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I will NEVER buy from best buy again.
November 10, 2006
Next - Gen Gaming Consoles to Hit Stores
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 6:57 p.m. ET
After years of hype and speculation, the latest round of video game console wars is finally about to begin.
Unlike past battles waged since the 1970s, consumers this time around will have some truly distinct options among three contenders, as each device is tuned to different tastes and budgets.
The sleek PlayStation 3 by Sony Corp. is the priciest system, crammed with the very latest in cutting-edge technology. The Xbox 360 from Microsoft Corp., meanwhile, has had a yearlong head start to build a fan base.
By touting intuitive controls over fancy graphics, Nintendo Co. has billed its Wii as a simpler, cheaper alternative to Microsoft's and Sony's offerings.
If you compare the trio to automobiles, said Bruno Bonnell, chairman and chief creative officer at publishing giant Atari Inc., the PS3 ''is a kind of prototype Formula 1. The Wii is definitely a fun car, a Mini Cooper or a Beetle, something that everybody can enjoy riding. The 360 fulfills so much of the demand of the standard player, it's one of the Toyotas or standard GM cars.''
The Wii and the PS3 go on sale in the United States within two days of each other this month, but getting one in time for Christmas could be a daunting task.
''November is going to be the most exciting month for video games for probably the next five or six years,'' said Tom Russo, editorial director at the G4 Games cable television network. ''But everyone's going to sell out this season.''
Sony, which has already delayed the PS3 launch twice, expects to have only 400,000 PS3s available for its Nov. 17 U.S. launch. Already, bidders on eBay have staked their claim on pre-ordered systems for more than $2,300 -- almost four times higher than the system's top retail price. On Saturday, the console debuted in Japan to long lines and word of near-immediate sellouts.
Nintendo expects to have 4 million Wiis ready worldwide when the console hits store shelves Nov. 19, with the bulk of those going to North America.
Microsoft, burned by supply shortfalls during the Xbox 360's launch last Christmas, expects to sell more than 10 million systems by the end of 2006.
Worldwide, Sony expects to ship only 2 million units by year's end instead of an original projection of 4 million, but a company executive shrugged off long-term supply concerns and expressed confidence that manufacturing problems will soon be fixed.
''Regardless of what the number is, we're going to take knocks,'' said Jack Tretton, executive vice president of Sony Computer Entertainment America. ''It really has no bearing on what we're ultimately going to sell.''
All three devices are taking the video game industry in new directions and promise to serve as centerpieces for an era of digital entertainment where games, movies and music coexist in a single, Internet-enabled box. But games will continue to be the main draw.
The Wii, pronounced ''We,'' will be available for $250. Instead of sheer computing power, the Wii's primary attraction is a wireless controller that tracks movements to mimic a football pass or the swing of a golf club.
The Wii can't display high-definition video, and the system's storage and processing power are limited compared to the Xbox 360 and the PS3.
Perrin Kaplan, vice president for marketing at Nintendo's U.S. headquarters in Redmond, Wash., said the Wii is about attracting newcomers to video games, so cutting-edge technology isn't needed.
''We're not launching rocket ships,'' she said. ''Everyone is going to bigger, badder machines. We have taken a complete right turn. It either fails or succeeds, and we're not afraid of that.''
Two flavors of Sony's sleek black or silver PS3 will debut: a $600 version with a 60-gigabyte hard drive, built-in wireless and a Blu-ray player for high-def video. A version costing $100 less has a 20-gigabyte drive and fewer features.
Returning with a few tweaks from last year, the Xbox 360 comes in two models costing $300 and $400, depending on options. An attachment to play high-def movies in the HD DVD format, chief rival to the PS3's Blu-ray standard, is expected this month for an additional $200.
The new consoles come at a critical time for the video game business, which has grown in fits and starts from the simple days of ''Pong'' in the 1970s to an entertainment industry worth roughly $10 billion in the United States. That exceeds the $9 billion Hollywood grossed last year on domestic ticket sales, according to analyst estimates and the Motion Picture Association of America.
Software companies, in particular, have reason to rejoice after languishing in a sales vacuum created by shoppers who stopped buying games for older systems in anticipation of the new consoles.
Now analysts are predicting solid growth, with Colin Sebastian of Lazard Capital Markets expecting the games business to expand at a healthy 15 to 20 percent for at least the next two years.
Sony dominated the previous generation with 70 percent of the global market, including 35 million PlayStation 2 consoles in the United States. The original Xbox was second with nearly 15 million sold, followed by 11 million Nintendo GameCubes.
