"We got here at 4:30 pm yesterday," said Anthony Yates of Northeast Philadelphia who was waiting outside a GameStop in Cherry Hill, New Jersey to get a PlayStation 5.
A sign outside the store says there are two Sony PlayStation 5 systems and six Xboxs available.
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"Every game stop is like that. People started camping out yesterday," said Jason Yates.
While the pandemic shuttered major retailers for Thanksgiving night, it's not keeping people from camping out ahead of Black Friday. The Yates say they're doing what they can to keep safe.
"So we are taking precautions. We're not ignoring that. It is a pandemic. We're doing everything that's socially responsible, but we're just going to wait," said Jason.
The traditional start to the holiday shopping season looks different, as cases continue to climb.
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At Love Park in Philadelphia, Christmas Village opened with pandemic protocols, including half the number of vendors to curb crowds, a limited number of people inside the outdoor food court, and on-site social distancing ambassadors.
"There's people working and telling you which way to go. There are hand sanitizer stations everywhere. Everyone's keeping their distance," said Megan Flinn of Port Richmond.
Big box retailers like Walmart and Best Buy- that would normally be open Thanksgiving night seem to be mostly empty early Thursday night, but are ready for Black Friday crowds.
Black Friday 2020: Shoppers camp outside GameStop in Cherry Hill for new PlayStation 5
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