Here's the article I wrote for tomorrow's paper. I got to cover the PS3 launch. I was so psyched, and I don't even care about the PS3.
By D. FRANK SMITH
Staff Writer
Twelve Columbians waited in line for over 36 hours to be able to purchase Sony’s new PlayStation 3 console at Wal-Mart Thursday night, and many of them don’t even plan on keeping it.
The Supercenter’s electronics section became Columbia’s final battle ground for 12 gamers seeking a PS3 on launch day, Friday at midnight. Each gamer claimed one of ten chairs, ranked in a first-come, first-serve basis.
The only other video game retailer in the area, EB Games in Columbia Mall, had already promised all of their PS3s to customers who had pre-bought them in October.
Anticipated to be one of the most hotly-sought-after items this Christmas season, the PS3 craze is sweeping online auction sites like eBay, where the standard price for the new console has risen to an average of $2,000; $1,400 more than the retail asking price.
Everyone in line Thursday night was prepared to pay the full $599 price for the premium edition of the PS3, which does not include any games. The basic edition costs $100 less, but has less storage space.
These high prices may shock some, but video games have grown into a billion-dollar industry, and Sony is asking gamers to keep up with the increasingly-expensive development of games.
The most intense of the launch day gamers, Ryan Goatz, 20, arrived in line at 6 a.m. Wednesday to secure his number one chair. Goatz made a few phone calls to friends, and by 2 p.m., nine others had arrived behind him in line.
The ten hopeful gamers have slept upright in their chairs and eaten McDonald’s from the in-store restaurant for nearly two days, and the majority of them said they have no intentions of keeping the console and instead plan to cash in on the high-priced after-market online sales.
Chris Zuniga, 21, who held the number four chair Thursday evening, said he considered this purchase an investment.
“I’m selling it on eBay for around $2,500 hopefully,” he said.
When asked if he thought the console was over priced, Zuniga said it wasn’t. Ervin Youngblood, 31, said the PS3 was priced a little high, but he could understand why.
“It’s a little high, but Sony’s so popular, it’ll get whatever it demands,” he said.
Though they’re in the minority, Youngblood and two others plan to keep the system.
One couple, Jim and Heidi G., both in their 30s, said they planned to buy two consoles if possible — one for their kids and one for a profit.
“We planned it in advance,” Jim said. “I called the store, and when I found out number three (in line) was here, I left work.” Jim said he took vacation days off to be in line. He and his wife held the eighth and ninth seats.
Anthony Short, 35, who held the number two chair, said he had to take Wednesday and Thursday off his workplace to be able to wait in line for a chance to get the console.
Suffering through more than twenty viewings of “Over The Hedge,” Short said waiting in line was a challenge, and part of the reason he came out to launch day.
Those waiting in line were not the only entrepreneurs cashing in on Sony’s console shortage. Short said a man arrived Thursday afternoon and bought all 12 extra controllers, priced at $49.95 each, which left everyone in line high and dry.
The Columbia Wal-Mart has experienced at least one armed robbery within the last six months. So, for any gamer concerned about safety leaving the security of the store, Assistant Manager Lana Amacher said security personnel would escort any customer out of the building, if requested.
Most of the group agreed they would exit the building together, to ward off any would-be muggers.
An employee in the store’s electronics department, Lindsay Haywood, 21, said the store had only received eight consoles, two less than they were promised. She said any unlucky gamers left at the end of the midnight craze will be issued rain checks for the next shipment of PS3s, set to arrive within two-three weeks.
By D. FRANK SMITH
Staff Writer
Twelve Columbians waited in line for over 36 hours to be able to purchase Sony’s new PlayStation 3 console at Wal-Mart Thursday night, and many of them don’t even plan on keeping it.
The Supercenter’s electronics section became Columbia’s final battle ground for 12 gamers seeking a PS3 on launch day, Friday at midnight. Each gamer claimed one of ten chairs, ranked in a first-come, first-serve basis.
The only other video game retailer in the area, EB Games in Columbia Mall, had already promised all of their PS3s to customers who had pre-bought them in October.
Anticipated to be one of the most hotly-sought-after items this Christmas season, the PS3 craze is sweeping online auction sites like eBay, where the standard price for the new console has risen to an average of $2,000; $1,400 more than the retail asking price.
Everyone in line Thursday night was prepared to pay the full $599 price for the premium edition of the PS3, which does not include any games. The basic edition costs $100 less, but has less storage space.
These high prices may shock some, but video games have grown into a billion-dollar industry, and Sony is asking gamers to keep up with the increasingly-expensive development of games.
The most intense of the launch day gamers, Ryan Goatz, 20, arrived in line at 6 a.m. Wednesday to secure his number one chair. Goatz made a few phone calls to friends, and by 2 p.m., nine others had arrived behind him in line.
The ten hopeful gamers have slept upright in their chairs and eaten McDonald’s from the in-store restaurant for nearly two days, and the majority of them said they have no intentions of keeping the console and instead plan to cash in on the high-priced after-market online sales.
Chris Zuniga, 21, who held the number four chair Thursday evening, said he considered this purchase an investment.
“I’m selling it on eBay for around $2,500 hopefully,” he said.
When asked if he thought the console was over priced, Zuniga said it wasn’t. Ervin Youngblood, 31, said the PS3 was priced a little high, but he could understand why.
“It’s a little high, but Sony’s so popular, it’ll get whatever it demands,” he said.
Though they’re in the minority, Youngblood and two others plan to keep the system.
One couple, Jim and Heidi G., both in their 30s, said they planned to buy two consoles if possible — one for their kids and one for a profit.
“We planned it in advance,” Jim said. “I called the store, and when I found out number three (in line) was here, I left work.” Jim said he took vacation days off to be in line. He and his wife held the eighth and ninth seats.
Anthony Short, 35, who held the number two chair, said he had to take Wednesday and Thursday off his workplace to be able to wait in line for a chance to get the console.
Suffering through more than twenty viewings of “Over The Hedge,” Short said waiting in line was a challenge, and part of the reason he came out to launch day.
Those waiting in line were not the only entrepreneurs cashing in on Sony’s console shortage. Short said a man arrived Thursday afternoon and bought all 12 extra controllers, priced at $49.95 each, which left everyone in line high and dry.
The Columbia Wal-Mart has experienced at least one armed robbery within the last six months. So, for any gamer concerned about safety leaving the security of the store, Assistant Manager Lana Amacher said security personnel would escort any customer out of the building, if requested.
Most of the group agreed they would exit the building together, to ward off any would-be muggers.
An employee in the store’s electronics department, Lindsay Haywood, 21, said the store had only received eight consoles, two less than they were promised. She said any unlucky gamers left at the end of the midnight craze will be issued rain checks for the next shipment of PS3s, set to arrive within two-three weeks.
