Ivan's Blog

Featuring Ivan Trembow's Self-Important, Random Rants on Mixed Martial Arts, Video Games, Pro Wrestling, Television, Politics, Sports, and High-Quality Wool Socks



Wednesday, November 23, 2005
 
Video Games--- The Xbox 360 is off to a heck of a start at retail, with gamers all across the country lining up to get their systems. Countless gamers and parents have been turned away from retail stores without an Xbox 360 (though I'd be willing to bet that Jack Thompson was not among those waiting in line), due to the fact that the strong demand for the system far outweights the supply.

The most critically-acclaimed original games at launch have been Project Gotham Racing 3, Perfect Dark Zero, Call of Duty 2, and Condemned. Personally, I bought Madden NFL 2006 with my system and immediately rented Tiger Woods 2006, because I'm a huge fan of both franchises. The next game on my "to-do list" is Project Gotham Racing 3, which has been heavily praised for its single-player modes and even more so for its online multi-player modes.

The mainstream media and the video game press extensively covered the massive launch hysteria with plenty of stories about the long lines and angry mobs. One of the strangest bits of news came in a GameSpot news story. Here is an excerpt from that news story:

"On Tuesday, GameSpot staffers witnessed even more chaotic scenes at the local Target in Colma, on the peninsula south of San Francisco. There, a lone security guard spent most of the night shooing an increasingly unruly crowd away from the parking lot. The situation nearly spun out of control at around 7:00 AM, when the guard left his post for five minutes, prompting a mass influx of would-be customers eager to receive vouchers good for an Xbox 360.

When he returned, the security guard's attempts to get the 100-plus-person crowd to form a line were rebuffed until the arrival of police and a California National Guardsman at around 8:00 AM. A trio of veteran [GameSpot staff members] witnessed the Guardsman quickly take control of the situation and move to the head of the line--- where he promptly turned around and asked for an Xbox 360 voucher himself. The Guardsman then fled the scene, voucher in hand, leaving police, Target employees, and a visibly agitated crowd to fend for themselves."

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