Eager early adopters received word last night that EB Games and GameStop stores would be taking pre-orders for Sony's PS3 on Tuesday 10th Oct . Each store will have a limited number of units available when the system launches on November 17. Stores demanded a dowry of $100 in cash, credit, or trade-in for those precious few.
Many customers camped out overnight for the chance to be one of the first owners of Sony's next-gen system. At most of the stores that IGN visited or contacted the number of people lined up far exceeded the store's allocation. The number of pre-orders available varied from four at a store in Detroit, Michigan to 16 at a store in Seattle, Washington. Several employees we contacted said that they were instructed not to disclose the number of pre-orders they were given.
Some clerks would offer a general number when we pressed for details. One Northern California store claimed "less than 20".
When pressed the clerk laughed and admitted "Okay, like, ten less than 20."An official representative for GameStop Corp. said that each store recieved "no less than eight pre-orders or up to 16. The number allocated is based on store location and traffic." The rep went on to state that currently pre-orders for PS3 were closed. Customers can state their preference for which PS3 they would get, either the 20 GB or 60 GB, but there was no indication of what percentage of each version the stores will be provided. Currently, there are no pre-orders available in Canada and the company apologized for the confusion that led some to believe pre-orders were available for all of North America. Canadian PS3 pre-orders will be "available as soon as possible".
Most of the clerks said that the pre-orders were specifically for the $599 version with the 60Gb hard drive. Most lucky folks who managed to secure the pre-order weren't given any indication which type of PS3 they would get.
Rumors that the stores have also begun accepting Wii pre-orders have made their way around the 'Net, too. However, every store IGN contacted said they were not. Keep hope and sleeping bags at the ready -- Wii pre-orders will probably start "later this week." Although Nintendo has made it clear it will have many Wii systems available when the console launches November 19. We're sure there will be plenty of eager gamers pitching tents across America as soon as they know they can put money down for their own Wii.
Every store IGN spoke to assured us that waiting in line, begging, or offering up golden calves would not get us a PS3 on launch day. However, it is probably a safe bet we'll still see parking lot campsites spring up in malls across North America on November 16.
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