Looking for more PS3s and Wii... and "Black Friday" crazyness!

[rabb1t]

Word on the street was that Sony has shipped more units, will be doing so weekly, and the first batch was supposed to be in stores today.

Apparently Nintendo also may have been rumored to be targeting today for more units as well as I was told by a Toys-R-Us employee they had been expecting more Wii since Wed night.

Total crazyness out at the stores today. I figured since there was a chance for more PS3s I'd go try and camp some this morning. I decided, eh the stores open at 5 I'll try and leave around 4. I couldn't sleep at all though really, so I decided to head on out earlier and get there at 3. Peeps who don't live here will have no idea what my saying that the line for Frys went from the entrance allllllll the way around to the side alllllll the way around to the back, beyond the back, and that's where I was at 3 AM. (I have a couple of phone camera pics of how far the camera can see, but I can't seem to get them off the phone). Apparently the line had hit 1 mile long (about 3 peeps wide I'd say) the year before and those who'd been there before were saying it looked about the same length. Just for fricken people trying to save a little money on stuff? good god.

No PS3s at Frys said the girl in the area. Apparently they haven't seen any since launch. *sigh* Off I go to try Toys-R-Us. I pass a Best Buys on the way and consider stopping in, but I'd never been there and there was even more chaos in the parking lot including several cop cars here and there to direct traffic. I try Toys-R-Us, again no. I try Target, little wait here cause it doesn't open till 6 and it's only 5:30, not quite as many peeps though at the other 2 places though. Again still no.

Rumors still kind of support more PS3s and Wii getting to stores any day though. I don't think the stores get shipments on weekend days, so the ones that were supposed to be there for today may not actually get to stores until Monday or after. (I haven't decided if I want to try again camping a store Monday. This is getting ridiculous.) I'm guessing that the Wii and PS3s are coming from the same area (both from over seas in Japan) and that they are both 'stuck' in the same place.

But it was crazy in all these places. Peeps were running around in the stores like it was the apocalypse or something. Shopping carts full or partially full, like they were trying to do tackle football with the other shoppers or something.

Crazyness.

[rabb1t]

I'm probably going to (metaphorically) kill my self camping this damn spawn. :mad: :p But, tomorrow (Saturday) I'll go see if any PS3s appeared (and glance for Wii too for the Wii peeps). I'll be checking Best Buy and Frys, but that's it damn it. And I'm so not going to bother checking Sunday.

Update: Checked Best Buy (where Sony said they'd send the most units and Toys-R-Us. Again neither store had seen any units. Trying to call Frys now (they don't open for 20 min), but I'm guessing if 2 large chains (Frys has a big rep but is only in a few areas) hasn't gotten any then my theory about the PS3 and Wiis being on the same shipment is likely true and said shipment is likely 'stuck' somewhere.

Guess I try camping the spawn again Monday. :p

[Uyenbob]

Maybe someone hijacked the shipping trucks, We are planning on waiting till after the first of the year then pick up one of the 2, more than likely the Wii. But i think if anyone isnt to worried about waiting another month or 2 it would pay off and be less stressful. Kind of like waiting till 3am on a weekday to go grab the spawn site that way you don't have to wait to long in line behind the other people waiting. :p

[rabb1t]

There shouldn't be any prob with the Wii once that 2nd shipment hits. They are producing 2-3x as many Wii as PS3s. Wii is supposedly on track for like 4 mill by March, so that is way beyond the 1.5-2 mill PS3 will hit. I think I recall they were targeting 2 mill for Wii by the end of the year, while PS3 will be lucky to hit their 500k mark.

I'd say once the 2nd shipment shows up, if peeps can't get one then, look a week later, and at that time peeps will pretty much all have it that want one by Xmas. There won't be any real Wii shortage. It was just tight at launch but I'm betting that will relax down super quickly.

I am getting very concerned for the European "launch". The way things are going they'll get just as few, or fewer, than we saw for our "launch". Considering they can't get us any more out here how the hell are they gonna gather up enough to launch with any real numbers in the other territories? :p

I’m beginning to wonder at this point if holiday season '07 will be the ‘real’ PS3 launch. Seems that systems are going to be trickling in so slowly till then it won’t come even close to covering launch demand. Of course, this is indirectly very bad news for Blu-Ray as apparently the Blu-Ray laser is the big reason for the slow production. If Sony can’t get cheap players out there, and they have a choke hold on the lasers for the PS3, how the hell are the rest of the peeps going to get stand alone players prices anywhere close to a reasonable level to beat out HD-DVD. PS3 is Blu-Ray’s big "in" to get into peeps homes; with production as slow as it is they are seriously gimping their side of the war.

