Japan's Homeless Line Up For Playstation 3

The PlayStation 3 launch has largely been a debacle. With only 500,000 units available in the US and Japan, the midnight waits outside of retailers in the dim hope of snagging one of the available consoles has often devolved into Lord of the Flies style holocausts.

But it's not all bad. At least Japan's homeless are getting work out of it, sitting in line for hours, holding a place in line for their social betters.

I'm working off of Japanese stereotypes here. Old leathery skinned men, who have beards, smoke and drink sake from paper boxes are typically thought to be winos. Old leathery skinned men, who have beards, smoke drink sake from boxes, smell like a dumpster and have bags of old magazines are typically regarded as homeless or homeless winos.

In front of Yodobashi Camera in Osaka, there are at least 15 or more of these types waiting in line. The youngest looks to be fifty. They are all grouped together in a line that goes form otaku, otaku, otaku, old man, old man, old man, old man, otaku, otaku, otaku. They stick out. Bad. A nearby tree, three of them congregate, talking to the others in line.

The Kotaku article doesn't quite state if these homeless people are being hired to stand in line, or if they've just congregated in the huddles of humanity to take advantage of communal body warmth against the harsh November chill. Still, appealing to homeless people was perhaps not the demographic Sony was looking to attract with their $600 console.

PS3 JPN LAUNCH: Homeless Winos Wait?! [Kotaku]