Electronic stores playing for keeps

By: PATRICK WRIGHT - Staff Writer | Friday, November 17, 2006 12:47 AM PST ∞

Some called it dedication. Some called it smart economics. Others passing by called it insanity.

No matter how people described them, hundreds of Sony Playstation 3 customers camped out Thursday across North County awaiting today's release of the video game console.

Campers at Fry's Electronics in San Marcos were told they would have to purchase eight games with their Playstation 3, making the final price tag for a $600 system closer to $1,000. Also, store return policies state that customers trying to return one or two games after purchase would have to return the entire purchase, including the Playstation 3 console, to get credit.

Manuel Valerio, Fry's community relations manager, said selling a Playstation 3 with games, known as bundling, was a way to discourage shoppers from buying systems and reselling them on the Internet. He said the store preferred the systems were sold to customers who want to use them. A spokesman for Best Buy said the company would allow customers to buy systems individually. A Circuit City representative failed to return a request for comment.

Many campers in North County have economics, and not gaming, in mind while they wait to purchase their Playstation 3.

Ian Huber, 20, from Fallbrook said his system was going right from the store to a sales offer on eBay, the popular Internet auction site.

"You can triple and quadruple (your money) on the Internet," he said.

A few committed customers have been in line since Nov. 7, but others started waiting Wednesday night. They were reading, sleeping and even playing card or board games.

Like many in line, Michael Peralta, 35, from the Rincon Indian Reservation expected to get a system one way or another.

"I'm a nice guy," he said. "But I'll bust heads if I have to."

Today marks marks one of the biggest video game weekends ever. Starting at 8 a.m., stores across North County were scheduled to open their doors to customers looking for Sony Playstation 3 consoles. On Sunday, Nintendo will start selling its long-awaited Nintendo Wii video game system. The launch of the two products comes one year after the launch of the competing Microsoft Xbox 360.

Camping out was the only way to get one of the first Playstation 3 systems locall and across the country because Sony launched the Playstation 3 with only 400,000 units for the entire U.S. market. Stores across North County, such as Circuit City and Best Buy, only planned to have between 20 and 30 of the $600, 60-gigabyte systems and no more than 10 of the $500, 20-gigabyte systems per outlet.

For lines that grew to more than 50 people late Thursday night, many customers were hoping others would give up so they could improve their position.

-- Contact staff writer Patrick Wright at (760) 739-6675 or pwright@nctimes.com.