[rabb1t]

Oops I was off on the Wii a bit. :)

DailyTech 11/25 (http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=5063)

Nintendo, Sony's major competitor in the console market, has also recently released its latest console, and is promising to replenish suppliers at a rate of 250,000 per week. The Nintendo Wii game console also quickly sold out the first day it was introduced to the market. Nintendo hopes to have up to 4 million consoles available to consumers by the end of the year.

So 4 mill by Xmas. Yeah, there will be no Wii shortage once future shipments hit.

Again I predict Holiday '06 pwnage by Nintendo. :)

[Slide]

If you imagine how bad Sony have handled the North American release of the PS3, then multiply it by 10 you start to get an idea of how badly they've botched Europe. The media are full of stuff about the PS3 and shortages, coupled with Sony's awful PR "Europeans don't mind waiting" - and news that you can play a Wii in just a couple of weeks (which has been overwhelmingly positively received). Microsoft are promoting xbox360 aggresively, the original didn't take off here - but Gears of War is all formats number 1 this week.

It will be a while before the results of this cycle are known, but Sony for sure aren't going to walk it.

Wii sold out a lot of consoles before silly season started in the US, i'd imagine shipments will continue to sell out leading up to christmas. The DS Lite was released in March, and they produce it in volume - but there are still shortages. The 4 million sold by the end of the year look realistic to me.

I actually thought the xbox360 was going to be a bit of a dreamcast, but thats not looking the case now.

[Slide]

If Sony can’t get cheap players out there, and they have a choke hold on the lasers for the PS3, how the hell are the rest of the peeps going to get stand alone players prices anywhere close to a reasonable level to beat out HD-DVD. PS3 is Blu-Ray’s big "in" to get into peeps homes; with production as slow as it is they are seriously gimping their side of the war.

You're assuming there's a demand for HD players, especially any volume demand.

[Slide]

Again I predict Holiday '06 pwnage by Nintendo. :)

And Microsoft...

[Heresy4350]

Oops I was off on the Wii a bit. :)

Rabb1t, I hate you, I've got to wait for some time between the 8/12 and 24/12 before I can get mine :(

[rabb1t]

It will be a while before the results of this cycle are known, but Sony for sure aren't going to walk it.

I'm predicting a lot of hate until Holiday '07 when some games show up that really make the system shine and there are enough units that peeps can just go to the store and pick one up.

Plus, I'm sure that a lot of the current price hate will be relieved as word that Sony is loosing $200-300 per unit filters out. Most just don't bother to actually consider the costs of the parts they are getting with the system.

The DS Lite was released in March, and they produce it in volume - but there are still shortages.

Crazy. Didn't know that.

You're assuming there's a demand for HD players, especially any volume demand.

True that, there likely isn't, but comparing early adopter options on both sides it comes down to - stand-alone HD-DVD ~$500, stand-alone Blu-Ray ~$800, that's a war Blu-Ray is seriously going to loose with those figures, and add-on 360 drive ~$200 vs. free with PS3, a war which Blu-Ray will dominate in as peeps will go 'hum I have a 'free' Blu-Ray player? I may as well check this out' and then they adopt Blu-Ray.

I paid $750 for my first gen DVD player back in '96. (It has 5.1 independent inputs and optical, huge deals back then compared to the base level $400 Dolby old-school 2 plug sound only.) At that time I knew I'd be replacing it in about 10 years, which we have hit almost exactly. For me getting a Blu-Ray player and game system for less than I paid for the first gen DVD Player alone is an awesome deal. But it's true, most won't even consider using its video features and few are like me and considering using it as an early step to next-gen DVD viewing.

Rabb1t, I hate you, I've got to wait for some time between the 8/12 and 24/12 before I can get mine :(

heh, me sorry. :o That’s not long though, couple of weeks, and there should be no shortage so if you want one or put it on a list there should be np getting it. :)

Just don't try freezing yourself for 3 weeks. :rolleyes:

[Heresy4350]

I was thinking about freezing myself, but the freezer's not quite big enough :)

The X360's HD-DVD player has one massive advantage over the Blu-Ray player in the PS3, it can be plugged into a PC via it's USB cable and used as an HD-DVD player for that as well =)

(Also, as far as I know, it can plug into a mac, just there isn't a decent player out for it yet)

[rabb1t]

I've never heard that you could plug it into a PC and use it before. That would be the biggest selling player on the market if that were the case I'd think due to the $200 price tag.

