Showing posts with label launch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label launch. Show all posts

Sunday, November 12, 2006

PlayStation 3 sells out at launch @ BBc News

Large queues meant some shoppers were turned away even before stores opened at 0700 local time (2100 GMT).
The console officially went on sale on 11 November but Sony only made 100,000 machines available on launch day.
Instead of opening at midnight, stores organised lotteries to decide who in the queue would get a long-awaited PS3.

Line dance

Outside Bic Camera's flagship Tokyo store more than 1,000 people queued for their chance to buy a PlayStation 3.

Shop attendants with microphones warned impatient customers that sales would end if there were any injuries.

"Standing in line today is the only way to make sure I got one," said Takayuki Sato, 30.

Tomoaki Nakamura, 41, said: "I've been waiting for this day to come for so long. I'll play it all through the weekend. No time for meals."

The head of Sony's game unit head, Ken Kutaragi, known as "the father of the PlayStation", expressed his gratitude to those who had waited.

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Thursday, November 09, 2006

Official Wal-Mart launch details @ Joystiq

Joystiq has been in contact with Wal-Mart corporate to get Wii and PS3 launch details. We've got something old, something new, something rumored and a bunch of stuff true.

The old: We can confirm almost everything from our previous post on Wal-Mart Wii and PS3 launch details from the "Wal-Mart Wire." The dates, the times and the ticket information is on point. The Wal-Mart stores should only give out the number of tickets for units they have. No word yet on official numbers per store, but Wii numbers should be no less than 20.

The new: Wal-Mart corporate says, "We currently have plans for a Thursday, Nov. 16 midnight event to launch PS3. In addition, Wal-Mart store #890 in Orlando, FL will host the Playstation Patrol truck Friday-Sunday." As for the Wii, Wal-Mart corporate says they are currently not accepting online pre-orders due to the popular demand, but are evaluating options for additional pre-orders before the official launch on Nov. 19. The Wii pre-order is online only, not in stores. They will let Joystiq know when a decision is made regarding the pre-order. Although the "Wal-Mart Wire" speaks directly to a midnight launch for the Wii, as does the poster above, details and confirmation can not be given at this time.

The rumor, not confirmed by corporate: If there isn't one already, all Wal-Mart stores should have a cardboard display case with free books called a "Wii Buyer's Guide" within the next couple of days. These will be replaced with the "Playstation 3 Buyer's Guide" by the 17th or when all the "Wii Buyer's Guide" are taken. The picture above is from the December issue of the Wal-Mart monthly flyer (tab) and pertains to electronic items from Nomember 12-19 (not to be confused with the weekly sale ones). A Wal-Mart employee tells us, "My store has already cleared shelf space for the PS3 and Wii accessories. Something interesting to note is that they have also restarted carrying Gamecube accessories, right next to the space cleared for the Wii. It's the first time I've seen Wavebirds on sale in over a year."

All the information regarding Wal-Marts launch details are not ironed out, but we'll update as we receive and gather more info.

Performance Designed Products to launch PS3 accessories line

For you console and handheld owners, Performance Designed Products would be more familiar if we used one of their brand names: Pelican. Yes, in the countdown to PS3 Launch Day, one of the more well-known third party accessories manufacturer is joining Nyko in prepping a lineup of add-ons and subs for Sony's next-gen console (our bet: we're going to hear from Logitech next).

What does this mean? Who knows, maybe Nerf SIXAXES. We know a five-year-old who might appreciate it. And it wouldn't be Pelican/PDP's first foray into a motion sensing controller. Still remember the Tiltforce 2 that dates back to the PSOne? Then there's that mysterious "PS3/PS2 Controller Adapter" the boys of PS3 Fanboy found (you can check that article out for details, all theories are spread from heck to breakfast).

Well, PDP prepping to make PS3 accessories shows their confidence in the console, come to think of it. Or at the very least, they see a market well worth entering into. We'll see in the weeks after Launch Day if PDP will launch a Pelican PS3 Nerf controller, and we'll be there to tell you about it. Nope, these pelicans won't eat pigeons alive - what the...