NOT PLAYING GAMES: PLAYSTATION2 VIDEO GAME CONSOLE DEBUTS, QUICKLY SELLS OUT

"Sold out" signs were common in Cape Girardeau and across the nation Thursday in stores that sold Sony's new PlayStation2 video game console on its first day of availability.

In Cape Girardeau, Babbage's Software began selling the innovative system at midnight and sold out before daybreak. Target and KB Toys were both out of the systems by noon, and Jackson Wal-Mart manager Rick Boyd said the systems were sold out in "just a few minutes, it seemed."

Local store managers and employees seemed almost fearful of discussing the video game system, which signals a new generation of consoles in which consumers can eventually play DVD movies, download music, play games with their friends in another city, and do some surfing -- all through their television sets.

Target store team leader Harry Gefre said reluctance to discuss PlayStation2 could stem from an unwillingness to upset customers. Gefre said at least one customer slept in his car Thursday night so he could be among the first in line when the store opened Friday morning.

To keep customers from waiting unnecessarily, Target employees began distributing tickets to people when a line formed at 5 a.m. By 7 a.m., every available system had been sold, said Gefre.

"We didn't want to have a crowd that was going to be upset with us, that was going to be waiting at the front doors for hours only to leave empty-handed," he said. "Not only did they buy the actual systems, but we were selling lots of PlayStation2 games and controllers. That was going out almost as quickly as the systems themselves."

Gefre said most of his customers appeared to be purchasing the systems as Christmas presents. While Gefre said there is always "one unique toy that pulls customers in" for the Christmas shopping season, the rush for the PlayStation2 is unusual, he said.

"I don't think I remember it being this crazy," he said.

The PlayStation2 system is considered the most ambitious launch in video game history. But an industrywide shortage of little electronic processing parts has slowed production. Sony had to halve the number of consoles it could provide to stores before the holidays, provoking concerns about shortages during the shopping season.

Complicating matters is that many of the stores had pre-sold their orders, leaving few consoles on the shelves.

Despite the shortfall in initial shipments, Sony says it will meet a target of shipping 10 million units worldwide by March 2001, of which three million are slated for North America.

Cape Girardeau's frustrated shoppers weren't alone.

In Minot, N.D., police were called to a Wal-Mart after receiving reports of people threatening others waiting in line for the console. And in Woodstock, Ga., northwest of Atlanta, two eager customers were ticketed for disorderly conduct by police as they waited to buy PlayStation2 at Wal-Mart when it went on sale at midnight.

"If you're a gamer, you have to have one," said 30-year-old Gabrielle Aldort of New York, one of the many people who pre-ordered the $299 console in February.

For some, that meant turning to the Internet, where by early afternoon, more than 100 PlayStation2's were listed for sale on the online auction site eBay. Some bids for the console topped $800.

Kaz Hirai, president of Sony Computer Entertainment America, said the company didn't want something that mimicked a personal computer.

"We packed a lot of technology and potential into this system," Hirai said. "We definitely want to be the center of home entertainment."

Sony faces a double challenge next year, when Microsoft, armed with a $500 million worldwide marketing budget, comes out with its Xbox video game player and Nintendo unveils GameCube.

All will be battling it out in the $20 billion video game market worldwide, where Sony now is the leader.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.