There are some subtle differences though. The PS3 Blu-Ray runs at full 1080p and can output via HDMI. The Xbox 360 HD-DVD runs at 1080i and outputs cap at Component. These difference seem fairly trivial, but they do mean that the PS3 Blu-Ray is capable of a higher res, as well as being HDCP compliant. The 360 HD-DVD, on the other hand, would in theory be blocked from high-def once HDCP goes into effect because HDCP clears through HDMI or DVI, not component (http://www.digital-cp.com/home/HDCPSpecificationRev1_1.pdf).

However, those differences may be irrelevant, as several PS3 owners (myself included currently) are going through Component cables and thus hit the same HDCP block, and I predict that we'll see the next Xbox by the time HDCP goes into effect (currently there is a gentleman’s agreement not to use it until 2010, possibly as late as 2012.)

It would not at all surprise me if they are already working on the next Xbox with Nvidia as the GPU manufacturer going with, I don't know a 'series 9' DX10 enabled GPU, and they planned on native HD-DVD use with an HDMI connection with a 2010 release date. (That is 5 years post 360 launch right?) What would sort of surprise me, but not truly surprise me, is a 250 gig HD where you can either fully download the game via the Xbox live service, or had the option to move the game off the disk onto the HD for faster play.

Very minor nit-picking, but it is important to know/note that the Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive would be gimped compared to a stand-alone HD-DVD player as compared to the PS3 Blu-Ray being a non-gimped drive compared to stand-alone players.

Of course, I could be wrong, but I'm fairly certain those are the correct facts on things. :)

[Slide]

Plus, I'm sure that a lot of the current price hate will be relieved as word that Sony is loosing $200-300 per unit filters out. Most just don't bother to actually consider the costs of the parts they are getting with the system.

Honestly, the last thing in the price hate is about Sony spending x on it. Its a console for the massmarket, who cares if its made from diamonds and kryptonite - the important thing is perceived value.

I wouldn't think a solid diamond abacus was worth the cost if i wanted to play games on it.

[rabb1t]

Actually they have kind of admitted the PS2 is their mainstream unit and the PS3 is the high-end early adopter market right now. They know that mainstream is going to stay very far away due to the price.

[Nikkoli]

Actually they have kind of admitted the PS2 is their mainstream unit and the PS3 is the high-end early adopter market right now. They know that mainstream is going to stay very far away due to the price.

Which is why they still plan to make games for the PS2 for a while.

[exclusive555]

u guys are krazy just wait like 3 months and then go buy one

[rabb1t]

PS3
Ah but then you run into my question of the world-wide launch in ~4 months. If they can't produce enough now just for the US and Japan, how will they possibly have enough to cover the world in 4 months? A launch over there at 250,000 units total would not at all surprise me. The US and Japan were supposed to see 500,000 combined and only about 175,000 have been accounted for so far. Where are the other 325,000 units? That's 65,000 units a week to make their original/revised year-end estimate. So far it is looking like there is simply no way they'd hit that figure. Even then, that's like 1/3 of what each store saw at launch per week. Peeps may have no choice to wait longer than 3 months simply because no units are being produced at all. Sony is seriously doomed if they can't generate more than 1 mill per year. Xbox 360 is at something like 5 mill and they only released a year ago.

Wii
Psh just wait 2 weeks and there should be tons. :)

[Slide]

just some anecdotal evidence, apparently there were overnight queues for the second batch of Wii's.

[rabb1t]

Gah! Crazy. I haven't seen any around here. Guess they don't know there should be plenty by Xmas.

Where I am I'm basically the only one looking for either at the stores. (Toys-R-Us, Best Buy, Frys, Target)

Kinda funny though, I think it was Saturday when I was waiting outside Toys-R-Us a manager peep saw me when he let in a worker and said 'No Wiis hehe' :)

[exclusive555]

but we have vanguard!! and computers....porno....no time for wii

[rabb1t]

20 Gig PS3 bundle was up on the EB games and GameStop site right now. Doesn't look like any of my credit cards love me enough to get one. :(

Word from the Target guy this morning is they got 5 units sometime between 10:30 and 11, which is when the UPS/FedEx peeps deliver around here. Seems like the PS3s at least are probably on private shippers, not the big corporate company trucks that come over night. Chances are going to be very slim for anyone as you'd have to be standing right there mid-day when they arrive. Odds are the next shipment will hit next Friday.

Still no word on Wii, no one has seen any.

PS - Roomie is so dumb. I go in and tell him 'dude the PS3 is up on the EB Games website', cause he's like an evil ebayer, and he's like 'well, if I can't sell it would you like buy it from me' so we go bla bla bla, and a couple of minutes go buy, and then he's like all 'hum hum' and I'm like 'you better hurry up that was only up for less than 1/2 hr last time' and he's all 'hum hum' so like 15 min go by before he finally decides to move and the site is like 'we're sorry that item isn't available'. :p Bah guess it's ok though. Lota dumb sports games with that bundle anyways. Guess peeps are also not making huge profits anymore as there are a lot of 20 gigs on ebay that closed in the $650 range.

