Believing the hype - The 'ME' generation is back

Hello.

I'm getting sick of it, quite frankly. 360's and PS3's and PSP's and WII's and the whole bunch of 'Must have NOW' technology. The worst thing is, I'm not sure whether I'm addressing the majority of the blitz community or just a few technology fanatics, so don't know whether I'm going to be seen as insulting to a few or to many. Makes no difference, I suppose.

I just don't understand why and how this stuff makes your life better, really I don't. Don't get me wrong here, when a new Terry Pratchett novel is released I'll have it on the day it's released and will generally finish it that day, so I can understand about wanting instant gratification and fulfillment. But for games that, regardless of the innovative controllers being used, are still the same games as we've seen any number of times.

There's a thread on this forum at the moment where a child has been arrested for opening his Christmas present early and the original poster is horrified that he's being punished for stealing 'old technology' - it sounds almost as if he's expecting the mother to be punished because she can't afford anything better. The point of the story was missed - the child stole something that didn't belong to him but as he couldn't wait he committed a crime to get it NOW! His fault, or the fault of a society that doesn't teach people the value of patience, or the importance of earning something.

It's Christmas and I asked for it. I want it and I expect it. Give it to me. NOW.

The GBA may be older technology but has it been used to it's full potential? I doubt it very much. If there are still people (hobbyists) releasing software for the C64 and other retro machines who can still get more and more out of them, then the potential of the GBA has probably barely been scratched at.

I want it NOW and I want it NEW.

Another thread is asking about HD and Blu-Ray technologies and through what mechanism are we going to be able to get stuff onto the discs. How many people here have released software that has so much media that it fills a CD let alone a DVD? I'm guessing it's not many. Further, how demanding are people being of the technology and storage available at the moment? It's easy to say "I've got a DVD to store all my media on, so I'm not going to compress it, that would just waste my time especially when a DVD is so cheap". Hey, we've all exploited DX7 to its maximum, eh?

Who cares about the planet and the landfills overflowing with PC's and VCR's and Gameboys and - wait - next month it's the turn of the IPod!!!

But more than that it's where another poster says "I pre-ordered my WII in September but only the first 28 customers will get it, the others will have to wait." and accepts that they'll spend the night queueing in stormy weather just because they've bought into the marketing spin that says they must have it NOW!

(I might seem to contradict myself a moment - if you've pre-ordered it, and you've paid the money for it, and the shop have taken your money and enjoyed interest from it, I would expect them to deliver it as promised. Not to the first 28 customers but to everyone who pre-ordered - if they're making a sale, they've got to have the goods to deliver)

I don't think the people on this forum are stupid, so why they act like sheep is beyond me. Just to be able to say "I got it first"? Well, let me prostrate myself in your presence, I am truly humbled. Fantastic, you've managed to play a game before somebody else, again I am truly humbled.

I appreciate that games may not mean as much to me as they do to other people and that everyone has a weak spot. But The Next Big Thing is only that because it's we're told it's The Next Big Thing. And it's that which gets you lined up to be told "come back in two weeks". Don't buy into it.

The videos of the people queueing and rioting have really sickened me lately. It's nothing but the greedy driving people to act like animals, to feed their greed. We're being driven into acting like this and people are accepting it. It's not normal behaviour, I can not believe that this is what we've evolved to be - greedy, selfish, demanding, unsatisfied little children.

Anyway, everybody have a nice Christmas and while you're playing your latest games on your brand new consoles, spare a thought for those people who can't afford even a GBA, the laughable fools.

Goodbye.

Oh good. I thought it was just me.

lol, in the 70's I was always eager to see what I had for christmas before the big day came and would hunt everywhere for my pressies.

It was nothing to do with wanting the next best thing, just couldn't stand the unbearable excitement and not knowing.

Sometimes I'd find them and take a peek at the box, keeping it secret so as not to hurt enyones feelings. That would be enough to keep me in high excitement and anticipation without feeling like I was going to pee my pants.

Back then I lived in egypt and there really wasn't a lot that was cool unless one of my dads colegues brought back something from England. My favourite being an Action Man :)

Think the question is... did you have to sleep on the pavement outside a shop for 3 nights to get them?

Well, I want my brand new, state-of-the-art PC. DX10 card, Asus Striker Extreme Mobo - Core 2 processor.

I want it now.

I just want a piece of paper, and a new front tooth.

Merry Christmas one and all, and God bless Tiny Tim.

