Sony's PlayStation 3 flagship launch event

Few places in the US could claim that on November 17th at midnight, they were going to sell 700 PlayStation 3s to the public. The SonyStyle store in downtown San Francisco -- Sony country, as we like to call it -- made the claim and delivered a few hundred consoles to throngs of nearly a thousand eager fanboys and girls waiting in line since as early as 1AM Wednesday morning (for map see below). Was it worth it? We're inclined to say hells no, but it was certainly a spectacle to behold. Click on for a photo tour of the evening's festivities -- which mostly consisted of waiting in line, then buying a PlayStation 3, then leaving.

There was a band, we assume it wasn't the Minibosses.

These people were not in line. Come to think of it, we don't have any clue why they were there, the band didn't start for another hour after this pic.

Getting closer... to the start of the line.

There we are. Hey, is that a Zero Hour sweatshirt on the #3 in line? Damn dude, wear it proud.

There's a countdown like on December 31. Except when it reaches zero the only way to achieve your resolution is to be in the first few hundred in line.

Here's a small part of that cluster.

Ok, now were at line 2.

That's what we're talking about!

The first of many late-line activities. Unfortunately we didn't see anyone betting their console.

Ah, Mah Jongg.

The first unit to be sold.

And the throng converges.

That dude? He's the first to get his PS3. He said he hadn't slept for three days. Kind of a bummer when you think about the fact that pretty much no gadget is worth that kind of hell.

The culprit.

And this guy was the lucky fool who got a free unit, chosen at random. Congrats! But he still had to wait in line, just like you, or us, or Senator Edwards. Good night SonyStyle store.

[Eddie @ Nov 17th 2006 4:21AM]

That is the first time I've ever seen Mah Jongg played somewhere other then a computer. Sweet.

[Jypson @ Nov 17th 2006 4:27AM]

Bigger than the 360 launch? Anybody? I don't know, I was in Iraq getting shot at.

[James Stringer @ Nov 17th 2006 4:30AM]

I think it is, Where not going to see another launch like this until 2010 at least. It's the Playstation, and for alot of people that means something to them. The Playstation revolutionised console gaming and it's been a big part of modern mens lives. I realy wish Sony the best in the console wars, I also have respect for Nintendo, but it has not been as big of a part of my life. I liked how Sony looked after it's fans during the wait, it shows they really do care. It seems that Sony is losing Some of its Spark that it use to have, and I assume that it is to do with larger western influence in management(Hardware speaking). Sony is faced with the problem of people expecting Sony quality at cheap prices, so many complain about the cost of the PS3 and other electronics that it makes, People have to realise Sony isn't about the price, it's about the product.

[o rly @ Nov 17th 2006 10:53AM]

James Stringer : "people expecting Sony quality at cheap prices"

No, people are expecting Sony quality of 15 years ago at Sony prices, as opposed to now where they are getting quality yet it's still at Sony prices.
Sony has been declining in quality products for years now.

[o rly @ Nov 17th 2006 12:13PM]

James Stringer : "people expecting Sony quality at cheap prices"

No, people are expecting Sony quality of 15 years ago at Sony prices, as opposed to now where they are getting 'insert_any_brand_here" quality yet it's still at Sony prices.
Sony has been declining in quality products for years now.

[Rick B. @ Nov 17th 2006 3:30PM]

"The Playstation revolutionised console gaming"

Refresh me as to how it did that. If it was only because of CD-rom games, thats not much of a revo. The orig. NES brought about what we know as console gaming (though much props go to ATARI, Comodore & blah blah must be given). The Super NES brought us 4 face buttons & 2 shoulder buttons which is pretty much standard for todays controllers (& let us play SFII at home, may its name be ever immortalized). The Nintendo 64 gave us the analogue control stick (& we played Goldeneye till ours were red... & we did not complain). They have made some... blunders, perhaps, on the storage format but they have had to deal less with pirating of their console games, unlike PS2 & XBOX where any mod-er can take what ever game they want.

But I will give Sony some cred, they have done what Nintendo hasn't done since the early 90's: Have every 3rd licensing company making games for their system.

Anyways, I can't wait till I get to mess around with the Wii's controller: do you look like an idoit with it? Maybe. But will it be fun? Most likely.

[- @ Nov 17th 2006 4:34AM]

you didn't get a picture of the pretty lady with the unbelievable name handing out restroom passes:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?o=3&f=/c/a/2006/11/17/PS.TMP

[betz2010 @ Nov 17th 2006 4:38AM]

Is that William Shattner in the last picture?!?

[Albahad @ Nov 17th 2006 5:56AM]

I'm a disgusting spammer: [e-mail]

[humpty @ Nov 17th 2006 6:09AM]

That first in line guy must smell like shit.

[Semi @ Nov 17th 2006 6:36AM]

its just not right asking europe to wait till march to get their hands on the ps3...and there are no alternatives...crapiola!

[SteveJ @ Nov 17th 2006 7:10AM]

"People have to realise Sony isn't about the price, it's about the product."

Hmm:

Sony TV: remote broke early, buttons stopped working well. Picture on alleged flat screen CRT is uneven and always has been. Color is uneven as well.

Sony Stereo Receiver: after a short few years of use it started producing a loud buzzing sound. Also the interface was awful.

