PS3 touches down in SF

PlayStation store in Metreon opens doors to waiting throng; first person in line is speechless after purchase.

Resistance: Fall of Man

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SAN FRANCISCO--"THREE! TWO! ONE! WOOOOO-HOOOOOO!" That was the sound the crowd outside the Metreon made as the clock struck midnight, ringing in the first seconds of November 17, 2006. After waiting up to 48 hours nonstop on the pavement--be it in lawn chairs, improvised street furniture, or a humble pair of shoes--the 700-strong crowd let out an upbeat primal scream. Despite the fact many were in line just to resell the console, there was an undeniable exuberance in the air ushering in the first minutes of the PlayStation 3 era.

Few had as much enthusiasm as Chris Tonibio, 21, who had the distinction--some would say dubious distinction--of being the first person in line outside the Metreon. "My friends and I just came by on Wednesday morning just to check it out," the dazed gamer told a throng of reporters. "When we saw there was no one in line, we called up some people and said, 'Hey, let's all get PS3s,' and they all came down."

SF's First PS3 buyer

You've just waited 36 hours on the sidewalk for a PS3, Chris Tonibio--what are you gonna do next?

Tonibio's party began their campout at 8 a.m. Wednesday morning. At 11:59 p.m. Thursday night, he and his four friends were ushered into the lobby of the Metreon, the shopping and entertainment complex formerly owned by Sony. Tonibio then had to run a gauntlet of photographers from the game and mainstream press, most of which were intent on destroying his retinas with amassed batteries of flashbulbs.

Slightly blinded and very disoriented, Tonibio shuffled past the press into the PlayStation store and was presented with one of the first PS3 units on the West Coast by Sony Computer Entertainment executive vice president Jack Tretton. After some brief words and a hearty, prolonged handshake, the ever-smiling executive sent the dazed gamer on his way--which then put him inside a circle of aggressive and often uninformed television reporters.

When asked what he would do after he took the console home, the weary Tonibio said one word: "Sleep." He also readily admitted that he had not yet purchased any games, though the first title he planned to pick up was the highly rated Resistance: Fall of Man. When one particularly ill-informed reporter facetiously asked him how he felt "about making history," Tonibio stared blankly before simply saying, "What? Uh, I dunno. I'm really tired."

Then, as soon as it began, Tonibio's 15 minutes of fame appeared to be up. As he headed for the exit, the rest of the line began to file in. With some 700 consoles to hand out in the next several hours, the PlayStation store officials wanted to keep things moving. Many members of the press quickly obliged, themselves eager to join Olympic gold medalist and pro snow- and skateboarder Shaun White at the Sony post-PS3 launch after-party at Jillian's, a cocktail lounge in the Metreon. As for the rest of the people in line, most quickly departed once they had completed their purchase--either to go play their PS3, post it on eBay, or simply get some shut-eye.

75 Comments

  • GunGriffin

    Posted Mar 5, 2007 7:55 am PT

    Sony needs to step up their devs to get more games announced for the PS3 and get more games out for it. There are not enough PS3 games to make a full rack at my Bestbuy store right now. It has some realy kick ass looking games but they all are eather not out or just not getting the support they need.

  • FFrockzmysocks

    Posted Nov 26, 2006 1:53 pm PT

    "Pretty sad when the PS3's main sellnig point is re-sale."
    lol, seriously. Thats the pro right now: so many people are buying for resale, theyre on high demand, so other people buy them off resellers to resell. This makes other resellers think people want them, so they sell them to another reseller...I(ts gonna go around for about 3 months, and then someones going to realize noone actually wants that. Thats when sony will start making good games, and we will finally have a real next-gen console war.

  • majorwes

    Posted Nov 24, 2006 12:30 am PT

    LOL they spelled him name wrong!!!

  • Quadrifoglio

    Posted Nov 22, 2006 1:22 pm PT

    Because i live in Denmark we wont be able to get until March :'(

    I love the Playstation but i realy dont think that it is going to smoke the 360.
    Its a shame...

  • Riverwolf007

    Posted Nov 22, 2006 8:27 am PT

    Of course the guy was speechless how much human contact has the poor sap ever had?