SoggyP, my thoughts exactly. As far as I can see, the "must have NOW" phenomenon that you mention is no different to a kid crying, stamping his feet and screaming that he NEEDS a cookie.

It always makes me laugh to see people bursting out of shops; dancing around and triumphantly waving console boxes above their heads as if they've just won a bronze medal at the special olympics. They expect people to be impressed that they've slept outside like tramps to get their kiddie toy? Okay...

But most pathetic are those who go through the same ridiculous routine for every generation of hardware - never learning from their mistakes, never maturing.

Oh... and a Golden Goose

And those who go through all that, not even generally wanting the system, and then debating on wether they should sell it for small fortunes....

@SoggyP
I generally disagree with most of what you 'usually' post, however you have put a very valid point out in this thread. I agree with almost all of it. The hype, the demand, the riots, the waiting lines, the turn-around-and-sell-it, all of it just makes every bit of it worse. It's like a self sustained life form really, each part feeding from another.

Meanwhile those of us who actually want one just as it should be "as a toy", have to sit and just wait till (like every other system does) fall off the demand enough so we can:
A. afford one
B. Buy one as a normal consumer (in that I mean not getting completely ripped in half over some bloated price tag due to demand, not having to stand in 3 week long lines, not having to battle for it with sword and shield).

The hype makes me a bit sick as well. It's just sad to see what sort of life crawls out to these things... Remember that guy that smashed the Wii and PS3 on the videos? A real winner eh (just look at the guy). To plug a site he did all of what you said above (stood in line, waited, fought, etc), just to waste the money and smash the system out for all to see. A complete waste of skin, waste of living space, waste of a valuable job taken, just a waste of life in general.

oh well, welcome to the world right? The internet merely opens us up to what the world (as a whole) truely is.

...or a squirrel, depending which version you've seen. :)

Sounds like somebody who's just grumpy because he asked his girlfriend for a Wii and got a God damn 360 instead! Actually I shouldn't even joke about that, it'd be awful, just think about it!

Hello.

@Makepool: No, nothing like that I'm glad to say. It's just a genuine feeling of, dunno really - loathing and contempt are too strong but I find it distasteful and undignified.

I'm put in mind of the Yahoos from Gulliver's Travels.

Goodbye.

There are no people, only consumer units! The 'Want it now' syndrome is just consumerism... Capitalism gone amok.

Andy

It is all a diversion. Jobs, Games, Books, Fancy Houses, Things, Places to go, Interest. All of it exists because people don't want to face reality.

We distract ourselves from what is actually important with things that don't matter. Because things that are important cause us stress, things that aren't do not.

It is more fun to wait all night in front of walmart to get a wii than it is to sharpen pencils all day at work, reminding us to get ahead. The job is more fun than sitting around thinking about the inevitable. We will all die.

Why do people do all this? Why must they have the next best thing? Cause they can feel like the are accomplishing something without the risk of failure. There is reward with no potential stress, no real risk.

Imagine what the world would be like without all the diversion? We wouldn't be able to support ourselves. We would fight over the nearest land, because the only things left are food, water, and medical care. Nothing else would have value, and there aren't enough positions in those fields to support the world.

It would mean the end of billions of lives.

So next time you are buying that wii, feel good. Because you are saving countless lives with your excess.

> They expect people to be impressed that they've slept outside like tramps to get their kiddie toy?

I think anybody who waits in line more then a few minutes is a nut, with the exception of those who need to just to survive (disaster victims, etc...)

[EDIT] And the "me" generation is a joke, the single most entitled generation is the baby boomers.

Time for my medication

How does this affect you, personally? It doesn't. So get on with your life and stop moaning about other people's pursuits and hobbies. Until they infringe upon your ability to live your life, it's not your concern.

I find the whining from the other side of this particular fence just as annoying.

Distaste and indignity are cultural and social values that you have inherited and had handed down to you from generations ago. You do not realize how much of what you think is your individual identity is actually a national identity that you share with a lot of people. You value it because other people value it. Therefore you are doing exactly the same thing that you are accusing these shoppers of doing, albeit in a different form. You think they are acting like sheep and following the dictates of what seems to be a more evident evil commercial thought system and are comparing them to yourself, based on the dictates of your own thought system which you have fallen into like in a sheep-like way. The standards you're suggesting be upheld are just standards that apply within your culture or the segment of your culture that you identify with and may not be considered normal or desirable at all in another culture.

