PS3 hopefuls, part III: Best Buy shoos away Burbank campers

You know, for a minute there, just a fleeting moment, we thought Best Buy was for serious about its attempt this year at making the procurement of a next-gen console a bit less of the painful, scarring memory that the Xbox 360 launch was for many. Sure, Best Buy still might have a few tricks up its sleeve to appease the next-gen faithful, but to us this newfound love and acceptance of console crazies was best represented by the burgeoning line of Burbank-campers. But no longer. After waiting 4 days for the campers to settle in, Best Buy kicked the whole group of its property on Friday afternoon. No word on whether the decision is from corporate, the local mall or the local Best Buy management, but we do know that it's 4 days of non-showering, job-quitting and engagement-postponing all for naught. A true modern tragedy.

[Thanks, TJ B.]

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 15th 2006 9:31PM]

"Seriously though, who is stupid enough to actually spend four days out in the wet and cold for a new toy?"

The PlayStation 3 isn't a toy. That's what people don't understand about Sony Computer Entertainment and its line of PlayStations. The PlayStation 3 is designated as a computer entertainment platform.

Basically, people have this idea about the PlayStation being a toy because it plays video games and is often compared to Nintendo's offerings, which are toys. But with the PlayStation family, not only are the games targeted at a much larger audience, the systems go far beyond mere gameplay.

With the PlayStation, Keith Aschenbrenner noticed that the audio quality of the PlayStation either matched or surpassed that of high end audio systems. This made the PlayStation a very affordable choice of a CD player. It also marked the first time a dedicated video game console could do more than just play video games.

With the PlayStation 2, SCEI went even further, and we can see that a lot of its attributes have been refined with the PlayStation 3. The PlayStation 2 featured an optional Linux kit, which allowed the user to convert the PlayStation 2 into a fully-functional personal computer running the Linux operating system.

Now, in the seventh-generation era, the PlayStation 3 has already proven to be far beyond mere video gaming. Terra Soft has announced that they have ordered several PlayStation 3s to use as server clusters. The PlayStation 3 is also end-user programmable, showing Sony's active support for open source software. Not to mention one of the largest hypes of the PlayStation 3 is its inclusion of a Blu-ray disc player, which will allow people to watch high-definition movies on the cheap.

Personally, if I didn't have to work, I'd camp out for weeks to ensure that I got a PlayStation 3 at launch.

[Grey Acumen Posted Nov 18th 2006 11:51PM]

That's absolutely great.

If you get the PS3 you also get a Blueray player a server and a potential personal computer.

Except anyone that is that serious about the HDTV probably already has a HD-DVD, which has more supported movies for it.

Anyone that is interested it as a personal compter can just GET one for $300, and if they're so absolutely in need of the latest and best hardware/software, they'd get a top end Desktop that they can do full hardware upgrades themselves as they go.

Not to mention how many people already have laptops.

Playstation may have all these extra features, but many of these are either irrelevant (the person has no interest) or redundant (if they do have interest, they'd already have gotten it by now)
All Playstation does is distance itself from the people who ONLY want a GAMING system. Which is why the Wii will shine.

I have to admit though, while I think that these guys do need to get a life and not be waiting a week in line for a gaming system (I'd wait overnight, but more than 24 hours is just ridiculous for anything), I still think it was severely cold of Best Buy to shoo them away after it had already been 4 days. If they were going to have issues with a lineup, they should have turned people away from day one.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 19th 2006 1:19AM]

"Except anyone that is that serious about the HDTV probably already has a HD-DVD, which has more supported movies for it.

Anyone that is interested it as a personal compter can just GET one for $300, and if they're so absolutely in need of the latest and best hardware/software, they'd get a top end Desktop that they can do full hardware upgrades themselves as they go.

Not to mention how many people already have laptops."

Anyone who's serious about high-definition video will be using Blu-ray disc because it is not only technologically superior to HD-DVD, but it also has the support of all but one of the major Hollywood studios. 29th Century Fox, Walt Disney, and Warner Bros. alone are part of the Blu-ray Disc Association's board of directors.

Also, if you're getting a $300 computer, it'd be a really crappy one. Anything that could even begin to match the processing power of the PlayStation 3 would cost several thousands of dollars. And a typical person is already spending around $1,000 for a high-perforamnce computer. With the PlayStation 3, they can get a computer that's more powerful than an enterprise server for less than a grand (the Cell microprocessor performs FMV at three times the speed of an Intel Itanium 2 and twelve times the speed of an AMD Opteron).

And yes, most people do have notebook computers, I use a ThinkPad as well. But you have to admit, the price to performance ratios of desktops and notebooks are quite different, even with the advances we've made in mobile technology. There is no notebook on the market today that can match the graphics-processing power of the PlayStation 3's nVidia RSX (Reality Synthesizer), which is more powerful than dual GeFroce 7800 Ultras.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 20th 2006 1:24PM]

call me stupid but isnt anything that is to used purely for entertainment purposes considered a toy?

i believe that gaming / messaging / music & movie players all fall under the catagory of "toys". (i also hope no one plans on using their console as their primary means of navigating teh intarweb.)

dont get me wrong. the ps3 is one crazy piece of machine. but in the end, its just an expensive toy, just like the others. for your sake, dont delude yourself into thinking it is otherwise.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 20th 2006 10:07PM]

"call me stupid but isnt anything that is to used purely for entertainment purposes considered a toy?

i believe that gaming / messaging / music & movie players all fall under the catagory of "toys". (i also hope no one plans on using their console as their primary means of navigating teh intarweb.)

dont get me wrong. the ps3 is one crazy piece of machine. but in the end, its just an expensive toy, just like the others. for your sake, dont delude yourself into thinking it is otherwise."

Like a lot of other people, you're not fully comprehending the true purpose of the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment platform. It isn't just about entertainment either, the PlayStation 3 is about multimedia, the integration of all sorts of information content. Due to Sony joining the Linux Alliance, there is now active support from the company for the Linux operating system. With Linux running on the PlayStation 3, it will be able to function as any other computer would, complete with a fully-functional Internet browser. People are already running Fedora Linux on it. And in a few weeks/months, Yellow Dog Linux will be able to be downloaded directly to the system.