Rumor mill- midnight releases of PS3 and Nintendo Wii

Scott Gardener · Post by **Scott Gardener** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 10:24 pm

I'm wanting to give someone the ultimate Christmas gift, a PS3. Bloody expensive and likely very hard to get, but if I can pull it off, the look on his face will be priceless!

I did some research in an effort to find out the best way to get a hold of one of these, and I learned credible rumors that in a number of Wal-Marts--look for larger ones that stay open 24 hours--the Playstation 3 will go on sale right at midnight the official day of its release, 11/17. Because demand will be high, they will start giving away claim tickets at 10pm, two hours earlier. You will need a claim ticket to purchase a console. One source claiming to be an employee says each Wal-Mart will give out claim tickets equal to the number of consoles shipping. But, another speculates that a claim ticket may not guarantee getting a console. Wal-Mart appearantly also intends to do a similar process a few days later with the initial release of the Nintendo Wii. Other retailers such as Best Buy are expected to do something fairly similar.

Knowing many of your penchants for gaming, I thought I should pass this along to fellow Pack members. High profile items such as these two consoles are likely to be extremely scarce, though I'm probably just saying the obvious. Not surprisingly, there's many rumors and plenty of speculation about the release process. I intend to verify as much of this as I can before the release date, and I would advise any of you to do likewise. If one person says the store will definitely be open, try asking someone else; make sure you get the same story from several employees, or you run the risk of spending several hours standing around and waiting only to go home sleep deprived and empty-handed (but no deeper in poverty) while someone else drives home from a different store, with a console that could have been yours. Wal-Mart's rumors appear fairly credible, so I intend to start there. Still, because Wal-Mart is one of the first places anyone will think to look, it may be worth asking a slightly less obvious venue, such as Sears or Target.

Still, rather than buying one on eBay for two thousand bucks and praying it gets here on time, I'm also researching alternative gifts, in case the mission fails.

As a side note, the console is backwards-compatable with PS2 games, so I've contemplated eventually getting myself one and a copy of Okami. Bit of an overkill, but when Hour of Darkness comes out on Blu-Ray, I'll thank myself. Still, I'll wait until the rush is over. It's funny how many times I was able to walk by an X-Box 360 in a store display case. Try doing that last year...

Figarou · Post by **Figarou** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 1:07 am

naaa....i'm going to wait.

Theres a Sony 60 inch 1080p HDTV I got my eyes on.

I'm going to see if I can get my paws on that before getting the PS3.

Shadow Wulf · Post by **Shadow Wulf** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 8:03 am

Im sticking with my PC for a little while longer. Whenever systems first comes out they are filled with defects. And on top of that I have to wait till the price goes down.

Renorei · Post by **Renorei** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 9:13 am

Nintendo > all other consoles

BlackWolfDS · Post by **BlackWolfDS** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 9:24 am

I'm getting a Wii....hopefully. Anyway, I reserved the new Zelda, but you know what? I didn't reserve the system to play it on and now EBgames is compelty wiped. They have no more reservation and they won't for a while.

BUT I have found a way around it. The answer is: TARGET

No reservations and it's first come first serve. When they open, I will be there!

Vuldari · Post by **Vuldari** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 12:33 pm

I'm planning to wait outside my local Target Store before it opens and pick up one of the approximately 30-60 they expect to have on opening day.

That was how I got my GameCube.

Each paycheck that I feel I can afford it, I've been taking out $100 cash and putting in an envelope for my "Wii-Fund", though I've only managed to put away $300 so far, which will just cover the system and a second controller. I'll pay extra for Zelda no matter what, but if I can spare an extra $100 off my next paycheck, I want to pick up two more games at launch, but I'm not sure which ones yet.

Top Picks are:

*ExiteTruck
*Rayman :Raving Rabbids
*Red Steel
*NFS-Carbon
*WarioWare: Smooth Moves
*MonkeyBall: Bannana blitz
*DragonBall Z:Budokai Tenkaiichi 2 (What can I say...I'm a fan)

...of course, all the virtual console games cost extra too, but I don't need to buy the games I allready own the originals of.
(at least, not right away...I know I won't be able to resist forever)

PariahPoet · Post by **PariahPoet** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 12:37 pm

Just reserve one at GameStop. I don't think they've quit taking reservations yet.

PariahPoet · Post by **PariahPoet** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 12:38 pm

Renorei wrote:Nintendo > all other consoles

Nintendo pwns.

lupine · Post by **lupine** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 12:54 pm

All I can say is I AM SERIOUSLY JEALOUS!!!

We're not getting the PS3 till March next year now!!

