| Survivor: Red Bluff |
| On Thursday evening, I found this small tribe of survivors braving the cold outside of Walmart in Red Bluff. Nearby, their tents were already set up for their second night of waiting for the limited release of Playstation 3. On Friday morning, our Red Bluff Walmart will be selling 6 PS3's and giving rain-checks for 4 more. Everyone else will need to wait until January...thus the urgency to not lose their place in line. |
| Being the worrier that I am, I found myself concerned that someone would drive up to the store on the morning of the big sale and shove them out of the way. You know, if you've ever been to Walmart on the morning after Thanksgiving, that some Red Bluffians will go to the extreme to get what they want. Not to worry, the store manager has their names on a list and as long as they stay outside the store, their game system is reserved. |
| What kind of people hang out in front of Walmart just to enjoy a game 2 months before the rest of us? Very nice people, that's who, and I really enjoyed my visit with them. They seemed to be having a blast. Oh, and I quickly learned that it's not just a game! Joe was a wealth of information about the PS3 system that plays high definition dvd's, stores music, and give access to other online gamers. Earlier today, the group experienced quite a bit of excitement when Josh and Regan from Stockton arrived. Josh had been looking for a place to buy a system and had visited Best Buy in Redding. However, Best Buy has had customers waiting outside since Tuesday! Arriving in Red Bluff, he bought someone's place in line for $300.00. That person promptly took the $300 over to Radio Shack and loaded up with games and another system. Time for honesty...had Josh told his boss the real reason for his absence from work? "Yes, I told my boss I needed a PS3 release for two days." He said that he would have gone to Oregon if necessary. Now that's gaming devotion! |
| If you want a 60GB hard disk drive, you'll pay $599 for your PS3. If you're satisfied with a 20GB HDD, your price will be $499. (Except for Josh...he added $300 to his price tag. It's okay though, he seemed pretty happy with his place in line.) Joe asked me if I knew that the PS3 was selling for $2,000 to $4,000 on ebay. "So, are you going to sell yours?" No answer, just a grin. While they've been waiting, the Walmart employees have been very gracious, bringing them cookies and other goodies. |
| What have Joe, Josh, Regan, Brady and the others been doing while they wait? "Bonding and talking," someone answered, laughing. "Looking at this brochure," said Joe, but it looks like they've also been making some new friends. Now they'll have more than just a PS3, they'll have a great story to tell about how they met up with total strangers and stayed under tents in front of Walmart for a few days. |
| Joe |
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