In a well publicized leak, Best Buy had been holding their shipments of Xbox 360 units for sale on the morning of December 18th. Each Best Buy had about 30 to 50 units in stock. This limited number of units led to a second launch of sorts for the Xbox 360.

Being well aware of the situation, I decided to see what kind of idiots would camp out in the frigid Minnesota air on the night of December 17th to be first in line at Best Buy.

At around 10:30 pm on Saturday night I jumped into my car and headed north to the town of Coon Rapids. There were cops at every major intersection, watching for the inevitable DWIs the come from the season’s holiday parties. I drove past the Yummy Buffet in the Champlin strip mall. I crossed the mighty Mississippi river and sped past the seedy motel where you could pay by the hour.

Arriving at Best Buy just after 11 pm, the scene I found was suprising.

I admit that I knew there would be a few folks dumb enough to risk frostbite for a Xbox 360, but there were a good 30 chairs set up outside. The owners of the chairs were huddled in the Best Buy entry way, soaking in the last bit of heat they could before the store closed.

If this was happening in the far northern suburbs of Minneapolis, I has curious as to what was happening in the not so far northern suburbs. I jumped back into my 2002 Mirage and drove under the speed limit to the Maple Grove Best Buy.

Here is the scene that I found.

Now that is camping. While some foolhardy persons were sitting cross armed in chairs, others had pitched actual tents. With a sleeping pad and down sleeping bag, they could actually be in for a comfortable night.

Seeing all of this made me mad. Not at the poor souls dumb enough to brave the weather, but at Microsoft. Here were people forced to extremes to get their hands around a product that should be readily available on store shelves. Fathers and children sleeping out in the cold together, in the hopes of a merry xmas.

It has been just about a month since the Xbox 360 was released. My hands are empty, just like those of many around the nation. Now number 7 on the Xbox 360 list at my local GameStop, I still have no idea when I will get to enjoy what these campers have earned.