14 DAY TRIAL // If you didn't already know, the Japanese PlayStation 3 launch just took place, and only 80,000 PS3s were available. We all know that the Japanese are recognized for their perfect etiquette and politeness. But what happens when you have to choose over being polite and getting a PS3? Which option would you pick?
Spong.com brings coverage of the Japanese PS3 launch, and noticed that the 80,000 available units were sold in a matter of hours. 80,000 might seem an insignificant amount of consoles for Japan, as the previous gaming console from Sony, namely the PS2, shipped over one million units on day one. Nevertheless, Japanese gamers managed to keep their cool and the launch went smooth.
Some isolated incidents took place, but Japanese store managers threatened to stop sales if anyone got injured while standing in line. This method proved to be more than efficient as nobody ended up in the hospital while standing in line. But there's no word on what happened to those who got a PS3 on their way home. I wouldn't be surprised if someone robbed them on the way home (joking).
On a more serious note, let's hope that the U.S. launch goes just as smooth and no major incidents will happen there also. Maybe the U.S. store manager should apply the same strategy as the Japanese ones did.