OFFICIAL XBOX 360 Camping / Launch Day Stories (renamed)

[gepeto]

I held fast and said I wasn't going to do it but broke down last night at 3.00am. It was cold at least 40 degrees
and raining to boot. The in store spys had the

sale stock at 24 premiums 9 cores. I was number 16.
About 5:30am We suggested to hand out tickets to the people there to hold our spots. The number 24.

The female mgr arrived at 7.00am Circuit city opened at 10.00 the manager was clueless. No voucher system. people that were rejected at other stores started arriving from all over. Now 200 people for 33 systems. The mgr tried to play us by talking about first come first serve no voucher system. I said yeah your right , First come first serve not first one to bum rush the door. If that is the case I could have arrived at 10 minutes to 10.

Basically the 24 stuck together briefly and was like if
we get ours first or no one does. The situation was getting bad because people were there from 3:00pm yesterday.

The mgr call the police. The police sided with us 24 with tickets go in first. Then everybody else for the last 9 or so we thought. They started letting people in 5 at a time i was number 16. but I started noticing some people in the first coming out with 2 premiums. Totally f-cked up. It threw the count off. The store then decides to let 16-24 in.

they direct us to the table that was displayed in front with the games and accessories. I say where is the systems they say at the cashiers line. I look over 20-24 already bum rushed the cashiers line. I try to go over this guy is trying to sell accessories and holdin us up. I'm like let me get the systems first. I go to the cashier line I hear the stock tell the one that these were the last 4 I tell her our numbers is lower than the one she is ringing up therefore we should get one first. The cashier has an attitude she says get in her line she will guarentee one. She ran her mouth until the stock boy told her that is it.

All the time the higher numbers was throwing money at the cashier and getting the hell out with the system. The cashier goes to the other cashier takes the last premium one and rings me up. I am happy but I feel like shit because the 24 should have had a system.

number 1-15 should have said they were going to buy 2 if they were plannng to do it.

Some rich guy arrives at 8:00 sat in there hummer. Someone in the 1through 15 group
came out with an extra and slide it to them.
Totally outrageous.

Although it was fun. The ending left a bad taste in my mouth. I won't do it again.

[Neil Koch]

Not really a big launch story, but I work at the Target headquarters and they have a bunch of 360's set up (along with those Midway cabinets and Flashback 2s) and I got some free promo stuff like mousepads, keychains and shirts...

[Dobie]

Well here's my first, and hopefully last, camping experience...

I decided to camp out at a Fred Meyer's by my house. Rumor had it that they had ten total systems, 8 premiums, opening at 7:00 AM Tues. I decided to roll in about 6:00 PM Mon to scope things out, maybe grab some food and/or coffee, then go back home until 10:00 PM or so... that is until I saw three dudes already in line. As soon as I saw them, I went to my car and grabbed my chair, and sat down with them. 13 hours before the purchase time.

The store was totally cool, letting us stay inside the cart recieving area, and the four of us played board games and cards as the line slowly got bigger. I sent pics of my indoor camping spot to my friends freezing their butts off at other locations. By 11:00 PM, there were 8 of us. There was some debate by the employees whether or not they should let us stay inside the cart area (with the warmth of heaters) the whole night, but the manager said no. So, outside to the sub freezing temperatures we went.

As the night went on, and things got colder, people kept driving up to us, wanting to get in line. We'd tell them there were ten systems, but only 8 premiums that we knew of, and they'd keep on driving. At about 2:00 AM a 65 year-old grandmother got in line. She was a hoot! Real energetic, and just a great lady. About an hour after her, another gal, probably 30 or so got in line for the last system.

The group of ten was real friendly, everybody knew who got there when, so we just kind of huddled in a circle, talking and taking turns in the warmth of cars. As 6:00 AM rolled around, we all packed up our stuff, and got in an actual line, because a bunch of stragglers started showing up hoping to land a system. When tickets came out, sure enough, there were 8 premiums and 2 core. The two ladys ended up with the core systems, and were a bit dissapointed, but I think they were happy just to land SOMETHING, after the hordes of people at other places were leaving emptyhanded.