Sony portable sport radio: reception is so bad that it goes entirely unused. Absolutely worthless product.

Nephews PS2: died an early death many years ago.

For me, at least, Sony products have been utter garbage. Is that what you mean by Sony "product"?

[stephen.patrick @ Nov 17th 2006 7:23AM]

You sure this wasn't the queue for the Zune :)

[Dave @ Nov 17th 2006 7:50AM]

http://playb3yond.com/

[saycheese @ Nov 17th 2006 8:15AM]

Waiting two nights in the San Francisco chill in late November is hardcore, and would give a new meaning to the word "numbnuts" !! Everyone who waited so long deserves a free PS3.

[Joel Heflin @ Nov 17th 2006 8:39AM]

I only had to wait in line for 11 hours. It was pretty cold but well worth it. I think when more people get their hands on one they will take off because it is actually better than I expected. It truly is the digital media hub that people have been looking for.

[Billy @ Nov 17th 2006 11:43AM]

"It truly is the digital media hub that people have been looking for."

LOL, I'm sorry, but are you joking? You are suffering from serious disillusion after waiting 11 hours in the bitter ass cold. Or you're just a fan boy.

[Civisi @ Nov 17th 2006 9:01AM]

What? No complaints about too much PS3 coverage? The Zune-haters were crying in the first couple of comments on the first story...

Yeah, you're right. I'm not a PS3 fan-boy. Xbox 360 and Wii for me...

[huh? @ Nov 17th 2006 9:17AM]

Was this in Japan? Only asians on the fotos ... ;)

[Chris @ Nov 17th 2006 9:53AM]

huh?: Are you blind?

BTW,the fanboy megacluster cracked me up.

[Richie @ Nov 17th 2006 11:02AM]

I think the xbox 360 launch was a lot bigger then this, PS3 didnt even have a televised PS3 launch special, but xbox 360 had on on G4TV. I will only purchase one if the graffics are better.

[Rafy @ Nov 17th 2006 12:47PM]

Actually at 6PM they will have complete coverage of the PS3 on G4TV

[Adam @ Nov 17th 2006 11:13AM]

That looks pretty boring compared to the zero hour event, now that was awesome.

[ME @ Nov 17th 2006 11:32AM]

Gratz Sony you peeved off most of your fans, you stole ideas from your competitors, and are jamming Blu-ray down our throats because nobody would buy it unless it was bundled in a console.

Hope you crash and burn.

[What the... @ Nov 17th 2006 12:18PM]

This launch has opened my eyes to a whole new level of "dork."

With the pre-order freaks, and the launch day losers... and the ebay price gouging...

I will wait til the price drops and I can walk into Best Buy and grab one off the shelf. They have like, what... 3 games right now anyways?

I can't believe that I feel a tiny bit of satisfaction when i read an article about some tool who has been camping out for 2 nights and he finally gets his PS3, only to get robbed in the parking lot. haha

And how come there is no article about how eBay is limiting who can put their console up for auction? Something like you need to have an account with 50+ sales and an approval rating of 98-100%? And then all the people who are placing million dollar bids to try and screw the price gougers over... its all great stuff. get on it.

[iMacNes @ Nov 17th 2006 12:35PM]

If you don't intend on buying the product you should'nt bid on it. If people want to sell their console on ebay, and they spent the time to wait in line for it, then the additional cost is paying them for those services. If some people weren't quick enough to pre-order, or didn't have time to wait in line then they have to pay the price. And it really isn't gouging if people bid up to the price, thats what the market is willing to pay for them.

So dont be jealous that someone else is making a small profit.

[What the... @ Nov 17th 2006 12:58PM]

Jealous? of these freaks? LOL. When they went on pre-order... while other people were waiting in line for stores to open I was sleeping. This morning, when stinky fans who had been camped outside Best BUy and Circuit City for 2 days were "hoping" to get a console, I was... you guessed it... sleeping.

And it is price gouging. Do you really think the reserve price is set at $600? They would all have "buy it now" prices of $6000 if eBay would allow the gougers to have "Buy it now" abilities. And selling a $600 consumer eloctronic item for $2500+ is not a "small profit." If you consider that a small profit, I need to get into your line of work.

[Brandon @ Nov 17th 2006 3:23PM]

STOP CRYING ABOUT THE PRICE!!!! $799 is the least expensive Blu-Ray player I've seen. As much game play as you got out of your PS2 get off you buns and work a couple hrs of OT.
Quality and Sony only meet in the high end products. 5-10+ years ago you could by a TV or a Stereo that you would still be using today!

[wishiwereprogramming67 @ Nov 18th 2006 7:23AM]

Lots of people are gonna be dissapointed!

[stevie @ Nov 19th 2006 12:28AM]

what I don't understand is why there are so few. and more importantly, i heard on the radio this morning that there was a store in the washington area to which only 2 units were shipped. what is sony thinking? were they like "oh yeah, two should be enough?" why send any to that store?

can anyone answer me?

[Michael N @ Nov 19th 2006 12:28AM]

Judging from the photographs of the PS2 crowd, the demographs points to crowd with the age from the teens to twenties. These people clearly do not how silly it is to wait in line for as long as they did just for a game. Perhaps waiting a few years, they will all have a good laugh at this experience. Life is nothing but lifes' stages. Have fun!