Wii sound off and impressions.

I wonder if all the 24hr Wal Marts are doing a midnight sale.

Does anyone have a link to the midnight release info?

Flux wrote:

I wonder if all the 24hr Wal Marts are doing a midnight sale.

They almost certainly are.

Luna and I just got back from our nearby 24 hour Walmart with a rain check. Here's the story of how that happened.

First, some perspective. This is the same store where we bought our 360 last year. Last year, Luna showed up around 11 AM and was second in line. They ended up having 2 premium units and 6 core packs, so despite a 13 hour wait, we were fine. So today I call them up around 9 AM and they say there is already a line outside. We get down there at 10 AM, and we are 19th in line. Unlike last year, the employees seemed to have no idea how many units they were going to be getting, but rumors were floating around of there being anywhere between 15 and 40.

Well, about 3:30 PM the manager finally came out, and by this time there were about 40 people waiting. They had 16 units, but he was also going to give out 4 rain checks for the next shipment, so we were fine but there were a lot of unhappy people behind us (two of them actually lucked out, though, since the two people in front of us decided that they didn't want the rain check, and that they would just play the one their buddy (who was #16) would be getting.

So yeah, I guess I don't have to worry about those component cables now, eh? I'm going to put the order in for them now, though, and maybe I'll luck out and they will arrive around the same time as the next shipment of consoles at that Walmart.

Of course, it is possible that we might decide to go hunting tomorrow. It's nice to know that as long as we're patient we wont have to, though, you know?

Flux wrote:

I wonder if all the 24hr Wal Marts are doing a midnight sale.

They've advertised it as such. No reason not to, really, it's not like there's anything else to do at midnight.

FYI: The Toys R Us in Minnetonka, MN is doing a midnight sale.

Zero, I'm pretty damn annoyed at this total lack of component cables at launch too, maybe Nintendo is allergic to high-def and they have to create the cables in biohazard suits. None the less, I talked to Brian from Kotaku about the widescreen thing, since he's had a Wii for a while. He has a 55 inch plasma TV and he says is displays in widescreen mode over the included cables fine, as far as he can tell. It doesn't look distorted or stretched.

Certis wrote:

Zero, I'm pretty damn annoyed at this total lack of component cables at launch too, maybe Nintendo is allergic to high-def and they have to create the cables in biohazard suits. None the less, I talked to Brian from Kotaku about the widescreen thing, since he's had a Wii for a while. He has a 55 inch plasma TV and he says is displays in widescreen mode over the included cables fine, as far as he can tell. It doesn't look distorted or stretched.

Well that is good to know. I wonder what the heck Jeremy Parish is smoking, then?

The one near me will be selling at 12:01. I think I'll give it a shot.

The 2 local Super Wal-Marts in my area were only receiving 20 each, and the existing lines were already exceeding that. Oh well, I will give it a shot in the AM, but otherwise I will wait.

My wife is away for a few weeks taking care of her Dad. She just called me on the way home from the hospital and gave me a play-by-play as she swung by the Walmart to see if waiting in line is an option. I'm so proud - this woman had zero gaming interest when we met about 12 years ago. Look at her now!

Anyway, the line was already about 30 strong so she bailed. It's a college town so I figured it was unlikely. Bummer since I'll have no way of getting out to any stores early tomorrow since I'm watching both kids.

No biggie - plenty of other great games to play in the meantime...

LockAndLoad wrote:

HDMI / DVI / VGA> Component > S-Video > Composite

True, but not to scale.

HDMI/etc are a small-ish step up from Component (noticeable and enough to make me want the 360 to have HDMI at some point, but not huge like the steps lower down this list).

Component over S-Video and Composite is like a canyon of separation.

And there's definitely a difference between S-Video and Composite but at this point you're in the gutters either way.

$250 for the Wii is pretty questionable from the start IMO, given the hardware. $250 for no included component cables is trash. Not the silliness of the PS3 price without cables, but still bad.

On our way to get some coffee tonight Kat and I swung by all the usual places tonight to scope out what was going on.

Target and Best Buy are both forbidding anyone from lining in the parking lot until 7am tomorrow. This is because there was a riot (!?) on Friday, where four hundred people smashed through the windows of Best Buy for their 22 consoles. Police ended up breaking up the crowd with pepper bullets and tear gas.

At 8am both places are doing a lottery for their Wii stock.

Circuit City had a line of 20 for their 24 units. Toys R Us had about 10 camping for 20 units. Both these are first come first serve.

We *might* try to double our luck by splitting up between our Target and Best Buy (show up at 7:50 to squeeze in lotto tickets) but I'm feeling like I can wait a few weeks til the insanity dies down.

There were perhaps 2 dozen campers at each fo the Target and BB in my area (easy to check since they are right next to each other) target is listed online as getting in 210, so I think my chances are good in the morning.

The Orlando Walmart near UCF has like 40 people waiting.

I got an email from Amazon stating "The Nintendo Wii will be available for purchase on Amazon.com on 11/19, Sunday morning (PST). " I'm guessing that means 3:00 AM EST. I'll try this, I'm not standing in any lines.

I'm back from Gamestop, Wii in hand. I'm not truly hardcore, though... since I'm actually going to bed instead of hooking it up right now.

But, the wife is headed out for Sunday afternoon, so tomorrow (ok, later today) will see me playing wiidiculous amounts of Zelda.

