1 shot in Conn. Playstation waiting line

[helderheid]

7 minutes ago


PUTNAM, Conn. - Two armed thugs tried to rob a line of people waiting for the new Playstation 3 game system to go on sale early Friday and shot a man who refused to give up his money, authorities said.


In other states, customers pushed and shoved their way to the shelves to get at the limited supply, and in Kentucky, four people were grazed by BBs fired from a passing vehicle as they waited for a Best Buy store to open.

The two gunman in Putnam confronted 15 to 20 people standing outside a Wal-Mart store shortly after 3 a.m. and demanded money, said State Police Lt. J. Paul Vance.

"One of the patrons resisted. That patron was shot," Vance said.

He said the two gunmen fled after shooting a 21-year-old Massachusetts man in the chest and shoulder. The victim was taken to University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester. There was no immediate word on his condition.

MORE >>>>

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061117/ap_on_re_us/playstation_shooting

[Jed Dilligan]

1. Well, that's okay, they have three more lives

:sarcasm:

[Ezlivin]

3. Yeah, but did they get to the next level?

Further :sarcasm:

[Jed Dilligan]

2. delete

dupe

[Horse with no Name]

4. Sorry but that is fucking ridiculous

I always get a chuckle when I am at the Goodwill and see the "Tickle Me Elmo's" in the toy bin marked 50 cents.
You can't tell me that they can't manufacture enough toys.
Instead, they hype their product over and over. Every kid wants it.
Parents are hoping to get what their kid wants.
It drives the market--those who weren't interested are "suddenly" interested in the hype. Now they want one.
Then right before Christmas, they will dump a glut of them...but not before they sucked everyone in.

[uncle ray]

38. it's not even the kids sometimes

our local paper ran a story on the first guy in town to camp out to get a PS3. yeah, he wanted his kids to have a good christmas, so he was going to buy a playstation...so he could sell it on ebay!

[TechBear_Seattle]

5. Of course in Connecticut

(Insert gratuitous whack at the Independent from Connecticut and a sense of entitlement here.)

[magellan]

6. OMG, last night we were joking about those lines

...being a good place to find people to rob. Not unpredictable, is it.

[donsu]

7. what is so special about Playstation 3?

I've never even seen 1 or 2 and have no idea what they are all about.

[Theres-a]

9. People are making money

By reselling them on ebay for a huge profit.I don't think the people waiting in line and turning a couple thousand dollar profit are the morans.It's the wackos on ebay willing to pay thousands of dollars for a 500 item that I wonder about.

[ContraBass Black]

18. It's new, and possibly the most capable on the current market.

[wuushew]

8. I wonder if a national ballistics database would help in this case.

n/t

[MANative]

10. That is just insane....

Maybe only exceeded in craziness by the price of the item itself...

[seabeyond]

11. years ago i told my boys we wouldnt have any of these things in the house

only a computer, with computer games. i love that decision

[eeyore]

12. Sony is largely to blame for these incidents....

They have limited the supply so dramatically that this was bound to happen. I daresay that they planned and were hoping for this kind of madness. Of course they don't want people to actually die for their products, but if people are willing to do so that only helps the hype factor.

[ChiciB1]

13. I Posted Something About This Earlier.... Some Who Replied Just

didn't get MY point! It upsets me that people will go do just about anything to buy something like this. Many think they will resell on eBay, but I heard you're going to be required to be a seller in good standing and one who has been a member for a long time and has an established record!

[ContraBass Black]

19. They weren't trying to get Playstations.

They robbed the people who were.

[Name removed]

21. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[KharmaTrain]

14. In Jsnuary Those Things Will Be Everywhere

My son's into gaming but has no immediate need for another "must have" Playstation. He (we) got burned a couple years ago...paying top dollar from his hard-earned allowance to get a PS2. We went all over the place to find one and eventually found a place online...paying well above the going rate. I warned him that this was a waste of money and that after xmas he'd find plenty out there at more reasonable prices. Sure enough, the same website he overpaid on in November was all but giving the things away in February.

Every xmas season there's some "must have" item...from Cabbage Patch dolls to Tickle-me Elmo to all the Playstations and other game systems. It's mass marketing at its most obnxious...whipping up a demand and shortage to get maximum profit and PR. Of course, Sony could have produced more units and had them in stores well in advance of all this bullshit, but then there'd be no news coverage and free promotion.

And for this people are now getting hurt?

[eeyore]

16. Exactly right...

Sony absolutely created this situation, and it's totally dispicable on their part. As the launch date got closer they just kept making anncouncements about recuced supply getting worse and worse. I wonder when one of these companies will be sued for creating an atmoshpere that leads to the deaths of their own customers. It's totally out of control and Sony, as well as the retailers, should be held accountable for the deaths that they help happen.

