Late at night on Monday, November 21st 2005, many people stood in line at the Best Buy in Lynnwood, Washington. Some had staked out their mark on the sidewalk days before, camping out for the long haul. Others arrived earlier that day…
Other parties were going on around Seattle, and Bill Gates himself was at the Bellevue, Washington store to hand out new Xboxes to the hundreds of patient fans. The night air was unusually foggy and cold for Seattle, and most of the squatters came prepared, either with portable heaters, makeshift fires, or even staying in a running car. It seemed like a non-stop party, as some hooked up Xbox games to a TV, swiping electricity and Wi-Fi access from Best Buy themselves!
Before one could even hope to get their hands on a shiny new Xbox 360, they had to get a reserve ticket from the Best Buy staff. Nearly every ticket had been distributed, but I managed to get the very last one. Best Buy staff would come around every few hours verifying these temporary tickets, and if you weren’t there, then you were crossed off the list. Official Xbox reserve tickets would be distributed around 5:00am the next morning, so everyone was sure to still be freezing in line as the temperature steadily dropped throughout the night.
Everyone had an interesting story, and there was a definite sense of brotherhood, almost like a made-for-TV holiday Disney movie. Everyone was there for the same purpose, and everyone was friendly and happy to share their experiences. Some people took orders from the line for neighborhood McDonalds before the drive-thru closed for the night. What else was there to do? No one was going anywhere.
One interesting group of people had camped out since Sunday evening, bringing with them tents, patio furniture, food, camping equipment: and of course the necessary cell phones, laptops, TVs and Xbox consoles. They were from the Maple Park Lutheran Church and were there with members of their youth group. According to Nathaniel Oakland (one of their youth leaders), not only was it a great excuse to go camping, but they were scoring new consoles for their organization, hoping to bring the joy of the new Xbox 360 to teenagers that otherwise could not afford to play them. They have even hosted Xbox “link-parties” where their members brought in nearly 20 Xboxes to play Halo and other multi-player games together.
The leader of their group, Lars Coleman, was first in line, and staked his claim the previous Sunday with a camping tent and a makeshift poster – “The line starts behind the guy with the cowboy hat”. They frequently went into the store to use the bathroom and play with the Xbox 360 kiosk.
Also in line was the founder of Xbox360 fan site www.net4xbox360.com, Mark Engstrom (he is also a proud sponsor of net4psp.com). He was extremely knowledgeable and was happy to share his technical expertise with the rest of the crowd. He even helped others obtain internet access from their laptops into Best Buy’s wireless connection. Of course he brought his “modified” Xbox and was playing a Super-Nintendo emulator. One guy even had a wireless Xbox adapter and was playing Xbox live from the parking lot.
The crowd definitely attracted attention, as different vendors and press arrived to greet the crowd. An Xbox 360 van drove past and distributed Xbox360 swag, from hats and T-shirts, to posters and numerous pens. Wired XXX quickly pulled up in a GMC van, the driver got out and shouted “Who’s thirsty?” The otherwise relatively lifeless line quickly transformed into an animated mob around the van as the two workers handed out free energy drinks, which included colorful titles as “B12 Rush” (with 3000% RDA of B12 vitamins) and “Horny Goat Weed”. Now who wouldn’t want to drink some of that?
Moving on down the line, some people were roasting marshmallows from a small propane tank fire, several couples snuggled in sleeping bags and even more people were playing with their soon-to-be-outdated Xbox consoles. Further near the back of the line things still looked interesting. A group of people had noticed a discarded sofa near a dumpster, and brought it to the sidewalk to squeeze the last bit of comfort from it. Others emerged from their cars, heading to the small strip of wilderness behind the store to relieve themselves of coffee and energy drinks. The back of the line was where tickets became more valuable, as there were only 100 consoles inside and all the tickets had all been distributed. A few people drove up throughout the night, asking for the end of the line. They drove off disappointed after learning a ticket was required for a reservation.
The next day after the dust had settled, the fog had lifted, and many tired but rewarded fans scurried away with their prizes, Xbox 360 consoles doubled their value. Everyone was sold out, and there are none available anywhere. Those that stood in line could now sell their prized console for over double its value, fetching anywhere from $800 to over $1,1000 on Ebay.
The bubble will burst once more Xbox 360 consoles are available in stores again: but when will that be? It’s in Microsoft’s best interest to keep the buzz going. Sure, they’re not making the profit from gouging, but they’re generating a lot of buzz. People will literally kill for an Xbox 360, as there have been rumors of muggings outside stores for the consoles. Microsoft was supposed to have 3 million units available for release, but somehow only 1.5 million were available. Those who reserved their Xboxes months ago received emails stating that shipment would be delayed a few weeks. Will there be enough consoles for everyone who wants them this year? As long as there is a shortage, Xbox 360 will be THE must-have item this holiday season, and that’s exactly the way Micro$oft wants it.