The Waiting

The waiting truly is the hardest part.

So, with the recent release of the slimline PS3 at 300 bucks and the recent release of Transformers 2 on Blu-Ray, I got to thinking that maybe it was time to finally board the PS3 train. Actually, what really did it was the release of Uncharted 2 and the wave of praise that has been heaped upon the game. Still though, 300 bucks for a console seemed a lot, especially on a console that won't be the primary console.

So at the middle of last week I see that the Sony Style store had the old 80 GB models for $249 and that included an extra controller and free shipping. Plus, if you applied for the Sony Style Visa card you got a 50 buck statement credit. At that point I started seriously considering it. Now, the thing about me is that when I get to the point where I'm seriously considering something, that thing is as good as purchased but for some reason I continue to consider and consider and usually consider it to death and miss out which is exactly what happened here.

So by the time I decide to get off my ass and order the fucking thing, they're sold out. Oh well. A perusal of the Cheap Ass Gamer forums showed that not only were they sold out, but people who had ordered the bundle earlier in the week had their orders canceled by Sony. Oh well, guess I didn't miss out on too much.

On Sunday, on a lark I check out Sony Style again and this time I see the 160 GB Uncharted bundle for 300 bucks. Yeah, it wasn't the newer system, but the hard drive was bigger and it came with a game that I was going to play any way? Sold! I applied for the Sony card, got approval and ordered my console. Nice!

On Monday I check my order and it's still processing. Ok, well, I ordered it on Sunday night at around 9PM, so that made sense. What didn't make sense was that I was charged for shipping but a call to Sony Style fixed that.

Monday afternoon, still processing. Monday night, still processing. Tuesday still processing. At this point, I began thinking that this was the 80 GB bundle sell out situation all over again. So on Wednesday, when it was still showing as processing, I called Sony Style back and talked to a rep who forwarded the question about my order on to "management". Now, at this point, the 160 GB bundle was removed from the PS3 section of the site, which is why I figured I wasn't going to get it.

Sure enough, about an hour later I get an email from the Sony Concierge that said that due to the popularity of the model, they didn't know when they'd be getting them. Now, I know that the e-commerce system isn't a perfect one, but come on. If you can't hook up your inventory system to your ordering system with a degree of competency, then you really shouldn't be selling shit online.

So here I was without a console, but with a Visa card that I had applied for. I have never been a big fan of Sony, mostly because of the dickheaded comments by Sony management and the feelings of entitlement they seemed to have in regards to their consumers. I was seriously considering buying a used PS3 and just saying "fuck Sony" but the more I thought of it, the less I liked the idea. For one, there's no guarantee that the used system I'd be buying would actually work and didn't have a tuna fish sandwich shoved in it somewhere. Second, I did have that 50 buck statement credit just sitting on the table and it'd be stupid to waste it. Third of all, I used to work for a company that was run by a very brash, very public young guy who often said things that made him sound like an incredible egomaniac (which he was). At the time, when people found out that I worked there, they always responded to me as if I said those stupid things and it always bugged me because I had nothing to do with the guy. I hated being lumped in with that guy and here I was doing the same thing.

The simple fact is that my PSP has never done anything but do what it was supposed to. I may have issues with the design of the thing, but the fact is that it has never broken on me. Ditto for my Sony receiver and the slew of other Sony products I've had since I started buying Sony as a wee lad. On the other hand, my original 360 which I've had nothing but love for had to be fixed. Petey's 360 had to be fixed. Petey's brother's 360 had to be fixed. Hodge's 360 is on its way back from being fixed. Bones had to have like five of the fucking things fixed. That's not to say that the PS3 is bulletproof, but it's silly to pass up a good deal on what is, statistically, a much sturdier piece of hardware just because someone in upper management is a douchebag.

So on Wednesday I ordered the slim 120 GB for 300 bucks, and made sure to get the statement credit and now I await its arrival. I went for years without wanting a PS3 but now that I ordered it, I want it like now. NOW! It won't get here until Wednesday which is fine because that's when my HDMI switcher, HDMI cables, Blu-Ray PS3 remote and copy of Transformers 2 on Blu-Ray arrives, but still, I want it now. I have no way of getting it hooked up to my projector and nothing to play/watch on it once I do, but that doesn't matter. I want it now.

The funny thing is that had I just ordered the slim model last week when I began seriously considering the purchase I'd have the damn thing by now. Indecision is a harsh mistress.