GUTTED

Figarou · Post by **Figarou** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 2:26 pm

lupine wrote:All I can say is I AM SERIOUSLY JEALOUS!!!

We're not getting the PS3 till March next year now!!

GUTTED

Its good to wait a bit longer than to get the 1st release. Why?

Because there could be problems. Discs not being read correctly, game freezes up, console overheats, ETC. Let them resolve those issues before sinking several $100 into one.

Vuldari · Post by **Vuldari** » Wed Nov 08, 2006 11:51 am

Figarou wrote:
lupine wrote:All I can say is I AM SERIOUSLY JEALOUS!!!

We're not getting the PS3 till March next year now!!

GUTTED
Its good to wait a bit longer than to get the 1st release. Why?

Because there could be problems. Discs not being read correctly, game freezes up, console overheats, ETC. Let them resolve those issues before sinking several $100 into one.

Bah...only for non-nintendo products, like playstations and x-boxes.

Have you ever heard of a nintendo console doing that...ever. My 1985 NES still works.

However, waiting is actually the wiser plan in most cases anyway.

That way you avoid all the chaos of trying to get one first, and after all the games have been out for a while, and the hype has gone down, you will have a better idea of which games are really worth spending your money on, based on what you hear about them a few months after launch.

It's a good rule of thumb, and a truth that I allways try to keep in mind whenever I get over exited about something new. ...

If it is really that cool...it is still going to be just as cool a year from now. If you don't think you will care about it anymore in six months - 1 year, then you never really needed it to begin with.

Waiting untill after the second Metroid:Prime game came out to play the first one didn't make it any less Awesome for me to play.

On the other hand, I have no regrets about not picking up a PSP right away. When there is a wider selection of good games to play, and it get's cheaper and more reliable (randomly ejecting UMD's?), it might be worth it to me another year from now. No hurry though. It's not like the good games that ARE available are going to turn sucky if I don't play them before tomorrow.

Scott Gardener · Post by **Scott Gardener** » Sat Nov 18, 2006 11:31 pm

All I can say is I AM SERIOUSLY JEALOUS!!!

We're not getting the PS3 till March next year now!!

From the looks of things, that'll be about right for those of us in the Western Hemisphere, too. Since it seems to be region-free, you can always pay the exorbitant amounts on eBay. Or, just take comfort in knowing that unless we're into standing out in the cold and rain for two straight days, we Americans aren't getting one either.

Still, I've found myself seriously looking at gaming consoles for the first time since, well, ever. Maybe it's seeing Okami; that's a game I'd like to play. That, and the new Zelda. Both very intensive and artistic wolf-themed pieces--a far cry from just running down corridors, shooting at things. You can only reinvent the wheel so many times.

Shadow Wulf · Post by **Shadow Wulf** » Sat Nov 18, 2006 11:35 pm

Ive got enough money to get Okami, Im gonna go to my local game store to see if they have it.

Anubis · Post by **Anubis** » Sat Nov 18, 2006 11:52 pm

i hate the Play Station... i don't know why, i just do
those "Resistance: Fall of Man" hoggers!!!

But i might be getting the Wii after i get a 360, just fo the motion sensitive nun-chuck controllers (even though i dislike most of the games they're selling)

I'm getting the Xbox 360 for the great sellection of games and not to metion Xbox live!

Shadow Wulf · Post by **Shadow Wulf** » Sun Nov 19, 2006 12:21 am

I hear the PS3 mic sounds better than the 360.

And plus alot of the xbox360 titles are going to be on the PS3.

Lupin · Post by **Lupin** » Sun Nov 19, 2006 12:49 am

PariahPoet wrote:Just reserve one at GameStop. I don't think they've quit taking reservations yet.

I find it amusing that the GameStop I was at today the PS3, Wii, and Xbox 360 demos had all crashed.

Vuldari · Post by **Vuldari** » Sun Nov 19, 2006 1:05 am

Lupin wrote:
PariahPoet wrote:Just reserve one at GameStop. I don't think they've quit taking reservations yet.
I find it amusing that the GameStop I was at today the PS3, Wii, and Xbox 360 demos had all crashed.

I visited Target on Friday to see what was going on (and to make sure I knew when they would open Sunday and start selling Wii's), and I was also amused to find that the PS3 demo crashed before I could make it a second lap around the track, and then the clerk said "what...again? That's the third time I've had to restart it already today."

I didn't say anything, but I wanted to laugh. They had a Wii behind glass, but you couldn't play it. There was just a video playing above it.

Anyway...got to get some sleep, so I can camp out early tomorrow (today?) and get my Nintendo Wii.

Later.

