NBrid

Had to wait in line like 10+ hours to get one. I had checked around early Saturday afternoon 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. That was almost a mistake, despite it being a great game...

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...) 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.

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. Some people went into Target and bought a tent, and then 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 there was 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 complete BS, 2000 VC games at launch? riiight). They all kept going on how drunk they were too. They weren't. The guy wondering about with a bottle of Jim Bean, he was drunk. I wanted to punch them all 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... I don't think they expected the demand either. I'd go so far as to say the only difference (demand wise) between this and PS3 was Wii lacked the crazy eBay scalpers. (Well that and you'll probably be able to walk into Target next week and pick up a Wii.)

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. (Which could cause one to argue again Nintendo fans are ravenous and after this initial surge, Wii popularity will level out. We'll see...)

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 I don't care. 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.

Okay, despite being tired. It's time to play some more since I already wasted time watching the Packers get destroyed today.