Checking on the PS3 Front Lines

So we managed to make it up to Northgate to check on the campout situation for the PS3. There was a crowd of about 50 outside Best Buy, with a group of around 6 friends upstairs at Target. Best Buy was telling people that they expected 34 units, while Target had a sign only listing 8. We heard no mention of a list at Target, but one of the people in line mentioned he planned to buy 4 units, one to keep, the rest to place on eBay. We didn't survey the Best Buy line, but they had buying limits in place (one per customer) to avoid some of that sort of behavior. Moreover, they had a list of people allotting every unit they had. The list was filled up when people started lining up Wednesday afternoon (!). The catch with the list is that people still had to stay outside the store in line, which is fair. And those people beyond the 34? They're in line in hopes that those original people lose their will to stay, that their credit cards don't work, or that by some miracle of supply chain management Best Buy gets more PS3s than they're expecting. spanning_time is writing this post from the warmth of home. We salute these enthusiasts and entrepreneurs for their efforts, but we'd rather play our PS2 than camp in the cold for a PS3.

(There aren't expectations for this same sort of mayhem Saturday night for the release of the Wii. Best Buy is expecting over a hundred, with resupplies every few days. Nintendo has stated that everyone that wants a Wii can get one before Xmas.)