Category: consolegaming
Playstation 3 Launch
I’ve read with some amusement the hassles people are willing to endure to be the first on their block to get a brand new PS3 on launch day. People have waited in line for days for the device, which reminded me of recent Southpark episodes of Cartman and his quest for the Nintendo Wii. There seem to be two primary groups interested in the PS3 being fanned by the (artificial) PS3 supply shortages.
The first group is a group I will identify as the hardcore gaming geeks. Not so long ago, I would have considered myself a member of this group. While my recent poison of choice was online computer games, I do understand first hand how gamer geeks feel about things like this. I have had an Atari 2600, Intellivision, PS1, Genesis, and am currently “suffering” with a hacked old-school Xbox. For those hardcore gamer geeks that had the cold hard cash and were able to procure a PS3 on launch day, kudos to you. I hope you remembered to stock up on Mountain Dew, pork rinds, and frozen pizza. And make sure you brag the hell out of your console.
The second, and likely bigger group of people interested in the PS3 on launch day are the speculators. Given the fact that PS3’s are selling on ebay for $1,800+USD, speculators can make big profits after purchasing their PS3 for $600 (including tax). I even checked a local Best Buy last night after having my car fixed to see if they had one available. They laughed at me. Guess not.
Sony has a history of backing dead formats (remember Betamax), and I think they might have another dog in Blu-Ray. I could be wrong, it happens all the time. If I’m not, people paying $1,800+USD for PS3s are going to be miffed when their console becomes completely useless in a year or two.
Posted: 11.17.2006