The Playstation 3 has launched in Japan, and now 80,000 gamers are happier than ever, right? Nope, that doesn't appear to be the case as a Kotaku reader is reporting. Some live coverage of the event reveals a few somewhat shocking aspects of the console's launch. Could people really be paying poor chinese folks money to stand in line and buy a PS3, only to turn around and sell it for three times as much? You bet.

"The PS3 launch a cakewalk? Far from it. We don't usually let readers take the reins (fearing y'all would rub us out of a job), but Tokyo-based reader Dirk Benedict sent us this doozy of an email, complete with first hand reporting, a pic and video. His observations struck a cord with me: Things that I saw at launch, which at the time seemed small, but in hindsight, really, weren't. Hit the jump for video of the PS3 chaos and Dirk's email in full"