  • Supreme_Fantasy

    Posted Nov 19, 2006 6:50 pm PT

    What a waste of time...

  • shizwill03

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 10:26 am PT

    Well congrats to him! At least he was keeping it real, being tired as hell and wanted to go home. I will be non-chalontly going to my local Gamestop to pick up my Wii and Zelda. I am broke as hell now but I am happy! Oh, and I ain't selling this. NOT AT ALL.

  • Lordofultima

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 3:45 am PT

    Waited for 23 hours, in 26 degree weather. and was 27th in line, just got the 20 GB version. Oh well. Now I'm sick as hell.

  • DeViLzzz

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 10:30 pm PT

    Man have people heard of computers ??? I mean you can get a pc for almost nothing and there are many awesome video cards that are pci-e even and are around $200 so you could game with the best of them and the best part of it all is there are tons of free demos to dl off the net, games for pc drop in price like crazy in stores and it isn't hard to find new titles for $20+ to $40+ instead of $70 and heck if you are of the not so honest variety there is of course an easy way ot two to get games for free. Bottom line is a pc is a better investment and so if this guy goes and sells what he got he has half a brain as he could build a nice pc and have money left over. I mean he doesn't have to go Conroe and buy a $500 video card to play everything that is out there right now ............ oh and duh a pc can be used for learning !!!

  • UltraWoody

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 9:19 pm PT

    No one buys a ps3 to play it. They buy it to sell it. No one wants a ps3, per se, but they do want a wii (not to sell it, though). Sony should not allow this. eBay is making hundreds of thousands off of Sony's creation and they're sitting back allowing it to happen. That sucks for them, that's for sure.

    If 360 doesn't win over all... I'll be a monkey's uncle.

  • lonesn1per

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 7:15 pm PT

    he was a total prick !
    yeah i met him i talked to him my friend knows him!

    hes an arogant prick who and i qoute said "playstation 3 sucks i was going to get a wii anyways i just did this cuz i was bored" he pissed off so many people when he said that comment at the end of our 500 person line.

    i was #29 and ive been there monday and he just strolls in and "starts" it????

    grats to him but honestly it should be someone else.

    40 hours aint crap i did that when i was 1st in line for psp!

    everytime he walked by us you would hear people saying prick "jerk"
    he was a very cocky arogant person.
    but congrats to him anyways for starting the line.....also in the interview he said he help organized the line.......i didnt see him once when we had those line jumpers or those homeless people starting fights. he stayed in the tent and let the "ghetto" people handle it......and yeah i was there trying to make sure that we dont get kicked out and that we dont get our places taken by line jumpers. we didnt see him one time for those situations.

  • elementfx

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 7:09 pm PT

    Lol, the flying tomato. He's crazy.

  • Alcotamaysees

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 4:18 pm PT

    Tonibo, what a guy.

  • comthitnuong

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 3:42 pm PT

    he has made histoy

  • peyo6700

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 2:31 pm PT

    im sure he sell it on ebay no game??!! looll ebay power

  • GrimGravy

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 12:57 pm PT

    man i really wanted a PS3 oh well least i get a Wii on sunday

  • FallenOneX

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 11:42 am PT

    I have to agree with some of you. The Dreamcast launch was one of the best launches. My gamestop in the mall had it set up so that you could wait outside the store as soon as the mall opened for employees. No one left without a system, and I had to comeback for mine after the machine wouldn't read my check card! The only really bad thing I remember was MVC not being available until a week or so later.

  • estebanhi

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 11:17 am PT

    Ps3 is already sold out??

  • 4quarters

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 11:10 am PT

    We waited 37 hours @ Target I got the 2nd one- 60gb!!!! 37 degrees outside!!!!!!!

  • blueflamedino

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 10:27 am PT

    Wiiii... oops wrong place, PS3! PS3!, wait, hold on! no more left, what w will i spend my christmas money on now...

  • fugiot

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 10:27 am PT

    Well, seeing as I failed to get a PS3, I guess I'll hang my head and slump over to Best Buy on Sunday to grudgingly accept my Wii....

    *sigh*....

  • Truth_Hurts_U

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 10:01 am PT

    "700-strong crowd let out a upbeat primal scream. Despite the fact many were in line just to resell the console"

    Many were in line to resell.. Classic!

