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November 16, 2006
Playstation 3 Mania - Customers line up!
by Jack Lee
Devotees of Sony's Playstation video gaming platform started lining up Wednesday evening in front of the "Best Buy" store on 20th Street. These fans just had to be among the first to own the new Playstation 3 which can't be sold until Friday morning. Shown in the photo to the left are Paul Thompson-19 and his friend, Alex Aronis-18. Paul and Alex said they already own the older Playstation 2, but they had to have the newest version just as soon as it came it out and they didn't mind standing in line for 3 days to do it. Sometimes this meant standing in the rain.
According to Best Buy, only 26 Playstation 3's will be available for sale when they open tomorrow morning.
As Paul and Alex watched the line growing, it soon became apparent they needed to make up some rules to keep it all civil. So, they worked out a few simple rules with the Best Buy management and it goes something like this: You have to personally stand in line and that entitles you to have a number assigned to you. This guarantees you an
opportunity to buy a Playstation 3...IF you are among the first 26 numbers. According to the agreed upon rules, the line would be checked about every hour and if anybody drops out of line for more than an hour, then they lose their place. They must physically have to remain in their spot too, no wimping out to lay in the backseat of their car. I asked, What if rains, can't you take shelter under the sidewalk roof nearby? Nope, you have to hold your place in line. I said, Well it's good you all have tents! (There were about 6 dome tents in a row) "Uh, I wish that was the case!" said one those qued up near the front of the line. He had a chair, but no tent. He was rained on last night, but held his spot even though he didn't bring any rain gear...now that's what I call a loyal Sony customer!
What's so good about Playstation 3 that would cause people to stand in a line for 3 days, sometimes in the rain, just to get one? Well, according to Paul and Alex this game is really that good. It's much faster, has much improved graphics over the PS2 and it now features wireless controls... to name but a few of the upgrades.
Apparently the PS 3 is a pretty good deal, even at $600. As one of the Best Buy employees explained later, just the DVD game players often sell for about a grand and the Playstation is like two games in one. It can handle the Sony Trade Mark "Blue Ray" game format as well as regular DVDs... uh, Blue Ray? Don't ask. I didn't understand that part either, but I'm sure everybody in line did. So there you go, the Playstation 3, it's the newest, hottest, wizziest, "gotta have it" game out here! So, IF there was one big ticket item that's going to be HOT, HOT, HOT for Christmas it looks like this is it!
I'm told there are similar lines at Walmart, Circuit City and wherever the $600 Playstation 3 is being sold! Maybe we should be buying some stock in Sony about now?
2149 hrs. UPI And now this breaking story just in 40 minutes ago...TOKYO: People who buy Sony's new PlayStation 3 console, which hit U.S. stores Friday, could help search for a cure to diseases like cancer and Alzheimer's by connecting their machines to the Internet.
The new PS3 machines are as powerful as supercomputers and can help Stanford University researchers speed up analysis of complex human protein structures, according to Nanako Kato of Sony's gaming arm, Sony Computer Entertainment. When the program — dubbed Cure@PLAYSTATION 3 — is launched, PS3 owners can contribute by registering their machines with Stanford, downloading specially designed software and leaving their machines online to process data when they're not playing.
"The PlayStation 3 system is a console with a conscience," said a release issued by Sony and Stanford in August. "The Cure@PLAYSTATION 3 project will potentially transform the way medical research is conducted."
Yet ONE MORE REASON TO BUY A PS3 and you thought this was just going to be a mere a game??? Maybe there's a tax write off here when using it for medical purposes? Hmmmmm...
Posted by Post Scripts at November 16, 2006 08:52 PM