It was a totally cool experience overall. I'm freaking tired, and haven't slept in 30+ hours, but it was totally worth it. Plus, the grandmother found a coupon as we walked in that said if we spent $100, we got a free turkey! So we all grabbed a coupon and left with a 20 lb turkey to boot! How's that for a launch-day promotion?

[ManciGames]

Well, here we are. The craziest launch I've ever witnessed...

Got to Target at 4:30. 50 people in line for 40 units. Went to Best Buy. 100 people in line for 65 units. And again, it's like 4:30 in the a.m., with sleet, wind, and rain...

So, I went to Toys R Us at 4:45, was 13th in line, and figured I had myself in a good position. The store people wouldn't tell us how many units they had, so we all just sat there. I started a list of names of all the people in line so that bums couldn't come late and work their way up front. At about 6:30, I actually forced the outer doors open and made a guy come out and talk to us. I explained to him that we were out in the cold and rain, and that all we wanted to know was how many there were so that we could go home if there weren't enough. Told us that he didn't know how many there were. Idiots... Rumor goes around that there are only 8. I find that hard to believe and hold out till 7:30, when a guy finally comes out and says they got 16 (great! I think...), but that they did 8 pre-orders last week, so there are only 8 left. I immediately called bullshit as I knew that they did not do a pre-order program. The employees obviously poached those 8 systems. There has to be some kind of rule against that, wouldn't ya think?

Anyway, me and a guy I met up with in the line went to the local mall, went past a group of 10 guys waiting at the main entrance, and snuck in a construction entrance. Sat down as number 1 and 2 in line in front of FYE. At 8:30, the manager comes and tells us that all they have are pre-orders. Friggin' eh... So, I went to work. Tired as hell, and with nothing to show for it.

The irony of it all is this: I checked my Best Buy Online pre-order and it said that it was delivered to my babysitter this morning. Hilarious. I'm happy, but pissed at the same time.

[dcescott]

I dare not to meddle with the hardcore on launch day. Considering I am fighting a cold/sore throat and I still have to work or it piles up on me.
I did see a handful of folks camped outside Gamestop here in North of Fort Worth. It looks like they pulled out a HD TV and was gaming right on the sidewalk. The store front is on a corner of a strip mall across the street from WalMart.
It was about 10pm monday night when I saw this. 40 degrees F, and they are thumbing away at a game. My thoughts are they pulled out the demo xbox 360 thing right outside the door and had a field day. There was approx 7-12 people there.

[GameSlaveGaz]

Well, here we are. The craziest launch I've ever witnessed...

Got to Target at 4:30. 50 people in line for 40 units. Went to Best Buy. 100 people in line for 65 units. And again, it's like 4:30 in the a.m., with sleet, wind, and rain...

So, I went to Toys R Us at 4:45, was 13th in line, and figured I had myself in a good position. The store people wouldn't tell us how many units they had, so we all just sat there. I started a list of names of all the people in line so that bums couldn't come late and work their way up front. At about 6:30, I actually forced the outer doors open and made a guy come out and talk to us. I explained to him that we were out in the cold and rain, and that all we wanted to know was how many there were so that we could go home if there weren't enough. Told us that he didn't know how many there were. Idiots... Rumor goes around that there are only 8. I find that hard to believe and hold out till 7:30, when a guy finally comes out and says they got 16 (great! I think...), but that they did 8 pre-orders last week, so there are only 8 left. I immediately called bullshit as I knew that they did not do a pre-order program. The employees obviously poached those 8 systems. There has to be some kind of rule against that, wouldn't ya think?

