skeletonbow: It doesn't anger me, but it does make me roll my eyes, grin and sigh. As sad as it may be, there is an endless supply of people out there desperate to be the first on the block to pick up the newest fad device/gizmo/whatever. They'll camp out at stores and wait in long long lines and spend exorbitant amounts of money to do so also. Hyperconsumerism at its finest you could say. The sad part is how many people do this who are in debt, or even below the poverty line or have other financial struggles ongoing, but seek out material items like this for some small jolt of very temporary whimsical happiness/thrill. People are responsible for their own decisions of course, but the market knows they're there and strongly seems like they're specifically targeted which is sad.
Makes me think of a phrase that is commonly mis-attributed to P.T. Barnum. :)
Wont catch me waiting in line for any new fads though, I like new things but am also fairly content with 10 year old boring junk too.
gooberking: To be fair, this isn't about people waiting in line to be the first to get something that will be widely available to everyone. It's about someone trying to be first in line to gobble up all of something only a lucky few will be able to get their hands on ever. And not in the name of consumerism (hyper of otherwise) but in the name of capitalism.
The reason it happens and works is because of what I said though. I am disgusted by the act you speak of though also. The same thing happens with concert tickets for just about every big name band.
When AC/DC put out their new album in 2008 I wanted to go see them on tour as they're my favourite band and I never had the opportunity before. The tickets were $99 and I stayed up so I could buy one the second they came on sale at 10:00am in the morning. I had my computer's clock synchronized with NTP to atomic time so I would wait until it struck 10 exactly and instantly reload the Ticketmaster page. I did so, and from there I was guided through a process and put in a queue where I was assured that my priority place in line was preserved but I'd have to wait for their computers to be able to serve me. It made it clear to NOT reload the page or click on anything or I'd lose my place so I left it sit there. 20 minutes later the page finally completed and informed me that the tickets were sold out.
In other words, in the fraction of a second it took me to click on the button to buy a ticket the second they went on sale, on a computer with a clock synced with atomic time - the entire concert was sold out. Bullshit! Later, all the tickets showed up on scalping site TicketsNow (also owned by Ticketmaster) for $600-5000 instead of the $69 and $99 face value of the tickets. I was so outraged by this practice that happens every time with every concert and the Canadian government does absolutely nothing to go after the scalpers responsible for this nor Ticketmaster for running the shady operation. So, they keep doing it to this day.
Most people cave in and buy the overpriced scam tickets from scalpers one way or another. I am not most people though and I refuse to play the game. I will pay the price it says on the ticket and not 10 cents more - on principle (not counting the hidden fees they goon you on above the face value), and as such - I have never been to any concert anywhere in probably 20 years or more except for small venue/club shows where this practice doesn't occur.
So I can relate to what some people are feeling about this. I personally would pass on the console(s) even if they paid me to take one and brought it to my door, and even if it was one of 10 limited editions being made - as I'm just not interested, but the fact that people are roped into these things emotionally and then get burned by people taking advantage of them in the manner that they do is indeed disturbing and I can imagine very frustrating for someone really wanting the device, much like me wanting to see AC/DC even though I know I probably never will.