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Rush for Even Lara Croft, star of the popular video game "Tomb Raider," would have a tough time buying a Sony PlayStation 2 console, which debuted across the country today.
PlayStation 2
leaves most
empty-handed
Customers stood in line
since yesterday but stores
sold out within minutesBy Jaymes K. Song
and Treena Shapiro
Star-BulletinStores all over the state sold out within minutes, and the consoles -- priced at about $300 -- were selling on the eBay online auction site for more than $1,000.
Demand for video game machine is high, partly because Christmas is coming. But only about 500,000 units were shipped today, half the number originally planned for the launch.
Patience and endurance allowed Andy Kauffman to buy a PlayStation 2 at the CompUSA store in Kakaako this morning shortly after it opened at 8 a.m.
The 28-year-old Windward Community College student said he got about 20 minutes of sleep and had been waiting in line since 4 p.m. yesterday.
The store had 47 game consoles for sale, but more than 100 people equipped with coolers, lawn chairs and sleeping bags were lined up outside when it opened.
"It was worth it," said Kauffman, who started playing video games on his Atari 2600 in the 1980s. "It's the latest and greatest. Even if it's for a short time, it's the best on the block."
Kyle Okumura, of Salt Lake, got the last PlayStation 2 this morning at CompUSA. He'd been waiting since 11:30 last night.
But Okumura wasn't planning to go home, rip open the box and play games like most of the people in line. He said he would sell the console on eBay.
The people after Okumura were put on a waiting list, and left disappointed. But Mike Ramos, the acting general manager of the store, said he didn't know when the next shipment would come in.
Most people in Hawaii may have to wait until spring before supplies catch up with demand, said Karl Okemura, vice president of Sony Hawaii Co.
Sony will be sending an additional 100,000 units a week to the United States until Christmas, he said.
One way to score a PlayStation 2 is through a raffle on www.sonyhawaii.com, Okemura said.
Star-Bulletin reporter Pat Omandam was one of two PlayStation 2 winners. "I entered the contest online when it was first announced last month," he said. "I knew it was a long shot to win, but like the Mets, 'you gotta believe,' " he said.
A new raffle at the Web site will end at noon on Nov. 2.
Some who preordered don't get them
Even some of those who paid deposits to reserve PlayStation 2 games were not able to buy the console itself today.At Software Etc. in Kahala Mall, where presales started a year and a half ago, some orders won't be filled until spring.
At KB Toys in Ala Moana, only about 90 percent of the preordered systems will be available for pickup during the next 48 hours.
"People are more agreeable about it," said assistant manager Aldy Fermin. "Some people didn't mind waiting for the shipment."
KB is selling the gaming consoles for $349, $50 more than Sony's suggested retail price. Once the store works through its presales, it will sell only $549 bundle packs, which will include the system and three games, he said.
Kimo Smigielski, manager of Toys & Joys, said the store would be selling about 100 reserved game consoles today at $299 apiece, but with 500 reservations, "we're not looking to fill all the reservations until right before Christmas."
The store has sold some 200 Japanese versions of the PlayStation 2 since March. It originally sold for $700 to $800, he said, for people who "were paying just to have it."
Shopping at Toys & Joys yesterday, Young Yu, 28, learned that he wouldn't be able to get the PlayStation 2 there until next year, but he said he should be able to find one this week, even if it means ordering it from the mainland.
"I'll just scour the Internet or scour the ads or call up some friends," he said. He said he wasn't willing to wait in line all night or pay more than $300 for the gaming console.
As a gamer, Yu said, "on a scale of one to 10, I'm a 20," but he didn't preorder a system out of laziness and poor planning.
"I'm just not used to things being unavailable," he said.