PS3Vault.com suffered through a 36 hour long campout at Wal-Mart so you don’t have to! And we return with coveted PS3’s! Read our thoughts and track our progress below.

Editors note: If you’ll notice, I haven’t slept more than three hours since Wednesday. I took a lot of photos for this but they need to be edited, analyzed, and fixed up. You’ll get them eventually, I promise.

Update 1: It’s now been an hour since I’ve returned home and I still have not yet showered or slept. I apologize in advance for any formatting, spelling, or editing errors this contains.

Day 1
2:00: Arrival at Wal-Mart. There are three with us. Myself (Dan Rosenthal), Dan K, and Dan V. Two were here already ahead of us: John and Pat. One more in our personal group is coming, Simon.
2:30: The four of us are all here, making 6 total.. We’re in back at layaway. We’re told we’ll be given chairs outside.
2:40: we move outside. It starts to rain. We’re not allowed to be under cover
3:30 we’re told semi trucks are being blown over by the storm coming out of alabama. We’re still outside.
4:00 we’re given space inside across from the bathrooms. We’re still in 10 hard plastic chairs. We find out only 2 will be coming in, the remaining 8 will be rain checks and we’ll have them in 3 weeks and have guaranteed pickup on them. Dan, Dan, and I (Dan) are number 3, 4, and 5. Simon is 6.
5:45 Two more have come: Ben and Matt. We’ve gotten Risk, the board game, and some food. We’re told we’re not allowed a table to play on. We have to play on the floor. The manager tells us that we should be thankful we’re not outside. The weather outside is horrible.
6:50 Risk game is still going on. I’m tied for the lead. Numbers 9 and 10 are here: Brad and Cory.
7:05: Dan V. is winning risk, but I pulled a nice risk card combo and am close behind. He has North and South america, I have Australia, half of asia, and all but iceland of europe.
7:43: The Risk game is winding down. Dan V. is dominating, but I have a hot risk card up my sleeve. Fortress Siam is indestructible! My victory is coming soon.
7:55: I just pulled out an extra 30 guys with my risk card gambit. Siam is now nigh impenetrable.
8:21: My massive push into Alaska from Kamchatka has failed. I’m being counterattacked
10:10 The game is finally over. Simon (blue) wins, Dan Kim (green) second, me in third, and Dan V., once the master of the entire West, in pitiful last place.
11:05 John and I are studying, the others are watching Wedding Crashers.
11:58 I finished reading my 40 page journal. Only 60 pages of two more journals to go. Time to watch movies. A police officer came by and said something but we couldn’t hear what. Loudspeaker announced something in the store was closing, but they also said it would reopen at 12:01am which is in 2 minutes. We couldn’t hear what either. (update: the store closes for 5 minutes every night to update computer systems or something. I wonder if they’ll do it release night?)

