MIdnight release picking a store and line advice

Which store do you guys think will have the most consoles allocated outside of preorders for the public to buy at midnight? Secondly, how early do you really have to get in line? Lastly, I notice Best Buy mentioned that they will have someone outside to let people know how many consoles they will be giving away, will most stores be doing this, so we don't wait until 10pm or midnight to find out we just wasted 6 hours for nothing?

Get there at 6 to get your group/number. Come back at 12.

Have it paid for first! Best buy kinda sucks for that stuff as they funnel to one register and try to up sell subscriptions that take forever. Ask if they will have two lines one for paid pick up and one for pay off an pick up.

Sony store dude. If you have one in your area, they will be *stocked*. My Sony Store says they will start accepting line-ups at 10PM and will be selling them at midnight. They said they have dozens of models for sale. Best Buy said they have no models for non-preorders. My Target says they will have at least 10 in stock (and Target didn't receive any preorder cards).

You should go to Target. They are not doing any Midnight stuff. Just show up 8 am Friday morning and snag one. Call first though to make sure they're going to have "wild" consoles.

My Walmart says they have 21 extra consoles for Walk-ins. and the rest (74) Are pre orders. So im glad i pre ordered because i will never make top 21 in my area.

I honestly don't see much point in going to a midnight release if you haven't already pre-ordered the thing ahead of time.

Uh...why not? What about the stores that aren't doing preorders? What about the stores that stock set aside for walk-in customers?

Just seems like the chances of getting a new console on launch night when you're competing with other people is slim. Also, if you go to all of that trouble of waiting in line late at night, you might waste a bunch of time and sleep for nothing.

Keep in mind everyone is going to be doing the same thing you are so don't focus on camping out at the more popular\busier stores. If you have any stores in your area that aren't Best Buy, Target or Walmart you could have a better chance.

@GodOfSyn: I doubt any of them will have consulted allocated outside of pre-orders... If you didn't already put down a deposit, you're probably out of luck.

Well I guess I'll just have to stick with the one I bought from Amazon. I was hoping to snag another to cut down the cost of the games, extra controller, and subscription to PSN by a couple hundred. It's not worth all the hassel after all, and it's not selling for $600 on craigslist in my area, though I see people getting $500 and $550 for theirs which isn't really worth it to me, I'd rather sell for $600 and take my chances at the midnight release, but since that doesn't seem like its happening, I'll just have to enjoy the new console. Thanks for the info everyone. Hopefully it will help out others who are planning on going to a midnight release for the next gen consoles.

i just found out at my best buy i can shop at 10pm inside the store while i wait to pick up my ps4

Always had good luck with walmarts for non preorders. Show up ASAP tomorrow, but no later than 4pm. Walk in, ask if they have any systems available, and where to wait. Move on if you are too late. Also a lot of false rumors will sometimes spread, so don't trust what others in line are saying. If someone in back of the line starts spouting some bs, ignore them.

It's anyone's best shot at getting a PS4 if you haven't preordered one. There are at least a hundred PS4's in stock to be sold to non-preorders at launch in my area. I really don't think there are going to be hundreds of people who haven't preordered lining up for PS4s at midnight. It's not exactly a huge launch - most people who want a PS4 has theirs preordered already.

Toys R Us perhaps?

Wal Mart let's you wait in line INSIDE, but because of this it's a popular choice for many people. Also, beef jerky makes a great line-snack... it absorbs much of the water in your stomach and prevents you from having to go to the bathroom too much, which is helpful if you plan on drinking coffee.

Since you haven't pre-ordered, go to the store early and ask the electronics manager, "How many non-preordered units are there?" and then determine how many people are in line waiting without pre-orders. Just ask the line people... they will tell you. They totally understand your desire to not waste your time.

Also, consider driving a ways to a neighboring, smaller town. Smaller towns will have far less demand. If you live in a major metropolitan area, go to the suburbs or further to limit your competition. You can research towns at their local chamber of commerce webpage... look for towns with high median ages and low populations. This is perhaps a little extreme, but whatever helps.

I ended up getting one, they had about 35 extras. I did the same thing for Xbone release too.