So, um, the PS3 is out today. Had you heard? That's right, that shiny box which has had been subjected to the harshest criticism, the loudest praise, and a shortage of epic proportions, has finally made it's way in -- and out -- of stores on this launch day to end all launch days. We got a
pretty dang good idea of how ugly things were going to get last night, but who could've predicted 12:01AM would be greeted by such violence? We've got ourselves an actual shooting (none of this
BB nonsense), hospitalizations aplenty (due to the genius who lined up 300 people to make a run for the door in the pic above), an armed EB holdup that netted 5 PS3s for the thieves, pepper ball riot control and an escaped convict just to spice things up a bit. Plus, all these suckers missed last night's episode of
The Office -- how dreadful! Jim and Pam fuhevah!
Read - CT man shot outside Wal-Mart, suspects still on the loose. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Read - Armed robbers steal 5 PS3s from Ohio EB Games store. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Read - Riot breaks out at Circuit City. [Thanks, John C.]
Read - Police use pepper balls to control crowd in Tyson, VA. [Thanks, Troutman]
Read - Escaped rapist apprehended in Best Buy PS3 line. [Thanks, MrMarvey]
Update: While not actually criminal, last night's award for cruel and unusual went to
PC Gamer, who were on hand in
SF to try to convince a card-carrying line-waiting PS3 fanboy to
swear off Sony forever. In exchange for a $7,500 Falcon Northwest PC rig, dude had to sign a legally binding contract to not purchase or ever own a PS3, under pain of
death paying back $7,500. Some guy named Neil, who'd been waiting for 40 hours, signed his life away -- pic after the break.
posted Nov 17th 2006 at 1:40PM
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Jason @ Nov 17th 2006 1:45PM
I love Pam!
Nick @ Nov 18th 2006 2:24PM
I love Lamp!
doyouflip @ Nov 17th 2006 1:45PM
That's what happens when you let gamers leave the living room.
heniao @ Nov 17th 2006 1:48PM
The machine is taking over the world!!! Run for your lives!!!
Brian @ Nov 17th 2006 1:48PM
"In Palmdale, Calif., authorities shut down a Super Wal-Mart after some shoppers got rowdy late Wednesday. In West Bend, Wis., a 19-year-old man was injured when he ran into a pole racing with 50 others for one of 10 spots outside a Wal-Mart."
I find this one funny :)
_habit_ @ Nov 17th 2006 1:50PM
Consoles really shouldn't bring out the worst in us...
*Laughs at all of this*
What can I say? I'm currently more interested in the PS3 than the 360 (< Wii)...
joon @ Nov 17th 2006 1:51PM
what happened to 20-30 promised launch title, i only saw 12
chenry @ Nov 17th 2006 1:55PM
oh noes video games cause violence. For reals!
Mauricio @ Nov 17th 2006 1:55PM
is that "The Vede"?
flamer's grill @ Nov 17th 2006 1:58PM
Sony is loving this. Absolutely ecstatic that people are hurting themselves to get their product.
It reminds me of the book Jennifer Government. Near-future fiction, but similar: Nike releases a hotly anticipated pair of sneakers, doesn't release enough to satisfy demand which creates the same sort of frenzy the PS3 is causing. People camping out, fighting for them, etc. THEN Nike marketing executives hire a hitman to kill someone who was lucky enough to find a pair, just so the sneakers will be known as so hot that people are getting killed over them.
How long until that sort of thing actually happens?
kiraish @ Nov 17th 2006 9:54PM
totally maxx barryesque...think sony planned it? that would be awesome...
ridv @ Nov 18th 2006 4:53PM
I was actually thinking the same exact thing when I started hearing about this fiasco a couple of days ago when the PS3 was launched in Japan. It's actually kind of scary how similar the circumstances the characters in the book and real life are.
glacia00 @ Nov 17th 2006 2:00PM
So the guy got a $7,500 computer and now all he has to do is get someone else to buy the PS3 and permanently 'loan' it to him.
