I'm here at a Gamestop in S. Arlington. Am number 3 out of 6.
Very surprised that the lines are not longer. Stay tuned. Wondering if the price is scaring consumers away or if word just didn't get out as much as I thought.

Doug note: All gone at my local store. More people were outside in the rain (17+ wet souls) than were inside the mall across the street (6 dry and air conditioned que-goers).

The disclaimer that comes stapled to our pre-order receipts is lovely: "the reservation deposit will only guarantee a spot in line when your reserved product becomes available... the reservation deposit does not guarantee receipt of a system available to purchase at launch." I guess that covers the stores when your reserve shows up in March.

Victor note: I suspect GameStop would rather not be doing pre-orders, and, in fact, would rather that the PS3 not come out this year at all. The supplies are going to be so limited that most people who want to buy a PS3 this year will not be able to do so. But Sony probably is determined to pull off even a "paper" launch before Christmas, so GameStop has to come up with some way to sell these things to the slobbering hordes. Pre-orders -- with lots of disclaimers -- are probably the most sane way to handle the hordes. But it's like firing an employee: there's really no good way to do it.

PS. What was the sentiment among the other gamers in line? Is the PS3 too expensive? Do they want a Blu-ray player? Were they all actually Sony employees?

Marc Note: Our store had a total of 8 and the manager guaranteed us that there would be a unit waiting for us on launch day. Interestingly enough we were able to pick which SKU we wanted. I thought this was odd since the store knew they were getting eight, but yet had the option between the two versions. We did not get the disclaimer that Doug mentioned although I paid for mine in full as opposed to a deposit. I plan on expensing it :)
The line never grew any bigger than the 8 of us, in fact it was pretty underwhelming.
next up...Wii
Did Victor just call us Slobbering Hordes?

Doug note: Yeah, what's up with THAT Victor? I've been up since 4:30 am... be nice!

Victor again: No, no, no. You are gentlemen of impeccable taste, exquisite manners and exemplary personal hygiene. I meant those other gamers. You know, like this buffoon trying to sell his PS3 pre-order for a mere $7,900.