GAMERS ARE FAMILIAR

with the concept of equipping their characters with armor. That may be a lesson to take to heart if you're planning to hit stores this weekend in search of the PlayStation 3, which experts say is the hottest videogame console launch since well, ever.

"The PS3 truly, truly takes gaming to the next level," says John Broady, director of business intelligence at GameSpot, CNET's gaming news and reviews web site. "For serious gamers, it's the motherload, like making it to nirvana." The 400,000 consoles offered nationwide sold out within hours of the Friday debut, as many retailers held midnight release parties. Consumers began camping out as early as Nov. 12 in some cities to ensure they were among the first to bring home a unit, despite the hefty retail price of $499 for a 20GB console, $599 for 60GB.

And they didn't go quietly. A West Bend, Wis., man sustained a dislocated jaw when he was shoved into a telephone pole while racing for one of 10 empty chairs that's how the local Wal-Mart decided to raffle off its available units. Noting the price tag, armed thugs targeted cash-carrying consumers: One man was shot during an attempted robbery at a Putnam, Conn., Wal-Mart; three others were mugged near a Target in Springfield, Ore. In Lexington, Ky., four Best Buy customers were sprayed with BB pellets in a drive-by shooting.

Sony's much-coveted PlayStation 3

If you didn't get one in that first rush, it's unlikely you'll find one at retail price in time for the holidays, says Chris Dahlen, games editor for Paste, an Atlanta-based pop culture magazine. Sony, for its part, claims it will move 100,000 units to stores each week through the end of the year. But that's about half of what it originally anticipated producing.

Want to increase your odds? Forget about the usual advice of stalking your local stores and befriending the manager, says Scott Krugman, a spokesman for the National Retail Federation. "That just won't work," he says.

Focus on wait lists.
Call your local retailers and ask to be put on their wait list, suggests Dahlen. There's safety in numbers the more lists you're on, the better your chance of snagging a console.

Hit the stores again and again and again.
Don't bother calling around to see who has units in stock, Broady says. "They're never going to hold one for you." Just hit the store, and head straight to the videogame section. Plenty of places won't be putting the units out on the floor. "They're afraid of a frenzy," he says. Ask, and you may be in luck.

Mind the limits.
Remember, there are very few units available. Now that the initial launch is completed, it's unlikely any given store will get in more than a handful of units at a time. "If you go somewhere and see a line, that's the wrong place," Broady says.

Try eBay with caution.
If you simply must have a PS3 before the holidays, by all means hit the auction web sites. But we wouldn't recommend it. Most units are going for more than $2,000, and we spotted three auctions bid up to an eye-popping $11,000. You'll also have to worry about potential rip-offs, like sellers who don't actually have the item in hand.

Complicating the matter, plenty of sellers are auctioning the Japanese version of the console. "I would highly advise anyone against buying a Japanese version," warns Broady. The included Blu-ray DVD technology will be coded for a different region. "You won't be able to play your DVDs," he says. And you may have glitches in your videogames down the line.

Give up.
Waiting is your best solution, says Dahlen. The console should be more readily available after the holidays, because fewer people will be rushing to buy it as a gift. Parents should also consider waiting if their child is excited about an as-yet-unreleased game. "The best games aren't available the day the console comes out," he explains. "It's almost like an early adopter thing at this point."

Consider a Nintendo Wii in the interim, Dahlen suggests. Nintendo's latest console will hit stores on Sunday and won't be nearly as hard to find, he predicts. The unit has massive appeal, too, notably for the wireless remote that mimics the gamer's movement onscreen. "At $250 a console, it's almost an impulse buy next to the [PS3 and Xbox 360]," he says.