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Wii and PS3 Camp-Out Guide

Posted by Zonk on Mon Nov 06, 2006 05:35 PM
from the stay-warm dept.
Businesses Nintendo PlayStation (Games) Entertainment Games
An anonymous reader writes "A Wordpress blogger wrote up a guide to camping out on launch day. From the article: 'This is a download of my experience of over twenty-plus years of gaming and having been a part of six console launch days. No, I've never had to stand on line without knowing that my system was reserved. But I've spoken to enough people and accumulated enough knowledge to share. And with that said, here's my list of guidelines to insure that your camp-out in front of Best Buy, Target, Circuit City or Toys R Us is safe and not in vain.' Good luck to all the readers waiting outside for a PS3 or Wii next week." A lot of it is common-sense, but he has some good advice on pre-planning.
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  • ps3 (Score:5, Funny)

    by minus_273 (174041) <aaaaa AT SPAM DOT yahoo DOT com> on Monday November 06 2006, @05:37PM (#16743345) Journal
    I feel sorry for the people who are camping for Ps3s and going to ebay. They will probably end up like this guy [cgi.ebay.ca] and lose a few hundred dollars.
    • Why would you set your reserve price to lower than you bought the thing for? That guy deserves to lose money. What an idiot.
      • Because setting a reserve costs the seller money. Guess prices aren't going to blow up like the xbox 360 did.
        • Often low prices encourage initial bidding, despite not being willing to sell it that low. Its a psychological effect. Say you want to sell your PS3 for at least $800 and you set the reserve there, you might start the bidding at $500 (cheaper than retail) to interest the first few bidders.

          Eventually, someone comes along and sees "PS3 for $785, 35 bidders" and bids higher to try and win it ... and you break reserve. If it was "$800, 0 bidders" they might pass on it.

          Next, there's the "I don't really want t
      • Check again. The receipt was for $903.97 CAD, and the auction closed for $734.98 CAD. He lost $168.99, less whatever his markup on shipping was. Maybe not "several hundred" dollars, but he certainly did fail to set a reserve that was at least his cost, and he lost quite a bit as a result. Assuming he actually shipped the item, that is... He's no longer a registered eBay user. :-P
      • Yes, the recipt says 903.xx canadian dollars.

        And from Ebay:
        Winning bid: US $651.00
        (Approximately C $734.98)

  • Does anyone need to camp out for the Wii? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by ConfusedSelfHating (1000521) on Monday November 06 2006, @05:43PM (#16743433)
    Nintendo doesn't seem to have any production problems whatsoever with the Wii, it's very close to the Gamecube. They can easily churn them out to meet demand. Only in the mind of the most deranged Nintendo fan boy will there be a shortage. I think it will sell very well, especially in Japan. But I think that the only people camping out for a Wii will be Nintendo die hards who want to tell everyone that they camped out for one.

    • Re:Does anyone need to camp out for the Wii? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by HappySqurriel (1010623) on Monday November 06 2006, @05:48PM (#16743539)
      Personally, I couldn't get a pre-order but I'm not too worried about getting a Wii at launch and I (sort of) plan on "camping out" ...

      My plan is to show up at walmart at 6:30 or 7:00 sunday morning because they open at 8:00; if I can't get one there I will move to Super Store which opens at 9:30, if I cant get one there I will move to futureshop which opens at 11:00. I expect that at one of my stops I will get a Wii but I'm prepared to go hunting for one.

      As I see it the worst case scenerio is that I will get one in the second shipment ...
      • I'm prepared to go hunting for one.

        Just as long as you're not desperate enough to go hunting with a rifle. :)

        My friends stayed out for the PS3/Wii preorders at Toys 'R Us and it got pretty hectic. Makes for an interesting story when they come back bruised and bleeding...

        Anyways, I thought the next PS3 shipment is going to be in like 6 months, so good luck with your long wait if your lucky stars aren't aligned right that day.

      • I've got an email from EB Games (they didn't provide a link) that says they'll be offering a convenient bundle deal on Nov 9th on their website. Ships on the 19th. It goes for $699, but absolutely no details on what it includes. I'm guessing 3 extra controllers and nunchucks, a few games... I'm getting really sick of these bundles.
      • Keep an eye on your local Toy's R Us. According to recent news they're getting two to ten times as much nintendo stock at launch as comparable retailers.

