|
Shopping Insanity Begins Early As People Camp Out For New Video Game Systems
By Catherine Snipe
They braved near freezing temperatures and a night slept on cement in order to have one.
And in many cases, they ended up on the auction website eBay the next day.
Several hundred shoppers waited nearly a day ahead of Brick stores' opening to secure a chance to buy video gaming systems like the Sony Playstation 3 and the Nintendo Wii (pronounced "we").
By Tuesday, lines had already formed for Sony's new $600 video game system, which wasn't going on sale until midnight Thursday. On Saturday, gamers began forming lines at stores such as Target on Route 70, and neighboring Circuit City, in order to buy Nintendo's $250 Wii. Best Buy, Walmart and other electronics stores had eager shoppers awaiting that important moment when the Closed sign was flipped to Open, and a game system could be theirs.
And within hours of the store's opening, shoppers remained but the Wii did not, as many stores sold out their supply.
In some cases, the supply was only a couple dozen. But at Target, which opened at 8 a.m. Sunday, the stock was more than a hundred.
It was the greater promise of buying the Nintendo system that brought people as far away as Manahawkin.
"I'm not taking any chances," said Carl Vonstetten, 23, as 3 a.m. neared. As number 15 on line, Vonstetten started camping out at 5 p.m. Saturday, waiting 15 hours for Target to open. He started calling stores on Friday to see how many of the gaming system they had to sell.
"I didn't want to drive all the way down here and end up not getting it," he said. After an orderly opening to the store, which siphoned shoppers into a smaller section near the registers to choose from the gaming system, games and accessories, Vonstetten came out with his Wii and some games.
It was a moment he'd knew he wanted to participate in, since he first saw online demonstrations of the Wii in May.
"I knew instantly this is the system I wanted," he said.
But gamers weren't the only ones out there. Mom and dad were, too.
Karinna Beaver, of Brick, is mom to Dylan Beaver, 14. She camped out as number 62 online at Target, snug in her son's sleeping bag.
"He's a really good kid," Karinna said about her son, who was at home asleep. "He gets straight As and is in the Brick hockey club."
She knew this would be a gift not opened under a tree at Christmas.
"This is definitely getting opened at 9 a.m.," she said.
The Wii had competition earlier in the week from the Playstation 3, priced at more than $600, which started selling at midnight on Thursday. Nintendo will have millions of their system available, while Sony is shipping just 400,000 Playstation 3s to North America for the initial round of orders. That makes the Playstation 3, or PS3, the harder to find system, driving prices at online auctions into the thousands of dollars.
In fact, many first-day buyers admitted they were only buying the system in order to resell it.
Around the country and in Brick, gamers waited in the rain for stores to open Thursday for the PS3. Within hours of opening, Circuit City posted a sold out sign, but callers still asked whether any were in stock.
Overnight outside Target Saturday, the chatter was among fans discussing the game specifications, playing on hand-held systems and listening to game soundtracks on their portable stereos.
To be first online for a Wii, you'd have to show up before 2 p.m. Saturday. Shoppers brought cushions, tents, lawn chairs and sleeping bags to sleep in, while wrapped in several layers of winter clothing. Friends showed up for those waiting on line with fast food and extra blankets in hand, helping campers to warm up with coffee and unwrapping a double cheeseburger for a post-midnight snack.
| 
