The story was a little different at the Lynnwood, WA Best Buy. Management would not allow campers to be near the front of the store, and would not allow them to pitch tents until after the store closed. They also did not officially recognize the line until Thursday, when they started handing out tickets.
Although there were no tents in Lynnwood, there were a lot more of the technical creature comforts. Some people brought gas-powered generators and were watching TV and playing retro console games from the back of a ruby station wagon. They even creatively attached an arial to the car, making the entire vehicle an over-the-air antenna. The reception was actually quite good, and very watchable. Gamers were more than willing to share their stories during commercials, but the interviews were cut short when “The Office” returned from its commercial break.
One thing that was increasingly obvious but very ironic were the complete lack of Playstation 2s in the console lineup. Many gamers brought Nintendo DSes, PSPs, Xbox 360s, and even Nintendo 64s and a super-retro Super Nintendo… but not one Playstation 2. I asked Tim Dikva (a local YMCA lifeguard), who brought along nearly every console ever released with him, and he responded “I don’t really play with my Playstation”. He added “the only people who want [the PS3] are businessmen who can’t sit out here to get it for their kids.” This statement edified the conclusion I had discovered in my interviews: hardly anyone waiting in line actually cared about the Playstation 3, they just wanted to sell it for huge profits.
The Lynnwood Best Buy’s manager, Andrea came out to do her hourly check, and was on a first-name basis with the gamers. I grabbed her to answer some quick questions about the event.
Andrea confirmed that most of the procedures were handed down from “RGM” (Regional General Manager). Andrea didn’t know how many systems were standard or premium (referred to as 20s or 60s, corresponding to the included 20GB or 60GB hard drives). She did confirm that they received 60 cases, and there were 2 units per case. Although the store closes at 10:00 pm, she made hourly checks (which were not required by RGM) to make sure the system stayed as fair as possible. The police came buy to enforce Snohomish County ordinance, and she told the authorities everything was ok. Campers were allowed to pitch tents after closing, but had to put their gear away during store hours.
When asked about how the gamers behaved, she responded “they have been very good and clean up after themselves. Of course we can’t let them have fire pits or BBQ grills for safety reasons, gas generators are perfectly fine.” When asked about the gamers using the store’s wireless internet, she responded “If I don’t know about it, then it’s not a problem, so I don’t want to know…”.
