Will the nation's largest consumer electronics retailer finally start selling Sony PlayStation 3 gaming consoles? According to our sister site Joystiq it might. Rumors abound at quite a few gaming websites as well. There's some fast and loose talk that Best Buy Co.,Inc. (NYSE:BBY) will announce the sale this weekend in its nationwide Sunday edition advertising circulars.

The Sony PlayStation 3 console inventory has been on hold at all Best Buy locations around the country since December 21st. Why embargo coveted merchandise right before Christmas you ask? Retail stores have developed the annoying practice of holding hot items, then hyping them in a tight advertising blitz so they can move as much inventory as possible in one fell swoop. Call it manufactured mass hysteria.

On Joystiq: "According to unofficial Best Buy sources, stores are sitting on their PS3 shipments since 12/21 for a flyer advertisement being released New Year's Eve (12/31) stating they have a minimum of 25 60GB units per store. Our sources have the number at around 40 per store currently -- but it can be more in some locations. One source, using Best Buy's Retek Store System (RSS), says some stores have 60 units."

If that is credible, the PlayStation 3 would join the Nintendo Wii in the embargo party that happened during this holiday's shopping spree.

Looks like online retailer Amazon.com will have a few select Sony Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii game console to sell soon -- to a lucky group of online shoppers, that is. Amazon.com is offering limited quantities of the PS3 (20GB and 60GB) and Nintendo Wii consoles as part of a rather goofy but smart marketing campaign.

As there are no guarantees on getting a console, prospective customers will see the odds of possibly 'winning a chance' to buy one of the consoles listed on the promotion page for each console here.

The sad news for gaming aficionados everywhere is that you'll have to be 'selected' in order to make a purchase. If you are selected, you will be given a claim code and be able to buy the console you signed up for. With the gaming hype being in full force now and with the Christmas holiday just a week away, I can't imagine how many customers will be signing up with Amazon.com to get in virtual line for the chance at being able to buy one of these gaming consoles.

I was walking along 57th Avenue in New York late one recent evening, two days before the release of both the Nintendo Wii and the Sony Playstation 3. I saw a huge line of people camped out, and my first thought was, "there isn't a Star Wars movie due soon, is there?" A few moments later I realized it was a line for a Playstation 3.

It's certain that many of those faithful campers would later sell their Playstation 3 on eBay; same with the Wii. According to the Wall Street Journal [subscription required], nearly 15,000 of Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE)'s new game console have been sold, for around $1200 each, on eBay since the release last Friday. (Which is, if you're counting, some $500k straight to eBay, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)'s bottom line) Those who sold, made about a $500-$600 profit. The way I calculate? It's so not worth it.

With the Sony Playstation 3 launching officially Friday morning amid insane madness outside many, many Best Buy and Circuit City stores -- among other retailers -- the holiday shopping season has officially begun a week before Black Friday even gets here.

The sheer popularity of a once-in-a-few-years game console launch reminds me of the stories I hear occasionally about the newest Apple iPod release (it's a major upgrade).

Fans and eBay resellers (mini-entrepreneurs) line up outside consumer electronics chains and discount retailers like Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) to be one of the first to buy-and-use or buy-and-resell-at-a-profit customers to get a hand or both hands on as many consoles as possible.

At $500 or $600 a pop, though, the Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) Playstation gaming console is more expensive than many home computers and even some laptop computers.

With mega-retailers Best Buy and Circuit City strapping on the retail gloves for the launch of the Sony Playstation 3 this Sunday morning -- after a "real" launch tonight at midnight -- the two retailers will duke it out to see which chain will sell more of the new game console along with all the aside-purchases that each chain most likely wants to strap on the bill for that expensive new $500 or $600 gaming machine.

Best Buy stores -- so far -- are reportedly going to open at the normal time Sunday morning (let me know if you know about earlier times). With the Sony PS3 retailing for $500 and $600, that's quite a pinch in the wallets for a game playing machine, although Sony says the new machine is a quantum leap over anything that exists in the gaming console market at this time.

But the Nintendo Wii will only retail for $249 at launch -- half the price of the Sony PS3. Will the Sony unit be twice as good as the Nintendo unit? Are Sony shareholders waiting with baited breath for this new PS3 launch to tie any future fortunes to Sony on a single product launch? What about Microsoft's year-old xbox 360?

Talk about a crazy hazy year for holiday gaming consoles. I wonder if this one will go all 13 rounds -- and whether Best Buy or Circuit City will emerge as the overall victor of sales here.

With consumer electronics retailer Circuit City Stores (NYSE:CC) opening at midnight on November 17th -- just over a week from now -- the Sony Playstation 3 will be in the hands of the first 100 consumers at six specially-designated stores across the country. These stores, as noted, will open at midnight on November 17th to start selling the new gaming console to what most likely will be hordes of PS3 fans at each of these six locations. Too bad *all* Circuit City locations won't be opening at midnight that evening.

There will be a minimum of 100 PS3 consoles at each of the six special stores, and the 101st customer and up may have to leave empty-handed -- so get there soon, Circuit City suggests. These six stores will open for the "event" at 9 p.m. on the 16th, but the consoles will physically be available to sell only at midnight. Talk about a long night for some fans -- but most likely, it will be worth it to the persistent game-goer. Talk about hype!

The stores that will open at midnight on the 17th include:
-- New York - Store No. 3679 (Union Square: New York, NY)
-- Los Angeles - Store No. 404 (Torrance: Hawthorne, CA)
-- Philadelphia - Store No. 734 (Cherry Hill: Mount Laurel, NJ)
-- Chicago - Store No. 3111 (Schaumburg: Schaumburg, IL)
-- Washington, D.C. - Store No. 866 (Rockville: Rockville, MD)
-- Richmond - Store No. 3549 (Short Pump: Richmond, VA)

Egad -- what is going on with the Sony Corp.'s (NYSE:SNE) Playstation 3? The nation's largest consumer electronics retailer, Best Buy, Inc. (NYSE:BBY), has just canceled pre-orders for the new gaming console on its website. This "mistake" was not supposed to happen; the highly-anticipated game system should not have actually been available on the Best Buy website until the day it is officially released.

In other words, Best Buy indicated that it wanted to have as many PS3 consoles on tap in its physical stores on launch day to ensure it can meet the demand for the legions of gamers that will invade its stores that day to pick up the new gaming system. That doesn't sit well with some customers who wanted to avoid the early-morning mad dash into the store as well as the waiting in darkness most likely.

November 17th is the big launch day for the Sony Playstation 3, almost a year after the competitive Microsoft Xbox 360 was released to gamers' delight everywhere. Will the PS3, as it's known, become a success? It will take a year or more to know that, but with Sony's track record, the new PS3 should be a resounding success -- as long as retailers like Best Buy and Circuit City can keep them in stock in this all-important holiday shopping season.