The Xbox 360 is the current pinnacle of gaming experience. And — as is appropriate for a pinnacle — it's proved quite hard to reach. • The system sold out at Best Buy, 2020 W. Grand River Ave. in Okemos, the day of its launch in November, then sold out again the day of its second launch in December, Best Buy media supervisor Michelle Dalton said. • Small shipments have trickled in through January, but the game doesn't spend more than two hours in the store, Dalton said. • "People are more bummed out than anything," Dalton said of the lack of 360s available. "They come in and think that we're going to have them in stock and we don't yet." • The story is similar at other venues. Walmart.com is out of stock. EB Games takes pre-orders for two different Xbox 360 "bundles," but warns on its Web site that orders placed after Oct. 26 might not ship until March. • Still, some gamers have risen above these obstacles to make it to this gaming pinnacle.

SUCCESS STORY: SAM MEADOWS

Sam Meadows drove from Okemos to Jackson to camp out in a Best Buy parking lot one December night to make sure his Christmas would be complete.

"This was a Christmas gift — the only thing I wanted," the telecommunication, information studies and media junior said. "My mom was basically like, if I could find it, she would give me the money. I dedicated myself to finding it."

Meadows might have had a bit of an edge as a Best Buy employee in Okemos, but he stood in line with about 50 other people the night before the second launch. Once he realized he wasn't far enough ahead in line to get a 360, he said he drove to Jackson and stood in line from 10:30 p.m. until 7:30 a.m. the next morning.

"It was like a tailgate for a football game," he said. "There were tents, heaters — people were grilling brats. Everybody was having a good time, basically."

After tax, the system cost $425, Meadows said. He also got a wireless controller for $50, and five games, which can cost between $50 and $60.

Meadows lives in Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity house and said he's the first — and currently only — one of the 26 residents to have the 360.

The high definition aspect of the 360 puts it well ahead of the original Xbox, Meadows said.

"When you put in an old game, everything is faster and crisper," he said. "It's a lot more fluid.

"I'm a true gamer, and I can really notice the subtle differences."

SUCCESS STORY: BRYAN SNYDER

Bryan Snyder actually made money from his Xbox 360 campout in November. The electrical engineering senior, who works at Best Buy, spent a very cold night in Jackson to get his first 360.

"It was ridiculously windy and ridiculously cold," he said. "When I was in Jackson, I didn't even have a hat. I just threw everything in the car and went."

Upon learning that the 360 he bought for $399.99 was selling for more than $1,000 on eBay, Snyder and a friend put both their 360s up for the "Buy It Now" feature on eBay for $1,000. The same person bought both systems, he said.

"They were going for like $1,500," he said. "I was in disbelief that people were buying something they could buy in stores for $400 for over a thousand."

After selling his first one, Snyder just waited for the second shipment to come to the Okemos store in December and then camped out again.

"I was a lot better prepared," he said. "I had more coats and blankets. My girlfriend brought me hot chocolate and soup.

"It was a much better experience."

He was up all night both times he bought the system, and even though his girlfriend hates it, Snyder said he enjoys the 360.

"I'm in college," he said. "You only live once."

SUCCESS STORY: TAYLOR HANSEN

For advertising junior Taylor Hansen, persistence paid off.

Hansen had a list of stores — Wal-Mart, Target and Best Buy — he called every morning for about two weeks to see if any 360s had come in.

One morning, he finally got the answer he was looking for.

"I called right when they opened and she said, 'We have two,'" Hansen said. "I jumped out of bed and gunned it downtown."

Hansen said he didn't begin looking in earnest until after Christmas.

"I didn't bother going for one as soon as they came out," he said. "That would've been a little too much effort."

The phone calls didn't take much effort, but they did get a little tedious, he said.

"It got kind of annoying after a while," Hansen said. "You could tell they'd been getting those calls all day, every day for a month."

Calling each day might not be as extreme as camping out, but it got the same result.

"It didn't take too much time out of my day to make three phone calls in the morning," he said. "I figured it was that or wait six months and I didn't want to wait.

"Everyone's saying it's so hard, but it's not like it's that hard. It's not like they're priceless diamonds."

Despite "dropping a small fortune on the accessories," Hansen said the system is worth the money and the effort he put in.

"My grades aren't liking it too much," he said. "Apart from that, it's great. It's definitely worth it."

SUCCESS STORY: TYLER CHAPMAN

Tyler Chapman expects his 360 to arrive any day now. The advertising junior said he knows a guy in Las Vegas who knows a guy in Texas who is shipping him the system.

"Everybody's having such a hard time," Chapman said. "I thought I would be lucky to get one."

The Xbox 360 got lost in the mail, but Chapman said it's been traced and he should be getting it soon.

"Every guy around wants one," he said. "Every time you hear about a new video game system, people just go crazy about it.

"Unless you're 50 years old, I think we're all interested."

Chapman thought the Xbox would arrive by Christmas.

"I was kind of excited to be one of the first to have it and it'd be such a rare thing to have," he said.