Day 2:
12:01: Quincy Police Department sends a Lieutenant to our Wal-mart. The officer informs us that he’ll be escorting whoever actually purchases a unit to their vehicle, to prevent thefts.
5:45: Everyone except myself, John, and Pat go to sleep between 4am and now. I’m too wired to sleep. Apparently there is a late-night all Wal-mart call in request radio show. I thought I was hallucinating when I heard the loudspeaker say “Yo “T”, play me some Metallica!”
6:15: Wal-mart staff wakes everyone up, tells us we have 15 minutes till the manager is going to make us clear the aisles.
7:45: Wal-mart Assistant Manager actually comes out and makes us clear the aisles. Threatens to send us outside if we don’t “clean up”.
7:50: For the fourth time, Star Wars Ep. IV: A New Hope is put on the TV’s. Management won’t let us put anything on that’s not on their list of “approved high-definition movies”. We note to them that they aren’t even using the HDMI cable, just a standard component cable, through which the signal is being split through 5 TV’s, none of which are on optimal brightness/contrast settings, and all of which have nasty scan lines or graphical artifacts that make it look worse than basic cable. “You’re lucky you’re not outside” is our response. I decide that Anthony Daniels and Sir Alec Guiness were gay lovers.
7:57: Five of the 10 of us are asleep in our chairs. Only myself, Cory, Brad and Simon are awake. Dan K. is out getting breakfast. He’s been gone almost an hour and we have no idea where he went. He had been talking about going back to Tallahassee and picking some things up (I was hoping he’d pick up my Battlestar Galactica Season 2.5 disc 1 out of my 360 back at home if he did), but we noted it would be risky in case someone comes and presses the issue that there are only nine of us here: the management already hates us, and they’ve said that if we leave our seats its fair game for someone to take our spots. We had to fight to even be allowed use of the bathrooms so a breakfast trip is risky. I decide that it’s time to continue studying for my Globalization essay.
8:50: I finish my second journal for Globalization.
8:55: I’m approached by a mildly insane old woman who tells me I ought to be ashamed of myself for waiting here, because I’m shaming my mother and father. Then she tells me that she loves me because God tells her to, and that if I disagree I’ll get a hurtin’. Then she gives me a hug. I’m still confused. I chalk it up to the almost 24 hours of lack of sleep that I didn’t yell at her. In retrospect, probably a good thing: losing my spot in line now would be devastating.
8:59: I get in touch with Dan K. He drove back to Tallahassee for our breakfast, and went to the bank for something as well. He should be returning shortly, which is good because I’m ready to murder someone for my McGriddle.
11:30: Dan finally returns with breakfast. Still no news on the systems. Another Risk game starts.
1:03: The second risk game ends with Dan V. in first, Simon in second, myself in third, Dan K. in fourth, and Pat in last place. I drift off to sleep.
2:27: I’m awaked be discussion within the group. Apparently the two systems that we’ve been waiting for– they’re 20 GB. The first two guys don’t know what they want to do. We also don’t know what model our vouchers will be for: if they’re for 20 GB’s, what the hell did we just sit here for? That wasn’t what was advertised.
2:53: Still no positive word. There’s a chance that there are two 60 GB’s and two 20 GB’s. We’re hearing mixed rumors. Nobody seems to know where the incoming truck that MAY have the systems is.
3:57: No news on the incoming truck, or the type/number of systems. However, we’re confirmed by one of the friendlier Wal-mart employees that the vouchers ARE for the 60 GB model, no matter what they get in. Apparently that means that if you want a 20 GB model you’re giving up your voucher, but if you don’t want the 20 GB model, you can have a 60 GB voucher. Also, we’ll be getting some sort of special necklace to distinguish who we are.
4:05: Apparently we’re getting news regarding the vouchers shortly. I’m fairly sure that the news is they’re printing out the vouchers right now, and they’re a card with our name on them. I’m trying to talk the manager to give me a PS3 or Wii lanyard keychain.
5:15: More and more people have been coming in to ask about the PS3 lines. We’re told that we’ll get our special keychains and form the final line at 9pm.
7:30: We’re given good and bad news. The good news is that there will be four machines: two 60 GB and two 20 GB. The bad news is that only the two 20 GB will be in stock at the selling point. The 60 GB’s got held in Jacksonville due to the horrid weather. They’re expected anytime between as early as midnight tonight and noon tomorrow. What this means is starting with #1 in the list, they can choose a 20GB system in stock now, or a 60 GB voucher. The first two 60 GB vouchers are expected to be fulfilled by no later than noon tomorrow. The remaining 60 GB vouchers will be fulfilled by the three week or so period they promised earlier, though the manager hinted that should Sony have production problems again, they may not make it until possibly the 15th or 17th of December. I’m still undecided but I’m thinking I might go for the 20 GB system now: The first two guys are both taking 60 GB’s. Dan K is undecided, but I think he’s leaning towards 60 GB voucher . Dan V. is decided on a 20 GB. I’m next. If Dan K. chooses 60 GB voucher , I get dibs on the last 20 GB, and I’ll probably take it. If he chooses the 20 GB, I have to take the 60 GB voucher. I’m fine with it either way. I’m making significant progress on my journal readings and I’m ready to start writing my paper which is now due in 15 hours. I have only had 3 hours sleep in the past 36 hours, and that was sitting up in a chair.
8:55: Store manager just announced that the tracking info came in for the 60 GB’s in Jacksonville, and they’re on time for an 11:16 PM delivery. If all goes well, that means I’m walking out with a 20 GB.
11:00: The first “midnight hour” vultures arrive only to find themselves royal fucked. I laugh.
12:03:I am escorted to my car by a police officer, victorious with my 20 GB PS3. Dan. V. got one. The first two guys were waiting for their 60GB shipment which was still on its way, ETA less than an hour out. Dan K. also chose a 60 GB raincheck and was waiting in the hope there might be 3 on the new truck. He was heading off after that to Circuit City and Gamestop to pick up his 1 pre-ordered PS3, and to participate in the mad-dash for the circuit city one.

I hope you enjoyed reading this. Please don’t forget, for the best PS3 news and updates check www.ps3vault.com daily, and we’ll have reviews for you as soon as we can tear ourselves away from the consoles!

Dan “SWATJester” Rosenthal
Contributing Editor, PS3Vault.com

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