PS3 Launch in US totally caused violence, even worse than videogames and empty boxes!

[Hikari-chan]

Violence mars PlayStation 3 US launch; some new owners tempted to sell console for profit

Tight supplies of Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 game console led to rowdiness at several stores — and even a shooting — when it went on sale in the U.S. Some new owners were tempted to sell their consoles for a profit to those who hadn't braved the throngs of sharp-elbowed shoppers.

Across the U.S., gamers lined up for hours, even for a few days, ahead of the console's release on Friday.

In Putnam, Connecticut, two gunmen tried to rob people lined up for the console, and shot one who refused to surrender his money. Michael Penkala, 21, of Webster, Massachusetts, was wounded in the chest and shoulder. He was in stable condition Friday with injuries not believed to be life threatening, according to Connecticut State Police.

In Fresno, California, police arrested two people and threatened to use Tasers to break up a crowd that rushed a store and trampled people in the parking lot.

To get the attention of an unruly crowd of about 350 people, police fired a paint ball at the ground outside a Target store in Henrico, Virginia.

Sony promised the 400,000 machines in the United States for Friday's launch and about 1 million by year's end. Worldwide, it was expecting 2 million this year, half its original projections. Sony delayed the European launch until March.

Machines sold out quickly in Japan when they went on sale last Saturday. Plagued with production problems, Sony only had 100,000 available for the Japanese launch.

In New York, Sergio Deynes, 26, who had camped out at a store since Monday to get his PS3, said the people with him at the front of the line were "beautiful."

"It was the people in the back who were desperate who messed things up for a lot of us," Deynes said.

The market for second-hand PS3s flourished: Deynes' cousin, who camped with him, immediately sold his PS3 for $2,500 (€1,960).

On eBay, the two PS3 models, which cost $500 and $600 (€390 and €470) in the stores, were selling for between $1,000 and $3,000 (€780 and €2,350).

"Hearing all these numbers definitely made me very conflicted," Deynes said, but "thinking of all that I went through, I'm not getting rid of this thing ... Last night the rain messed up our tents and we got soaked and we had to sleep in the freezing cold."

In Los Altos, California, Justin Kwong was looking at an unopened PlayStation 3 box and finding that the money outweighed the pleasure of being one of the first with a PS3. He bought it Friday morning after three nights in a sleeping bag outside the Mountain View Best Buy.

"I've seen what they're going for ... so I'm thinking probably of selling, because it's such a large profit margin," he said.

Meanwhile, technology research company iSuppli Corp. reported taking apart a $600 (€470) console, and finding that it probably costs Sony $840 (€670) to make.

ISuppli notes that it's common for manufacturers to take a loss on the hardware, calculating that they'll make it up with game sales. Also, component costs should come down in the future.

"Still, the size of Sony's loss per unit is remarkable, even for the video-game console business," iSuppli said.

The company called the console "an engineering masterpiece," more akin to expensive corporate hardware than a consumer-level computer.

___

Associated Press Writer Steve Feica contributed to this report from Hartford, Connecticut.

he PlayStation 3 has launched across the US, with Sony's CEO Howard Stringer and president Kaz Hirai handing out consoles at the SonyStyle store in Manhattan, New York.

The first three consumers in line were given their PS3s for free, as was another person lucky enough to find a special ticket in a gift bag.

Sony had also rolled out a few celebrities for the launch - rapper Ludacris, DJ D-Nice and Karime Adibebe, the latest Lara Croft model, the most notable.

Over in San Francisco, Sony staged a suitably over-the-top deliver of consoles, with SCEA vice president Jack Tretton arriving by mock armed guard to deliver the first batch of units. The boxes were actually empty, but Sony clearly enjoyed playing to the hype.

Inside the flagship PlayStation Store, over 700 PS3's were piled high, waiting to be picked up by an eager crowd sporting wristbands that guaranteed them a unit.

There was real drama elsewhere, with The Sacramento Bee reporting that at least four PS3s were stolen from a store in California by armed men on Thursday morning, while three eager consumers queuing for consoles on Thursday were mugged when they left their camping spot

source

 

[Strawberry Delcatty]

In the words of Raffine from Puyo Pop Fever:

"Whatever are their lowly unrefined minds thinking?"

Sorry, but all of that for a console is just... WRONG for so many obvious reasons. XP

 

[Hikari-chan]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaHaIixRHSU - PS3 Riots. =p

 

[Strawberry Delcatty]

Only seen a few minutes of it.

That's just wrong. WRONG!

Shot over a game... Sheesh! XP

 

[bell02+]

To be honest... he was shot over what.. $1500-$2000 dollars he and his grandmother both worked very hard for a long time for. It's more reasonable if viewed that way (because the news really spun that information), but still I think one should value their life more than money.

 

[Habunake]

Jack Thompson is laughing from his jail cell.