16 November 2006
Ferry

PS3 Bestbuy line cut off by cops, 100s in line insanity starts in America

Remember a week ago lines started forming for the PS3 launch? Well, those guys were waiting there 11 days before the PS3 launch tomorrow. They got a ton of media attention in which at first told press they were “video game players” (Tom’s Hardware video). One guy explains how he quit his job to stand in line, while another won’t be buying his girlfriend an engagement ring because of the PS3, yes he blames it on the PS3.

Now that last mentioned guy, in another interview with G4TV, admits he’ll sell the PS3 on eBay! Like a true “video game player” I guess, same with the other guys. At the end one of them admits they all pee in the bushes around the Bestbuy in Burbank! Attack of the Show video:
So guess what happens when you say that on TV? Yeeeeep, they got kicked off Bestbuy’s property later on the 10th!

Kotaku discovered earlier there was no line. There were three at first, at the time of the press interviews there were ten, but at the high point there were twenty people. They had been here for four days, but employees told them to leave. The regional manager came over and they wouldn’t leave, so they called the cops!

In the wake of expected PS3 shortages massive lines started forming elsewhere yesterday! Union Square Circuit City has over 100 people lined up.

The Rockville Circuit City has 150 people lined up as you can see in this Fox News report. I like this video, because they get up close and personal with some likeable people and the store shows they actually have the PS3’s in stock. At the end he also mentions the Xbox 360 and Wii.

It doesn’t end there though, at Sony’s Metreon mall in San Francisco, over 300 people are waiting in line!! The funny thing is, when Gizmodo asked the guys which console they were more excited about, PS3 or Wii, all five said, with great enthusiasm, “Wii!” And they plan on camping out this weekend for that launch, too.

It’s one thing that a lot of these folks are trying to sell their PS3 for $2,000. But it’s a whole other ripoff story when you see this eBay auction offering one for $9,100!! So while even more lines are formed, this annoyance with PS3 resale’s is probably why some people lining up are getting shot at with BB guns and companies like eBay in the UK are banning American PS3 sales.

Update: This just in! Kotaku mentions a WRAL story that homeless people are being hired at $100 a day plus food to stand in line for a PS3 ticket, so that their handlers can sell what few PS3’s are available on eBay