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Underground > Games & Gameplay >

Tales from the PS3 launch!

18:22 / 16.11.06

People were ALREADY lining up yesterday afternoon here. A friend of mine lined up at 8:00 am this morning, managing to get 7th in line, for tomorrow's PS3 sale, on behalf of another friend who will join him/swap out the line after work (Friend A lives with friend B so the lucky sucker will get to sample Sony's newest console at his leisure anyway). We're in Canada and it's been snowing fairly regularly for the past 3 weeks so said friends are waiting in fairly cold weather at a time of the year when the sun goes down at about 6:00 in the afternoon. I'd worry about them trying to rest in the cold but pshaw, they're not going to be sleeping.

I'm pretty pumped because I too will be able to mooch off the new system when I visit them. They're getting Ridge Racer and Resistance: Fall of Man. RR looks cool but as an enormous fan of Insomniac Games, I'm mostly interested in R:FOM. I know I'm not going to get a PS3 before a price drop but I wish Sony all the best. Very soon we'll see if people will fork over the much-discussed prices the same way they did for the PS2. (I am also rooting for the Wii, the brave little thing, but as it comes out a few days later one console at a time)

Is anyone else lining up/visiting those lining up/scrambling to get one soon?

Elijah, Freelance Rabbi

19:13 / 16.11.06

I was planning on heading out early in the morning to the stores that are opening at 8 here. I figure if I bring a rifle, I can sell my services as an escort so people don't get mugged on the way to their cars.

Already multiple fights in the states as store owners try to move lines and people rush to the front.

What makes me sick is it is making video gamers look bad, when based on interviews it seems like about 70% of the people lining up are planning to re sell the system hoping for a profit.

20:39 / 16.11.06

I was planning on heading out early in the morning to the stores that are opening at 8 here. I figure if I bring a rifle, I can sell my services as an escort so people don't get mugged on the way to their cars.

You know, I assumed you were joking until...

Already multiple fights in the states as store owners try to move lines and people rush to the front.

Ah geeze, already? Got any links handy? (I've come across a report of a kid being hurt at a Walmart on the GAF forums just now - I can believe it)

What makes me sick is it is making video gamers look bad, when based on interviews it seems like about 70% of the people lining up are planning to re sell the system hoping for a profit.

I know. A coworker of one of those friends I mentioned was offering people $150 to stand in line and purchase one on his behalf. It's insane. Then there's this fellow (The article's subtitle made me smile).

The thing is, there's such a glut of people selling PS3s (and presumably Wiis in a few days) online that I think prices aren't going to be as deliciously profitable as they expect. I've heard rumors some scalpers are being forced to unloading them at near-retail price. Hardly worth the effort people went to to grab them.

23:43 / 16.11.06

What makes me sick is it is making video gamers look bad, when based on interviews it seems like about 70% of the people lining up are planning to re sell the system hoping for a profit.

There's a kikizo article that says software sales on launch day were something like 0.98 per PS3. Which is kind of ridiculous.

I may well buy one a year or two down the line, when the price has dropped and I have my pick of the crop of games, but the whole things a bit of a farce at this point, and it seems like something else goes wrong every other day.

23:54 / 16.11.06

I just got back from my local Target. My friend was in line for around 12 hours and was ninth in line, so I went to keep her company. While I was there, management came out to let us know that they had finally been told exactly how many they would recieve: eight systems. 6 of the $600 dollar version, and 2 of the lesser. My friend was quite crushed that she would be going home empty-handed.

Particularly frustrating because atleast half of the people ahead of us told us they were planning on reselling.

00:33 / 17.11.06

Yes, bloody people trying to make money. Those bastards!

12:35 / 17.11.06

Honestly, anyone stupid enough to send even more than the retail price for a PS3 deserves to be ripped off, the idiots. Fuck-all games out, over-priced and untested (as in, the people in the queues have no real idea what the games are like). Yeah, that sounds like an amazing deal. HA! You'd be better off spending the money on a 360 and a shedload of games.

Like most other sensible (read: poor) people, I'll wait until the price drops which will be a few years yet I expect. I'd be much morre interested in spending that money for PC equipment, like a DX10 graphics card and mobo.

A common line of convo in my friend-group is "I'll get a PS3 when the new Grand Theft Auto is out for it", but even that has lost a lot of steam as the 360 will be getting it as well. And there's no Dead Rising on the PS3.

14:33 / 17.11.06

I agree on the overpriced, but last I heard the PS3's launching with thirty titles although the list changes a little from place to place. Just scrolling through some retailers confirms that many of these are out, though.

