Sony stages grand PS3 entrance

Electronics giant makes big show of console's arrival in San Francisco...by parading empty boxes in front of delirious crowd.

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SAN FRANCISCO--On the press invite for Sony's PlayStation 3 launch party at the Metreon shopping complex, Sony listed a series of events leading up to the first sale at midnight, pacific standard time. At 8 p.m., the electronics giant had scheduled the "dramatic delivery of PlayStation 3 shipment," which presumably meant the stirring moment when the first batch of 700-odd consoles would finally arrive at the flagship PlayStation Store.

At 8:15 p.m., a San Francisco Police Department SUV pulled up in front of the store on the partially blocked Fourth Street, sirens blaring. An officer jumped out, ostensibly due to a noise complaint, and ordered the DJ outside to stop spinning old-school hip-hop at a high volume. Once the beats had receded, two SFPD motorcycle patrolmen pulled up Minna Street, followed by a trio of black SUVs.

The PS3 cometh!

Sony puts on a big show for the PS3's "arrival."

The three SUVs screeched to a halt in near unison, blocking the width of Fourth Street. A dozen-odd security guards in crisp suits piled out, talking into palm-held microphones like those used by the US Secret Service. But while they looked like the president's bodyguards, the phalanx of agents weren't protecting a head of state. Instead, they fanned out to protect the arrival of a large silver semitruck, which pulled up inside the protected perimeter.

As the backdoor of the semi pulled up, Sony Computer Entertainment American executive vice president Jack Tretton emerged from the crowd, flanked by two fearsome bodyguards. He reached inside the truck, took out one of the many boxes inside, apparently at random. From said box, he produced two PlayStation 3s, which he held aloft with no small amount of pomp and circumstance.

Jack Tretton talks PS3

SCEA EVP chats at the Metreon.

Workers quickly piled the rest of the boxes onto carts, which were wheeled inside the PlayStation Store faster than a liver transplant onto a medivac helicopter. The crowd outside, most of whom wore wristbands guaranteeing them one of the consoles, understandably went wild. More than six years after the PlayStation 2 caused a similar launch fervor, its successor had finally come to America.

Ironically, though, the boxes the crowd was cheering contained something other than the PS3--namely, air. Yes, the "dramatic" delivery was in fact just a staged event for the press, cameras, and soon-to-be-PS3 owners. Though the boxes were authentic--even bearing air-freight stickers with a Shanghai origin and Los Angeles terminus--the boxes paraded in front of the crowd were, in fact, empty.

Once inside, the PS3 boxes were quickly broken down by PlayStation Store staffers, who whooped and high-fived each other a la Borat, believing their ruse had worked. The flattened containers were then taken behind a curtain--where more than 700 PS3s already sat prepacked in PlayStation bags, waiting for the stroke of midnight to be handed out. Inside the store, store workers unpacked hundreds of PS3 games, including Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07, Resistance: Fall of Man, and Tony Hawk's Project 8. Though the arrival had been a hoax, the throng outside would soon experience the PS3 for real.

162 Comments

  • stfolife

    Posted Mar 7, 2007 6:46 am PT

    ha sony is messed up but i still love my ps3

  • Omgwtflolzz

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 5:42 am PT

    the fanboyism in this thread makes me sad
    The PS3 is a superior piece of hardware. Graphics-wise, it goes far & above the 360 or Wii. What matters most is, games. I wish a 3rd party would put out their finest game on all 3 systems. Side-by-side, let's judge which is the better game: 360, PS3 or Wii. It's the quality of the games that matter; pretty graphics mean nothing!!

  • blancobo

    Posted Nov 24, 2006 8:54 pm PT

    nice trick to mislead the fans. in the end i dont care about any of that. all i care about are the consoles, the games and Metal Gear GOP. the PS3 has arrived and it will stay... it will dominate the next gen console market period!

  • Jayson619

    Posted Nov 24, 2006 2:00 am PT

    Whoever complained about the DJ must be really stupid!

