Nintendo Wii WAS at the local Target, so Bone...

[bonesquad]

Had to wait in line like 10+ hours to get one. I had checked around Saturday and BB/CC/Target all said don't worry we have plenty. I overheard an employee tell one mother with 2 excited kids that they were to hand out tickets at 7am and if she was there then she would be fine. There were a couple of diehards already camping at BB at around 1pm, but I said eh, and went to watch Michigan v. Ohio State.

At around 9pm I checked back in and was like WTF??? There were a ton of people in lines already. Uhoh, so I ran home to grab some stuff (Elite Beat Agents) and got in line at Target. Yeah I know, fucking crazy but there were already numerous people in line and I didn't mind waiting if I knew I'd get one. I think by 2am all 110 systems were accounted for. Yeah, plenty to go around... (though I hear TRU wasn't quite as busy... but had bundles?) And yeah, I'm also surprised at how high the demand was. I never expected this. Kudos to Nintendo. Wii might actually work out this time. I think Zelda as a launch game really helped too. I feel sorry for those kids I saw earlier in the day.

It was interesting. Someone walked by wondering if people were there waiting for a GameCube... No they weren't being sarcastic, they were just ignorant. There were also some punks who drove by showing off their new Wiis. People who went into Target bought a tent and put up a humorous show trying to put it up.

Eh, it was alright all in all. Cold, but at times fun. Got some EBA in, some WiFi Tetris in. Free coffee/hot coco/popcorn. Though this one group of ANNOYING high schoolers who wouldn't shut up and they said the stupidest shit. If they weren't quoting the Simpsons, ATHF, Family Guy, who knows what or quoting MC Chris's RE4 rant they were talking about games and just saying dumb shit that was often so wrong (yeah I'm a geek, but even someone who doesn't know much had to know some of what they said was BS, 2000 VC games at launch? riiight). I wanted to punch them out, and I know I wasn't the only one.

One other thing I noticed I don't think anyone was there planning on selling it. Everyone couldn't wait to get home to get warm and play Zelda. Someone walked around who had an extra GS preorder and was trying to sell it for $500. I don't think anyone took him up on that offer. It was also fun to watch people come around 4-5am trying to count how many were in line...

Anyways, finally they came out gave us numbers more free coffee and a nice Wii T-Shirt (though it's no Reggie). There was a cheer as the first person left the store with a Wii. Others took pics as they were handed their Wii.

I grabbed a 2nd remote/numchuck just in case and 3 games since buy 3 get a $25 gift card. Then some girl took my number, grabbed a Wii and escorted me back through the store to the front to check out. She asked if I thought it was worth the wait. No, but at least I have a Wii.


So far Zelda seems quite cool (though the camera controls seem a pain) and it took forever for it to update when I tried to connect online. But what I have played with like Wii Sports does *feel* amazing. We'll see how it holds up over time, but despite the outdated graphics I'm impressed so far.

And I don't know yet if I should keep Rayman or exchange it for something else. ExciteTrucks just does't look great. Red Steel looks like crap. Maybe Trauma Center... ?

[Hybrid]

god i dont want to read all that...maybe later.

[Psydd]

Trauma Center looks awesome and I've heard the control is spot on. I can't give a first hand account though since I didn't get a Wii

Well, it's not like I planned it out and went and waited in line and didn't get one. I just don't have the money for a system launch right now so I didn't get one. I wish a friend had or something though, because I want to play any Wii title sooo much more than any PS3 game (except maybe Resistance, I do wanna give that a good go).

Either way I do certainly want a Wii and I knew you guys would get them. I guess I'll probably wait til next summer or so before I get one. Maybe the damn 360 will go down as well and I could get a used one. As for the PS3 I don't see myself owning one, and if I ever do it will be as a gift or years from now.

This has been the Psydd Report.

[Psydd]

Oh, and as for the demand and to see how well Nintendo did today, you can keep an eye on http://nexgenwars.com where they have some sort of sales tracking going on.

[ConnDestn]

http://shopperism.com/post/2006/11/17/incredible-deal-xbox-360-for-100-on-amazon/

This thursday starting at 11am, Amazon will be selling the 360 Core system for $100. Add in a harddrive which i hear is no more than $100 and you got a pretty sweet deal.

[bonesquad]

No one said you had to read shit Hy. I didn't write all that for you...

Good to see the Wii kicking ass. Over 700,000 as of this post!


I still want my PS3 preorder at some point because I still think over the long haul it will kick ass. 360 has been out a year and all it's done to impress me is Gears of War. Yet again showing Xbox's penchant for Western shooters. So I'm putting my money on PS3 to be more entertaining, at least for me.

