KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Midnight of Nov. 15 is a day hardcore gamers have been waiting for for years.
The excitement for the PS4 is something you typically see around ‘Black Friday’ with people lining up outside stores to be the first to take one home.
That was the scene outside the Best Buy in Kalamazoo. More than two dozen people waited in line to get the PS4, the latest addition from Sony Playstation.
For the retailer like Best Buy this is just the start of the holiday hype season.
“This has not happened in six to eight years,” said Doug Storey, who works at Best Buy. “This is a brand new gaming system coming out. It’s going to revolutionize gaming.”
A big deal with a price tag of $399.99 just for the system itself. Some of the features highlighted by the retailer include enhanced social media compatibility and a portable device that syncs up with the console.
“If your family is going on vacation, you got a kid in the middle of a campaign of Call of Duty, they are like, ‘Come on mom!’ You can take it right in the car,” Storey said.
Of course none of that is news to people like Nick Penn, who got in line 14 hours before the PS4 went on sale.
“We started planning a week ago,” he said.
He wasn’t alone. His friend David Smith has been waiting just as long.
“It’s the experience,” said Smith. “Coming here, seeing people’s face, ‘Really? You’re here? and then going home and getting to play it.”
While these guys have a preference when it comes to the Xbox vs. Playstation.
“Whenever I see someone playing Xbox, I try to convert them over,” said Smith.
The people working at Best Buy said the debate is good for business.
“We have one of the biggest gaming releases right now with the PS 4. Next week is the second big release, the Xbox One, and then the next week, Black Friday starts.
That means you are likely to see a similar line outside the store next week with the release of the Xbox One.
