Posted on 11/23/2005 2:19:49 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
2 hours, 1 minute ago
Shoppers waiting in line for the new Xbox 360 video game player scuffled outside a Wal-Mart Supercenter when a manager improvised rules for who would get the game first. It took more than 10 police officers to restore order, though no one was arrested.
A crowd of about 300 people were waiting late Monday for the game to go on sale at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday. Some of them had waited 12 hours when a night manager said the Xboxes would be sold on a first-come, first-served basis, instead of using a number system devised by customers.
"That's when all hell broke loose," said Ben DiSabatino IV, a 23-year-old Bear, Del., resident, who had been waiting in line since 4 p.m.
"It was like a mosh pit," 30-year-old Michael Pearman of Newark, Del., told the Cecil Whig.
Some customers were knocked down and trampled, though there were no serious injuries, said Elkton Police Lt. Lawrence Waldridge.
An Elkton police officer assigned to monitor the crowd called for backup. In all, it took more than 10 officers from Elkton, the state police and the sheriff's office to restore peace.
Then Wal-Mart decided to cancel the sale and police ordered everyone to leave. A store employee who wouldn't give her full name told the Cecil Whig that some Xboxes were sold later that night.
The Xbox 360 premium system includes a hard drive, wireless controllers and cables for high-definition TVs. It retails for $399.
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Information from: Cecil Whig, http://www.cecilwhig.com
They might have used the method Ticketmaster had a few years ago to stop people sleeping on the sidewalk. About an hour before sales opened, manager came out with raffle tickets, everyone got one and a lottery was held. People lined up by number. Fair system, and no one had to wait in line for 24 hours just to see a Jimmy Buffett show.
I'd bet that their family income is around U$D 30k.
Extremely unlikely. Maybe the $399 version will be down to $299 shortly after the new PS3 comes out, but I seriously doubt it will be discounted much faster/lower than that -- and even that may be a stretch.
60' screen, eh?? You live in a Cinerama Dome, do ya?
looking at EBay right now, there is one with a bid of $2500, with a 'buy-it-now' price of $7500
"Now my girlfriend's little brother will have one for Christmas, and I am a "miracle worker' in the eyes of my new squeeze."
Genius move dude!
"...folks attacking each other to get those stupid Cabbage Patch Dolls..."
Yes, I was working at Macy's then (luckily in corporate, not in the store itself), it was nearly a riot.
I think they were the first toy that people went nuts over.
We just moved and I found my daughter's cabbage patch, and even all the paper work. She changed the doll's name and everything. Thus proving: Mommy never throws away anything!
mtbopfuyn wrote: Surely, American teens aren't spoiled? Or it's that parents are dumb.
Believe me, it's a combination of both.
Gamers Seeing Glitches in New Xbox
Console Crashes, Freezes Have Been Reported
By Mike Musgrove
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 24, 2005; Page D01
Microsoft's Xbox 360, the much-anticipated video game system that made its debut earlier this week, is apparently experiencing some technical glitches -- screens freezing only minutes into a game, for example -- and that has left some users pretty upset.
At gamer-oriented Web sites, Xbox 360 owners have reported system crashes in games such as the space-marines-vs.-aliens title Quake 4... Read the rest here:
Those prices are unreal!
Ah, Christmas!
All this over a stupid video game system. Morons abound.
You do realize that the Games Industry now has more revenue than the Hollywood Movie Industry....I read that somewhere/
Ah, memories. I was a college kid working part-time in a department store when the Cabbage Patch craze struck. Funny how a bunch of those fugly dolls disappeared between the delivery truck and the sales floor... I found one of the warehouse workers' caches of Cabbage Patch dolls and left a menacing ransom note that mentioned coleslaw. LOL! It's been years since I thought about that.
You forgot the Power Rangers craze. That was about as bad. I witnessed two women fighting (and drawing blood) in a store over the last one in stock that year.
LOL!! ... that's funny
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