As the PlayStation 3 launch arrives, gamers sat and braved the cold and the harsh weather to get their hands on the prized black box everyone has been waiting for. The follow-up to the PS2 had hardcore gamers lining up days in advance outside local Best Buy, Circuit City, Wal-Mart, and other outlet stores that expected shipments of the next-generation console. Tempers and arguments flared as hundreds of people battled outside stores to try and be one of the few to get a console. Most stores only carried a handful of the console and handed out vouchers of some kind to guarantee the console to those who were willing to wait; merely to end the madness.
Most stores at this point are sold out of the PS3 and finding one for the holidays will be tough for consumers. We called local Wal-Mart and Meijer’s stores in Woodbury, New Jersey and South Bend, Indiana where the PS3 was already sold out at 1:00 a.m. Buying the console online through eBay is the only true option left, where they are fetching a price upwards of $2,000 or more. At least other local businesses were receiving a profit from the release as pizza and wings were delivered to those who waited and tents were sold by local sporting goods stores to help keep those who waited comfortable. Who knows what will become of the pandemonium as Nintendo’s Wii launches this weekend.
