GAMERS have at last picked up their long awaited PlayStation 3 consoles.

Shops in Dorset opened at midnight so gaming fanatics could collect their consoles and not waste a moment of playing time.

More than 100 people attended the midnight opening at Game in Commercial Road, Bournemouth, with some starting queuing just before 11pm on Thursday night to be the first to get their hands on the console.

Bradley Hall, 27, and his girlfriend Katie Hibbitt, 26, picked up their pre-ordered PlayStation 3 from Game yesterday.

They were heading straight home to Winton to try it out on their new LCD television.

Mr Hall said: "I am very excited. The graphics are said to be very realistic and I am confident that it will deliver."

The couple already own an Xbox 360.

Mr Hall thinks that the £450 he paid for the PS 3 is money well spent.

He said: "I think it is worth the money. The original PlayStation 2 cost £300 and that has only half the capability of this one."

Kit Gibbons, 28, from Ringwood, had pre-ordered three PlayStation 3s from different suppliers to ensure that he got his hands on the console.

Mr Gibbons said: "I ordered three to make sure I got one. When I ordered the Wii I had to wait ages before I got it and I did not want that to happen again."

As well as the Wii he already owns, Mr Gibbons also has a PlayStation 2 and a Game Cube and has just sold his Xbox 360.

He said: "I think they have priced the PS3 for, not geeks, but hardcore gamers. They will have to bring the price down to appeal to the wider public."

Manager of Game Rob McLeod said he still had a few PlayStation 3s left.

The console on its own costs about £425 and each game costs about £40 or £50.