Boston's mayor to bill Sony for mayhem at Copley Plaza

As if Sony wasn't losing enough coin on each PlayStation 3 sold fought over, now it'll probably be invoiced for the police services that were required to maintain peace at Copley Plaza. While criminal activities weren't hard to come by on the PS3's launch night, there was apparently a smart way to handle the mobs of unruly potential customers, and then there was Sony's way. Rather than planning for an organized flow of individuals, or better yet, turning away those who would end up empty handed anyway, nearly 500 eager (and likely delusional) individuals rushed the doors of Boston's Sony Style, creating chaos that required "12 police cruisers" in order to halt the riot. None too pleased, the mayor (Thomas Menino) plans on "billing the company for crowd control," although he failed to mention exactly how much those boys in blue charge per hour to fend off fanatical hopefuls.

[Via Joystiq]

[John from Buffalo @ Nov 19th 2006 9:46PM]

As they SHOULD be doing. It is a fact that these things are going to happen and the ignorance of Sony on behalf of this problem is a serious issue. One person was shot and almost died. Legally it is a reasonable case against Sony.

[John Doe @ Nov 20th 2006 2:28AM]

o.O You HAVE to be kidding me. God I'm so sick of this fracking culture and its blame it on someone else's attitude. The dipshit who shot the person is responsible. The people who rioted are responsible. The only blood, is it were, that is on Sony's hands is lack of product. I highly doubt Sony owns the area outside the store and they probably aren't under any legal obligations to police it. You want to blame someone? Blame the idiots that rioted over a damn gaming system. A long time ago I worked at Toys R Us and saw two mothers get into an honest to god fist fight over a white power ranger action figure. A freaking TOY for god sake. People are idiots.

[Anthony @ Nov 20th 2006 11:33PM]

so if you worked at the store and your boss told you to go out and turn away 500 crazy people who were waiting outside the store, would you go do it?

[Rick @ Nov 19th 2006 9:57PM]

The bill will be $20 billion, coincidentally an amount rather close to that necessary to offset the big ditch. Dig, I meant dig...

[Victor (Mister A) @ Nov 20th 2006 12:01AM]

That is Exactly what they will be thinking but you know they will add some more just in sh** happens.

[Joe Kreidler @ Nov 21st 2006 11:36PM]

"Big Ditch", now that was a belly acher!

Nice!

[greg @ Nov 19th 2006 10:07PM]

wow thats lame mabye charge um a little but its not sony's fault for RELEASING A PRODUCT EVERY ONE WANTS!!
i mean come on

[Alex @ Nov 19th 2006 10:10PM]

The problem isn't Sony, it's the way some retailers handled the lines in front of their stores. At the Future Shop store in Montreal were I waited almost 16 hours, there wasn't an official place to lineup and even though more people than available units were already waiting almost 12 hours before the official launch, they did not want to give out numbers or take names because for them, that would be akin to taking preorders. Not sure if they were hoping for people to buy something else after "accepting the defeat" or they were hoping for free publicity in the news but it sure wasn't helping the public peace.

Of course the idiotic human beings didn't help... people came around 5-6AM in the morning (store was supposed to open around 8AM) hoping to get a PS3. Even though we kept telling them that we were already like 25 people for 15 units, idiots were like "we'll fight if we have to". Yeah, the PS3 launch was another low point of human behavior.

[Rafy @ Nov 19th 2006 10:17PM]

In this case it was sony's fault since it was a Sony Style store.... But I completely agree with you.

[strider_mt2k @ Nov 19th 2006 10:13PM]

Loving that pic!

[Joe C @ Nov 20th 2006 12:05AM]

No it's not it's not Sony's property and they planned no event. Sony leases the space inside Copley mall, there for it is the duty of the mall to provide security for it's property which it failed to do. You're simply wrong here, the fact is that Sony said they would release the PS3 on the 17th and didn't say hey line up here and rush in at 6AM and we'll give a PS3 to the people who crush the most individuals to get one.

[Brian @ Nov 19th 2006 10:22PM]

ah, two funny faces in a row!

