To say that the release of Sony Playstation 3 (PS3) has met with success would be one of the biggest understatements of 2006. Gamers, hardcore and regular alike, have been salivating for nearly a year after Sony announced what would be under the hood. The official release date in North America was Friday, Nov. 17. It was like a million seagulls ravaging one pack of McDonald’s french fries. A few people got satisfaction but most walked away, dejected after learning that even big box stores only had a few to sell. For whatever reason, Sony only released 50,000 units for sale in Canada.
Darrel Cox is from High Prairie but was passing through Slave Lake that Friday morning just before Wal-Mart opened its doors. On a lark, he decided to try to buy one.
“I got to the doors about 8:45 and there were about 12 people in line ahead of me,” says Cox. “One person in line told me that Wal-Mart (an employee) handed out six tickets earlier in the morning and said there was a slim chance that people without a ticket would receive a Playstation. About five to nine, (one of the) store manager stuck his head out the door and said there were only (PS3s) two available. I didn’t get one and all but two people in line walked away.”
Cox knew before hand that his chances of actually getting one that morning were slim so he wasn’t upset at the revelation that Wal-Mart only had two PS3s for sale. Not so for one man who traveled from Edmonton.
“An argument ensued between (that) fellow and the store manager, Cox adds. “He was waiting in the parking lot since three in the morning and had received a ticket that morning. He was quite irate. He accused them of stashing the other four in the back room for employees. They handed out six vouchers and an hour later, they said there were only two. They were still arguing when I left.”
Sheila Boisson is the store manager of Slave Lake Wal-Mart. She confirms that the man from Edmonton was indeed very upset but calmed down after he came to understand Wal-Mart’s position. “We cannot do anything about the supply that was given us. Sony supplied us with two units and that’s what we sold,” says Boisson. “We tried really very hard to get more but it’s up to Sony. We simply sell what the vendor supplies us with.”
The man from Edmonton found it unlikely that Wal-Mart would only have two units to sell. His argument was that because six tickets were handed out, there must be six PS3s to sell. That’s why he accused the store of holding units back for its staff.
“That did not happen. It is something that I would never allow in my store,” Boisson states. “Tickets were handed out to the first six people in line and they were told it was first come, first served. The tickets simply signified they were first in line to receive a PS3. That is all. Trying to maintain order and be as civil is important to us and customer safety is most important. We don’t want people trampled coming in.”
“If we had six people in line and had six units to sell, we would have sold them all. None will ever be held in the back. Wal-Mart does not keep merchandise to one side for employees and the gentleman left my store knowing that that was true.
“People find it hard to believe that we only got two Playstations but we are a little store in northern Alberta. There are some Wal-Marts that didn’t receive any. Stores that are three times as big as us only got six. I don’t understand why Sony is only releasing so many but I know we’re at Sony’s mercy.”
As for Cox, the real reason he wanted to buy a PS3 is so that he could sell it on eBay. The mad rush for the new gaming console is inflating the price to five times the retail price of $599

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