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Over 30 people, including many UCLA students, have been waiting in line outside of Best Buy, some

For students camped out in front of Ralph’s at 3 a.m. on Thursday, the waiting has been the hardest part. Clad in UCLA sweatshirts and swaddled in sleeping bags, the 30-odd group of people, many of them UCLA students, has formed a line that cannot be missed. They are there for a reason: the PlayStation 3.

At 8 a.m today, Best Buy will open its doors to these cold, huddled masses. Whether the next generation of the popular gaming console will be waiting for them behind those doors remains a mystery.

Only a small number of the students camped out will actually have a chance of getting a PS3. With shortages already being reported, Best Buy and other retailers will most likely have a few dozen or fewer available for purchase on the day of release. Despite advertising a minimum of 26 units, according to Daniel Park, the general manager, only 16 units have actually arrived at the time of this writing.

“I can’t guarantee any more than that,” Park said, though more were expected to ship by today.

Like many others waiting in line, Ankit Patel, a fourth-year molecular, cellular and developmental biology student, said this shortage hardly comes as a surprise.

“We actually camped out in the parking lot; we started at Monday at 4 a.m. We’re skipping classes, skipping work, skipping anything,” Patel said. “We barely go the bathroom. We’ll be the first to get it,” Patel said.

Unfortunately for those lining up early, Best Buy still cannot guarantee that people like Patel will have a PS3 when the store opens.

Since the Westwood branch of Best Buy rents its space from the same land manager for Ralph’s and the Expo Center, Best Buy cannot permit a line to form near its doors.

“We first lined up in the parking lot on Monday,” said Patel, “But they asked us to move. Now we’re on public property.”

With no support from Best Buy in policing the growing line, the students have taken it upon themselves to keep each other orderly. According to Michael Wong, a fourth-year economics student, a strict roll call is kept. “We take names every hour and a half. If you aren’t here, you’re struck off the list,” Wong said.

There are, of course, some exceptions.

“Midterms are very, very acceptable (reason) to leave the line. We won’t penalize for midterms. You can’t miss a midterm, but don’t go home and take a shower or sleep. That’s just not fair,” Patel said.

Wong agreed with the group’s unwritten rules that, so far, appear to be working.

“It’s a moral code of ethics you make up as you go along,” Wong said. “We have to work together.”

Not everyone is following this code, and there have been fears that others might take advantage of the line’s unofficial status.

Another group of people had formed a line in the parking lot early Thursday morning despite seeing the one that had already formed.

According to Jenesha Narayanan, a fourth-year molecular, cellular and developmental biology student, the other group was told to leave by security and Best Buy employees, but stayed anyway. They didn’t leave until finally the police were called.

But the threat remains.

“People in the line that broke up have been coming here saying, ‘You know, 8 o’clock will get here and we’re going to pull up right here and sprint in,’” Patel said. “If (Best Buy) leaves it to whoever gets here first, there’s going to be a horrible situation.”

Complaints haven’t fallen on deaf ears, however.

In an attempt to curb any sort of confrontation, Best Buy agreed to offer claim tickets at the current line location rather than offering them in front of the store as originally planned.

Despite the extraordinary effort being put into obtaining the PS3, for many of the people waiting so patiently in line, the PS3 offers benefits beyond a state-of-the-art gaming experience.

“I’m putting it on Ebay as soon as I get home,” Patel said, “I’m more excited for (Nintendo’s) Wii. The games are definitely better.”