Quantities were limited Monday night, but nonetheless, people stood in line at local retailers for the chance to get their hands on the Xbox 360, the much coveted next-generation console from Microsoft.
Wal-Mart had 48 consoles to hand out: 32 premium and 16 core systems. Ben Bousman and Brad McKinley patrolled the line for Wal-Mart last night and said people had been lining up since 5 a.m. Monday.
Intimidated by the long line, many people moved across the street to Best Buy, which was selling 40 consoles, 30 premium and 10 core. The store did not open until 9 a.m. today, giving shoppers more time to form a line.
Sheldon Miller, a Best Buy employee, was first in line at the store. He arrived at 6:30 p.m.
"I want it because it's the next wave of technology, not just for me, but for a generation," Miller said.
Miller said he could not tell if most of the people in the lines were there just because of the hype.
"I don't know," Miller said, "It was the same thing with Tickle-Me-Elmo; a lot of people just wanted it because it was hard to get."
Others like Aaron Mills and Brandon Lorrison were paid for their coveted spots in line at Wal-Mart. The two split the $850 and changed lines to Best Buy, where they planned to use the money to buy two consoles instead of one.
Ball State sophomore Nick Huston changed lines from Wal-Mart, where he was No. 41, to Best Buy, where he became No. 6. Huston said he didn't mind staying up all night to buy his Xbox 360.
"I don't have anything else to do before Thanksgiving break," Huston said. "I'm just going to play cornhole, play some poker and maybe play some Euchre all night."
GameStop had taken reservations for the console since May and did not let anyone into the store who was not on the master list of 20 people who would be getting consoles at launch. The store had 20 consoles, 18 premium and 2 core, to divvy up among those with reservations, employee Mike Harmon said. Harmon said the remainder of those on the master list of pre-orders should receive their consoles by Christmas, but there is no guarantee.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
