PlayStation 3 release: Chicago gamers create utopia on a Best Buy sidewalk

by Matt Bigelow, Brad Flora and Jing Zhou

On Friday Nov. 17, 2006, Sony's latest video game system, the PlayStation 3, went on sale at 8 a.m. nationwide. With PS3 presale units already fetching double price on eBay, hardcore gamers and would-be profiteers pitched tents in front of their local stores days in advance.

Despite 39 degree temperatures Thursday night, tensions ran high outside stores in Chicago as rumors of shootings, robberies and secret PlayStation shipments flew from store to store via cell phone.

Some of these rumors were at least based in truth. Someone was, in fact, shot while waiting in line. But this happened in Connecticut, not Schaumburg.

While every camp had its rumors and difficulties, there was something honorable about the community outside of one Chicago store that night: the Elston Avenue Best Buy, where a railroad engineer called the shots, an investment banker delivered the food and touch football brought everyone together in the cold..

The Bossman

Angel Colon (above, foreground) is a 24-year-old Union Pacific Railroad locomotive conductor and engineer. He was first in line at the Elston store Tuesday afternoon, along with his brother, Omar, and his brother-in-law, Juan. Together they planned to snag one system to play and two to sell on eBay. Being first there meant he kept the official list of every camper's place in line.

A veteran of previous successful campaigns for the Xbox 360, PSP, and original Xbox, Colon managed his camp with a firm but patient hand. His fellow gamers called him "the bossman" and deferred every group decision to him.

• No one left left the line without Angel's permission. He organized a checkout system for people who needed 60-minute breaks.
• No one joined the line without Angel's permission. He personally confronted everyone who mysteriously "turned up" in line.
• No one spoke for the group without Angel's permission. He was interviewed by several news organizations throughout the week.
• And no one used the bathroom without Angel's permission. When the store's landlord complained about gamers using the area behind the store for their toilet earlier in the week, the Best Buy Loss Prevention Manager spoke with Colon about the problem and he made sure his people took care of their personal business elsewhere or be bumped off the list. "We had a huddle and I told them that it might have been a bum or something but this is what we're blamed for and if we want to keep this going we're going to have to do something about it."

"For every problem that arose, we had a quick solution," Colon said. "Once we had a little bit of unity and a little bit of rules everybody realized this was the best way to do things."

Under Colon's watchful eye, the gamers at the Elston Avenue store stayed in good spirits all week long and seemed to genuinely enjoy one another's company, even on the last night, 50 hours into their campout.

(Click thumbnails to see a full-size images)

Gamers started pitching tents outside the Elston Avenue Best Buy the Tuesday evening of PS3 release week. Most were at least somewhat "pimped out." Some had TV's. Some had generators and space heaters. One tent had a projector and its occupants, visitors from Cincinnati who though "this would be fun," spent most of Thursday night hunkered down inside watching DVD's "courtesy of bittorrent."

The Technophobes

Rudy and Jason are showing off one of Colon's organizational tools: "number tags." If you didn't have a tag with your number in line on it from Colon, you weren't getting a PlayStation.

Like many, these two were hoping to make some quick cash by selling their PlayStations on eBay. They had no desire to play the system.

“I’m against technology," Rudy said. "It kills the innocence of people. They don’t talk to each other as much as before. They are either online or on the phone. There’s no physical interaction.”

Jason had a similarly pessimistic view: “Technology was meant to connect us all, but it failed.” Though they said they had the money to afford one, neither Rudy nor Jason has a cell phone.

“I don’t want to be distracted,” Jason said. “If you have dinner friends, and they are always busy with text messages, it’s not about hanging out any more.”

The Mother Hen

Around midnight, Carmilla and David, who manage a Japanese animation Web site called "Anime Food" dropped by to "spread a little love" around from the anime community. They set up in the parking garage across the street for a late-night showing of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.

“We’re just here to entertain people,” Carmilla said. "Anybody who’s a hardcore geek, it’s hard for them to meet people. It's about the human connection.”

The I-Banker

Peter Cahill is the president of a Chicago mergers and acquisitions firm. A husband and recent father, the 33-year-old River North resident is also an avid gamer.

"I crunch numbers all day long," he said. "I’m the president of a 50-person company, it’s exhausting. It’s nice to be able to kind of unwind after a workout and talk to schmucks online and have no idea who you are and not try to impress you.”

Though he was one of the first into the store the next morning, Cahill actually only spent about seven hours at the Best Buy that week.

Tuesday, while Colon and his family were still setting up at the front of the line, Cahill approached him: would Angel find someone else to stand in line for Peter all week in exchange for $200, a PlayStation game and three delivered meals a day?

Colon called up his wife. She left their 19-month-old daughter with her parents and came down to grab spot #23 in line.

That week Cahill brought 10 meals to Colon and his family and came with his last batch of goodies (the coffee pictured here) just after 1 a.m. Friday morning. He stayed on until the doors opened at 8 a.m.

Staying Warm

To keep from freezing, Colon's Elston Avenue crew kept a continuous touch football game going in the street. Though botched throws set off the alarm of a Best Buy van parked nearby about 4 times that night, they didn't take the game elsewhere for fear that things would get out of hand if too many people were away at once.

North Avenue: How the other half lives

Down the road about a mile from the Elston store, another group of gamers had a somewhat different experience. Here campers spent the week hunched over in lawn chairs. The Best Buy managers said tents would block foot traffic into the store.

The Accountant

Colon's counterpart at this location was Bob Chang, an accountant who showed up Wednesday night and called in sick to work Thursday and Friday. He planned to sell his PlayStation to raise money for an engagement ring. Using a T-Mobile Sidekick he kept his Xanga blog current with updates from the front line.

While waiting, Chang managed to snag tickets to a show on Jay-Z's upcoming "Hangar Tour" from a radio station. He sold them on Craig's List for $300. According to Chang, "sleeping" was the primary activity at the North Avenue store, followed by "drinking."

Misery

Chang had a choice view of his troops from his sleeping bag by the front door.

   

But still...

...everyone there seemed to be enjoying themselves. These gamers were just about to break open another bottle of tequila.

The Big Moment

Just before 8 o'clock Colon, still wearing his #1 sticker, took up his spot on the sidewalk one last time. The Bossman invited Cahill to join him at the front of the line.

A Grand Exit

Colon and his family left the Elston Avenue Best Buy at 8:22 a.m. with two 60GB PS3's and a 20GB model. Colon said he wanted to give someone else a chance at a more valuable 60GB console.

Ultimately the system was a consolation prize of sorts. While waiting in line, Colon's house had been robbed Wednesday morning. "They took basically any electronics: two laptops, my PlayStation [2], Xbox, a camcorder and extra cell phones. Money and credit cards too," he said. After this 63-hour experience, he hopes waiting for the insurance company to call won't be so difficult.

According to Marylou, as of Saturday night her husband still hadn't had a chance to try out his system. He'd been too busy sleeping.

The first thing Cahill did when he arrived Friday morning home was to reschedule a first class flight to New York he had that day. Then he set up his PlayStation.

“I feel a little bit like I bought people, but that’s okay because everyone made out,” he said over background explosions from "Call of Duty 3. “I’ve got my system. It’s really that simple. I met a nice guy and that’s really how it is. It worked out pretty well. for everyone.”

Colon agreed.

"I don't think he used me or I used him," he said. "In fact you could say we had the upper hand because we could have backed out right there at the end. I don't think it was a negative thing. It actually was pretty positive. We got to learn about his family and he got to learn about ours."

Colon said he and Cahill made plans to meet up for dinner sometime soon.

As per their original deal, the investment banker still owes him a PlayStation 3 game.