Two armed thugs tried to rob a line of people waiting to buy the new Playstation 3 gaming console early Friday and shot one who refused to give up the money, authorities said.

 

The two confronted 15 to 20 people who were in line outside a Wal-Mart store shortly after 3 a.m. and demanded money, said Lt. J. Paul Vance, a spokesman for the state police. The new Sony consoles are selling for around $500 to $600.

 

"One of the patrons resisted. That patron was shot," Vance said.

 

He said the two gunmen fled and the victim was taken to University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester. There was no immediate word on the victim's condition.

 

Vance said police were searching for the suspects, both believed to be in their teens. He said one was wearing a ski mask and brandishing a handgun, and the other had what appeared to be a shotgun.

 

Short supplies of the PS3 and strong demand led to lines of buyers, some waiting for days, outside stores across the country.

 

In Palmdale, Calif., authorities shut down a Super Wal-Mart after some shoppers got rowdy late Wednesday. In West Bend, Wis., a 19-year-old man was injured when he ran into a pole racing with 50 others for one of 10 spots outside a Wal-Mart.

 

In Lexington, Ky., police were investigating a drive-by shooting that hit four people with BB pellets outside a Best Buy store, causing minor injuries, according to WKYT, whose own reporter was hit as she interviewed buyers in line.

 

A Best Buy in Boston, aware it had only 140 of the consoles, got smart - its employees gave out tickets to the first 140 people in line so everyone could go home.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/PLA...-11-17-07-41-29

Thugs is a racist term Fox, how dare you!! :banghead

 

As for this story.....no surprise. This is America, home of the stupid, and the PS3's are making people even crazier than normal.

I bet the other people who weren't shot didn't even help the victim to the hospital. Probably had to drive himself there.

In Palmdale, Calif., authorities shut down a Super Wal-Mart after some shoppers got rowdy late Wednesday. In West Bend, Wis., a 19-year-old man was injured when he ran into a pole racing with 50 others for one of 10 spots outside a Wal-Mart.

 

:lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol :lol

Why don't they just ship enough of these for everybody to get one? Do they just not have the capabilities to do so?

They are making them as fast as they can. I am sure if sony could make more they would because they would all sell out. I am sure they could sell 4 million units the first day in the US alone.

Wal Mart needs to be eradicated from the face of the earth. I really think that is a key to the war on terrorism, that place is evil.

The anger and impatience of the people/fans is the reason why Sony had to release this with such short supply. So the people can blame themselves for these issues.

They are making them as fast as they can. I am sure if sony could make more they would because they would all sell out. I am sure they could sell 4 million units the first day in the US alone.

 

No, they're not. This is Sony's market shifting strategy. They want supply low, and saying anything else is simple lip service.

They are making them as fast as they can. I am sure if sony could make more they would because they would all sell out. I am sure they could sell 4 million units the first day in the US alone.

 

No, they're not. This is Sony's market shifting strategy. They want supply low, and saying anything else is simple lip service.

 

its foolish. If they were going to release only 400,000 then they might as well sell them for 2,500 themselves rather than everyone else doing it on ebay.

They are making them as fast as they can. I am sure if sony could make more they would because they would all sell out. I am sure they could sell 4 million units the first day in the US alone.

 

No, they're not. This is Sony's market shifting strategy. They want supply low, and saying anything else is simple lip service.

 

its foolish. If they were going to release only 400,000 then they might as well sell them for 2,500 themselves rather than everyone else doing it on ebay.

 

It has nothing to do with product price. In a monopolistically competitve market such as the gaming console market, perceived differences among consumers shift the demand for the product. By keeping this product in short supply, an elitist attitude takes over and the system becomes a status symbol...a power object.

 

Trust me, Sony wants this fervor around the system, they want it very very badly.

I'm sure Sony wants a fervor, but I also think they want to sell as many units as they can. I don't think that not selling fewer units now means they're going to be able to sell more later. Not when Nintendo is going to push about 4 million units into the hands of consumers. And probably the more people who try a Wii before buying a PS2, the worse for Sony.

 

Also, I don't think all the frustration is very helpful in terms of building consumer loyalty.

I'm sure Sony wants a fervor, but I also think they want to sell as many units as they can. I don't think that not selling fewer units now means they're going to be able to sell more later. Not when Nintendo is going to push about 4 million units into the hands of consumers. And probably the more people who try a Wii before buying a PS2, the worse for Sony.

 

Sony's taking a bath on the hardware, they're losing money or making no profit on every unit they sell. Additionally, their price is set substantially higher than the other two next-gen systems. By having such limited supply, consumers don't blink an eye at Sony's $600 price tage. By having so few systems available, Sony minimizes the losses it sustains during the holiday season (since, more units doesn't translate to more profit, simply more revenue), keeps its interest high and forces its competitors to secondary status...all while Sony continues their sustained shortage and draws a frenzy around their system.

 

Put it this way, if Sony met demand perfectly like Nintendo will, it runs the risk of seeing the PS3 sit on the shelf due to high price, limited library of games and difficult differentiation between it and the 360. If they're taking a bath on hardware with the anticipation of making it up on software sales, the last thing they want is a demand meeting supply in the initial stages where there's little software to buy. Until the software floods the market, Sony'd be hemmorhaging cash...forget the possibility that if supply were equal, people might opt for the 360 or the Wii, leaving PS3 units sitting on shelfs.

 

Sony very badly wants it this way, and it's a brilliant strategy.

It still doesn't sound very brilliant to me. Or at least their failure to have more software available makes no sense to me. This is when people splurge on big items. People aren't exactly flush with cash after the holiday season. They will miss out on all the software they could've sold during the holiday rush, and they will probably sell less hardware as well.

 

Your explanation makes some sense, I guess. But there's nothing brilliant about not having enough software to sell during the holiday season.