Yeah, SF!

[Maureen Souza]

It's everywhere. All our stores have had lines of people since Wednesday and some stores were only getting a dozen of the items. There was a riot in Fresno that made Fox News!!!
When I was a teenager, I lived in the LA area. We would line up for front row concert tickets and wait 2 days in line. Oh yeah.

Nice shots, Steve. Did you manage to snag a PS3?:)

[TheSteveMadden]

I'd be willing to bet most of the people in those lines were in it for the fast buck on the secondary market as the holidays approach and not to have the newest toy on the block.

They understand well the law of supply and demand.

[Plan9]

I'd be willing to bet most of the people in those lines were in it for the fast buck on the secondary market as the holidays approach and not to have the newest toy on the block.

They understand well the law of supply and demand.

Very true. The ratio of games:consoles sold is something like .9:1. Taking into account that some people are buying 2-4 games on launch, I'd say at least a good 20% of the units sold are going back up for immediate resale on eBay.

In fact, look for yourself: http://video-games.search.ebay.com/playstation-3_Systems_W0QQsacatZ62054

From what I understand, the average selling price for the 20gb is somewhere around $1500, while the 60gb models are approaching $2500.

[ayotnoms]

It's everywhere. All our stores have had lines of people since Wednesday and some stores were only getting a dozen of the items. There was a riot in Fresno that made Fox News!!!
When I was a teenager, I lived in the LA area. We would line up for front row concert tickets and wait 2 days in line. Oh yeah.

Nice shots, Steve. Did you manage to snag a PS3?:)
Hey Maureen. Yeah I heard about the stampede at the Fresno store. Crazy Crazy Crazy...but no, I didn't snag a unit. There are cheaper paper weights around for old guys like yours truly. :lol: :lol:

[ayotnoms]

As I understand it, the SF store had 500 to 1000 units for sale and as many have noted here, a large percentage will end up on Craigslist or eBay.

Whatever.

All I know it was a big deal at the Sony store here. When night fell, the hullabaloo continued....offering even more opportunities for a shot or two.

....sorry. No Paris Hilton :) :)

http://steve-montoya.smugmug.com/photos/111081240-L.jpg
http://steve-montoya.smugmug.com/photos/111079417-L.jpg

[NewbieXT]

I think what they learned was that if the manufacture enough to fill the market right away, no one would be talking about their new product. But if they make it hard to get, everyone is talking and it becomes a media event all xmas season long. Think of the billions of free advertising they are getting. I bet every newspaper across the country will have some photo similar to the one above.
There are never enough playstations to meet demands the first Christmas out. It will always be in demand for the first two Christmas seasons. And some people just can't bring themselves to teach their kids about the reality of "supply and demand, so stop your whining". Sony could only get 400,000 units ready for their U.S. release. This is after bumping the release date twice. (Origional release date was Nov. 05 with Xbox 360, then Spring '06, but it was put off till now Nov'06.) If they could have come up with a launch of two million, their still would have been people waiting in line, and they still would have been nearly impossible to find in stores for Christmas. The playstation 3 is the "Baddest" Video gaming machine to hit the market EVER! It is a super Computer, and it is ready to run linux without hacking. And it is one of the cheapest blu-ray players on the matrket, from the people who brought you blu-ray.
Sony didn't create the shortage, there is no way they could have avoided it. The biggest problem is they are losing a mint on these consoles. So they need to get their rears in gear with some movies and games to gain a profit.

[NewbieXT]

Also, first copies have problems accepting old games. SONY said they'd fix them. When?
Apparently the PS3 is a PS and PS2 Emulator, So like the Xbox they will just offer a service pack for download to fix the issues with backwards compatability.

Since I'm dealing with photographers I must submit that "PS" in this case means "PlayStation."

[Thornfield]

Bet most of the people in the line started off as people that were walking along saying
"Ohhhh look, there's a line. It's a big line, something exiting must be happening at the end of that line. Lets get in line to see what's at the end of the line"

We call them sheep here in New Zealand :)

[Citizensmith]

Went and picked up a Wii this morning. The lines at Target and Best Buy and stuff were huge. Fortunately our plan was Costco and that worked out just fine. None of this waiting in line all night crap, just got there two hours before the store opened and were only 20 people back. Now I have to deal with the fact I can't play with it until christmas as its for my kids. :)