So, I was going to line up at the Manhattan Best Buy, the only one in the city doing a midnight launch last night. I got there right after work, about 5:15, to find out that they closed the line at 3pm. Plan A = Bust.
So I take the opportunity to go to bed really early and get up equally early in order to hit up a Target and a Circuit City for their morning launches. They are both part of the Atlantic Center Mall in Brooklyn.
I get to Target at 6:30am and greet a line of roughly 150 people awaiting outside (in the rain) the opening at 8am. Around 7:15 the Target employees (quite courteous), inform us that they've only received 40 units, an even 20/20 split. They start handing out numbered tickets to the lucky first 40 in line, whereas the rest of us head over to the Circuit City line across the street. Plan B = Bust.
I get to the Circuit City line (of roughly 50 people) at 7:20 or so, awaiting their ridiculous 10am opening. The drizzle turns to a windy, freezing downpour. We wait calmly the remaining hours, waiting for the CC employees to come and give us direction and information. They don't. At 9:45am, they open that part of the center's doors, and all reason and order dissolves as a human mob of roughly 200 people storm the escalators in order to bum rush the CC for product. Fail. The CC employees (all dry and warm, btw), panic when they see us, slam their doors shut, and lower the metallic reinforcement usually reserved for the store's nightly closing. This is roughly 9:54, 6 minutes before they are technically supposed to open. They attempt to send someone out in order to inform us that they are sold out. (They presumably received anywhere from 50-80 units, was the word).
...
They haven't even OPENED for business yet. And we can plainly see a shit-ton Xboxes behind the counters. Obviously, this was a dimwitted attempt to get us to disperse.
They amble about for about 10 minutes, as my fellow mobbers, now rightfully enraged, pound on the doors and windows, whilst the employees proceed to call the cops on us. Oh, and check out a couple of Xboxes to THEMSELVES, presumably to keep one and eBay the rest. The cops and THREE fire trucks arrive within minutes, and I promptly exit at that point. Plan C = Bust.
I head on over to the PC Richard's across the street and a nearby Gamestop. Plan D = Bust. Sorry, no story here.
At PC Richard's I meet up with two other fellow geeks, dejected one and all, and we agree to hit up a couple of additional locations together before giving up.
We walk down to the Fulton Mall in downtown Brooklyn in order to tap the Toys R Us there. They received a grand total of 11 units, a 6/5 split favoring the Premium Pack. Plan E = Bust.
We take the subway to the Sunset Heights CostCo and decide that if they actually have any in stock, then we'll pay the $45 on the spot in order to become members. Sadly, they also sold out, after opening at 8am. (They normally open at 11, and we got there at 11:05). One of us spoke to a customer service rep there and they assured us that they'd open today at 11, not early. Lies. Plan F(inal/ubar) = Bust.
So I take the opportunity to go to bed really early and get up equally early in order to hit up a Target and a Circuit City for their morning launches. They are both part of the Atlantic Center Mall in Brooklyn.
I get to Target at 6:30am and greet a line of roughly 150 people awaiting outside (in the rain) the opening at 8am. Around 7:15 the Target employees (quite courteous), inform us that they've only received 40 units, an even 20/20 split. They start handing out numbered tickets to the lucky first 40 in line, whereas the rest of us head over to the Circuit City line across the street. Plan B = Bust.
I get to the Circuit City line (of roughly 50 people) at 7:20 or so, awaiting their ridiculous 10am opening. The drizzle turns to a windy, freezing downpour. We wait calmly the remaining hours, waiting for the CC employees to come and give us direction and information. They don't. At 9:45am, they open that part of the center's doors, and all reason and order dissolves as a human mob of roughly 200 people storm the escalators in order to bum rush the CC for product. Fail. The CC employees (all dry and warm, btw), panic when they see us, slam their doors shut, and lower the metallic reinforcement usually reserved for the store's nightly closing. This is roughly 9:54, 6 minutes before they are technically supposed to open. They attempt to send someone out in order to inform us that they are sold out. (They presumably received anywhere from 50-80 units, was the word).
...
They haven't even OPENED for business yet. And we can plainly see a shit-ton Xboxes behind the counters. Obviously, this was a dimwitted attempt to get us to disperse.
They amble about for about 10 minutes, as my fellow mobbers, now rightfully enraged, pound on the doors and windows, whilst the employees proceed to call the cops on us. Oh, and check out a couple of Xboxes to THEMSELVES, presumably to keep one and eBay the rest. The cops and THREE fire trucks arrive within minutes, and I promptly exit at that point. Plan C = Bust.
I head on over to the PC Richard's across the street and a nearby Gamestop. Plan D = Bust. Sorry, no story here.
At PC Richard's I meet up with two other fellow geeks, dejected one and all, and we agree to hit up a couple of additional locations together before giving up.
We walk down to the Fulton Mall in downtown Brooklyn in order to tap the Toys R Us there. They received a grand total of 11 units, a 6/5 split favoring the Premium Pack. Plan E = Bust.
We take the subway to the Sunset Heights CostCo and decide that if they actually have any in stock, then we'll pay the $45 on the spot in order to become members. Sadly, they also sold out, after opening at 8am. (They normally open at 11, and we got there at 11:05). One of us spoke to a customer service rep there and they assured us that they'd open today at 11, not early. Lies. Plan F(inal/ubar) = Bust.
