Submitted by: kirkland on Friday November 17th, 2006 at 06:47 PM EST

Thousands camped outside stores on Friday to be among the first U.S. buyers of Sony Corp.'s new PlayStation 3 video game player, but violence marred the debut when one man was shot in a robbery attempt.

He was one of 15 to 20 people waiting outside a Connecticut Wal-Mart to buy PlayStations at about 3:15 a.m. EST when they were confronted by two armed men who demanded money, police said.

The man was shot when he refused to give them money. He was in serious condition at a Massachusetts hospital, police said.

Investors are closely watching the PS3 launch as a key test of Sony's grip on the $30 billion gaming industry, particularly as it faces rising competition from rivals at Microsoft Corp. and Nintendo Co. Ltd.

» Full story @ MSN Money