[apeguero @ Nov 19th 2006 10:24PM]

At'a boy Mumbles...You hit Sony where it hurts, their wallets! Foolish of them to allow 500 crazy MAassholes to gather in front of their very own stores without giving the fools a fair warning on the very limited quantities. Also, they should've set a better example for everyone else in the country by organizing the wait. Although I do agree, some knuckle heads do deserve to get their ass thrown in the slammer, Sony F'd up this one. Whether they'll pay Mumbles for using his pi..I mean boys in blue, we'll just have to wait and see. Mumbles should also consider taking any of that money to take speech classes or someting...

[Rich @ Nov 19th 2006 10:27PM]

While they are at it they should send the police bill to people who have their cars stolen or they children kidnaped too. The people are to blame.

[Jason Tsongas @ Nov 19th 2006 10:29PM]

As if Boston had not made enough stupid decisions over the last decade, here comes another one. Perhaps they can also bill Sony for the ceiling tiles attached with Fixodent in the tunnels which fell and killed one woman.

This is like not blaming the man who yells fire in a crowded theater but rather the theater owner for filling the seats.

[David @ Nov 19th 2006 10:33PM]

Well if Sony is billed for this I think all the money should be split between the tax payers in the district.. the police do serve the tax payers right? ie. the people who were waiting outside of the store. As for the person talking about the man who was shot, well if I am sitting outside of a store in the middle of the night with a large groups of people and I get robbed at gunpoint whose fault is it??? Well its the person who is holding the gun, maybe even me for sitting around in the middle of the night. You can't blame a company for a person's behaviour!

[Rick @ Nov 19th 2006 10:59PM]

where do you think the money is going to go? it would go back into the police funds to offset the overtime and other costs associated with their deployment. So it does go back to each tax payer because they don't need to go get more money out of them next year to pay for this year's deficit.

it's not like anyone's making out on this deal. maybe one of the cops can afford to buy his kid a PS3 if he worked overtime on this and possibly picks up a few details at Fenway Park next year

[Eh @ Nov 19th 2006 10:33PM]

Good, I think criminal charges should be brought up against some stores out there. We are way passed strike 3 for crowd control, what with all the violence from the PS2 launch and the mayhem of the 360 launch, there was ample time to learn from previous mistakes.

With some stores actually lining people up in the parking lot and then having them race to the doors for a PS3, there just needs to be legal action against these maniacs. The law isnt doing nearly enough to punish stores for being so irresponsible with large crowds.

[Javaflash @ Nov 19th 2006 10:35PM]

There is another problem. Press is reporting that PS3 pricing on eBay is dropping rapidly. That could mean too much inventory in that space where arbitrageurs seeks 300+% returns at the expenses of Sony both on per unit cost and overall logistics (strangling supplies to the real market). Geez, who planned this mess...

[Tony @ Nov 19th 2006 10:38PM]

John from Buffalo:
People getting shot is not Sony's fault, thats the fault of the person with the gun.

Let me know when the PS3 attacks someone and kills them. Or when the PS3 tells you to kill someone.

[MaX PL @ Nov 19th 2006 10:41PM]

HAHAHA greed-driven Ebay losers. Hows that 2000 dollar profit?

Oh wait, theyre barely selling for over 1000.

[Josh @ Nov 19th 2006 10:59PM]

Good for him.

[Javaflash @ Nov 19th 2006 11:00PM]

Retailers aren't earning anything from console sales. They drive store traffic, that's all. It's a similar model to weekly new releases on DVDs.

I don't believe it's a marketing ploy. Inventory games could make or bury a company. With so much at stake, I'll be shocked if Sony is willing to gamble; of course, unless they absolutely have to...

[Rus @ Nov 19th 2006 11:00PM]

is that Tom Bosley?

[houls13 @ Nov 19th 2006 11:08PM]

Are you kiddin' me? This type of thought just spurs on other losers who are looking to make a quick buck because THEY don't have any common sense...like suing McDonald's because your coffee WAS HOT! It is never a retailer's fault how the public at large will or may react to a product being released. Crowd control is not anyones domain if not the government's, and in this case, that of the local police! The fact that this "it's your fault...pay me" attitude is offered by a public official would be laughable if it didn't give more idiots the idea that you can always pass the blame to someone else...hopefully with fat pockets...and get paid for it! Hey Mr. Mayor...guess what...it's YOUR CITY...TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR IT!!!!