Anyway, me and a guy I met up with in the line went to the local mall, went past a group of 10 guys waiting at the main entrance, and snuck in a construction entrance. Sat down as number 1 and 2 in line in front of FYE. At 8:30, the manager comes and tells us that all they have are pre-orders. Friggin' eh... So, I went to work. Tired as hell, and with nothing to show for it.

The irony of it all is this: I checked my Best Buy Online pre-order and it said that it was delivered to my babysitter this morning. Hilarious. I'm happy, but pissed at the same time.

Toys R Us did end up doing pre-orders at nearly the last minute. Normally, we don't because we aren't guaranteed the proper number of units, but 3-4 weeks ago, an email came down from corporate allotting very small numbers of presells per store. My store was allowed to presell 12. Some only 8, some 16. We got 22 consoles in, so after the presells we had 10 (6 premium, 4 core) left to sell to the public.
There was one guy who started camping at noon yesterday. When I walked into work at 530 he was sitting there in a lawn chair w/blankets and my ex-boyfriend from middle school was keeping him company. (small world, eh?) Anyway, my ex wasn't staying. When I got out of work at 1030, there were 3 people out there, and they ran and hid in their cars because someone drove by and egged them. I am so glad I don't work Tuesdays.
My boyfriend's GameStop didn't even get enough to cover pre-orders. People can only pick up their consoles by invitation only. I'm glad I don't work at GameStop. I know how pissed off some people are gonna be.
People in Medford, MA are going crazy for the 360. I still had customers begging and pleading to preorder last minute. .

Congrats to all the people who successfully got one on launch, and all the power to you if you did something crazy.

[gepeto]

What happened?

I preorder a 360 at gamecrazy I pay it off.

234.00 debit. 50.00 credit cards rest in store credit trade ins.

The Gamecrazy mgr tells me I won't get one at launch and tells me there is no sure date of when I am going to get one but I am on the next shipment.

I get caught up in the hype I stand in line for 8.0hrs to get a 360 at circuit city I get one.

I decided to go to gamecrazy to buy some games and accessories. and get my 234.00 that was on my debit card credited to my account. The clerks calls the manager the manager says the can't refund a deposit. Some crap about waiting for my preorder to come in and waiting for them to sell it.

I think this is total bullcrap. I understand trade in credit but why can't you recredit a debit card? Now I have a preorder system a system and no games. I didn't want to use my store credit until I talked with the mgr face to face.
i know my wife is gonna kill me. She thinks some money is going to credited. I can justify a system and some games not $800.00-900.00 just out there. I have never meet a store that cannot somehow refund a deposit How can you hijack someones money like that? Is it legal?

[GrandAmChandler]

Thats bullshit. I'd head back there, speak to the manager in person, if not contact the district manager & then corporate ASAP. Threaten to get people fired. Take everyone's name down & their position title.

As long as your card has a visa or mastercard symbol on it, is should be able to be refunded, no problem. May take a couple days to show up, but it can be done.

Me thinks the manager doesn't want all these preorders refunded, having his sales goal NOT MET for the week, due to returns / refunds.

You better head back there ASAP and do something about this. That is too much money to be wasted.

[RCM]

That totally sucks. Raise some hell, call corporate HQ. Fucking bastards. I barely buy from Gamestop or Gamecrazy. I hate that they sell used games and all sales go to them as opposed to going back to the developer. Piracy is a problem and so is GS and GC.

If you end up being forced to buy the system boycott the store and sell the system on ebay. I'm sure you'll make your money back if the system is indeed in such short supply.

[Slipdeath]

So I arrived at walmart around 4:30 or so to find a line of about fifteen people. They had said that they had 18 systems. After waiting for a while a manager came out and said they had 12 core and 6 premium. This was around 6:15.

I decided not to waste my time so I headed straight to Costco and saw some huge lines at Circuit City, Best Buy, and Compusa on the way. When I got there, there were three people there. Soon after and employee came out and pointed at the sign that said they only had 24 bundles and no one could camp. They decided that they would start passing out tickets at nine to do a random drawing at 10:30. I actually ended up getting my ticket around 8.

