Christmas 2006 Hot Toys!

I just received the below email from Costco

Dear Costco Member,

You requested to be notified when the Sony PlayStation 3 Bundle is available for purchase at Costco Wholesale. This item will be available for purchase on costco.com on Friday, November 17, 2006 at approximately 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time. The item will be prominently displayed on the homepage of costco.com until it is sold out.

Due to an extremely limited supply, we can accept orders from current Costco members only on a first come, first served basis, with a limit of one unit per household. The Costco warehouses do not have units available at this time.

Orders for the Sony PlayStation 3 Bundle will be shipped via UPS by Monday, November 20, 2006. Tracking information will be available on costco.com.

We hope to receive additional quantities in our warehouses and on costco.com prior to Christmas, but we do not have an estimated arrival date, or approximate quantity at this time. We apologize in advance if you are unable to purchase this item from Costco Wholesale.

Wal-Mart corporate says, “We currently have plans for a Thursday, Nov. 16 midnight event to launch PS3. In addition, Wal-Mart store #890 in Orlando, FL will host the Playstation Patrol truck Friday-Sunday.” As for the Wii, Wal-Mart corporate says they are currently not accepting online pre-orders due to the popular demand, but are evaluating options for additional pre-orders before the official launch on Nov. 19. The Wii pre-order is online only, not in stores. They will let Joystiq know when a decision is made regarding the pre-order. Although the “Wal-Mart Wire” speaks directly to a midnight launch for the Wii, as does the poster above, details and confirmation can not be given at this time.

Full Story: Official Wal-Mart launch details - Joystiq

From a tipster to Kotaku.com.   This is a rumored list of Best Buy locations that plan to open at 12AM on November 17th for the PS3 Launch.  I suggest you call your store to confirm.  I’ll post more stores if I come across them.

• Park Lane, TX
• West LA, CA
• Chesterfield, MO
• El Cajon, CA
• Superstition Springs, AZ
• Chapel Hill, OH
• Richfield, MN
• Galleria, TX
• Butterfield RD, IL
• Wester Hollywood, CA <---- West Hollywod I would think......
• Ann Arbor, MI
• Gwinnet, GA
• Hialeah, FL
• South Tampa, FL
• Mt Laurel, NJ
• Manhattan NoHo, NY
• Landmark, MA
• Manhattan Midtown, NY

Retailer’s that are posting infomation on either PS3 Preorders or the Launch.  Most major electronics retailers still seem to be planning on having an online preorder.  In most cases, people are expecting any online preorders to be product bundles.  If you want the convenience of buying online, they’re going to upsell you.

Ok, here you go, most places want you give up your email address for notificaiton…

Costco
Amazon
Target
Gamestop

The order page is still up.  That makes at least 5 hours by my estimate.  Odds are this is a big mistake and many many people are going to be getting cancellation emails.  Reports from people Calling Tiger Direct are supporting both the “oops, didn’t mean for that to be up” theory.  But, there remains the outside chance that this presale, or at least part of it, is legitimate.  Stay tuned…..