That said... a 100 dollar 360 is hard to pass up. Too bad I don't think I'll be anywhere near a computer then to even try.

[Psydd]

Yeah it's gonna be hard on Thanksgiving in the middle of festivities to say "Hey...sorry family gathering I have to go hit up the computer real quick to try to buy some video games."

Oh who am I kidding I'm gonna be trying for it come 1pm CST this Thursday.

[bonesquad]

So it's been a whole year since I stood/sat outside the local Target to get a Wii day 1. Seems like just yesterday, sniff/ I still think Wii has a ways to go to live up to its potential, it's still severely lacking in the 4-player area unless you want one of the billion crappy mini-game games I had feared would saturate the system... But it is good fun and I've been surprised at how much I've played it lately. Mainly during our weekly wii day at work, and Guitar Hero, but soon I'll be adding Mario Galaxy and probably at least the new Trauma Center to that mix. And if I get really crazy, I might finally cave and get a VC game...

Oh yeah, the graphics of the thing still suck as much as ever. As does the flash memory size. I'd do a list of my favorite games so far, but I have a feeling the games I plan to play/get over the next couple weeks would end up being quite high on such a list...

[Hybrid]

It's been a year since I walked out of the store after the midnight launch with my system without any kind of waiting or hassle whatsoever...

Mario Galaxy looks fantastic even though SD games usually look terrible on my TV. I have easily amassed more games for my Wii than my 360 in a short year's time. The new RE brings my Wii collection (not counting wii sports) to 15 games. It's probably higher than it should be but it shows there are definately more than just mini-game collections. Unfortunately, those are probably what sell best.

[bonesquad]

Not all of us are lucky enough to work at a game store.

And let me clarify. I'm not saying all the Wii has is crappy mini-game games. Just if you're looking for good multiplayer games, that's all there is right now. Smash Bros. and Mario Kart can't get here fast enough.


After I finally got a -working- copy of Mario Galaxy (don't ask), so far so good, but you're wrong. It still looks like shit on a HDTV. Maybe the component cables I just ordered will help...

[Hybrid]

like SHIT? Thems a strong word right there. I wouldnt say any wii game Ive played on my tv looks like SHIT, but gorgeous games like Zelda and Zack & Wiki looked really bad compared to how theyd look on a SD tv or even HDTV with decent upscaling. I really wish I researched SD upscaling before I got this thing.

Anyways, Mario Galaxy is easily the best looking wii game on my tv. The simple, bright colors really help. One thing that sucks about the game that has nothing to do with graphics is the fact that I get sent fricking mail every time I turn my system off so it keeps glowing blue until I turn it on JUST to read the mail. It was cool the first time...

I find it really hard to recommend any multiplayer games on the Wii. HOWEVER, with stuff like Ghost Squad and RE:UC just coming out, I may be able to mention those. Ghost Squad is only $30 too.

[bonesquad]

Well, I stand by what I said. It may be a tad harsh. But even though Galaxy isn't bad looking, going from Ratchet and Clank to Mario... yeah. Shit. Though if all Wii games looked as 'good' as Galaxy I probably wouldn't complain about Wii graphics ever.

Still, I've suddenly found myself playing a fair amount of Wii again these days. So it's not a big deal. Just kind of sad. Well, what's really sad though is all the really crappy games the Wii has in just a years time. I have no clue why/how that Carnival game is so popular... Too many good games to bother with that crap. Then again, if you want a multiplayer game...

[Hybrid]

Carnival Games uses the Havoc Engine.

The Wii and DS have become the "dump systems." At first I thought DS was winning by a landslide, but now the Wii really is piling on the garbage budget games. I thought Nintendo invented the Nintendo Seal of Quality for the sole purpose of keeping trash like this out of the market. I guess the little symbol means NOTHING anymore.

We got like 80 million calls for wiis today. It was easily more calls than on black friday.

[bonesquad]

Ugh, the people that buy Wii games disappoint me so much. I was at Best Buy earlier and I saw people grabbing up such crap as Carnival Games, Ultimate Duck Hunting, Game Party, and High School Musical, while Metroid and Zack and Wiki cried... These people really arn't giving 3rd parties any reason to bring more quality games to the Wii.

So much wasted potential on the Wii right now...

[Hybrid]

You should try working a 9 hour day at a game store. It's very very disheartening. Wii Play is easily the best selling wii game, despite the fact that remotes are now readily available and there's almost no reason why someone should own it. Carnival Games WOULD sell well if we actually got copies of it in ever. High School Musical is selling so well, but it wasn't even touched until Black Friday rolled around. I'm always shocked when someone actually picks up a GOOD Wii game (other than Mario Galaxy which sells).