So to waste some time I decided to head to Sears. There were about 14 people in line. I found out that their shipment did not come in and they were taking down names. So I wrote my name and cell number. After that I decided to walk around the mall and get some breakfast and Jack in the Crack. I came back to Costco around 9:15 to find 70 people or so waiting.

By 10:25 there was over 200 names in the drawing (you needed a Costco card to enter). After the 10th person I just sat down and put my head down. I almost shat myself when they called me up (I was #12). The bundle came out to 517 with tax. It had a premium system, an extra wireless control, play and charge kit, and kameo. Not bad if you ask me.

[milhouseOFpain]

7pm arrive at Best Buy

9pm Best Buys (fairview heights, il) tells customers they have to buy a bundle priced $180 over system price to get a 360

10pm we are now told that as long as we purchase $600 worth of 360 "stuff" we will be ok

12am new bundles options are given to us, these include an XBOX tote bag ($50) and a 2 year service plan ($50 which is 100% profit)

4am employees begin to hand out line tickets, i am told that if i continue to question their policy i will be refused service

5am me and 2 of my friends call 2 local news channels and tell them what is going on

530am news channel 4 shows up and interviews people. newcaster tells us what Best Buy is doing is illegal and tells us he will call attorney general

7am Best Buy customer service line opens. i am told Best Buy policy is not to force a customer to buy anything.

8am manager shows up having seen the news and starts to be a dick. "if you dont like the policy go buy a system on ebay for $1000"

830am manager back peddles and says that we can now once again buy whatever we want as long as it costs $600

9am i walk in and buy just the XBOX premium system and say that i am not buying anything else today and probably nothing more in the future (this is most likely not true). Manager oks my purchase gives me a free soda and a free $10 rewards program card for free


http://www.kmov.com/
here is the news channel that showed up, right now they have a 2 minute clip on the front page covering the story

[heybtbm]

After reading the 360 launch day stories and hearing a few firsthand, a prediction:

Someone gets shot during the melee of the PS3 launch.

You heard it here first.

[-hellvin-]

Well, I don't have a camping story but I was there to help out with the opening sale at my best buy. Since I merchandise media, I mainly just chilled and watched and got stuff out of the back when people needed it. The first guy in line had been there since 2pm the previous day. There were already too many people in line when I arrived and one of the managers would only let me unbundle 3 premiums and 5 cores.

After the place opened, they let in about 10 at a time and the unbundled systems were snatched up FAST. After that, they started ripping open the cheap bundles and selling just the system. After about ripping open 10 premiums, the GM came over and said no more. After that, only one guy got really pissed about it, most everyone else just bought bundles. Some people even snatched the 1,000 dollar bundles right up.

The one complaining guy was hilarious though. He was saying what bullshit the false advertising was, ect, ect and no matter what he said the GM would just say "This is all we have left." Ugh...BB is so fucking bastardish and greedy. The people there just make me sick. Of course two of the managers set aside systems for themselves. Oh well, whatever. If I even had a shot in hell of grabbing a system now, it would go straight the fuck to ebay with the prices it's racking up.

Guess I'll have to wait a year to play my old xbox games again =\.

[Mattiekrome]

milhouseOFpain, wow man thats a shitty story. Hopefully they will be reprimanded for doing that. Hell, you might even get some free 360 st00f from it...

I dont have any 360 stories, except for my boss's son had a 360 preordered from Gamecrazy, and they called him earlier this week and said that he was #6 on the list, and they were only getting 4 systems in, so basically tough luck. But I've heard of this happeneing to several others, so no big news there...

Does this mean I can finally go to wal-mart and see the 360 in action for myself? or are they all still shut down?

