PS3 kiosk is a phony! A big, fat phony!

by Nick Doerr { Nov 9th 2006 at 8:30PM }

Man, that word looks weird. But the meaning behind it is the truth -- the PS3 kiosks you may see around actually aren't running the PS3's encased in plastic. No, no. See, the actual PS3 is behind the kiosk, in a well-ventilated area. Seems the scare of the Tokyo Game Show hasn't completely gone away, as no one wants the PS3 kiosks to overheat and/or explode. The most likely result would be fairly frequent freezing.

Some people may cry out in anger at Sony for such a crafty move, but really, it's better safe than sorry, right? Just remember, when you get your PS3, do not put it in a plastic box and commence playing it for extended periods of time. Common sense, people. This isn't necessarily a big deal -- people are just afraid of what happened in the past. It's natural, so let's not think on this too heavily.

Tags: Playstation 3, Playstation3, PS3, Sony

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Colin @ Nov 9th 2006 8:34PM

As long as it's still running on a retail PS3, I don't really care.

Daylon Schindler @ Nov 9th 2006 9:27PM

It's probably an anti-theft measure as well. Why would it matter anyway? =P

Tom @ Nov 9th 2006 9:31PM

wow. so then there was no reason for 2 out of 4 PS3s not to be working, and 1 to be frozen at the Toys R Us kiosk!

7r1ck13 @ Nov 9th 2006 9:36PM

prob not only keeps the risk of problems down, but makes it easier for the Stores to get to the console with out having to futz around with the Kiosk..

Nymo @ Nov 9th 2006 9:38PM

I Was Thinking That..

I Didn't Really Notice The PS3 Under The The Plastic Having Any Lights On Or Any Plugs Coming Out Of It At The PlayStation Store..

DBlakeNZ @ Nov 9th 2006 9:49PM

1st up sony was planning on doing that all along, even before the whole "over heating" thing came up. I work in a shop that will be selling PS3's and was told some months ago that there would be a nice shinny fake ps3 for people to see and the real thing would be hidden away from the public but still easy for staff to get to. Though now im in the european realese date camp, so ill have to wait awhile to see if were getting similar displays

serb @ Nov 9th 2006 10:33PM

ya it makes sense cuz some of those kisoks dont get turned off for a while
and btw when are u guys putting up the new banner

Classic? @ Nov 9th 2006 10:41PM

Pretty sad.
Actually, why bother? If they are scared to show the real thing, then pack up and go home. How do you think it will do Nov. 17th.
I smell disaster.

jet242 @ Nov 9th 2006 11:29PM

kudos for sony on the design of the kiosk

GL @ Nov 10th 2006 4:15AM

Hey, Nick. Just letting you know. I find myself reading less and less blogs and gaming sites recently. Why? Because the PS3 is coming out soon.

I used to come to these sites because I was hungry for any news on the PS3. Not anymore...I have all the news I need (Nov 17th baby!).

I still will come to joystiq, ps3fanboy, 1up and such after the PS3 is out. But not as much as before. Be prepared for a drop off in traffic in the coming weeks.

Most PS3 fans are surfing places like amazon.com, ebgames.com, gamestop.com, bestbuy, walmart, etc...and less blogs.

:)

Don't fret. We'll be back. Once we finish off all the first launch games. We'll be hungry again.

Kazsucksmyballs @ Nov 10th 2006 6:26AM

Thanks for telling me , now i will steal one , and drop water on top of the rest buhahahaha!!!

pagetwo @ Nov 10th 2006 7:45AM

8. Pretty sad.
Actually, why bother? If they are scared to show the real thing, then pack up and go home. How do you think it will do Nov. 17th.
I smell disaster.

smarter then m$ the 360 kiosk in all stores i go to dont have them on or they are crashed from the being locked up in the kiosk box from over heating

Andir2.0 @ Nov 10th 2006 8:03AM

Maybe it's just me, but, who cares if it's stored away in the back of the kiosk instead of in a small plastic bubble up front? I thought it was "all about the games!" or how weel it ran that actually matters? Sometimes I think people find things to complain about, simply to complain. I tell you what... put down all your reality TV shows, overly dramatic movies and TV series and jump into real life. It can actually be quite boring sometimes, but you deal with it.

B1gC72 @ Nov 10th 2006 8:23AM

a good move on sony's part. if they know the thing has problems with being in a plastic case then dont put it in a plastic case. now its in basically normal playing conditions (minus it being on all the time). i remember going to game stores in my area when the 360 dropped (i dont like Xbox but did want to see what they were working with :-)). i went to a couple stores and couldnt play one because they were all turned for overheating issues. i remember asking the guy in walmart about one and he pulled the disc out to show me that the 360 had actually singed the disc.

Not here tryin to diss Xbox or anything, just saying that this is a smart move by the Sony camp.

cheese @ Nov 10th 2006 9:08AM

every time I go to Target and mess w/ the 360 demo kiosk, it's already frozen due to heat, because the 360 is sitting in a very poorly ventilated area. I don't blame Sony for taking measures to prevent this.

ndoerr @ Nov 10th 2006 11:15AM

@ GL -- I won't say goodbye, GL, because I know you'll be back =). Thanks for all the contribution, and enjoy the system if/when you get your hands on it. I'm still searching for some way to grab mine. Probably road trip to some poor/rural area and camp at Wal*Mart. Lame, yeah. But... I want to be able to do the best job possible for everyone who reads this site.

ozymandias @ Nov 10th 2006 11:54AM

not trying to start an arguement, but the 360 kiosk had to be activated by a MS rep. That's why they were off for so long. as for sony, better safe than sorry is a good move.

On a side note, i got to play the wii at my local gamestop. It's cool but not the revolution in gaming people are making it out to be. I also wanted to try the ps3 before launch, but the manager told me that they arent expecting to get one for a few more weeks.

GL @ Nov 10th 2006 5:37PM

amazon.com's PS3 (60GB) newsgroup is hilarious. Mass hysteria! :)

It's become a gathering place regarding news about supply at bestbuy, costco, walmart, ebg, etc...

http://tinyurl.com/ykqhrl

Larry @ Nov 11th 2006 2:47AM

I question the wisdom of using twice as many PS3s in each kiosk when there are only 480,000 to go around.

Scott Krueger. @ Nov 11th 2006 2:42PM

I had to cut a hole in the back of my entertainment center for my XBox360 because it kept crashing due to heat, and it is in a 2 foot by 2 foot by 4 foot section.

Overheating appears to be the NextGen Way.

Of course the Kiosk Demo kits are on 7 days for 10 to 12 hours straight. So Ventilating the Kiosk is a Good Idea.