Nerd Mentality

It's a Wonderful Wiikend

Posted November 27th 2006 by Curtis Brunet.

Nervous sweat is pouring down my forehead; I woke up early Sunday morning to go to my local Wal-Mart and scope out the Wii scene. Did I make a mistake? Let me give you some background.

I hadn't pre-ordered my Wii unit, in fact, I'm not even sure if there was anywhere in my small town that I could have even done that. Maybe Blockbuster, but I didn't bother there. My local Wal-Mart was getting easily in excess of 20 units, and I was positive there would not be a problem (the other option, Zellers, informed me last week that they were getting 6). In fact, I was so over-confident that I swore up and down that I could walk in sometime in the afternoon on Sunday the 19th of November and purchase my Wii without any hassle. Oh what a fool I was.

So, starting on Friday, I started to get nervous. We were getting close to the release date, and I felt like I was perhaps not giving my small town its due when it comes to the gaming populace. I spoke with many shopkeepers, who all agreed that people had been talking, and asking many, many questions. This sealed it, on Saturday, I decided I would simply wake up at 5AM the next morning, drive down, and check if there was a line. Simple enough, right?

5:30AM rolls around and I finally stop hitting the snooze button. I have a few friends over, some who were out late drinking, another who kept me company. I'm to go check the line, and come back and get her if there is one. So I grab some clothes, and make the short 5 minute drive down the road to Wal-Mart where my heart skips a beat.

Oh crap.

So I turn around and make it back to my apartment relatively quickly. I grab some small supplies, and myself and my friend head out to wait. By the time I get there, the line has almost doubled. I slink my way into the back and start chatting it up with some fellow gamer. It seems that I am the only person in the line who had played the Wii previously, so obviously I felt special, Eric Cartmen special ("Yes, I played the Wii, who wants to touch me? I SAID WHO WANTS TO F&$%ING TOUCH ME!"). A few strenuous hours later, they begin to let consumers inside, 3 buyers at a time. After what seems like an eternity, I am finally at the front of the line, oh happy day (at roughly the half-way point, someone who I can only assume was the manager came out and counted heads and assured everyone lined-up that they had enough Wiis for everyone).

With a Wii, Zelda, Red Steel, 2 extra Wiimotes, and a spare Nunchuk in tow, we headed home in a hurry to awaken my hung-over brethren and commence with the Wiitastic day.

Overall, it was a great weekend, with some great friends, and some hot Wii action. I returned to my Wal-Mart later on in the afternoon and purchased Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam, and got to speak to Devin in Electronics. With no Wiimotes, Nunchuks, Monkey Ball's or Trauma Center's (possibly other titles) anywhere to be seen in the display case (along with Wii consoles), Devin let's me know that when he arrived at 10AM for his shift, there were no consoles left.

I tip my hat to you Nintendo: even in the remote areas, to go along with almost nothing in terms of marketing to the general public, you still succeed.

*slow clap*

| Comments (5) | Permalink