  • sccUniverse

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 7:06 am PT

    "kenesu96
    still, in my mind the best launch of all time, or will ever be, goes to the Dreamcast! broken records, everyone got on to take home, it was $200. and a game for every type of player."




    Dreamcast Launch was perfect. Even the launch date was perfect: 9.9.99

  • MrPuzzlez

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 6:56 am PT

    And then when everybody turned on their PS3s, there was a continental brownout...

  • Greydawg

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 6:53 am PT

    It's all over.....and I still have no PS3....dammmit...

  • Naruto

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 6:51 am PT

    "nasim007
    understandable..............since ps3 is the most powerful hardware ever created ..........anticipation is bound to be sky high"

    well, I laughed.

  • chrisdojo

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 6:50 am PT

    meh.

  • MrPuzzlez

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 6:44 am PT

    Wait for it... Wait for it...

  • kenesu96

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 6:42 am PT

    still, in my mind the best launch of all time, or will ever be, goes to the Dreamcast! broken records, everyone got on to take home, it was $200. and a game for every type of player.

    what are the PS3 launch games again? i still havent heard at all about them. the only gme that would pique my interest is sonic or ridge racer 7. but thats just the die-hard that i am

  • nasim007

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 6:42 am PT

    understandable..............since ps3 is the most powerful hardware ever created ..........anticipation is bound to be sky high

  • markshell

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 6:41 am PT

    Nerd alert

  • Kojo222

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 6:37 am PT

    Pretty sad when the PS3's main sellnig point is re-sale.

  • edhc44

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 6:36 am PT

    Sometimes I wish I had one but then again... so far there's nothing really interesting to play in it

  • LordAndrew

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 6:25 am PT

    That's going to be difficult without any units to sell, Paul.

  • K1LLSWITCH

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 6:23 am PT

    Is the PS3 launch the biggest launch in video game history? After the smoke clears we'll have to see what the sales numbers of the PS3 tells us when this day is done then compare the Wii sales on Sunday to see if the PS3 is indeed the biggest launch in history. Until then let's all enjoy reading some articles on what happens during this eventful day.

  • Paul_TheGreat

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 6:19 am PT

    PS3 will destroy the competition.

  • SpruceCaboose

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 6:18 am PT

    I've done console launches before, but never without a preoreder. Camping seems desperate to me, but man did he get what he wanted, so congrats to him.

  • Dante565

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 6:02 am PT

    Well now with PS3 launch the next gen has arrived but I am now eager to see how the Wii fairs becuase with its abilities and pricing i believe it also has great potential to be amazing. Good Job to everyone who got the PS3 go home rest up and get your game on.

  • xmartangel

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 5:37 am PT

    god i wish i was in new york..well i am from new york but i moved to another country which it sucks by the way..the system price around here are double so imagine

  • Nintendus

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 5:33 am PT

    "every single console sux,s big time (xbox360) except ps3 "

    Um, have you heard of Wii also?

  • solidbb

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 5:19 am PT

    I have and Xbox 360 and now I'm getting a Wii and PS3.... now it truly is the next generation! WOOOOOOO WEEEEE

  • Cloud737

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 5:17 am PT

    Wow, this seemed fun, although I think the NY launch was the greatest (kaz hirai+autograph+presents).
    I think the most memorable and joyful moments for the gamers is to wake up after getting some shut eye, and find their ps3 right next to the tv, covered by a gentle sun light, ready to be played. I think this would be worth the pain they went through.

  • muscrat_01

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 5:15 am PT

    Ill wait until next year

  • Thesilverpimp

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 4:47 am PT

    im getting both xbox360 and ps3, end of line.

  • NutX

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 4:44 am PT

    I have to say, I'm not capable of doing something that he and his friends did, since it seems that u need to be a 'bit' crazy to do that. But I gotta admit, the guy worked a lot to have wot he wants, so we should somehow apreciate wot he did

    Congrats

  • xangel0884

    Posted Nov 17, 2006 4:44 am PT

    He also readily admitted that he had not yet purchased any games, though the first title he planned to pick up was the highly rated Resistance: Fall of Man. Highly rated? yah ryt. gamespot pls amend this.

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