Part of you is also jealous ;-)

These shoppers are also a great skapegoat for finding candidates to receive your judgement, which is actually a judgement against yourself. You think you are not entitled to or worthy of the excitement and abundance demonstrated in such shopping fests and so you oppose it. Opposing something is more `evil` than any particular form of behavior. You think you have to behave in a certain way or that certain forms of behavior are better or worse than others. In my belief they are all the same because all behaviors are an illusion within a dream reality. Driving a car down a road is no more or less an illusion than buying a console at a mall or saving a tree from being cut down. They're all based on the same premise and underlying foundations psychologically. Creating an opposition and a greater sense of separation between yourself and those people is just you taking advantage of the situation to make yourself look better because, after all, if the finger of wrongdoing is pointing firmly at them, you get off looking like an innocent victim. You are trying to be righteous in that regard. Let these people have their toys rather than judge them for not being ready to be awake to the reality of their dreaming.

Also the `me` generation isn't back, it never went away. Ego shifts into different forms and this is just another one of them. You will also find that as you find a particular crowd to decide to be your skapegoats for today, to whom you happily point your finger of opposing judgement, that that particular crowd will now appear to you to be more separate from you - more individual, more condined, more `me`. At the same time, YOU are more separated from them, and you too have become more ME. The `me crowd` is you.

@DampeS8N - deep, man. Deep.... and true.

'Tis the season.

The irony of the original post is that while it ostensibly attempts to change the behavior of those targetted through logic and persuasion, all it really does is anger those targetted which will invariable result in them becoming more defensive and clinging to the notion that they are right and justified in their actions.

The fact that the OP mentions that he/she is guilty of the same behavior (although I guess it's not as bad when it involves a different medium?) just ups the irony factor and makes this a classic case of "do what I say, not what I do."

This reminded me (and you should take this as the highest compliment) of a section of Kahlil Gibran's "The Prophet."

People aren't perfect. But our imperfections over millions of lives even the world out. We strike a kind of balance with the world.

One of our largest flaws is our ability to segment ourselves out as unique. We deny our own same-ness and this is the root cause of most of history's great tragedies. And it's great victories.

Pointing blame is something very human. Learning to not point blame is devine.

No one can be 100% vigilant. We each have our own talents to prevent our own hypocracy, in various fields. Not one of us is immune to hypoctacy all of the time.

It is the drive to help others not make the same habitual mistakes we ourselves make, that is the best of us, and our inability to listen to those who wish the same, which is the worst of us.

hah, oh that I will my friend...that I will... (enjoy my shiny new system that is, while others can't even afford a GBA...)



For one, I didn't wait in line, I was in the right place and at the right time, and two, I don't see anything wrong with debating wether or not I should sell something that people have nearly died for in the last month, or getting insights and suggestions from others here. Thats why its a community forum where people may share the similar interests. Thats why we talk and debate, and thats why its possible for someone who can expresses his ill feelings for those who enjoy the latest technology discussions we have here.



Totally agee. If they're crazy enough to wait in line, or spend the money, or disagree about whether or not green apples tastes better than oranges, then let them.

First, I thought I agreed with Soggy, then I thought I agreed with Dampe, then I thought I agreed with Angel.

Congratulations SoggyP you're waking up to the great sham!

sham toy!

"dada, me no likey sham toy."

Hello.

@DampS8N: Hmm. It's a valid point, I've got no issue with diversions from real life (though I think you fail to realise the thrill that can be had in sharpening pencils). It's just the way that it's acheived that's getting to me. I don't necessarily want to get all philosophical about it - it's just my opinion, after all, the same as everyone else here - though I do want to take issue with 'our imperfections over millions of lives even the world out. We strike a kind of balance with the world.' as I'm not sure we do strike a balance, or at least not a balance that is heavily weighted in 'our' favour (talking in context, of course).

@Sculpture of Soul: I think there's little ironic in what I said with regards to buying a book. I didn't just mention it, I explicitly stated it so as not to leave myself open to '...and you claim to be perfect?' type responses because I know I'm not perfect (pretty damned close, to be fair, but not quite) and I'm quite capable of want. Neither am I really seeking to change other people's behaviour other than with the line 'Don't buy into it'. I'm just expressing my opinions about the behaviour being exhibited at the moment and the manner in which people are acting - I find it base. Regardless of how much I've wanted something I've never found myself beating people out of the way in order to be first in the queue, I've never been blackmailed into buying something 'first' because of limited supplies, I've never stood in a line for three days regardless of how much I've wanted something - it's not really the medium, I guess, it's how the end result is acheived.

