On my way home from the office last night, I drove buy a local Best Buy here in Los Angeles on Sawtelle Avenue. And sure enough, there more probably more than 100 people lined up waiting for the PlayStation 3 launch tonight at midnight. They sat in collapsible camping chairs, wrapped in blankets and other heavy layers, hunkering down for the night.

You see, even here in L.A., the weather gets cold at night during the fall and winter months. It's the desert, people - really hot and sunny during the day, and then colder than a witch's - well, you know - at night.

Anyway, they were lined up on a sidewalk that bordered the Best Buy building. Why? Because several PS3 fans that had arrived the day before were told they could not wait in line on store property. Apparently, this was part of a new company policy for the PS3 launch (check out Monday's blog post about gamers in Burbank, Calif., getting tossed). I guess I can't blame Best Buy for prohibiting people from camping out in front of its entrances. Frankly, I hate loitering, and the last thing I'd want as a store owner is to have a bunch of Jay & Silent Bob wannabes and skate rats scaring away customers.

However, I'm a little ticked off because Sony and its major retailers probably could have handled this better. Take the Best Buy on Sawtelle. The store managers tell the eager PS3 fans not to wait on store property. Okay, fine. That seems like a reasonable request. But then, according to folks waiting in line, Best Buy officials then informed the patient crew that there was no point waiting in line on the sidewalk because Best Buy was going to form its own "official" PS3 line and wouldn't honor the order of the sidewalk waiters - which, quite frankly, seems not only ridiculous but also mean-spirited.

Of course, the gamers in line protested. In fact, a couple intrepid gamers at the start of the line began calling local media and gaming press organizations to spread the word about Best Buy jilting them. They also began to organize their own "official" list so they could maintain order and keep track of everyone's place in line. Eventually, after the group complained vehemently and called in the press, Best Buy relented and agreed to honor the sidewalk line. Then the store manager told the crow that they would check each person's driver's license and write down their name and place in line. Then every two to three hours, a Best Buy employee would do a roll call down the line to see if people were still in line. I didn't get a chance to talk to Best Buy about the roll call system, so I can't assume that if a particular person was, say, in the bathroom and missed roll call they would somehow lose his or her place in line. Because that would really suck.

Stay tuned for more...