[rabb1t]

News for today - still none of the stores have any that I checked, however, I have additional news for Frys. It seems that not only have they not seen any at all (not even on the Black Friday when they were supposed to have gotten more in) they apparently have a waiting list of 200+ peeps long at that store. Additionally the guy said they aren't expecting any more until after the new year.

I know that Frys is a fairly small chain compared to others, but if you live near one and were checking I guess it should be crossed off the list. :p

Another confirmation from Best Buy, got 4 units today via FedEx.

Looks like we should stop camping stores and just start stalking FedEx and UPS trucks.

[rabb1t]

Gamespot (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6162395.html?tag=latestnews;title;2)

Though he declined to give a specific quantity of day-one PS3 stock, the executive did say that Sony was on target to bring 1 million units to North America by year's end. "We will continue to utilize airfreight delivery for the PlayStation 3 to ensure a steady stream of systems for North American consumers through the end of the year," promised Karraker.

Looks like another confirm that we should at least still be seeing some PS3 units in the coming weeks.

That looks like they are saying 1 mill total units though, which means roughly 25% per week as we saw at launch. So, that's consistent with the zero to 5 units stores have reported to me so far.

Still haven't seen word on more Wii.

[rabb1t]

Daily camp news for today...

Wii - none - rumors from Toys-R-Us that the shipment will come next week (like Monday)

PS3 - none
Toys-R-Us got 2 20gigs on like Monday

[rabb1t]

Estimated 3.4 million Wii in North America by Dec 31st.

Gamespot (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6162467.html?tag=latestnews;title;0)

"All systems are go for reaching the 4-million target we have in our financials by December 31," Fils-Aime told Reuters. The outspoken exec appears to be a believer in the "If you build it, they will come" mantra. "We will sell everything we make, so now it's simply a manufacturing thing."

Yeah, once that second shipments hit there should be no shortage beyond that. :p

[rabb1t]

Nothin to report for either side today.

Dude at Best Buy did hook me up with the leet info check though. He was nice. :) The only one that was around was in Gilroy, which is like 1/2 hr - 45 min south of where I was, and it was a single unit. I'm guessing I couldn’t have called to reserve it as he didn't mention I could do that.

Ah well, my biggest local lead is that Tar-jay got some on Black Friday, so if Sony is shipping literally weekly, then they'd be due some more tomorrow and Best Buys Tuesday after, so I've got some decent leads.

Just up to fate. *sigh* :p

[rabb1t]

No news from stores, nothing of either. However...

EB Games Wii most wanted bundle (http://www.ebgames.com/product.asp?product_id=B020070E) $695 (plus shipping I assume)

Nintendo Wii system (system, remote controller, nunchuck, stand, sensor and Wii Sports)
Wii 1 Gigabyte Memory Card
1 additional Wii Remote Controller
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Trauma Center: Second Opinion
Red Steel
Marvel Ultimate Alliance
Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz
Madden NFL 2007
1 Year Product Replacement Plan
12 Month Game Informer Gift Subscription

If they got the 2nd shipment there may be plenty. If they only got a small quantity the posting/bundle may not last long.

[Uyenbob]

Must be nice to have the money to throw down on a PS3 just to SMASH IT. (http://www.planetboredom.net/video.php?id=2944)

[rabb1t]

What that video doesn't seem to mention there is that this guy was apparently first in line at that location.

Note how little damage the system takes though. :p

- - - - -

Camp news for the day - no PS3s showed up yesterday or today, no Wii in sight at the stores.

However, the Wii bundle is still up at EB Game and I assume GameStop since I noticed it yesterday. Could be there to stay.

[Uyenbob]

I'v been checking around to see if i can spot a Wii console itself without the the bundle and i will post it if i can find one in some point in time for the people that want to go that route.

Edit: While looking around i found a couple PS3 bundles at KBToys (http://www.kbtoys.com/Results.html/N/3058+4542/WSSN/VGSpot2/place/arbw?lid=PS3_Platform&lpos=Spot2)online site.

[rabb1t]

As above, rumors are next week. Should be 500,000 or more when they show up so I doubt stores would feel the need to do bundles.

I'd say camp a Best Buys or something Monday. Be there when they open. :)

PS - Those bundles are still there at KB, but if you actually click the link it says sold out. Same for the Wii bundles.