Throngs mobbed stores to buy Sony’s eagerly-awaited PlayStation 3 from New York to San Francisco on Friday as the video-game console finally made its United States retail debut.
The long line of bleary eyed customers who had been waiting for days outside the flagship PlayStation store in San Francisco finally made their way to cash registers with their prized consoles shortly after the stroke of midnight.
The wait “was way worth it”, said the first customer, Chris Toribio, who paid for his game with a handful of $20 bills.
“I just can’t wait to play it.”
Toribio turned and gave applauding watchers a thumbs-up after Sony Computer Entertainment America vice-president Jack Trenton handed him his new console.
“I’m so tired I’m sick, and I’m going to sleep,” said Toribio, who had waited outside the store with four friends since before dawn on Wednesday.
“I’m going home to dream about what game I’m going to get.”
Sony provided a limousine to take Toribio and his friends home.
The console’s long-delayed release came amid a fierce battle for video game supremacy between Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo, and with the Christmas holiday just over five weeks away.
Nintendo’s revolutionary Wii game console will go on sale in US stores on Sunday, while Microsoft’s Xbox 360 has been on the market since last year, giving it a leg up on its competition.
“It’s just a pure console war all the way around,” said Norman Edwards (34), who wore an Xbox 360 fleece pull-over as he bought a PlayStation 3 that he planned to sell for a quick profit.
“For me it’s Xbox 360 any day of the week.”
The PlayStation made its world debut in Japan on November 10.
A tractor-trailer grandly delivered 600 new consoles to the PlayStation store mere hours before they went on sale Friday morning.
“It’s very, very exciting,” Trenton said. “It makes you feel that you have the best job in the world.”
As workers carted consoles into the store, strobe lights flashed and a large digital clock counted down the minutes to the midnight launch.
Mike Henriquez (37) found a “magic ticket” in a goodie bag given to him by Sony workers. The ticket won him a 60-gigabyte PlayStation 3 console, game software and a wireless controller.
“I was trembling like a little girl,” Henriquez said after collecting his winnings. “I’m stoked.”
A similarly theatrical debut was played out at the PlayStation store in New York City.
Crowds of gamers and profiteers eager to get their hands on PlayStation 3 video game console laid siege to US electronics stores in the days leading to its Friday retail debut.
Sony was forced to delay the global launch of the PS3 by about six months due to problems getting diodes for its high-definition DVD player, giving the Xbox 360 a one-year head start.
The Japanese company pushed back the roll-out again until March 2007 in Europe as it grappled with production problems.
Nintendo launches its new Wii console in the United States on Sunday for $249,99 and in Japan on December 2.
One version of the PlayStation 3 has a 20-gigabyte hard drive and is priced at $500 and the second is a $600 model with a 60-gigabyte hard drive.
PlayStation 3 consoles feature internet browsers, wireless controllers with motion-sensing capabilities, and Blu-ray DVD readers that make game play akin to controlling characters in animated films.
Sony said that approximately 400Â 000 of the consoles would be available at US stores on Friday and a million by the end of the year. — AFP