Drive-by shooting at PS3 queue
Queing up for a PS3 could leave you dead. Especially if you get shot.
Not just any old people either. One of the four people hit in the drive-by was news reporter for WYKT (go to the WYKT site to get the news video). Elizabeth Dorsett was reporting on the massive queues that had built up when a car drove past and fired BB's into the crowd. Two of the people camping out for a Playstation 3 packed up their tents and went home after the shooting, stating that: "A Playstation 3 just isn't worth getting shot over."
Tell that to the droves of people who are queuing up to get their hands on the PS3 in the videos below. It appears a lot of people are viewing the Playstation 3 as an opportunity to make money with one chap claiming he was planning on making $2,000 on eBay once he'd got his hands on it. He's no doubt correct in this assumption; with Christmas on the horizon parents will be desperate to get their hands on the Foreman-alike entertainment machine.
eBay has reacted to this in the UK though, with Eurogamer reporting that the auction site has banned all sales of Playstation 3s in the UK until February 2007. Even then sellers will only be allowed to sell one of the item, the order will have to be dispatched within the EU and will require a genuine picture to prove the sale is not a hoax. Eurogamer actually goes on to provide a link to show that you can buy a PS3 if you're using eBay in the UK. Fancy spending a cool £1,000 then head on over.
Is the PS3 really worth all this fuss? How much would you spend on one? Would you risk getting shot? Give us your answers in the forums.
Previous Article
24 Comments
Discuss in the forums ReplyThe police asked everyone to line up outside, and all hell broke loose. According to witnesses, a large group of people rushed to the front of the store, all trying to be the first in line. They were knocking over anything, and anyone, in their way. Once they got outside, a fight broke out. The store shut down and the police told everyone to go home.
As for the drive-by, it doesn't matter what ammunition was used. Think about the situation: A large group of people, most of whom are already in an anxious sate. A shot rings out, someone shouts "I just got shot." Panic ensues. You can sit back now and laugh about people being shot with "harmless" BBs, but I imagine you'd have a different opinion if you, or your girlfriend, were the one being pelted.
It's times like these that I lose all faith in humanity.
-monkey
OMG those people queing already are so sad. I know they trying to get it to re sell and make a huge profit. Thats just wrong and should be made ilegal.
I know I want a PS3 but ill wait untill after launch and when I can just walk into the shop and pick on off the shelf. Im not going to be camping outside days before the shop opens just to get a games console. That is s sad case of desperation from people with no life.
I guess it be september next year ill be able to walk into a shop in the UK and pick one up noproblem. But Im in no rush :)
Sony really has no reason to want this to be illegal. It generates free publicity. Also, all of those units sold on ebay will not be covered by the manufacturer's warranty. If they end up making bunk units on the first go around then Sony will not have to eat the cost on the repairs. Granted, this cost would be chump change compared to any massive advertising campaign.
To be honest, I was more excited about the launch of the 8800
Just for the sake of argument: what if it was a squirt gun? And not even a scary super soaker...I'm talking about one of those little transparent plastic hand-gun squirt guns, where each pull of the trigger pumps out a tiny stream of water for about half a second. Technically they're still 'shooting,' aren't they? Would you feel misled if a "drive by shooting" turned out to involve a squirt gun?
I think the folks saying "OMG BB's aren't drive-by!" are really just commenting on the fact that the term "drive by shooting" comes from gang actions in South Central Los Angeles (and other big cities), and is generally intended to be a deadly act. BB's don't quite live up to that.
Granted, BB's can be dangerous (you could put your eye out, if I remember correctly), but the people doing the shooting in this case probably had more mischief/humor in mind rather than hurting anybody (though, yes, they could have created some serious injuries if they hit somebody in the eye, etc).
A little plastic toy that squirts a tiny stream of water can hardly be compared to a gun that fires a small metal projectile at high velocity, especially when you take into consideration group dynamics and people already in a hightened state.
I think it's interesting that someone shoots a weapon of any kind into a crowd of people, and some Bit members seem more upset at the title of the article, as if they somehow felt cheated that there wasn't carnage.
-monkey
from the mouth of a PC gamer I suppose :) Still pretty wacked that there are riots and drivebys happening over it though.
this is just dumb
Now for the drive-by....I have a BB gun, a pump action shotgun replica, if i shot a guy with this it would hurt a lot (i know, i shot my self once to see if it hurt, AND IT BLOODY HURT!!!!!) he would look at me and see a shotgun, and scream "GUN!!!!! I GOT SHOT $%&#$&/%$%##"##%&/ HELP ME!!!!!!". how would people in the area react?
They would react as if there was a real shotgun and someone was shooting it, panic would spread and lots of people would try to stampede out of there mashing and running over people that fell to the ground.
very nice effect of a simple BB gun right?
I'm also glad I'm pissed enough at Sony that I wasn't there either.
Hmmm... Do you think if we traced the plates on the car in the driveby it might trace back to the son of Sony's marketing manager?
CNN Playstation 3 shopper shot
-ed out