Awaiting Playstation 3

I’m afraid I’m about to be discovered. As I write this, I’m sitting outside on the sidewalk outside “The Gamestop” A video game store in Redmond, Washington. Today is the first day to pre-order the Playstation 3, which is the next gaming console from Sony. Word about the pre-order came out yesterday at 5pm, and I was tipped off by Shaheen, a good friend of mine. He’s a gamer, always has been, and works in the video game industry. I, on the hand, fit none of these descriptions. In fact, I might be considered the worst gamer ever. I own a XBOX because it was given to me, and have played it a handful of times (at the prompting of friends) and always lose miserably. I do enjoy watching DVD’s on it though, and I’m proud of my gaming status. I know I suck, and I’m okay with it. But the Playstation 3 is rumored to be massively under stocked when it comes out next month, and if history is any guide, it will be worth close to twice the $600 asking price when it comes out. So yesterday I decided that if I forgo some sleep, I can probably pay my November rent with the profits, when it shows up next month. So today at 4:45am I was the first person to show up outside, and I’ve been here for about 4 hours, joined by the hardest of hardcore gamers. They all pulled out their “DS2′s” which I learned is the newest portable game system. Last time I checked, Gameboy had come out with a color version. “Dude, you should have brought your DS2, we have Mario Kart.” “Um, yeah. (weak smile)” So far, the conversation has been painful, since I’m at a loss for gaming topics. I slept for the first few hours, which helped, since it was an escape from gaming interaction. I got a little bit of street cred when I mentioned I used to work at Microsoft, ... so I followed it up with asking if anyone had seen the movie Ghost Rider. Yesterday, I was watching movie previews online, and remembered that this one was based off a comic book. The guy next to me jumped at the chance, and began to recall every other comic movie that I’ve never heard of but he thought I would like, if I liked Ghost Rider. It was a nice gesture, so I didn’t mention I’d only seen the preview. I am currently unshaven, wearing glasses and a beanie cap, and sitting in a sleeping bag with my laptop, as I planned on working while waiting. Thank goodness I brought these essentials, because otherwise I would look funny in the magazine. That's right. A photographer from “Hardcore Gamer Magazine” showed up to take our pathetic picture sitting outside the store. Okay, only an hour more and I’ll be done. The manager just showed up to give us the details of our transaction, and it turns out he knows some my fellow PS3 buddies by first name. One of them questioned me: *“What games are you pre-ordering?, Are you trading your PS in?”* *“Um... I dunno, I haven’t decided as yet.”* *“Are you gonna get a Wee too?”* *“Um... I.. Uh... probably not?”* So far, I’ve talked to Shaheen three times so he can explain the gaming terminology I’m hearing. Apparently ‘Wii’ is the name of Nintendo Gaming system that is coming out. The photographer left behind the latest version of the gaming magazine. I’m thinking maybe I’ll browse through it and see if I can brush up on my game talk. It’s 8AM now, and the ladies walking into the hair salon next door laugh openly at us, sitting with our sleeping bags. I can’t blame them, I’d laugh at me too. -->