@AngelDaniel: Err, no. I'm most worthy, have few feelings of self-loathing and don't believe I'm the least bit jealous. Really, I've no need to be. Not necessarily. Yes, some forms of behaviour are better than others - giving your seat to a pregnant lady is far better than kicking a cripple in front of a bus, don't you think?Rarely would I mock anothers belief system but I'm really not sure whether you're taking the pi55 here or not?Well, yes, you're right - I think queueing up for food for three days would be justifiable if there was none available but to satisfy a need for a diversion?Who said anything about being a victim, and what's with all this psycho-analysis anyway? I have my flaws (sorry to admit it, but it's true) but I don't point out other people's flaws just to make myself feel better or to try to make myself look better in other people's eyes, that really ain't the way I work.

@Warren: It might not affect me personally directly but I see the affect it has on others - there are adverts in the UK at the moment that imply you're a bad father if you don't shop at a particular place, if you don't buy a particular gift for your child, and that is blackmail at a most fundemental level. If people accept this attitude and accede to the demands for biggest and best and brightest and newest then it becomes the norm to resent not getting the biggest, brightest and best. That will have an impact on us all because there is still a divide between have's and have-not's, and that gulf is not getting any smaller.

At the end of the day, people will do what they want to do - and who am I to stop them? But I'm allowed to express how crass I think it is in the same way you're allowed to express your opinions. It's just I'm right ;o)

Goodbye.

Balance isn't balance unless it isn't in anyone's favor. You can argue that the rich have it better than the poor. Or you can also argue that the poor are more grounded and therefore have it better than the rich who lead empty novelty lives.

We all are born, do almost nothing of value, then die. With only a few exceptions that either did something horrific, something 'human condition changing' or something that makes for a nice story we can pass down.

We cover up the fact that our lives are meaningless with things.

At the same time, some of us cover up the fact that our lives are meaningless with trying to not be meaningless. Which leads to terrible things, and also wonderful things. Often times, mixed together.


Games are no different than books, movies, tv, or any other fiction. I use the word fiction, because even a lot of non-fiction are really layers of fiction.

At the same time, none of this is negative, it is just human nature. A nature that has served us well over the last million years.

SoggyP,

>Err, no. I'm most worthy, have few feelings of self-loathing and don't believe I'm the least bit jealous. Really, I've no need to be.

There is part of you that is trying to attach to what these people are doing, even though some other part of you is trying to deny them their freedom. If you were `at peace` about what they're doing you would have no attachment to them (which is wanting to be like them - jealousy/envy) and you would not be labelling them as wrong or trying to say they are wrong. As soon as you take issue with them you are caught up in them, with them, which is the darker side of what you think is the moral highground. Your reasons for denying them is to suggest they are not allowed to be/do/have what they want, which in turn reflects on you - you can't evaluate someone else as something without it being an evaluation of yourself as well. If they are not worthy, neither are you. That's why I said you must have some part of you that doesn't think you are worthy because you're seeing these people as `having too much` or `wanting too much`. There is plenty of abundance. I know you're taking issue with what looks like their egocentric behavior, but what does it help you to take issue with it?

>...or that certain forms of behavior are better or worse than others.
>Yes, some forms of behaviour are better than others - giving your seat to a pregnant lady is far better than kicking a cripple in front of a bus, don't you think?

Some people would say no. They are both beliefs in realities that are not True. Trying to `behave` correctly is an artificial attempt to give meaning to the world where there is no meaning, to make up and pretend that certain behaviors or actions are better or worse than others, upon which you create a sense of society or culture or morality that was never there. It is an effort to increase contrast, separation, and opposition between one part of reality and another, which ultimately is a act of ego attempting to create less peace or balance, not more. It would be more sane to say all behaviors are equally illusory. Making one behavior better than another is attempting to create meaning in a meaningless world, having lost sight of where True Meaning is, which is a matter of spirituality beyond the physical world.

>...In my belief they are all the same because all behaviors are an illusion within a dream reality. Driving a car down a road is no more or less an illusion than buying a console at a mall or saving a tree from being cut down.

>Rarely would I mock anothers belief system but I'm really not sure whether you're taking the pi55 here or not?

Why would you be upset that your beliefs are being threatened if what I'm saying has no merit? You would only turn to mock my belief system if you thought it had the advantage of protecting yours from what you perceive as an attack. Even if I am not being attacking, you could see attack `in` what I'm saying just because it is something contrary to what you think is real. So then to you I look insane regardless of whether I am.