[ComerPerro]

24. learn to read

[Mike Daniels]

28. Yes, SONY should be responsible because a bunch of thugs

decided that instead of being productive members of society that it would be easier to just go ahead and rob some people who were standing in line in front of a store. (sarcasm)

Can you give me some more of the great insight that led you to reach that conclusion?

[KharmaTrain]

36. Allowing People To Camp Out All Night With No Security?

No absolving the goons who robbed those people, but there wasn't a need to create this "hysteria" that led people to spend all night waiting in line...with what appears to be little security just to put money in some corporate's pocket. A pox on all their houses.

Sony could have avoided this problem by producing more units...they surely had surveys that would predict the amount of demand and have enough units on sale that didn't create this artificial frenzy. It's a marketing ploy to get millions in free promotion and that's what dragged the people to the store, sitting outside, in the middle of the night. It also surely tipped off the robbers who followed the Willie Lohman philosphy...go where the money is.

So you think it's alright to create an artificial shortage that leads to violence? I'd like to see you justify that conclusion.

[ComerPerro]

23. Jesus Christ, learn to read.

[kiahzero]

29. There will probably be a shortage for quite some time

Sony has to figure out how to make the things for less than $900.

http://www.itworld.com/Tech/5051/061116sonyps3/index.html

[IntravenousDemilo]

15. This sounds like the first couple of chapters of Max Barry's novel "Jennifer Government"...

...a book I highly recommend. Set in a modern-day capitalist dystopia where corporations have as much power as governments and everyone's surname is the name of the company he works for (except for the unemployed, who have no surnames), the story opens with two marketing reps from Nike (John Nike and John Nike) contractually inveigle employee Hack Nike to gun down ten teenagers who have bought their new Nike Mercury shoes, at a list price of $5,000, in order to generate irresistible buzz --> sales --> profits: "They're killing kids for their Nike Mercurys!"

[kiahzero]

17. The gunmen weren't trying to get a PS3.

They shot a guy that they attempted to mug.

[wuushew]

20. thats why you should never ever carry cash

credit and debit cards can be cancelled within minutes. Since most criminals are morons they(edit "the criminals") have taken great risk for potential little gain.

[ComerPerro]

22. Yeah, its their fault for not having credit cards. They deserved to be shot

[kiahzero]

25. Wow

The poster was suggesting a sensible precaution to take, not blaming the victim.

[ComerPerro]

27. This whole thread is about blaming the victim

"well, they are just stupid for carrying cash"

"well, that's dumb, what do they expect, waiting in line for a video game system"

[wuushew]

30. My intent was not to blame the victim

if this person had enough funds to purchase the luxury item known as a PS3 then they have enough to open a free checking account and use checks or a debit card.


My outrage over this crime would magnitudes higher had this mugging occurred at a grocery store or food pantry.


(I was originally making a suggestion for public consumption since we all may be potential victims of mugging)

[ComerPerro]

32. Suppose it is a group of students who pooled cash

[wuushew]

33. convert to money order and save the receipt

n/t

[ComerPerro]

35. thats a bit paranoid, isn't it?

[wuushew]

39. Perhaps, I will admit to being a partial hypocrite

In 1997 I bought about $800 of stereo equipment in cash and in 1999 I lent my roommate $200+ bucks to buy a Sega Dreamcast.

However I seldom carry more than 20 dollars on me now days as you can pay for gas, food and most purchases very easily with plastic.

[FedUpWithIt All]

26. My family has been given three playstation II systems...

Everyone of them stopped working correctly within a short time of it's purchase. They would not play certain games. Each of the people who gave them over tried to get them repaired. SONY was charging MORE than the devalued price of a new machine to fix the damned things. They all ended up buying new ones. We kept one and donated the rest. The one we kept plays some games. Good enough. Thing is after the first three days of having it the girls never touched it again. :shrug:

[alfredo]

31. Here is Lexington we had fighting and a drive by shooting.

from a pellet gun during the wait outside a Best Buy.

During the wait a convicted rapist escaped from a nearby hospital. He was caught inside the Best Buy where everyone was waiting.

That he was caught in a Best Buy is truly amazing. My experience with Best Buy is if I want to become invisible, I walk into a Best Buy. Best Buy is where I go when I want to be left alone with my thoughts. He must have known this otherwise he would not have chosen Best Buy. It had to have been a customer that spotted him, because those who work there lose the ability to see the human form.

[zulchzulu]

34. There should be a Playstation game where you try to get a Playstation

Very violent game...indeed.

[Theres-a]

37. Mean people suck.