[-hellvin-]

Best Buy

Ya know, it's really not fair what they did to customers at all. Especially when you're on my side of the thing and see how they just took advantage of everything. Everyone well knew that they were obligated to sell 20 pro and 10 core just like the ad said, but blatantly refuse to let you buy the product.

It's a double edged sword though because you know some people in the line (not all, but some) are going to throw it right on ebay, just like the guy this morning who bitched and whined then returned every single accessory at customer service, lol. Even still, it's just a really low and dirty thing for BB to do and it's reasons like this I could never go back into sales for them. I'll sit around in the back and handle inventory, but that's it.

[buttasuperb]

I went to Target about 630 this morning. About 5 minutes later, an employee comes out and says they have 32 systems and will count out the first 32 so people can go home or elsewhere to try and get a system. That was courteous.

Head over to Walmart, already sold out.

Go to Kmart, no one's there (a good or bad sign) A manager comes to the door and tells me they sold them already, despite the fact I was told on the phone they would not be on sale until 8am. Good stuff.

Head over to TRU, not too many people outside. As soon as I get out of my car, some dude walking back to his car tells me not to bother, they only have 9 systems.

Go to Best Buy around the corner, only a few people out there (again, a good or bad sign) Turns out they opened at midnight, despite the fact the local Best Buy ad said the Ford City BB would be the only one open at midnight. BB employee says they just didn't advertise it for that store. Nice.

Go to Sears right around another corner. There's about 5 people there. I ask them if Sears is supposed to get any systems. The answer, "Yea, four" Great.

Head over to Compusa for one last shot before work, and there's a sign on the door saying 360's are sold out.

FAIL.

[diskoboy]

And I just wanna give a big "FUCK YOU!" to all those assholes who bought a 360 and put it up on eBay, immediately.

I hope you all get your nuts cut off, then get thrown into a pool of rubbing alcohol and salt.

And if you're retarted enough to buy one on eBay for even $1 over the retail price.... You're just an idiot. Plain and simple.

Ebay should make a policy that they won't accept auctions on new video game consoles until they have been on the market for at least a month. Becuase since the advent of eBay, every console launch from now on, will be like todays.

A chaotic mess.

[PDorr3]

got to target at 3:30 AM and there were people with tents camping, there were 42 people on the list already and they were getting 44 in, so I said fuck it since I knew I wouldent be able to get a premium system. Went to sam's and there were 2 spots left but you had to be a fucking business member (not just a member but you gotta own a business) which I though was bullshit. I went to k mart and they were only getting 6 in and none left, and walmart was closed again by the time I got there. I didnt even try going to besy buy because I know there was really no chance there since I already saw 3 tents up the day before. Called PC Richards and no luck with that.
I will now be stalking all the stores and finding out when their next shipment comes in, and then Im going there a couple of hours before they open.

[petewhitley]

It's really frustrating that Microsoft went for a worldwide launch; that's the main reason we're looking at too few systems for the demand (those conspiracy theories are complete bullshi*t). I would have gladly picked one up but I wasn't about to stand in line for any length of time to get one, or pay anything above retail. As such, I'll probably pick one up whenever I see one, and that's one less person that will be buying games for this thing in the month of November.

[Sniderman]

And I just wanna give a big "FUCK YOU!" to all those assholes who bought a 360 and put it up on eBay, immediately.

Yes, I'm laughing at you, for your sour grapes is amusing to me. It's like that for EVERY HOT TOY, ferchristsake. Remember the Tickle Me Elmo brouhau? Beanie Baby melees? For frack's sake, after every CGE, there are TONS of auctions for whatever new "exclusive" games were just released earlier that day. (I've heard some even race back to their rooms to post their auctions using their laptops.)

Saw this during the PS2 release (Anyone here remember the auctions for "a brand new PS2 box only?") and during the release of the first Xbox. Anyone who managed to get their hands on a system and able to find someone braindead enough to pay $1,000 for it on eBay - I salute them. 'Tis the American way.

Life is hard. Buy a helmet.