Customers Beating a Path (and Each Other) to Get New Gaming Consoles

Waiting in line at a Connecticut Wal-Mart store, Michael Penkala refused to give armed robbers his money earmarked to buy the Sony PS3 and was shot in the shoulder.

In Wisconsin, customers stampeded into a West Bend store injuring one man, Brian Weston, as he was pushed into a pole (video footage).

Authorities shut down a Wal-Mart in Palmdale, California due to rowdy crowds.

Four people waiting outside a Best Buy in Lexington, KY were hit with BB pellets in a "drive by" shooting.

Police fired a paintball into an unruly crowd of 350 people outside of a Target store in Henrico, VA.

In Vacaville, CA, fortunate customers that were able to purchase PS3's were escorted by local police to their cars.

For those that don't know, the Sony Playstation 3 is a high end gaming system providing "breathtaking new interactive worlds to explore, eye-popping multimedia functionality, and a fully integrated online experience - all in high-definition clarity", according to Sony.

There are currently two PS3 models available. One features a 20-GB hard disk drive (HDD) and carries a suggested retail price of $499, while the second features a 60-GB HDD and built in Wi-Fi adapter and multiple memory card slots for $599.

A current search on the ever popular Ebay shows the "buy it now" price for the 20-GB system at around $2500 and 60-GB system at $3000.00.

Why is this happening?? Is having the PS3 that important? Well, yes and no. It depends on who you ask. If you ask a hard core gamer, the answer is yes. If you ask some entrepreneurial types that are taking advantage of the craze, buying now and hijacking the price to some astronomical sum and reselling to one of the many poor souls unable to stand in line for hours to get one at the suggested retail price, the answer is not just yes but absolutely! If you ask just about anyone else, the answer is a polite "no, I'll wait".

Supply and demand does have something to do with it. Sony Computer Entertainment America promised 400,000 machines in the United States for Friday's launch and about 1 million by year's end, which is about half its original projections.