Not surprisingly, for me anyway, the Mayor of Boston is planning on charging Sony in the PS3 launch related riots.

Apparently 500 people were quite angry that they waited in line only to find out that the Sony Store did not have all that many PS3s (16 apparently). There is even some video on the WCVB-TV site from a smart fellow with a mobile phone camera.

Who's to blame on this one? Well I would definitely say Sony is partially to blame, as I have said in my previous article. In this case it was a SONY store and I believe that they are culpable for this. I do not believe they are culpable for all of the problems that occurred though. I believe it was unbelievably irresponsible for the store manager to allow the 500 people to wait outside when there were only 16 consoles to be had. I think he should pay with his blood! No, no...maybe just his job.

I also think this guy [Kevin Swecker of Boston] "It's going on eBay. We're going to make a couple grand," is also part of the problem. First off, he really needs a reality check, so I hope he comes and reads this.

How to solve this problem? Well the easy solution would be for no one to buy the overpriced bullshit that they will be peddling on eBay. Honestly why would I pay $2000 for a console that I can have for probably $300-500 early next year? You've got to be joking.

A quick check of eBay shows prices at:
$1,131.99 (ending in 1 minute...well now actually 60GB)
$911.00 for a 20GB ending in 3 minutes
$772.00 for a 20GB ending in 3 minutes
$749.00 for a 20GB ending in 3 minutes
$1,125.00 for a 60GB ending in 5 minutes

The silly thing is there are already videos online that show you how to take the 20GB and drop in a 120GB drive. So I would get the cheaper one and upgrade it myself personally. There are many PS3s that have not been bid on because the BUY NOW price (normally 2x the minimum selling price) is ludicrous.

But now the real deal. They are not exactly making THOUSANDS are they? Even with the one that sold for $1131 which originally cost $599 the profit margin is $532 but that is not taking into account the probably lost time from work, the time spent waiting in line, the food and drink associated with the wait and the cost of your soul for being a money-hungry profiteer at the expense of the happiness of others. So what is the real profit of it all?

Nothing, as far as I am concerned.

Sources:
The Boston Channel
eBay PS3 system search

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