The Dark Side of the PlayStation 3 Launch

An anonymous reader writes "Kotaku is running an article prompted by an email from a foreign student in Japan. The reader unveils the sad reality of the modern gaming industry. Japanese businessmen made ample use of homeless people and Chinese nationals to obtain PS3s for re-sale. There was also a large amount of pushing and shoving, some fights, and almost no police presence at the most crowded stores." From the article: "Based on my observations of the first twenty PS3s sold at Bic Camera, they were all purchased by Chinese nationals, none of whom bought any software. After making their purchase, television crews asked for interviews but all were declined. These temporary owners of PS3s would then make their way down the street where their bosses waited. After several minutes, a dozen PS3s were rounded up, as their Japanese business manager paid out cash to those who waited in line for them. I witnessed a homeless-looking Chinese man, in his sixties or seventies get paid 20,000 yen for his services and was then sent away." Update: 11/12 05:40 GMT by Z : You're right. Sony only shares a portion of the blame here. Offsides on my part.

supply/demand

[daybot]

Curse those pesky blue lasers and the factories that fail to produce them quick enough...

Re:20,000 yen

[Ed Thomson]

20,000 yen is also about $1329 which is a lot to be paid to stand in line for a console.

I should care why exactly?

[Rakishi]

If your self control is so nonexistent or your kid so spoiled (and you so whipped by them in turn) that you can't wait another month then it's your damn fault and no one else's. No one is making people buy these on ebay or making them buy them on release day. Hell, at least the scalpers and ebayers are showing intelligence and initialize so good for them.

Re:20,000 yen

[Rosyna]

20,000 yen is also about $1329

In canadian dollars?

This Is Getting Boring

[Anonymous Coward]

Slashdot has just jumped the shark.

Re:Corporate vs. Personal Responsibili

[Knuckles]

Yeah, what he said, greed and exploitation.

Re:RTFA

[MaestroSartori]

Congratulations on having been here longer than me. I hope that gives you a sense of achievement. As for self-serving ignorant dribble, well... thanks, I guess. You could just have disagreed with me, but whatever.

I'll throw rocks at Zonk, if it's all the same to you. Zonk's added "commentary" is the reason I won't let the door hit my arse on the way out, as you so charmingly put it. Kotaku's piece was, apart from the sections you quoted, at least a factual description of some events. I take issue with the stuff that surrounds that. Clearly you don't respect my opinions. Fair enough.

Re:Communism

[geminidomino]

And the inverse is the definition of capitalism.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't...