On Saturday, PlayStation VR pre-orders began at Japanese retail shops. The VR headset won’t be out until this October, but if the lines are any indication, Sony could have a hit on its hands.
According to the Mainichi News, one of Japan’s biggest newspapers, around five hundred people waited for pre-orders at the Yodobashi Camera in Tokyo’s Akihabara (website ASCII took the above image at said store in Akihabara). It’s no surprise that Tokyo seems to have had the longest lines, but hundreds of people also lined up for the PlayStation VR in Osaka.
あす予約開始の「プレイステーションVR」ヨドバシAkibaは閉店とともに徹夜待機の姿が約50人ほど。直後解散させられるもエントランス周辺で待ち続けてる人たち多数 22:00頃 pic.twitter.com/yjumSatAD8
— ﾂﾙﾐﾛﾎﾞ (@kaztsu) June 17, 2016
Even by 10pm on Friday night, there were already approximately 50 people lined up at the Yodobashi Camera in Akihabara.
https://twitter.com/embed/status/743828443792433152
Here’s the Yodobashi Camera in Tokyo’s Shinjuku at 12:30am.
https://twitter.com/embed/status/743836494356316160
Same shop. This was at around 1am.
新宿西口ヨドバシのPSVR予約列、もう受付終了してた……。1時くらいには終わってたもよう pic.twitter.com/oTKLl0fAUD
— てっけん🎃Hayato Ikeya (@tekken8810) June 17, 2016
That same shop ended pre-orders at around 1:20am after enough people showed up to claim all the allotted units.
#PSVR予約 池袋ヤマダ、280台の割り当てに対して現在7〜8名。何か罠条件を見落としてるのではないかと心配になってくるレベル。 pic.twitter.com/viK9ueEmX0
— ms_vps (@ms_vps) June 17, 2016
This is close to 2am this past Saturday at the Yamada Denki shop in Ikebukuro. The shop was apparently only getting 280 PSVR units and there were already seven or so people camping out.
【整理券配】PSVR ついに予約開始！オンラインストアでは数分で予約が終了https://t.co/WQ9SOK47It
ビックカメラ池袋本店では、正午になると当選者番号が展示され、ユーザー達の長蛇の列が展開されていました。 pic.twitter.com/4swU4TMaj6
— ライブドアニュース (@livedoornews) June 18, 2016
Many more people, however, showed up later.
https://twitter.com/embed/status/743905177632022528
This was taken at the Yodobashi Akihabara shop at around 5:30am. It seems there were about 150 people or so waiting.
予約成功！PlayStation VR行列予約現場レポートinヨドバシAkiba https://t.co/Rhz3J8IJAG #PSVR #予約 pic.twitter.com/4zqA7NFUUA
— 週刊アスキー (@weeklyascii) June 18, 2016
Pre-order get!
PSVR予約参戦！inヨドバシ梅田 すでに30人並んどるん。 pic.twitter.com/YcvcAsrCDN
— moegi (@moegi99) June 17, 2016
Meanwhile, in Osaka, there were around 30 people lined up in front of the Yodobashi Camera in Umeda.
ヨドバシ梅田 PSVR予約列
最後尾付近(予約できるとは言ってない pic.twitter.com/tzmksyFMiH— 虎竹刀@技術屋見習い (@GA_teon) June 17, 2016
By morning, a sizeable line had formed.
https://twitter.com/embed/status/743974940790054912
One estimate put the line at close to 300 people.
It’s unclear if these are merely dedicated VR fans, those keen to play the PSVR’s more niche experiences, or a sign of things to come among Japan’s general gaming population. But so far, so good, I guess.
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