        Failing that I would suggest camping circuit city, they are getting on average more stock than places like Best Buy and Wal Mart, much less Gamestop/EB which will have the least. You might not even have to be there early out to receive a nintendo at launch.
    • With ~400k available in N.A., what's the point in camping out for a PS3? If you're not one of the first 10 people in-line at EB/Gamestop or most other retail outlets, do you think you'll get one?

      As an aside, anyone planning on camping out in the Portland, OR area may want to see if they can borrow someone's house boat. That is, provided the weather we're experiencing now is still around in ~2 weeks. Just pull up to a Best Buy and throw a line around one of the big yellow concrete posts out front.
    • I really wouldnt consider myself a Wii or N fanboy, but I do think there will be a sellout. If not on Sunday, then on the friday following (Black Friday).

      There is a certain amount of planning with these launches with respect to marketing. You want the console to sell out on launch day, but you want a steady stream of units in the pipeline for adequate disbursements every week between launch and Christmas. Long queues and selling out means news coverage. No lines and adequate supplies doesnt attract as much
    • I asked the guy at the local Walmart, and he said they were getting 7 Wiis for release day. I think that may create a little bit of a shortage. Although there's many other store in this city, I still think there will be a shortage. Assuming each store getting Wiis gets the same number, then there's about 200 Wiis for a city of 1 Million people. That's not too many to go around. Granted, I don't know how many they will be able to get after release date, but as it stands now, getting one on release date is
    • I think it's pretty lame to "camp out" for a game console or for any product or event. Is it to reaffirm the nerd identity?
    • Yep, kinda like the Star Wars prequels. I never understood people standing in line for MONTHS for a movie that most people could just go to theater on release day and buy tickets for.

      That being said, I'll admit that I did stand outside a store for 3 hours waiting for it to open on Gamecube's release day, though I don't know if that qualifies as camping (the system did sell out to people in line so the demand was there :)).
  • I worked at Best Buy for the '96 Christmas season... some big console was released that year and people waited and waited outside the doors for that release. I don't even remember what the console was.

    We sold out instantly, most of the people left without one.

    One week before Christmas we received a huge supply. People who waited until the last minute to get their gifts all went home happy. How's that for irony?
      • Yep. N64 was released on September 29, 1996. I got mine that day, as I had it preordered for months prior. That was back in the days when a "preorder" meant that they'd actually set one aside for you and tell people they were sold out if they just walked in. These days, it's just a list for people who want to give the retailer a loan and get notified when the shipment arrives so they can get there before their "reserved" item is handed out to the next walk-in customer.

        That was the first time I preordered an

  • Alaska... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by 7Prime (871679) on Monday November 06 2006, @06:38PM (#16744417) Homepage Journal

    Not sure what I'm gonna do, I'm up here in Fairbanks, Alaska, and I'm gunning for a Wii at launch. The only thing is, it's probably going to be at least -10F by the time the 19th rolls around, so I don't know how much "camping" is going to go on. I'm thinking about parking the car close to the store a few hours before openning, and waiting to see when people start to show up. I'll have to ask around about previous launches. Wal-Mart already sold out their pre-orders, as did GameStop, so I'm going after a state-wide chain department store instead, they're usually pretty on top of things.

    Anyone else been faced with cold weather system launches? What was your experience?

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by joggle (594025)
      I'm sure I don't need to tell this to someone in Alaska, but be sure not to kill yourself with carbon-monoxide poisoning. While I haven't camped out in Alaska in that weather, I have in Colorado and a nice, toasty sleeping bag does the job nicely, especially if you have something hot to drink too.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by ClamIAm (926466)
      it's probably going to be at least -10F by the time the 19th rolls around

