The PlayStation 3 waiting game

Douglas Shelton was determined his son would be the first person in the Washington area to own the new PlayStation 3 console, despite Thursday’s lashing wind and rain.

The first person in line, Mr. Shelton, 44, took no chances in his quest to buy the new video game system, released at midnight at the Rockville Circuit City store as part of a nationwide “Midnight Madness” sale. The Rockville location was the only store in the region to have a midnight release, while other outlets opened at 8 a.m.

“I’ve been standing here since Monday at 7 p.m.,” the Oxon Hill resident said. “I came with the whole shebang. I came with the tent, the sleeping bag, the food, everything, I was ready.”

The new PlayStation 3, which sells in two versions for $500 or $600, made its debut six months late because of complications with the development of the built-in Blu-ray DVD player. Although only 400,000 units were slated for yesterday’s release in North America, Sony Corp. says 1 million to 1.2 million more will be available by Dec. 31.

“This is a blessing from God for me to do for my son. It was for me to reach out not only for my son, it’s for others so they can see if they can help their sons and daughters out,” he said with his 12-year-old son, Douglas Jr., and wife, Joyce, by his side. “It’s worth the wait.”

However, for people such as Adam Soghigian and Brian Warner of McLean, the wait was a business venture with one word: EBay.

“I’m going make three times as much as I’m going to pay for it. It’s simple economics,” said Mr. Soghigian, 21, who plans to make at least $3,000 from the console. “I don’t work at the moment, so this is almost like a job for me. I’m getting paid to sit here.”

Late yesterday afternoon, hundreds of PlayStations were going for prices of $2,000 and $5,000 to as high as $15,000 on EBay.

Considering the nearly 200 people who were waiting in line and the countless others who were watching the spectacle at midnight yesterday, there were no problems, said James Higgins, Circuit City store director.

“They’ve been doing this since 7 o’clock on Monday, in the rain, in the cold; they’ve been dealing with this and it’s been outstanding. I mean we’ve had no issues,” he said.

Although the Maryland “Midnight Madness” went smoothly, other stores across the country were not so lucky — reminiscent of tramplings and other problems with out-of-control crowds during Black Friday “doorbuster” sales for the traditional start of the Christmas shopping season.

A Wal-Mart store in Putnam, Conn., reported the shooting of a 21-year-old while he and some friends waited for the console’s release.

And in West Bend, Wis., a 19-year-old man went to the hospital after a foot race for 10 places in line ended with him hitting his head on a pole.

Forty percent of youths ages 5 to 18 say they would rather have the new PlayStation 3 than its rival consoles, according to a recent Weekly Reader Research poll. The Xbox 360 received 25 percent of votes and the Nintendo Wii (pronounced “we”), scheduled to be released tomorrow, 22 percent.

PlayStation’s popularity is a matter of simple math, Mr. Warner said: “Twenty million people want 400,000 units.”

Story Continues →