[Alex @ Nov 19th 2006 11:19PM]

I was there! I purchased a night at the Marriott in the plaza so I can get a 2 minute head start prior to opening the main doors. Let me tell you, chaos is an understatement. We had people simply faint from lack of oxygen as people were pressing anyone in sight against the gate. After a lot of turmoil, we managed to get an organized line in place only to have Boston Police break it all up and setup an unfair lottery system. I arrived at 11:00PM the night before and invested $250 of my dollars only to come out empty-handed. I really feel bad for the people that waited for days outside in the cold, rainy weather. They definitely deserved the PS3 more than the people who showed up in the morning and won the lottery due to luck.

Nintendo is looking better and better in my eyes. No turmoil, just plain fun with their launch.

[Michael @ Nov 19th 2006 11:26PM]

I'm no big fan of Menino's, but in this case, he's doing exactly what he should be doing. Anyone else who organizes an event is required to get permits and provide security; why shouldn't Sony?

One thing I don't know is if the people were lined up outside the mall waiting to get in, or if they were inside the mall waiting to get into Sony Style. If the former, it's Sony's problem alone. If the latter, it was up to the mall management, not Sony, either to provide crowd control/security or make Sony do it.

And for those of you yukking it up over how "Boston" has spent billions of dollars on the Big Dig, and how "Boston" is responsible for the problems in the workmanship, I'm afraid you're going to have to look elsewhere. The project was located in the city, but controlled by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, an inappropriately autonomous body that barely answers to the state, much less the City of Boston.

[Josh @ Nov 19th 2006 11:38PM]

Taxpayers shouldn't have to pay for Sony's screwup. Again, good for him.

[Tech Diva XXX @ Nov 19th 2006 11:47PM]

Ordinarily I'd agree wtih those who say blame the idiotic people. BUT Sony created this mess themselves. By offering ridiculously low numbers of PS3s. And pushing all that hype for that very small amount. They should have known this would happen. It has been posted all over that there were very few PS3s available and that people were planning to fight for them! Sony really should have been prepared.

[myscrnnm @ Nov 19th 2006 11:53PM]

"One person was shot and almost died."

It's not Sony's fault that happened. It could happen anywhere. You can't expect the company to search everyone. Plus, I'm pretty sure this is a completely unrelated incident that happened in the west, at a retailer that wasn't a Sony Style.

[Joe C @ Nov 19th 2006 11:59PM]

Sony doesn't own the mall in Copley and it's not the Sony Style in Copley's fault. The mall is 100% responsible for the security of THEIR property. So this dip shit can go ahead and bill Sony, the city of Boston will never see a penny. The Boston P.D. should have ticketed people for loitering but with out the mall to tell the people to get lost they couldn't.

They threatened to ticket the people lined up on Thursday night for loitering in the Somerset Mall in Troy, Mi. Where no problems happened because mall security at Somerset was coordinated with the Troy police department and let people enter the building from only one area and forced them to behave or get thrown off the property and ticketed. Any how this just goes to show that when money is involved people get crazy and will do anything and shouldn't be trusted.

[Brian @ Nov 20th 2006 12:14AM]

I'd like to point out that since the store at Copley is a SONY STYLE store and is owned by Sony, it seems that people are getting confused as to which company the Mayor is referring to.
I think its pretty obvious that the Mayor meant the retail SONY STYLE store, not the overall SONY corporation. Which is why he's only billing that one location, not all the other retailers in the boston area that required a police presence.

[LJKelley @ Nov 20th 2006 12:26AM]

First Sony is responsible. If you have a Gay Pride Parade or Protest March you are always required to seek a permit for the croud and negotiate with the police for security arraignements. Sony did neither and have very limited stock. When it broke loose the police had to step in because of Sony's Faults to control consumers in their store.

Besides... we all know even if they had arrested everyone they couldn't pay the bill. Sony is ulimately responsible as they attracted people their and didn't implement proper lines/control in the first place.

[Grey Acumen @ Nov 20th 2006 12:39AM]

I'm definitely of the opinion that Sony was totally hoping for the publicity from deliberately releasing so few consoles, and hype it as actual popularity of the unit, but no, it's not Sony's fault for the actual riots.