Rex @ Nov 17th 2006 2:01PM
You thought the fighting is bad now, wait until they actually get home with the "launch" titles.
The PS3 fanboy/nerd rage will take over the world...
Mark7r0n @ Nov 17th 2006 2:01PM
A virtual riot shut down Costco's website this morning when all their PS3s went online. Somehow it sold out, I just got a bunch of timeouts and server errors. :(
Billy @ Nov 17th 2006 2:05PM
LOL, yah, I checked out costco this morning also, I wasnt planning on buying one but I wanted to see how their site would handle all the traffic. Obviously, not well. I wrote a story about it. :) http://hellojoseph.com/228/ps3-hopefuls-destroy-costcocom
Tom Hendersen @ Nov 17th 2006 2:05PM
This is unbelievable. I still cannot see why anyone stands in line or camps out for these toys. And to actually rob or attack people for these games, that's another story. Actually the stores should provide security if they anticipate a line up. Better yet the stores should hand out "come back later" vouchers to the first xxx number of people standing in line for each game in stock.
Meltz; @ Nov 17th 2006 2:11PM
Im glad to hear someone else feels how i do about the whole Jim/Pam situation! Karen is, yes, much more attractive...but you can't beat Pam with anyone! Jim should just forgive her and bring back old times.
Oh, and i totally would have done what Neil did, given that i dont know if i ever will own a ps3
CharlieX @ Nov 17th 2006 2:12PM
Ha ha - the day Sony killed Costco
Nate @ Nov 17th 2006 2:13PM
...and this is how the Japanese are going to take over the US
Meltz; @ Nov 17th 2006 2:17PM
Im glad someone else feels the same way i do on the whole JIM/PAM situation. While Karen is quite attractive, i believe nobody beats PAM when it comes to coolness factor. Jim should just forgive her and bring back old times.
Oh, and i totally would have done what Neil did, given that i probably will never own a PS3 anyways
Dy @ Nov 17th 2006 2:17PM
It's things like this that makes me ashamed to be a gamer. What has society come to?
chaotic redemption @ Nov 17th 2006 2:19PM
wow these ppl must be really desperate to get a ps3, lik a shooting, theit wow, these guys must be in love with the ps3.
Brian @ Nov 17th 2006 3:28PM
it's not necessarily that the cons in these incidents are PS3 fans, it's that they know it can get them double, triple, or even 6x the original price in some cases over the net. One shooting was a guy not going for the PS3, but robbing people in the line, each person with 500 some on them(unless using credit)heck, the people were even lined up for easy money taking.
Mrfreezie @ Nov 17th 2006 2:19PM
The Office reference FTW!!
carpel tunnel @ Nov 17th 2006 2:27PM
Why bother, people are so stupid. Why not wait until the new year the price will be lower, there will be more games, no hastle, and no supply issues. Plus they will ship with the correct F/W, have the initail hardware bugs fixed, and most likely wont be a fire hazard.
I hope the quality is better than some of the other Sony products I have purchased recently, and their Lion cells.
Matt B @ Nov 17th 2006 2:27PM
I'd have taken the computer too. 8800's are seksy.
Cameron Bell @ Nov 17th 2006 2:31PM
Well these people are probably fighting because they know they can sell them on E-bay for huge porfits. Just saw numerous sell for $5000+. Outrageous.
Dave @ Nov 17th 2006 2:37PM
Hahaha :)
I want one too!
I want one too!
I want one too!
.ed @ Nov 17th 2006 2:45PM
that's my circuit city! Langhorne, PA
James @ Nov 17th 2006 2:59PM
Worse launch ever!
Jason @ Nov 17th 2006 3:03PM
This ain't bad, wait till the DOA units and hardware issues start to surface and those that buy them for $2K or even $600 start to try and return them...
JS @ Nov 17th 2006 3:09PM
New idea. Terrorist create a product that people cant live without. Watch as western world destroys itself on launch day while they laugh from their caves. Pure genius.....now if they could only make something worthwhile besides sweet beards...hmmmm
Unomi @ Nov 17th 2006 3:10PM
People are forgetting the 360 launch last year??? Trucks stolen, people robbed, people killed etc.??? They should've learned and stayed out of the cue. My life is worth more than a console, even if I can quadruple the pricetag by selling the gear.