  • _Sam_

    Posted Nov 23, 2006 5:29 pm PT

    Pointless entertainment right there

  • hairygoat

    Posted Nov 22, 2006 2:15 pm PT

    PS3 cant play HD-DVDs. And the web browser is a serious gimmick, that doesnt function too well. When you download games off Sony's site you dont own the game properly. You can only move it to 5 other PS3s and then u lose the game(so i've heard). You cant download updates or games and play games on the PS3(xbox can).

  • Wikkid_Klown

    Posted Nov 22, 2006 1:38 am PT

    Its not a waste. Its more than grahics. Its better than any computer exspecially when you compare the price. And it plays Blu-ray, HD DVD and cd-r. Music, movies. Download off plaaystations special website while on the ps3. How isnt it better? The Xbox 360 doesnt even compare.

  • xzapboardsrulex

    Posted Nov 21, 2006 8:34 pm PT

    why would u want to pay 600 bucks for better graphics? ITS A WASTE!!!

  • oscar530

    Posted Nov 21, 2006 6:44 pm PT

    LOL!!!!

  • abu123

    Posted Nov 21, 2006 5:19 pm PT

    Is ps3 really worth buying? I don't personally know but what do you think?
    vote at

    http://www.gamespot.com/pages/forums/show_msgs.php?topic_id=25164974

  • blaze000o

    Posted Nov 21, 2006 3:41 pm PT

    ha ha ha sony trying to keep the hype up on ther system! sad really. People actouly got stuck into the hype and all. HAAAAAAAAA!

  • xXrebel666Xx

    Posted Nov 21, 2006 1:42 am PT

    cheers for ruining there whole act guys.

    haha, they went too all that effort too get those guys hyped up and then there gonna come home and read this and be like "dayum"

  • Maquis_UK

    Posted Nov 19, 2006 4:47 am PT

    they pwn their own fans. regularly.

  • lanista

    Posted Nov 19, 2006 2:23 am PT

    I don't understand why Sony make fools of their fans - making them cheer at boxes filled with 'air' just so Sony can get some PR cheap

  • Versus_XIII

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 4:47 pm PT

    Lol. Love that drama.

  • Nuyourk

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 3:17 am PT

    Man, that whole thing was pretty lame. The crowd actually seemed pretty unenthusiastic about the whole thing, although they were probably tired as well. But when you compare this to the 360 launch...

  • fear91

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 2:32 am PT

    I can't wait till march

  • ThrawnEternal

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 12:36 am PT

    You know they didn`t make nearly enough systems when they have to sink low enough to parade about empty boxes...

  • anamnawshad

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 12:34 am PT

    What a Drama!

  • Meshete450

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 8:55 pm PT

    nice

  • EPaul

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 7:19 pm PT

    Cool

  • Dreski83

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 5:24 pm PT

    far from impressed... if anything its a decent thing to do for the hardcore nuts who actually waited about hoping for some magical splendor. But seriously... what would have happended if some wacko made a move on the empty boxes??

  • Alcotamaysees

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 4:01 pm PT

    That's hilarious.

  • comthitnuong

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 3:50 pm PT

    empty boxes lol

  • josephmadde2005

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 3:21 pm PT

    Wow if sony can manipulate like this over a game console what other wool is pulled over our eyes daily? Something to think about. P r i s o n p l a n e t . c o m

  • gohantech00

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 1:42 pm PT

    PWNT x 700

  • ocdog45

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 12:53 pm PT

    thats funny, ha ha- nelson munts

  • crazytom49

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 12:52 pm PT

    the comic art of misdirection, of which sony pr are the masters

  • Unkillable

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 12:48 pm PT

    Well played for Sony...they totally manipulated the crowd and kept them from leaving, talk about an entrance.

  • BIGboss600

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 12:43 pm PT

    i dont need to read this .come on playstation bring us mgs4 dmc4 ff13 heavenly sword a creed resident evil 5 gta4 virtua fighter 5 tekken 6 kilzone 2 and many many o so many more

  • moneyrumble

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 12:32 pm PT

    Well, you need to be flamboyant when you don't have enough product at launch. It's the equivalent of "Look! over here...at my shiny light show..(as the real issues are covered over).