      As a Minnesotan, I usually laugh at people's "omg it's teh cold" stories. Looks like I can't do that this time. Good game, dude.
    • I live in New Hampshire (not as cold as Alaska but still pretty cold) That's exactly what I did for the Xbox 360 launch... I went to Walmart around 5PM with a friend, they didn't have any premium tickets left so we good a good dinner picked up some soda and snacks and waited all night in our car in the Sams Club parking lot. We got the spot closest to the door and kept an eye out for other campers... throughout the night a few other cars had joined us and at about 5AM (the store opened at 7) someone pulled
  • My favorite comment from the article... "My friends and I plan on getting a total of 6 ps3.. 3 of them will be mine. i plan on selling 2 on eBay. my goal is to make $5000. we will be getting in line Wed. around 5pm. Im just worried about security. I heard way too many horror sorries for the 360 launch and for that reason we will have a .45 in the car just in case. "

  • Brown paper bag, please. (Score:4, Funny)

    by ColaMan (37550) on Monday November 06 2006, @06:41PM (#16744455) Homepage Journal
    Heh. I notice that the first photo linked in that article has a guy opening what looks to be very much like a bottle of wine out on the footpath.

    Pretentious snob. Beer would have been perfectly fine for that occasion.

    Unless that photo was taken in France, of course.

    • Ravenswood is not a very expensive bottle of wine. It goes for about 10 bucks. Also, red wine is better than beer in cold weather IMHO.

      Also, some people prefer a red wine buzz to a beer buzz.
      • Try that on the street here and you'll get a "finish it now or bin it" response from your friendly local law enforcement officer.
        • What would he do if I finished the entire bottle?
          • Probably he'd be a little surprised, then make sure that you disposed of the empty bottle correctly, but that's about it really. And likely he'd wander back that way in about half-an-hour to make sure you weren't making a drunken ass of yourself.

  • Delay gratification (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Aceticon (140883) on Monday November 06 2006, @06:46PM (#16744539)
    The ability to delay gratification (i.e. don't do it now because it will be easier or the reward will be bigger later) is one of those personal traits which highly correlates with success. It's also one of those things people are supposed to learn when they're kids.

    I reckon that anybody wanting to study those which never learned this valuable ability just has to go check the lines on launch day.
       
    • Ouch, what a trollish post.

      Have you thought that perhaps people who are "highly successful" are those who often need to spend a lot of time in their careers - so much so, in fact, that they don't have time to stand in line?
      • No, he's right. Let me rephrase what you just wrote:

        People are successful because they don't waste their time unnesessarily waiting in line for something as trivial as a video game console when they'll be able to get one without waiting in line if they just show a little patience.

        If someone is that much of a business man that he wouldn't even have the time, he probably wouldn't have use for a video game console anyway. We're not talking about the kind of guy who does nothing but business, just the kind of

        • Re:Delay gratification (Score:4, Insightful)

          by twistedsymphony (956982) on Tuesday November 07 2006, @09:18AM (#16750869) Homepage
          When waiting in line you're conscientiously waiting for gratification for a number of hours, the reward seems sweeter once you actually get it. Not only that the product is brand new and you're one of the few people to lay eyes on it is mythical in a sense.

          Waiting to buy your console months later it looses that sense, the prize isn't as sweet because you can just walk in and get one, and seeing it become common place for people to talk about it kiosks popping up everywhere maybe you've played it a couple times at a friends house it's not as special once you get it.

          I've had my consoles both ways, while buying any new piece of entertainment equipment is exciting, there is something particularly special about bringing home some tech not just new to you, but to the whole world, and waiting in line to get one makes it even sweeter because once you get one you fee like you've earned it. You're entitled to your opinions on the subject but that's genuinely how I feel about it.
  • Having only recently gotten to the age where I have both the money and the time to afford for a late night launch I am rather ignorant of how this all works. The article was helpful, but some questions remain.

    1. Where do preorders fit into all of this? I was #7 in line for the Wii preorders, assuming there are 7 Wiis left over after the store employees get theirs am I guaranteed one?