And for the one signing for a $7500 PC.... Well done. PC's are multi-purpose, easy extendible etc. For people not caring much for PS3, it's a golden deal. Much better than selling your PS3 while risking your guts.
- Unomi -
Pal @ Nov 17th 2006 3:21PM
Money brings the best and worst out of us.
Big Al @ Nov 17th 2006 3:22PM
What a bunch of douchebags. All this stupidity over a half-assed video game console that will be outdated in a year (if that long). These are the kind of guys that will be serving french fries for the rest of their lives.
Mike @ Nov 17th 2006 3:52PM
Jim and Pam -- No way dude! Jim and Karen fuhevah!
Killernight @ Nov 17th 2006 3:45PM
who wants to bet that the next big lauch will have some pretty heavy restrictions on it.. like you cant sell it on ebay. only preorders will be accepted. no camping in long lines.. my store preorderd theres starting sunday and were sold out in 2 hrs for the companys first shipment.. we are now preordering for march - april next year..
ps you had to get a 40" or bigger tv to pre order...
Andrew @ Nov 17th 2006 3:41PM
Jim has to hook up with Pam, as hot as the Karen girl is - Pam is the best TV girlfriend ever.
Robotx25 @ Nov 17th 2006 3:43PM
I shouldve unleashed that oil slick attack.
BTW wouldve been a good night to go around serving coffee for $5 a cup.
Are any of these guys getting laid? Does anyone know?
ebob9 @ Nov 17th 2006 3:55PM
Neil, the guy who signed away his PS3 rights is gonna be fine.
He just needs to have his Wife or Girlfriend buy one and own it..
..Oh crap, he's screwed!
Illuminated One @ Nov 17th 2006 4:14PM
It's funny, some people think this happened because PS3 is true next gen gaming, but in reality, it's the fact that there are alot of money hungry opportunists out there. If suddenly, 2 million Ps3's were available, nobody would be waiting outside in the cold or fighting for one.
DavidM @ Nov 19th 2006 8:39AM
It is just sad that human lives has become something that is so worthless
Michelle @ Nov 17th 2006 4:26PM
Here's the on the streets report of a guy in Washington.
http://www.americaninventorspot.com/playstation_3_launch
David @ Nov 17th 2006 4:29PM
Karen looks exotic looking. Pam is... plain (no offense to the actress, in other words, good job).
I would have taken the PC too. That would have also helped fix the urge that I have to kick The Vede in the nuuts.
Brian Peat @ Nov 17th 2006 4:53PM
Gotta love the Apple screen on that PC rig. I'd like to see what I could do with $7500 toward a Mac Pro.
na2jib @ Nov 17th 2006 5:00PM
i got something interessting in montreal some people use homeless people to queue for the ps3 so they can do something else instead of waiting in the cold
funkycoldm3dina @ Nov 17th 2006 6:10PM
I hope that SONY are aware of the pain (and i mean literally the pain!) that people are enduring to get their machine. I hope that they do something about this level of violence that has spawned because people are doing practically anything to get hold of one.
Gary T @ Nov 20th 2006 5:11PM
Noone seems to realize why these people are behaving like this.
Simply put the fuckers pre-sold tens of thousands of dollars worth of merchandise on eBay and, if they don't have something to ship today (or withing the next 10 days, but forget about getting another purchase opportunity for at least a month) then they're facing Grand Fraud charges, or whatever's applicable here.
They probably didn't even have the money to actually buy the machines till after the auction winners performed the Pay Pal transfer. If they don't have a product to ship ASAP they're fucked.
Bill @ Nov 17th 2006 5:47PM
I think rather than risk my actual life at a campout I'll wait for "PS3: The Launch" to come out so I can arrive at BB as a gun toting O.G.(Original Gamer). That title should be a riot(pun intended).