Here it is, Thursday, the 16th of November.  And we all know what's coming tonight - people awaiting the midnight sales for the PS3 launch.  However, as we all know from what was posted up in Gamespot a while ago (the Japanese PS3 launch), not everyone that lined up got a PS3.  So I'm expecting the same here in America.  The next 24 hours will either bring people in harmony or into tears.  Of course, VGCats touched on this a while back - http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=212 - but then again, there might be a reason why the companies (Microsoft and Sony) release so few consoles at launch.

I mean, think of it this way - it's pretty much the testing phase.  Microsoft and Sony consoles don't have a history of standing up against abuse, wear and tear, or other accidents like the track record of the Nintendo consoles.  Releasing such a low number at first can help in recalls should something fail in the first batch of consoles.  Because they can only test it so much, whereas out there in the hands of the gamers, is where the true test of strength lies.  As we've seen with some XBox's, they CAN have a flaw (roasted carpet, anyone?), so I tend to think of the small release as a testing phase, to see if the consoles can truly stand up in the hands of even the more skeptical gamer.  Of course, later, the companies will make more consoles for the rest of us when they see that their construction was indeed a success.

Then there is the Wii.  There are more units of Wii than PS3's, yet I heard that online pre-orders of the Wii all sold out within 3 hours.  That's amazing, when you think about it.  However, that has prevented me from attaining a pre-order of my own.  The Wii is coming out on my birthday, so I'm in a sort of a rut about it, that I don't have a guarenteed Wii console to depend on.  On the vote today, I did indeed vote that I will be waiting in line for the Wii.  As to where, well, that depends.  But what really gets me is all these people who pre-order consoles, buy them, turn around on e-Bay, sell them for more than they're worth, and turn profits out of it, while us gamers who just want the dang console are suffering for such actions.  I know a few people who are doing that.  That's what I fear is happening to the Wii.  Since the PS3 is ridicolously priced at $500 - $600, there may be people who are just using the Wii to boost their own PS3 fund.

Thankfully, Gamestop and EBGames have limited Wii sales to 1 per person/household.  I don't know if this will result in many pre-ordered Wii's being up for grabs, but I hope it does.  I would like to have something really nice on my birthday.

Just my thoughts.

-SD9