>Well, yes, you're right - I think queueing up for food for three days would be justifiable if there was none available but to satisfy a need for a diversion?

Why is `a diversion` less meaningful than queuing for food? Lots of people are so focussed outside of themselves that they have come to associate with the messages that the outside world presents to them, to the point where they cannot distinguish between themselves as an entity and the body that is relaying those messages to them. There is so much focus on external input they stop seeing who they are beyond a body. People think they are bodies and they worship their bodies and those of others, all because they think that what they perceive externally is real. If they saw that what is `inside` is real they would not be confused to think they are bodies and wouldn't think that feeding the body is more `meaningful` than buying a playstation 3. Obviously you'd feed the body because it is important but it isn't more meaningful. The body is a diversion.

>Creating an opposition and a greater sense of separation between yourself and those people is just you taking advantage of the situation to make yourself look better because, after all, if the finger of wrongdoing is pointing firmly at them, you get off looking like an innocent victim

>Who said anything about being a victim, and what's with all this psycho-analysis anyway? I have my flaws (sorry to admit it, but it's true) but I don't point out other people's flaws just to make myself feel better or to try to make myself look better in other people's eyes, that really ain't the way I work.

If you think those people are doing something, and it is upsetting you, which is clearly is, then you have become a victim. A victim is someone who perceives something happening outside of them, being caused by someone or something other than themselves, which is affecting them in an unwanted way. If you looked at those people and were totally unmoved by them and had no reaction to them you would not be a victim. If they take you out of your calm and peace then it's because something they're doing is making you feel victimized.

The stuff that you project onto other people that makes you look better, is in my opinion unconscious, it's not something that you're aware is there. Sorry to insinuate that who you are, consciously, is trying to deliberately attack people. You're not. You really are innocent anyway.

Let me also apologize for commenting on your behavior, as well, as obviously I am doing the same things that I am talking about.

I think perhaps you didn't really want an `answer to` the problem you were experiencing, but wanted to find some people to agree with you and keep you `in` the scenario that is causing the problem?

Also if you are going to ask a question then surely you are willing to entertain going to whatever lengths are necessary to answer it, even if that means examining your `psyche`? I know you were just striking up a conversation and were not really trying to get a real answer, just some support. That's ok, but at least admit it instead of having my response become unwelcome.

oh my word...so much hard-hitting interpretation from a post on an internet forum. Do me next please! I want to know all about me!

Well, you're an attention whore for starters...

This is all just opinion, as you know. Take what you like and leave the rest, even if that is all of it.

In terms of behavior only, I would agree that there has been a lot of frenzy, unconsciousness, people lusting after carrots on sticks, outright silliness and violence, idolization and hero-worship, huge amounts of hype and many other kinds of insanity. I think most people would agree that there is some nutty stuff going on with these new console releases. I do, however, think that there is a lot more going on above and beyond just what seems to be evident on the surface. My apologies if sharing some of that insight pushed your buttons.

For one I dont want to be playing an Atari still. People can go kill each other, rob shops, go and kill someone else for all I care. Trying to blame that on a Console is pretty... well... its stupid. If I want a 360, I dont go rob a house, kill someones kid, and eat their turkey roast. I got a job, I saved for a few weeks, and went to the shop and paid $600.

What I'm trying to say is that, its not the latest consoles and whatnot causing this, its people making choices to do the kinds of actions AngelDaniel mentioned above. How you can blame that on a console is beyond me.

Makes you wonder how people will be 10 years from now when two or three more generations of consoles have been released.

Well, i wouldn't blame it on consoles or technology hype completely. People have stole, rob, fought, and killed for far less....each day.

There is another possible explanation for people wanting the newest and the latest than simply greed: They like the challenge!

Why do people play sports? Its all just hype - get a ball through this hoop, don't cross this line, they're just HYPE they're invented, honestly, sheep, just don't waste your time, especially playing in the snow and cold, or getting cut and bruised over some hyped up rules.

I think its our nature to want a challenge and to be curious about the new, the fewer consoles the media says will be available the more exciting it will be to try and get one.

Perfecting old arts takes allot of patience, and I think most people aren't cut out for it. Have we perfected the art of wood-construction? Definitely not, but I like my steel skyscraper at the moment. I don't think its a criticism that can be leveraged solely against my generation that we're always intrigued by the newest stuff - the same drive has been acting on humans for thousands of years, with a few gaps for different religions, etc. Our generation has just reached a point where everything is so abstract that many of us pursue newer entertainment technology.

