Sony's PlayStation 3 launch in downtown San Francisco

A few days ago one of my posts was about the launch of PS3 in Japan.Remember PlayStation 3 hits the Japanese market ?
Today you can read about Sony's PlayStation 3 launch in downtown San Francisco. It was a spectacular event.

But first look at the photo. If you had enough money to buy the Sony console, would you queue for two days? Vote here.


The street had to be blocked off for the evening.
The band Angels and Airwaves played on a specially constructed stage, there were spot lights, video screens and a giant LED clock counted down the time until the first sale at midnight.

At 8pm there was a dramatic delivery of the new consoles with the arrival of 200 systems in a 40-foot truck. Sony executives did not disclose the exact number of systems on sale nor could they confirm how many of the $499 20GB and the $599 60GB system were available, though a representative insisted no one would be disappointed despite the two variants being doled out on a first-come first-served basis.

At midnight the first sale was made to 21-year old Chris Toribio amid a sea of media cameras. He had waited in line since early Wednesday morning when he and his four friends set up camp on the pavement near the store.By mid-afternoon there were 50 people in this unofficial queue.

By Thursday afternoon the official queue consisted of roughly 700 people who had all been guaranteed a console. They waited in deck chairs or on sleeping bags. Some snoozed, others listened to music. Many were playing on their Nintendo DS handheld consoles while others opted for a low-tech game of cards.

Would you like to have a look at the BBC story?