Liveblogging from the frontlines of the quest for Wii

Jan-22-07, 2:09 pm by Hanford
File under: Video games, consoles, design, Wii

Nintendo Wii Console

On Sunday I woke up at 7:45 to get a Wii. My plan was to head over to Best Buy (which opens at 11:00) because they advertised having at least twenty in stock. On the drive over I decided to stop in and see if Target had any in stock because they open at 8:00. When I pulled into the parking lot, I was pretty shocked to see there was a huge line. They had eighty Wiis, and gave out vouchers to eighty people, I was told.

I figured if Target had eighty, then Best Buy must have hundreds. I was wrong. When I got there, there was one person in line, but there were signs saying they had already handed out vouchers for their twenty units. Defeated, I headed on home, but stopped by Gamestop just in case. I saw a small group of people outside, and decided to park the car and head on over.

So as I write this I'm in line at Gamestop, thanks to Google Wifi. For one of their fifteen units. I know they have fifteen because there's a paper sign hanging inside of their window telling us that that's how many they have when they open. There's still two hours before that happens, and frankly after my month-long quest to find a Wii, I'm still a bit skeptical that I'll be getting one today. I'll keep you posted.

Much, much later

After Google Wifi kept crapping out on me, no doubt due to the number of compadres and hangers-on scurrying up and down the line, I decided to pack up my laptop and wait out the last few hours. Franky I was a bit worried that ten minutes prior to opening that we we'd get mobbed by extremely-latecomers who think they might still have a change to get one. So the rest of this entry is not being blogged from the Gamestop, but from my desktop computer.

Perhaps an hour into my wait, a wide-eyed optimistic teen started a sign-up sheet that was passed down the line, and people signed up. It was actually quite civil, and when the list got to me I was in position #10. This was a bit weird because for a whole hour, people were saying I was number 11, and that the line had 15 people in it. As other people approached the line, the younger kids who were waiting would exuberantly shout "You're too late! you're number 16 and they only have 15!!!!". They were trying to be helpful, but it turned out the whole time they were mis-informing people, and unintentionally taunting them. Cynic that I am, I didn't believe that Gamestop was going to give a flip about a hastily-torn-out piece of notebook paper with names signed on it. And even if the Gamestop employees chose to actually use go by that sheet, all it would take is one person to dispute it and the they would probably throw the list out.

However, I was proved wrong. The Gamestop employees actually used the sign up sheet to hand out numbered cards and no one got uppity about it. When the store opened it was very organized and low-pressure. Nothing like getting Episode One tickets. However, as I got closer to the line, I realized I was not just shopping for a Wii, but for Wii games and accessories too, which they had in large quantity. I started to feel the pressure, and tried to do mental inventory. I didn't want to spend too much money, but I didn't want to forget anything necessary, or anything that I might need in the future that would also be hard to come by. Like extra wiimotes.

Months of searching and hours of waiting were finally paying off. When I got the front of the line, I was in a daze. I ended up blurting out a stream of consciousness that I can only recite to you now because it's printed in on my receipt: Nintendo Wii, extra wiimote, extra nunchuk, The Legend of Zelda, Warioware Smooth Moves, and a classic controller. I ended up spending about 450 bucks on the Wii and paraphernalia.

It wasn't till I got home that I realized that I had forgotten to ask for the extremely-difficult-to-find Wii component video cables. I don't know if they even had them in stock.

Now that I've had the Wii for 24 hours, I can say that there's been no disappointment at all. The technology is impressive, the user interface is beautiful, and the games are innovative. The Wii is going to leave it's mark on video games forever. But perhaps more importantly to me, I'm even further convinced that the Wii will have a heavy influence in the world of television user interfaces.

I'll do a better write up of my thoughts on the Wii technology and UI in the near future. But for now, I have a princess to save.

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justin wrote: Feb-15-07, 2:15 pm

how weird is it that i'm reading this on my brand new wii? fun weird. boy the wiimote is interesting to type with. they need to put a space button on the wiimote.

Matt Mylar wrote: Feb-9-07, 8:02 pm

I had a chance to try Wii out last Sunday and was amazed at what it can do. When bowling you can actually put a spin on the ball! Wii is cool!

midnite wrote: Jan-25-07, 11:44 am

Congrats on acquiring the Wii, I am very happy to hear the good news. Now, what exactly is a Wii?

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