    Business-wise, this is not a good launch...and they will struggle for months

    All Fanboys make me laugh. Nintendo, Playstation or Microsoft. You are more alike than you know. Like a bunch of crazed cats fightin in the back alley.

  • dt2003

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 11:38 am PT

    decided to visit my local Wal-Mart today to check out the new ps3, obviously they didn't have any on sale but they did have one layed out in the glass case. I was hopeing they have some demo and sure enough, they did. I tryed out MotorStorm on the hd plasma tv they had and i was HOOKED. Playing Motor-Storm on a hd monitor was an absolute treat. I don't know how the game would look on a standard television but after playing it on the hd monitor, i was stuned at the graphics. Not only the graphics was amazing, but the game physics as well. Its incredible to see how cars flips and exploded in mid air in slow motion. The crashes was amazing, the most realistic crashing sequences you'll ever find. As you progress through the race, you can see your car getting dirty from the dirt tracks and the damage you sustained from hiting something are still visable. You can see your own tire tracks from the previos laps and its awsome seeing your car get totaled, thats why i cant help myself but crash into something on purtpose just to see the crash scene. It was my first time playing a next gen game, and even though it was only a demo, I stood there and play over and over again for about an hour, admire the graphics and physics of the game, every crash and bump is totally different from before, nothing is repeated. I keep telling myself to buy a ps3 next year or maybe later, but after playing the demo, its obvious that i want one very, VERY SOON!!

  • SemiMaster

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 11:24 am PT

    All of this glitz and glamor followed by violence and scalping doesn't make a successful launch when you only have a handful of units to sell in the first place...

  • estebanhi

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 11:08 am PT

    Cool, cant wait till i buy it in march...

  • pencilpusher69

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 10:59 am PT

    assfault88
    "Why do all you haters have to bash Sony for this? I thought it was really cool when I read this article, then I read all your comments and was amazed at how cynical people are. Why can't you just appreciate a good effort at making a noteworthy launch?"

    Noteworthy in that the company failed to deliver even the modest 400,000 systems to fans who have been waiting for their systems?

    Or noteworthy because of the hype?

  • LexLas

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 10:57 am PT

    That was live.. I'll always remember that.

  • room234

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 10:54 am PT

    I suppose planning some lame PR stunt to jerk fans around is easier than actually putting the effort into making a good system to PLEASE the fans.

    I think my feelings about the PS3 launch were summed up pretty well by Tycho at Penny Arcade today.

  • Ashkanhoss29

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 10:35 am PT

    Damn, I wish I could be there

  • madribub

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 10:25 am PT

    I'm sure Nintendo will not be nearly as flamboyant with their entrance, but there'll be some drama at the Nintendo World Store. still, as if the release of the system wasn't enough. Hopefully, it's not a sign of what this system could end up being - just a bunch of empty experience.

  • SugarDaddie

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 10:21 am PT

    If it wasn't enough for them to lie their way to all the hype, they decided to lie EVEN MORE with that ridiculous entrance.
    That's just sad.

  • i_like_evil

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 10:21 am PT

    Big waste of money. That big silver amoured truck, all those secret service agents (yes I know they aren't real but they would have been paid though), the bodyguards (probably real), those expensive cars and all of those boxes... And they wonder why they have lost so much money...

  • blueflamedino

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 10:19 am PT

    Did they have to do that, Sony thinks they are rock stars or something?

  • kyosukeugc

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 10:04 am PT

    GIJesse77 - yeah because you'r enot 12.......... moron

  • Flamesdust

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 9:47 am PT

    Sony = Drama Queens. Funny they felt that was necessary.

  • jedimaster1971

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 7:13 am PT

    i waited in line for 2 days turn my new PS3 on and nothing, no power! tried for a few hours then i had to return it to wal-mart. they said mine was the 3rd one of 20 they sold to be returned now i got a big fat raincheck i don't blame sony i still want a ps3 over that crappy 360.

  • Killer_Dodds

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 6:59 am PT

    that was sad...just give me a ps3 and ill be happy (espeshly if its free )

  • chrisdojo

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 6:51 am PT

    care = zilch.

  • BYS2

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 6:42 am PT

    cool

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