Figarou · Post by **Figarou** » Sun Nov 19, 2006 4:27 am

well..Vuldari....I want to say this to you. I hope you get your Nintendo Wii without any problems.

I was shocked to hear about the PS3 madness. Someone was shot...several was robbed. (Some at gun point) A robber was stabbed by someone defending himself. Also several people was trampled over by a mad rush of people. All this could've been avoided if Sony had plenty of units to sell.

I hope people can calmly buy thier Nintendo Wii without fear of something happening to them.

Good luck and enjoy your Wii system, Vuldari. Let me know what you think of it. I may get one myself.

Lupin · Post by **Lupin** » Sun Nov 19, 2006 8:19 am

Vuldari wrote:
Lupin wrote:
PariahPoet wrote:Just reserve one at GameStop. I don't think they've quit taking reservations yet.
I find it amusing that the GameStop I was at today the PS3, Wii, and Xbox 360 demos had all crashed.
I visited Target on Friday to see what was going on (and to make sure I knew when they would open Sunday and start selling Wii's), and I was also amused to find that the PS3 demo crashed before I could make it a second lap around the track, and then the clerk said "what...again? That's the third time I've had to restart it already today."

*blinks* The sales clerk said the PS3 at GameStop had done it the same number of times. They said it was due to overheating. Something tells me that this might be a problem with early adopters.

Figarou wrote: I was shocked to hear about the PS3 madness. Someone was shot...several was robbed. (Some at gun point) A robber was stabbed by someone defending himself. Also several people was trampled over by a mad rush of people. All this could've been avoided if Sony had plenty of units to sell.

Saying that is kinda like saying that we could have avoided WWII if someone had shot Hitler. I really don't think that there is any way Sony could have gotten more PS3's. They would have learned their lession from the PS2 (in that more units == more sales and more sales == better than.)

Vuldari · Post by **Vuldari** » Sun Nov 19, 2006 10:02 am

Waited in line from 6:AM to 8:00AM (30 people were there before me, many with sleeping bags). At 7:30 they handed out tickets. The Target store received 60 Wiis (vs. the 10 PS3's they got), and I got #31.

No more time to talk...must hook up and play...

Fenrir · Post by **Fenrir** » Sun Nov 19, 2006 11:05 am

I got mine this morning w00t!!!! and LEGEND OF ZELDA!!!!!!!!!

BlackWolfDS · Post by **BlackWolfDS** » Sun Nov 19, 2006 2:05 pm

I got mine too!
I got Zelda and Trauma Center.
Waited at Target from 5pm to 8am.
They handed out tickets at like 7-7:30ish.
I was number 2 in line

Oh and the Target only had 60 Wii's all together.

Figarou · Post by **Figarou** » Sun Nov 19, 2006 4:03 pm

Lupin wrote:
Figarou wrote: I was shocked to hear about the PS3 madness. Someone was shot...several was robbed. (Some at gun point) A robber was stabbed by someone defending himself. Also several people was trampled over by a mad rush of people. All this could've been avoided if Sony had plenty of units to sell.
Saying that is kinda like saying that we could have avoided WWII if someone had shot Hitler. I really don't think that there is any way Sony could have gotten more PS3's. They would have learned their lession from the PS2 (in that more units == more sales and more sales == better than.)

If Hilter was shot, WW2 could've started sooner. If he wasn't born, WW2 could've been delayed. There is no way to accurately tell WHAT would've happened if something was done to Hilter.

Lets keep that guy out of this discussion and stay on topic about the PS3 and Wii.

The only lesson they learned is that people are DEEPLY interested in their product.
If there was more Sony PS3s on the market, the madness will still be there. The violence to obtain them may not be as bad. Then again...it could be worse.

Shadow Wulf · Post by **Shadow Wulf** » Sun Nov 19, 2006 5:10 pm

Vuldari wrote:
Waited in line from 6:AM to 8:00AM (30 people were there before me, many with sleeping bags). At 7:30 they handed out tickets. The Target store received 60 Wiis (vs. the 10 PS3's they got), and I got #31.

No more time to talk...must hook up and play...

Fenrir wrote:I got mine this morning w00t!!!! and LEGEND OF ZELDA!!!!!!!!!

BlackWolfDS wrote:I got mine too!
I got Zelda and Trauma Center.
Waited at Target from 5pm to 8am.
They handed out tickets at like 7-7:30ish.
I was number 2 in line
Oh and the Target only had 60 Wii's all together.

You all got the master sword....agien!

Fenrir · Post by **Fenrir** » Sun Nov 19, 2006 7:28 pm

You and don't like that slaving driving Cat-thing when he's a wolf. I am not even at the Forest temple or whatever first temple there is yet!