In the newest round, Sebastian predicts Sony will grab about half of the market, with Microsoft and Nintendo splitting the difference. That would mean Sony loses share, while Nintendo makes some gains.
All three devices will succeed in the short term because of pent-up demand and the lack of supply, said David Cole, president of market research firm DFC Intelligence.
''We'll have to wait, I think until holiday 2007 and even into 2008, before we start making really definitive judgments about what consumers are saying about these systems,'' Cole said.
I will NEVER buy from best buy again.
LOL.
I knew you'd appreciate the sentiment.
Best Buy will have a minimum of 20 60gb and 6 20gb systems per store on launch day. That seems good to know.
26 consoles. Time to start camping.... tonight
Hahhahahahaha. On Wednesday I'll probably be out there late or early Thursday. Does Best Buy run a wireless lan in their store? If not I'll have to find a way to get internet access out there so I can post from there.
How did you find this out, and more importantly, why the would Best Buy start telling the truth now anyways?
I'm thinking of going mid Wednesday. If I see a lot of people in line already, it, I'm not waiting 2 days. I've got another person who'll come wait with me for a couple hundred, so hopefully I'll have 2 of these bad boys up for sale Friday.
Its listed on their website.
PlayStation 3 Launch
Best Buy Store Opening Hours and Ticket Process
Here are the details on how PS3 Launch Day will work at Best Buy store locations:
All Best Buy stores will open at 8:00 a.m. on November 17. Starting at 7 a.m., store employees will hand out tickets, and each ticket will be good for one PS3 console purchase. (One ticket per customer. See details below.*)
Each store will have a minimum of 20 of the 60GB PS3 Systems and 6 of the 20GB systems.
So, head over for your chance to be one of the first gamers to score the awesome new console, plus pick up all the games and accessories you'll need to complete the total PlayStation 3 experience.
Learn more about PlayStation 3, and check out the cool games and accessories.
Note: Due to limited supplies, PS3 is not available for sale on BestBuy.com during its initial release.
*Quan ies limited. Tickets grant customers the option to buy one PS3 console and are valid within one hour of that store's opening. We are unable to guarantee all customers in line will receive a ticket. No rainchecks.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site//olspage...&type=category
I think Jess and I are going late Wednesday when she gets off of work. Thats going to be 11pm or so. I'm with you, if I see more than 20 or so people waiting, then I'll check some other places.
I know Wal-Marts are getting at least 10 units a store, but I have no idea what Circuit City and CompUsa are getting. I'd assume CompUSA will have less than 10, but CC will probably have between 10 and 20.
I may try to get someone else to wait with me as well, selling 3 on eBay would be well worth waiting out there a couple of days. The thing that sucks is that when I went by Best Buy I didn't see any damn plugs outside,
If anyone is planning on selling the PS3 on eBay,make sure you meet the requirements to sell it.
After launch day there are no special requirements.
Man, these things are only going for $1300-$1500 on Craigslist.If I'm camping out for it, I want to make at least a G. Maybe I'll pass.
This thread was fun to read.
I said last year after I got a 360 on launch day that I wasn't gonna camp out out for a PS3 but after reading up on it and watching some video's on ign.com I really want one.
The Lachino and I just got back from Best Buy and we saw the first people setup their camping gear. Holy . I'm not going out there before tomorrow night, that.
Damn, last year at my local Best Buy for the 360 people started lining up just the day before launch around 5:00pm. If I gotta wait 2 + days in the cold for a PS3 than it.
Man, it. I was out running errands this morning and I went by Best Buy and there were close to 15 people lined up. I'm not willing to wait that long out in the cold to make about 1500. I'll stay home and play poker and make money that way in the warmth instead.
I told you. CC in NB.
These were the two guys Manny was talking about @ Best Buy, 1604 & 281.
I bet those mother ers aren't in shorts now.
The people I saw this morning were heads that poked out of piles of blankets.
Here is what Maddox thinks of Sony: http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse....=sony_bull
I don't know why someone would pay that much money to buy a PS3 so early. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on one, but buying any gaming console at launch is just stupid. There are always bugs, and the first wave of games usually sucks.
God of War 2 will be on the PS2. The next Ratchet and Clank will be on the PSP. I think I can wait a year for the PS3.
I heard a report on a news station last night that Sony has said that there are bugs in the systems and they would have liked to push the release date back.
the one @ 410 near Ingram is right next to a starbucks...
If anyone has a spare $4000, I'll sell you my two.
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