So I went to Best Buy today and nearly bought an Xbox 360 controller, since it will work with my PC as well (hey, it's good for MAME). I ended up not buy it because I want the wireless version.
But I was talking to the blue shirt stooge, and he said that they're planning to open early on launch day and hand out tickets to people in line. He also said, though I don't know if I believe him, that they're actually already in the building but no one beyond the receiving and general manager knew how many they had. Interesting.
Supposidely, here is a listing of the counts that Best Buy stores are getting. Not sure of its accuracy, but it is by store number.
Either way, I won't pay $400 (or $300, even) for a gaming console...
More than likely he was right about having them, and usually the Mgt. team are the only ones (along with the dept. mgr.) who know how many they have, as that information is kept under wraps.
I remember when the PS2 came out, my Wal-Mart had them locked in the security room about 2 months in advance. I 'accidentally' stumbled upon them when I was getting someone's digital cam (it was fun having a key to all the security stock rooms).
Thankfully, I'm an honest person and would never have dreamed about sneaking any out to sell for a million bucks on eBay.