You may ask how many above titles are GOOD, which is fair, and I'd say Heavenly Sword, Devil May Cry 4, Metal Gear Solid 4, whatever itteration of Tekkn this is, Need for Speed: Carbon, Resistance: Fall of Man (listed as I-8 for some reason, probably a previous title), Vision Gran Turismo, Motorstorm. Resident Evil 5 and Ridge Racer are almost guaranteed to be at least solid (Reviews trickling in seem to confirm this).

I'll give Sony this, that's a lot more support for their platform than most consoles get. (But good lord, the price. A friend was asking why people would wait a year to get it just for a $100 drop. I don't think he realizes some people will wait two or three years for a more substantial price reduction. That and this will give Sony time to fix any hardware problems by the time their fifth or sixth production run comes around)

15:44 / 17.11.06

Just lost a long reply because I opened the first of those links in a new tab and it broke Firefox.

DMC4 and MGS4 aren't slated as release titles, to the best of my knowledge. Even smaller name titles on that list are hugely unlikely to be released within the launch window - to date, nothing's been shown of Omikron 2, for example.

When you look at the most reliable lists of launch titles, there's not a thing on them to make me even contemplate spending over £450. Screenshots of Ridge Racer 7 make it look less impressive than Ridge 6 on the 360 - admittedly, static screens can often be misleading, but we're talking significantly less impressive. Most third party games are multiformat and unlikely to be noticably different than the 360 versions. The launch exclusives look remarkably unexciting.

It's all a bit of a joke, really.

Elijah, Freelance Rabbi

15:55 / 17.11.06

Oh I have nothing personally against the people buying for profit.

My complaint about the whole thing is that all the craziness and fighting and violence surrounding the launch isn't being caused by gamers who really WANT the system, it is caused by profiteers who want easy money.

It is all going to be used in campaigns about how violent video game fans are, when really most of them just want to smoke some pot and stare at Ridge Racer.

Guy faceplants during insane shoving rush for PS3

Campers for PS3 robbed and shot by human filth (the last bit is my opinion of muggers)

Woman having contractions wont leave line, nobody there enough of a human to hold her spot for her (this one also has a quick summing up of the shit that has gone down so far)

16:27 / 17.11.06

When you look at the most reliable lists of launch titles,

D'you have any links handy? Now that I have a bit more time to look over them, The only lists I seem to keep finding are the old E3 ones.

Most third party games are multiformat and unlikely to be noticably different than the 360 versions.

Oh the blessing and curse of multiformat games. On one hand I don't WANT to purchase all 3 systems if a must-have game comes out for each one. On the other, I'd love for all 3 companies to suceed and you NEED exclusive content for that. (Speaking of which, I hope the PS3 functions smoothly as a Bluray player since I know Sony was hoping that alone would boost sales)

Elijah, Freelance Rabbi

17:06 / 17.11.06

All the games that are currently available in North America according to EB

MattShepherd: I WEDDED KALI!

19:09 / 17.11.06

Well, I'm looking forward to buying a sweet PS2 for $50 in a couple of weeks. Life is good when you don't worry about the newest games.

Elijah, Freelance Rabbi

19:34 / 17.11.06

Good call Matt.

Guitar Hero 2 kicks much ass and wont play on the PS3 anyway.

Elijah, Freelance Rabbi

22:23 / 17.11.06

Nothing like a new video game system to show me why I loath humans!

Putnam, CT - Two armed teenagers in ski masks attempt to hold-up the PS3 line at the local Wal-Mart, fleeing the scene empty-handed after shooting a customer who tried to resist them. The victim, shot in the chest and shoulder, is currently in stable condition.

Sullivan, IN - A man is stabbed as he and a friend try to rob two other men of their newly acquired systems. He is in critical condition following emergency surgery.

Fresno, CA - Two people are arrested after a crowd tramples people in a parking lot trying to get a chance at purchasing the launch system.

Englewood, OH - Two armed men in black ski-masks enter a GameStop at closing time, forcing the employees to hand over their stock of five PS3 systems.

Manchester, CT - Five men surround a new Playstation 3 owner as he exits a store with his purchase, beat him, and drive off with his console. As they escape they push one of their own out of the car, a 17 year-old male now being charged with multiple crimes.

Allentown, PA - A teenager has his system stolen by a man who taps on his car window with a handgun.

Henrico, VA - Police are forced to use a talcum powder ball to get a crowd of 350 under control as they waited for a chance at one of a Target stores 8 systems.

23:41 / 17.11.06

Good god.

I'm guessing stuff like this is why. (So much for my "well I bet there won't be so much profit for them this time around" theory")