Tyrian wrote:

I'm back from Gamestop, Wii in hand. I'm not truly hardcore, though... since I'm actually going to bed instead of hooking it up right now.

But, the wife is headed out for Sunday afternoon, so tomorrow (ok, later today) will see me playing wiidiculous amounts of Zelda.

I have to say, I'm a Wii bit jealous. Hee!

I'll be picking up my preorder in about two hours. Woohoo!

Certis wrote:
Tyrian wrote:

I'm back from Gamestop, Wii in hand. I'm not truly hardcore, though... since I'm actually going to bed instead of hooking it up right now.

But, the wife is headed out for Sunday afternoon, so tomorrow (ok, later today) will see me playing wiidiculous amounts of Zelda.

I have to say, I'm a Wii bit jealous. Hee!

And I'm wiily sad.

Hope that second Walmart shipment comes in soon...

NY Times wrote:

At midnight, Isaiah ``Triforce'' Johnson, 29, purchased the first Wii as Toys ``R'' Us employees cheered and Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime helped ring up the sale.

``I had to get it first,'' said Johnson, who was dressed in a black leather Nintendo coat and ``Legend of Zelda'' sweatshirt. He immediately took the Wii out of its box and had Fils-Aime autograph it.

Article (that may require registering) here. But it's nothing special. I just thought the "Triforce" thing was cute.

Does anyone know of any kind of shipment tracker that tells how many units each store is getting? I just decided tonight that I want to get one tomorrow, but there is a pretty long line forming at the Target down the street. I am thinking of getting up at six and getting to the line.

Hit Target in the Wii hours of the morning (5am) and I am now back with Wii in hand. Very good experience.

As far as a tracker I was using this, seemed accurate overall (Walmart numbers were bogus). Although at this point it is probably moot, as all the Wii are sold out.

Also, no sign of the component cable, or ethernet adapter. However there were plenty of classic controllers.

Well, I will admit I was wrong. The demand was pretty large. All the Targets and the 5 closest Wal Marts were sold out immediately.

I still kinda wish I had one for Zelda but patience will pay off with more titles worth the money. It will be awesome when I can finally play Zelda and Mario next year.

Hopefully R6: Vegas will take my mind off Zelda.

*Legion* wrote:
LockAndLoad wrote:

HDMI / DVI / VGA> Component > S-Video > Composite

True, but not to scale.

HDMI/etc are a small-ish step up from Component (noticeable and enough to make me want the 360 to have HDMI at some point, but not huge like the steps lower down this list).

Component over S-Video and Composite is like a canyon of separation.

And there's definitely a difference between S-Video and Composite but at this point you're in the gutters either way.

Well... that depends heavily on your TV, and whether you're doing HD or not. As a 32" non-HDTV user, there's a vast gulf between S-Video and Composite (some games are almost literally unplayable using the latter), but the difference between component and S-Video is minimal at best. We've actually gone back to S-Video for everything because it's easier to switch and neither of us could see a difference.

We swung by the local Target/Best Buy, saw a few hundred people in line, laughed, got some coffee and bagels, and came home. I'll enjoy my Wii in a few weeks when I can walk into a store at my leisure and get one

That's my plan too. After getting a feel for the reactions, I'll grab one just prior to Christmas for a family present.

Based on these accounts and the fact that it is 9:20 AM and I'm still at home, I'll just look for one starting next week. Anyone know of a dependable site that gives information on when the various big box stores restock?

Anyways, if I can't get my daughter a Wii for Christmas, she'll make out even better by getting consolation gifts like Viva Pinata and such on Christmas, then the Wii when I can locate one.

KillerTomato wrote:

As a 32" non-HDTV user, there's a vast gulf between S-Video and Composite (some games are almost literally unplayable using the latter), but the difference between component and S-Video is minimal at best.

I've had the same experience. My TV has one component connection and one S-video, and they seem pretty interchangeable when it comes to the Gamecube and DVD player. The concerns over the Wii from people with 42-inch HD screens and powerful home theater systems are foreign to me. I'm still old school, baby.

Well, I will admit I was wrong. The demand was pretty large. All the Targets and the 5 closest Wal Marts were sold out immediately.

Indeed. I too was surprised by it. Like I said in the tale of our Wii buying attempt, the Walmart we went to had double the supply they had for Xbox 360s last year, but probably ten times the demand. Last year, showing up at 11 AM got us one of two premium units. This year showing up at 10 AM barely got us a rain check at nearly 20th in line.

I really wonder at what the difference is. Are people really that much more interested in the Wii? Does it hold greater appeal to folks who would think to shop at Walmart? Is it just a matter of Nintendo fans being far more dilligent than Xbox fans? Well, maybe it is all of that. My guess, though, is that it is simply a matter of interest in both video games and ebay speculation being spiked thanks to the PS3 debacle.

I mean, there was no one in our line that was 100% obviously only there to turn the thing around on ebay. However, there were at least a few who seemed a bit suspicious, and if only a couple of them hadn't been there I would be playing Zelda rignt now instead of typing this. I mean, I'm not too upset since the rain check we did manage to get will allow us to get one off the next shipment without any hunting or hassle, but the whole thing still is a bit irksome to think about.

I am curious if Nintendo can really get out weekly shipments from now until Xmas. I hope they can because that is how it should be. If they do plan on getting out 4 million before the end of the year, I wonder how many are left to make that number?