Two of the headlines for yesterday's stories on Friday's Sony Playstation 3 release:
Massachusetts Man Is Shot as Crowds Wait for Sony Console
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/18/nyregion/18play.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1163944825-bK1Te3N0GwpyR9v2b0/w/AViolence Mars PlayStation 3 Launch
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061118/ap_on_re_us/playstation_shooting_32A casual scan of the stories from the last two days (these noted above and others) reveals both disturbing patterns and disturbing causes.
There was the violence within the crowds of buyers, there was the violence enacted upon them by those willing to prey on a self-made 'captive audience' waiting to buy, and finally the violence visited on those who'd secured this coveted item and were leaving the stores.
Police in different areas around the country availed themselves of different techniques and tactics to control or subdue unruly crowds: talcum powder balls, pepper pellets, nightsticks.
Many were injured or trampled in stampedes as buyers rushed into the stores.
One young man in Connecticut was shot in the chest and shoulder
(with a shotgun, yet!) while he waited on line. The assailants were after his money, which they were sure he had for the purchase. Amazingly and fortunately, the victim is in stable condition; oh, and Wal-Mart's going to see he gets his PS3. (Let's encourage this line-up behavior certainly, it's good PR.) Another shopper in Connecticut was beaten and robbed of his PS3 by a group of teenagers.
He's in critical condition. One Allentown, PA teen was robbed of his purchase by a man with a handgun. This kind of thing didn't just happen in Connecticut and Pennsylvania: police in other communities around the country have reported other such robberies and attempts.
Consider then the causes:
First, the primary cause:
One can only imagine that the release of a product to stores without sufficient inventory to satisfy demand is a deliberate decision meant to hype the product in the eyes of the public. Given the predictable chaos, accidental injury and violence that accompanied this weekend's release, this borders on criminal negligence, if not legally, then certainly morally. If they can't flood the stores with product, they should hold the release date until they can. It's not like this is the first time a release has been accompanied by these types of stories. They may issue corporate messages of concern, but they don't change their behavior.
A store gets eight consoles: 350 people are on line; another got 28, with a line snaking around outside of the store waiting for a shot at one; one store gets only nine, and had no line as they'd sensibly pre-sold them before this week. One Best Buy seems to have been the outlet in this story to handle their line properly: knowing they had only 140 consoles, employees gave out tickets to the first 140 people in line, so everyone else could go home until the store was open. If that system sounds familiar, it's because rock fans have known about the 'bracelet' system for years. Stores must become more responsible about handling these all-too-predictable situations, and the policy and procedures should be handed down from the corporate level.
Other underlying causes: greed, stupidity, and warped values on the part of the public; consider the following:
John Moore's head was burning as he arrived just before midnight on Tuesday at Rockaway Townsquare's Best Buy, where he'll be one of the first people in Morris County to buy a Sony PlayStation 3 when it goes on sale today.
"I came here with a 103-degree fever," Moore, 21, of Budd Lake, said Thursday morning.
snipPaul Siegel, 19, of Rockaway Township, arrived Wednesday with the hopes of buying and selling.
"A day and a half of work for at least a month of pay? That's worth it," he said, adding that
he hopes to get between $1,500 to $2,000, or more, for his PS3.snip"I had planned to take (Thursday) to try to do this," said Edmund Keraitis, 49, of Mount Arlington, who also was in line, planning to get a PS3 for his 14-year-old son, Tyler.
"If you're doing this for the money, it's not a bad way to make money," Keraitis said, adding that he wants to teach his son a lesson.
"It's just teaching my son that if you really want something you have to work for it," he said.
http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006611170351Risk your health, profit on scalping hyped products, teach your child that waiting on line is work;all for a product that will be available for purchase later on. REALITY CHECK REQUIRED, PEOPLE!
:banghead:
(edited to fix typo)
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