    2. When they say the system launches on Sunday, do I camp out Saturday or Sunday night? (This has confused me in the past with
    • I don't get the camping thing either... ok camping for a movie... you wanta good seat, that I can see. But with preorders.. what are you accomplishing? It's preordered... assuming they're not gonna jerk you around it will be there when you show up at noon or whatever. The only way I can see it work for the Wii is if they're not allowed to have all their units for preorder, and you weren't able to preorder in time... then ya, standing in line for the remaining units might make sense (assuming standing in
      • Your average EB or Gamestop employee is not above selling peoples pre-orders to themselves, family or friends and politely informing real pre-order holders that, not as many units came in as expected. I've had it happen with games over and over (special edition games and the like). Also with the PS2 back in the day (just got my money refunded after my bro's PS2 was DOA). A friend of mine was the ast manager at a gamestop for a while and would frequently offer to 'sell' me other's preorders of games and t
    • 2. When they say the system launches on Sunday, do I camp out Saturday or Sunday night? (This has confused me in the past with game releases)

      Availability on a Sunday generally implies that you need to be there on Sunday.

      3. What do I do if I've recently moved and have no friends in the area?

      Don't worry, nobody else in line will either.

      Thanks, I'll be here all week.

  • Prank the campers (Score:4, Funny)

    by British (51765) <british1500@gmail.com> on Monday November 06 2006, @08:33PM (#16745925) Homepage Journal
    I postd this to the ps2 newsgroup..

    1. get a legit PS3 box
    2. Stuff it full of computer parts(small ones). Go into store.
    3. Walk out of a busy Best Buy or WalMart or Target and yell out loud
    "hey I got a PS3!" while holding it over your head
    5. Accidentally drop it
    6. pretend to be sad and open the box as onlookers watch & pull parts out.

    If you do this, have a friend videotape it and post it to youtube. If
    it doesn't work, put it all back into the box and try another store.

    If there's enough onlookers, or better yet, PS3 campers, it might be
    fun.
  • ... not. I was walking through the mall yesterday and decided to poke my head inside the video game shop (n.b. I live in central Japan in a city of 150,000). There was a sign up saying "Now accepting Wii pre-orders", which must have happened in the last week or so since they didn't know when it was going to start on the 1st when I asked. I said "Excuse me, I'd like to pre-order a Wii". I put my name and phone number down on a ticket, got my copy, and told them I wouldn't need a reminder phone call. The

    • The PS3 pre-orders, though, were snapped up in 5 minutes.


      All two of them eh?

    • ... says that demand for the Wii is very low. They're not expecting to sell very many at all. The PS3 pre-orders, though, were snapped up in 5

      Odd, the manager at our EB-Games said just the opposite. He had around 60 people on the 'call' list when it went on Pre-sale. He had, I think, 12 consoles. Took him over 24 hours to fill his pre-order. The Wii? 16 gone in the first 10mins.

      The funny thing is, the 60 people on the 'call' list where mostly like "How much? Oh, never mind". Though that did pre-orde

      • I am right there with you!
        Nov. 19th is my wife's birthday! Fortunately, she likes to sleep in very late so I should be able to pick up my pre-order and get home before she gets out of bed. Unfortunately, I'll probably have to wait until the next day to take it out of the box.
        /sob
    • I was camping for the Wii preorders. 50 given out, and they turned away at least that while I was there.
    • Tell that to the two dozen people who were turned away from my local Toys R Us on preorder day before the store opened because there were already 20 people in line for the 20 systems by 7:30 AM.
    • Wow. Yeah, I had the same thing back when I worked for Microsoft and I went to the company store^W^W local software store, they saw surprisingly little demand for copies of MacOS X. I don't see why everyone is talking like the Apple market share is increasing, since judging by what the store employees said, people couldn't get enough of Windows software. If what you say is true, Mr. Sony Employee, Nintendo is in trouble...
      • I'm down the street from Cary. You gotta remember that Cary is FULL of kids, and most of them are rich, spoiled kids, to boot (as if you didn't know). That would explain all of the interest in the Wii in Cary...
    • The idea is, they want to have it sometime during the first shipment rather than several weeks later for the second, but the first shipment has a high probability of selling out in the first couple of days - depending on the store, quite likely the first day. It's not so much they want one RIGHT NOW, but rather that they want one period.
    • You must be an older gamer. I grew up in your generation too. I have the same issues as yourself. Everything gaming related is a waste of time, right? Everything else is "cooler", and more fullfilling? I notice this pressure is less severe as it used to be, but, that feeling still sticks with us.

      Maybe you should just allow people to do something that they enjoy. It is not harming other people for them to get pumpped up about campping out a new game system.

      Maybe people think standing online for skiing is dum

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