That responsibility lays on the hands of the business owners who were complete fucktards about the matter. A few basic ground rules and a single ARMED(and I'm not talking about a little tazer) security guard would have helped. Heck, if they had simply had a basic escort and line definition, they could have had the people in line waiting along the side of the building instead of in front of it, set up a roped off area with a security camera, and then let them in one by one to get the PS3 when it was finally opening time.

The stampede was totally the business's fault and the other crap was totally personal blame on the individuals involved. Reality is knocking on their door and it's selling Grips. Why haven't they gotten one yet?

[Jayson @ Nov 20th 2006 6:29AM]

How are some of you idiots blaming Sony for having too few PS3s? Is there a clause somewhere in Massachusetts law that requires a company to only release a product when they have enough for every one of your trailer park asses? They made what they could by the release date.

Where did Sony do all this hype you also refer to? They ran some commercials which as I recall people on this very site were complaining were crap. The hype was generated by us the consumers and not by Sony. Many of the consumers were not even hot for the system but rather were looking to make a quick buck.

Peoples greed generated the problems here.
- The man was shot by someone who was trying to rob the line = greed
- The man who was stabbed was robbing someone in the line = greed + deserved
- The people trampled lining up for the running of the PS3 = greed on the part of some if not many
- The people in the riot at Copley = greed on the part of some if not many

Wow, there is a common thread to all of these! But instead lets blame a corporate giant which has the funds to pay for our mistakes.

[Tech Diva XXX @ Nov 20th 2006 12:54PM]

Looks like you might have been responding to my post. You made some rude comments there, but I'll respond.

Every time I went on the internet, there was a hyped up PS3 ad or promotion somewhere. Are you saying Sony knew nothing of these ads? And Sony had already admitted they were going to have production and shortage problems. I remember Cnet posting something about them admitting having far less available on launch date than they had originally planned. The PS3 release has been plagued by a LOT of problems! Supposedly it was delayed twice, I think. Sony should have known there would be a large crowd of people clammering to get their hands on a PS3. Best Buy knew and at least tried some type of crowd control!

I'm not saying the people weren't responsible for their own behavior. What I'm saying is Sony should have expected a large crowd and controlled it better. Now whether or not they can be billed for it is another story. Notice I never said I agreed they should be billed. All I was saying is I can see how Sony gets some blame.

[Josh @ Nov 20th 2006 6:51AM]

Jayson, it isn't the lack of PS3's that is the issue. It is the poor handling of the situation by this store. They should have handed out slips of paper that guaranteed the people in line a PS3. Put the person's name on it, and require ID at pick up time. That guarantees no foul play.

Instead, they completely ignored any form of queue and instead encouraged people to rush the doors of the store.

Had they done what I said, or had any kind of plan whatsoever, they could have avoided this entire mess. Since the mess could have been avoided with some planning, the fault clearly lies with the people responsible for NOT planning at all for an event that they knew was coming. And those people work in that particular Sony Style store. Send them the bill for the police detail that was required to restore peace.

[Jayson @ Nov 20th 2006 7:53AM]

Josh:

I'm sorry, but I disagree. The idea of handing out slips is great but not required. There is no requirement that a store make the process easier. The people themselves are to blame for letting things get out of hand. Why were so many stores able to have a relatively calm group outside the store for days and sell to those who were first in line with no problems? This frenzy is something we the consumers create.

Lets for a minute say that I have one PS3 to sell but two people show up. I then tell them that they should work it out between themselves as to who will get it. One man kills the other and walks up to purchase the system. Am I to blame for the man killing the other?

Also, the quantity of people does not add to Sony's responsibility. If I have a sale going on and two people rush to the door at the same time, one knocking the other over and breaking her arm. Am I to blame? No, the idiots who cannot control themselves. Sadly if this happened inside the store I would be to blame thanks to the bastardized legal system we have managed to create.

Ultimately, the entire mess would have been avoided by people acting more like humans and less like wild animals. Honestly I cannot understand people�s inability to accept responsibility for their actions. Yes, it is easier to blame others but that doesn�t make it right.

As to the lack of PS3s issue, I was commenting to others who have pointed to this as the problem in some of the previous posts.

[Alf @ Nov 20th 2006 7:53AM]

@ John: You're an idiot nuff said


Sony didn't "organize" ANYTHING... WTF blame the company for everyone elses stupidity uhhh yeah...

