PlayStation 3 debuts to madness

Man shot in Conn.; brawl in North Riverside

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Two armed thugs tried to rob a line of people waiting for the new PlayStation 3 game system early Friday and shot one man who refused to give up his money, authorities said.

Closer to home, a brawl broke out Thursday night as about 300 waited outside the Best Buy in North Riverside.

Witnesses told police that Sanchez Tolliver, 36, of Berkeley, was near the front of the line when he accused several others of cutting, police said.

Tolliver allegedly pulled a black baton from his waistband, hit two people in the head and then punched a third in the face, police said.

By the time police arrived, Tolliver was driving away in a black Nissan, police said. Witnesses pointed him out, and officers stopped the car. He was charged with two counts of battery and is due in court Dec. 14.

In Sullivan, Ind., a man was in critical condition after emergency surgery for a stab wound after he and a friend tried to rob two men of consoles they waited 36 hours in line to buy, police said.

Nationwide, short supplies of the PS3 and strong demand led to long lines of buyers, some waiting for days outside stores. The machines sold out in minutes nationwide after Sony restricted sales to about 400,000 units. The limited supply guaranteed a sellout Friday, said David Mercer, an analyst with Strategy Analytics in Milton Keynes, England.

Still, "the launch is clearly not what Sony wanted," Mercer said. "They would have wanted to have more of the devices ready."

Sony had said earlier that key components were in short supply.

Once doors opened Friday, buyers pushed and shoved their way to the shelves. Two people were arrested in Fresno, Calif., after a crowd trampled people in a parking lot.

It was about 3 a.m. when the two gunmen in Putnam, a town of about 9,000 in northeast Connecticut, confronted 15 to 20 people standing outside a Wal-Mart and demanded money, State Police Lt. J. Paul Vance said.

"One of the patrons resisted. That patron was shot," Vance said.

Vance said the two gunmen fled after shooting Michael Penkala, 21, of Webster, Mass., in the chest and shoulder. Penkala was in stable condition, with injuries not thought to be life threatening, Vance said.

Police were searching for the suspects, both thought to be in their teens, Vance said.

Contributing: AP, Bloomberg News and Staff Reporter Shamus Toomey