What About Pre-ordering a Sony PS3?

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As would probably be expected as the next generation of video game consoles is headed for consumers, demand has steadily built for both the Nintendo Wii and Playstation 3. Preorders for the Playstation 3 have sold out within minutes no matter where and how they’ve been offered. Standing in line for hours at a time was no object for most of those consumers, nor was the prospect of having to put down a deposit.

Likely upon reading this column, preorders will be nowhere to be found, snatched up by eager consumers awaiting the November launch of the Playstation 3. Major retailers in Canada, the United States and elsewhere have no doubt allocated their initial shipments to preordering customers at this point. South of the border, Mexican outlets will offer preorders early in 2007 while Europe and Australia will see March 2007 launches in those regions.

Hype of the Playstation 3’s magnitude brings out all of the retailers and profiteers possible to benefit from the frenzy the launch is sure to create. If there is money to be made, people will find a way and those efforts have extended to the Internet where Playstation 3-related domains are being snatched up and sold in hopes of garnering a profit.

So to get a preordered Playstation 3 at this point, it would take one simple component, a vast sum of money. Ebay will become one of those selling arenas and for a few thousand dollars, you too may be able to land a reserved console. Small stores in hopes of seeing that windfall have also over-ordered consoles to set a few aside for Ebay. The practice may be unsavory, but it gives many small retailers a much-needed shot in the arm.

Larger groups like Amazon.com that have offered preorders have seen demand come so hard and so fast that even automated e-mail messages were impossible to send out before preordering had to be shut down. This back-and-forth tug of war that supply and demand will wage over Playstation 3 preorders and ultimately, Playstation 3 consoles, is sure to extend far before the console’s November release.

Information becomes key in these situations and a number of web sites have sprung up in an effort to share information and help consumers land the few Playstation 3 consoles that are out there. PS3Preorder.net is one such site, keeping track of the few Playstation 3 ordering opportunities out there. Other sites have simply pledged to keep track of the process, culling information from a variety of sources. PS3Vault is one such site.

Just as the Xbox 360 last holiday season, the Playstation 3 has seen an extreme level of demand few products ever reach. The Nintendo Wii, likewise, has seen a surge in preorder activity and general hype as its lower cost and more sufficient supply have attracted a sizable audience as well. While preorders for that system have also sold well, it is not as imperative given the claims by Nintendo that there will be sufficient supply.

As always, there is the potential to receive a Playstation 3 console from oversees should supply stabilize in particular countries after it has been out for a few weeks, but no matter what happens, the Playstation 3 will remain a hard-to-find item for eager consumers worldwide.

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