Short supply, huge demand

COSTA MESA — Alex Chung of Irvine wasn’t content with just getting a PlayStation 3 on Friday morning. He also aimed to get rich.

The Northwood High School senior was among the lucky few able to order the video game system in advance from Game Stop in South Coast Plaza. Even though Alex had his PlayStation secured in October, he still ventured down to the mall shortly after midnight on Friday — just in case he could buy another PlayStation and sell it on eBay.

Since people had been camping near South Coast Plaza for days when Alex arrived, he wasn’t too successful in that venture. By the time the crowd closed in on the mall, though, he felt lucky just to get out alive.

“You have cars charging, bicycles charging, people charging,” Alex, 17, remembered as he stood in Game Stop and picked up his prize. “I saw a car hit a bicycle. It was insane.”

Around Newport-Mesa, only a few dozen people went home with PlayStation 3s on Friday, but law enforcement officials had their plates full. The Costa Mesa and Newport Beach police departments ventured to shopping centers early to tame fidgety crowds, while security guards at South Coast Plaza escorted some buyers out of the building.

By the time most people started their work day, every PlayStation 3 in town was gone from the shelves. Circuit City, Game Stop, Sony Style and Target received only small numbers of the new systems, and sold out about 9 a.m.

“They’ve sold what they had, and everyone who didn’t get one has gone home — not very happily, I’d imagine,” Costa Mesa Police Lt. Dale Birney said.

Officers gathered around South Coast Plaza at about 4 a.m. Friday, Birney said, sometimes intervening when the crowd began to push and shout. Game Stop had taken orders already for its eight units, but Sony Style had 20 PlayStations to sell — and about 10 times that many people camped in line.

According to store manager James Walton, the 20 lucky customers officers let in to buy PlayStations carried them out in regular South Coast Plaza bags, so no one could guess what was inside. In addition, he said, security guards drove each customer back to his or her car.

Target, nearby in Costa Mesa, got a dozen PlayStation units and sold out within minutes. Circuit City in Fashion Island, which also got an overnight visit from the police, posted a large sign on its front door on Friday that read, “PlayStation 3 is temporarily sold out. We apologize for any inconvenience.”

Even still, store director Robbie Claeys said, many customers hadn’t given up yet.

“The sign kind of tells them, but we’re inundated with phone calls,” he said.