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After months of anticipation, hype, and rumors, the PlayStation 3 is finally here. If you happened to have a spare $9,000 burning a hole in your pocket you could have grabbed one off eBay, but the majority of gamers who scored a system last night did it the old fashioned way... waiting in line. More than 700 hardcore fans braved the cold and the rain to camp out for two days outside Sony's flagship PlayStation store in San Francisco. Some were no doubt hoping for a big score on eBay, but many just wanted to get their hands on a coveted system any way they could.
"The pre-orders were gone and I told myself that if I ever had a second chance at this thing I was going to go full force at it," said Thomas Wright, a 27-year-old fan from Pittsburgh, CA. "When you do that, you get results."
Although some fans had been milling about on Wednesday night, the "official" line didn't get its start until 8:00 AM yesterday which is when 21-year-old Chris Toribio of San Francisco claimed the number one spot in queue.
"I don't think any of us slept," said Toribio. "We brought junk food and tons of soda. This is my first campout and the experience over the last two days has been great."
Early on there was some issue with line management, but Toribio and friends helped keep things sorted thanks to a handy notebook.
"Our line almost got angry at another mob trying to sneak in, so we created a list," said Toribio. "Everyone followed it, everyone cooperated. It made everyone calm down and made them realize, 'There's no reason to get angry, you're going to get a PS3, so chill.'"
Waiting in line for two days might sound like a boring prospect to some, but Sony did its part to ensure that fans weren't figuratively left out in the cold -- even if the weather was a bit more literal. The company provided complimentary meals to line sitters as well as live entertainment. More than two months of planning went into this one night according to Patrick Seybold, senior PR manager of hardware at SCEA.





"We felt tonight was finally a night to not only get the fans their hands on it, but really reward them for their patience," said Seybold. "There's nothing really like a retail midnight sale like this."
Despite rumors to the contrary, Seybold confirmed that Sony not only shipped its promised 400,000 units across country for tonight's sale, but the company was committed to delivering on its promise of a million units by the end of the year. That's good news for those that are cringing at current eBay prices.
"We're still seeing a 400,000 unit launch tonight," said Seybold. "We're also air shipping in 100,000 units every week between now and the end of the year to make that million by December 31st."
One of the highlights of the night was a live musical performance by "Angels and Airwaves." Sony shut down a section of 4th Street, smack in the center of downtown San Francisco, and rolled out a concert stage so the band could perform for the crowd. Large monitors (and equally large speakers) ensured that everyone had a good seat no matter what their place in line. As it turns out, the band members were just as dedicated to the PlayStation as the fans in the crowd.
"The easiest thing for me to play is PSP, so I play a lot of ATV Fury and Hotshots," said David Kennedy, guitarist for Angels and Airwaves. "A few of us have one so we can sit around and link them all up and just geek out for hours."
In terms of distance traveled, the band members probably came the furthest -- they flew in from New Jersey and flew out to Rhode Island -- but they weren't about to leave empty handed. The band wouldn't agree to perform at the event until Sony guaranteed them a system."
"This sounds goofy, but I said, 'I'll do it, but they have to include a PlayStation 3,'" said Kennedy. "I will kick my ass to get here if I can get a hold of that system. We were very motivated to get here and play."
The hardcore spirit extended all the way through the line to the very end where Nathan Chiu, a student at UC Davis was the last person to be guaranteed a system.

"I had to cut four days of school to be here," said Chiu. "I really wanted to go watch the band and that's how I'm the last person here. That band was cool though!"
Even though most of the people outside the Sony PlayStation store were waiting for a system, some weren't there for the games -- they were there for the crowd. Miko Gordon and Nicolette Amarillas of Red Bull came prepared with a carload of the popular energy drink. The two walked up and down the line all night, passing out cans to the crowd.
"When we first pulled up here we had people chanting and yelling and screaming for us," said Amarillas. "It was crazy."
Both Gordon and Amarillas were looking forward to the PlayStation 3, but each had a different plan on how to get ahold of a system to play.
"Unfortunately, I'm not in this line," said Gordon, "but I'm waiting to get my hands on one because I'm a big gamer myself."
"I'm waiting for my friends to get one so then I can play it," laughed Amarillas. "Because I know I can't afford it."
Affording the PlayStation 3 wasn't a concern for Mike Henriquez, 37, from Antioch. He was number seven in line when one of the Sony reps quietly handed him a special ticket. It may not have been Willy Wonka's golden ticket, but it was nearly as good -- Henriquez won a free PlayStation 3 just by being in the right place at the right time.





"I've been out here since early yesterday morning. I was set to shell out the dough for the 60 gig unit and some games and accessories and I just lucked out," said Henriquez. "I'm keeping it. It's going up there with the Sony TV."
When it finally came time to sell the first system, Jack Tretton, SCEA's executive vice president and co-COO was on hand to start ringing up consoles. Tretton manned a register alongside the rank and file employees at the PlayStation store as eager consumers filed through.
"You work so hard for the last few years and to see the smiles on consumers' faces makes it all worthwhile," said Tretton. "Retail is where it all happens. That's where the consumers tell you what it's all about."
Tretton also let us in on a bit of trivia about the system. If you've been wondering exactly how SCEA choose Talladega Nights as the pack-in movie, the ultimate decision was made by one man.
"Actually that would be me." said Tretton with a smile. "I'm a big Ricky Bobby fan and a big Will Farrell fan."
The massive sale finally wrapped up around 5.30 this morning, as Chiu picked up his system; triumphant, but exhausted.
"I'm still here and I'm still the last in line," Chiu said.
Though Sony didn't have anyone available to give us exact figures, judging by the number of times that the cashiers shouted out "Resistance!" in a faux French accent, it's safe to say that the Insomniac shooter was the most popular purchase, aside from the system itself. Considering that there were more than 700 people in line, total sales for the night (consoles, games, and accessories) easily approached half-a-million dollars. Not bad for a night's worth of work.