I'm not saying its good - indeed I've never owned a console in my life (I'm only 19 though) but I think greed and the goal of personal gain is not what motivated people to spend 3 days in the cold. Hanging out with friends, testing your own resolve, and wanting a challenge are what get those people out there despite the snow and rain. The motivation is closer to the motivation for hiking than for embezzling or other greedy things.

AngelDaniel- you are a little bit too much detached from reality, because you tried to say that kicking someone in front of a bus is not immoral
Do you think this is the matrix or something?

If the bus was stationary or the guy tried to place his hand on your ass then no, its not immoral.

I didn't say you should do it. If you realized how doing that is no different than sipping tea you just wouldn't value it the same, that doesn't mean you would suddenly go do it if that person perceives reality with a different meaning.

The physical universe is not reality.

so, a MMORPG is as much reality as the world we normally percieve to be "reality"?

Yes. Just an alternate reality with fewer rules.

As Alan Partridge would say - it's like happy hour at Pete and Bernie's Philosophical Steakhouse!

I agree with you SoggyP, why not use the current technologies to the limits and then move on. However times have changed alot and technology is moving so quick, their really is no point hanging about.
I got my wii, not because i wanted it but cos my gf wanted to treat me to one,i even tried to turn it down.

I don't get excited much about getting the next big thing, im still stuck with my pc i made in 2001 and still don't plan on upgrading.

...I'm completely agree with mr.SoggyP...and if ever law declare 'been greedy' and 'me me me and me and I want it now' behaviour as a criminal...all they have to do is to announce new next gen upcoming console, state of the art features etc, and catch them in one of those romantic mornings/nights when they waiting to ger some piece of electronic they 'cant live without'...I dontknow how they can be so blinded by box full of electronic while sooo many good womans wlaking around..huh..

I would say there are many levels and layers to the reality of the physical universe and they are all inconsistent and insane. There is only one consistent reality that IS reality BECAUSE it is consistent, and that is beyond the universe entirely.

But this is way off topic. ;-)

I would say there are many levels and layers to the reality of the physical universe and they are all inconsistent and insane. There is only one consistent reality that IS reality BECAUSE it is consistent, and that is beyond the universe entirely.

But this is way off topic. ;-)

... and nonsense ;)

<skipped loads of posts> The problem here is Christmas doesnt mean getting the family together any more like it used to, when I was young (albeit a few years now) it was a time to get everybody round and see how thier year was.

Now christmas seems to be comparing presents with everyone else to see if you got the better presents, capitalism has turned christmas into a mass shopping event where everyone goes stupid to get little tommy that present hes been bugging us for.

Well, we could do it the the North Korea way and get what Kim Jong Ill tells us to get for christmas. Oh wait....I dont think they quite celebrate it over there...?

Ahh, I see. So your interests (good looking women) are OK, but other people's (consoles, gaming) are not. Got it.

I don't ever see a time where id queue for hours even days for a games console.

I have queued for a whole day for a festival ticket, mainly cos it allows me to walk out with the ticket at the end of the day and not spend an afternoon online (which I'm without regular access to at the moment) in the vain hope that I'd get a ticket and not find someone has now bought and willing to sell on ebay 5 minutes later, I've missed out on the last few Glastonbury's due to this online-ness malarky and have just gone to the local Cambridge folk festival instead (after queuing for a whole day).

I saw and read about the huge global queues for ps3 wii and others, paying homeless people to stand in line for you so you had some virtually instant profit on ebay
these people just see the $'s or £ and if i could find the key yens in their eyes.

the real gamers who do queue for that long (without a toilet break?) might have way too much time on their hands and might rack up hours a day in games that out weigh my hours at work (11+ a day on average)
well its their human right to do such a thing, but i myself would wait for the availability and perhaps price to come down

and as for Christmas shopping, these days you'd be lucky to just get a bottle/12 pack of your fave booze and a gift voucher for a dvd or two.

I long since left childhood and having no children myself (fingers crossed) and being agnostic Christmas doesn't have the same ring to me as others and i just see it for what it is outside of religion, a mass marketing campaign for capitalism.

Santa has already left alot of Jack Daniels (consumer whore that i am) in my Christmas stocking this year, next gen consoles (hell a new pc) can wait till the new fiscal new year.

heh, I can give several good reason but it may get the thread locked...