I'd like to hear someone call me a Sony fanboy too that would make me laugh even more then I did at these ridiculous charges. (By the way I'll never buy a ps3, 360 or wii. PC is the shit.)

[Tech Diva XXX @ Nov 20th 2006 1:09PM]

While tickets are not a requirement, it's a very smart decision to avoid exactly what happened! And yes, if a place advertises something and people show up, the amount of people in the crowd is their responsibility! No one would come if they weren't advertising.

That being said, I didn't stand in line for either game system at any store at any time, despite all the hype for both systems. I don't have that much time on my hands. I'll wait until they get a 2nd or 3rd shipments in and people aren't fighting over who gets to spend $600 first, LOL!

[Zeke @ Nov 20th 2006 8:59AM]

It's totally normal to charge an organization for police services, i.e. crowd control. In my city, if your church is big enough (as in tons of people there at one time in one parking lot) you are required to hire police or other traffic/crowd control.

[mastershake @ Nov 20th 2006 11:45AM]

FYI BPD charged $28 per hr for one rookie, for details, and that was 6 years ago.

[Kiteless @ Nov 20th 2006 11:52AM]

This is stupid. Sony should not have to pay anything. It is the retailers problem to manage crowd control no Sony. I am not a huge fan of Sony, but I think I know what is right and wrong. This is downright sad.

- Kiteless

[Coluch @ Nov 20th 2006 12:13PM]

This is preposterous! There is no way that the individual store or Sony is liable for this. You can't shift the blame from where it actually belongs - on those that behaved inappropriately. This blame shifting happens all too often in the US nowadays.

A concert, for example, is an organised event and some liability is expected from the management. This was NOT an organised event run by the store. It was a calendar day just like any other, and the store ran it's business as usual. They are not responsible BY LAW for the actions of patrons that gather at their store.

It would be a nice gesture if they used some foresight and common sense to try and alleviate possible problems with line-ups, but they are not bound by-law to anticipate and moderate the behaviour of the public when they are simply running their business as normal.

[T.H. @ Nov 20th 2006 7:15PM]

I can see both sides of this argument. There are merits for making Sony pay the bill and there are valid arguments against doing so.

Ultimately, for me, it comes down to Sony knowing full well there was a frenzy everywhere for the extremely limited number of PS3's available and that there would be a huge huge crowd outside many places. Being a Sony store, they would be blind and stupid to not realize there would be an insane crowd at the mall waiting to rush in and buy these systems. Most places expecting a crowd had some sort of line and more personnel on hand to control traffic. Sony could have hired two guys to direct traffic and worked with mall security to keep things in an orderly fashion. They did not.

Look at the store in the Smash my PS3 video. They had clearly marked lines and people on hand to direct traffic. People in a line are much less likely to cause a disturbance than a huge crowd all waiting to rush in and trample over anyone in their way to get to their precious new toy.

[Sven Stevens @ Nov 20th 2006 7:44PM]

Wow, bill the company that makes the company, not the dumbasses who caused the riot. Such is the American way.

[T.H. @ Nov 21st 2006 1:09AM]

No Anthony, your boss, if he wasn't a retard, would have clearly had a plan in place to direct traffic 24 hours in advance of the PS3's release, perhaps a clearly marked beginning and line for PS3 purchases. Once the beginning of the crowd is already in a line, there is a very very small chance of things getting ugly. Look at the Wii launch. Over two thousand people and no gunfights and stampedes or riots.

[sr20vet @ Nov 21st 2006 7:20PM]

Another brilliant idea from Mumbles Menino.

[ChillyWilly @ Nov 21st 2006 8:22PM]

If anything, it should be the retailers that should be billing Sony for not releasing enough PS3 consoles they they know damn well will sell a ton of. I'm surprised the Mayor is not going to the retailers and asking for public service money.

When a band comes to town in concert and needs police help, the band or the venue pays for the police services. Any sort of event where there will be crowds, the police tend to bill whoever is responsible. The costs are over and beyond what normal patrolling costs the taxpayers.

[Kev @ Nov 22nd 2006 1:57PM]

I strongly think that the Mayor over there is sick in the head to bill Sony because want to get one of their products. It's not that Sony is doing something illegal, why should they be charged. It's true that Sony didn't have enough units for everyone who wanted it but that's because so many people wanted to get their hands on one.