It sure seems like some of you had to brave through for a Nintendo Wii. I woke up at 5AM, got ready, and then walked to the nearest running bus route. Once I got near a BestBuy and when I saw the line up I was like "ok, this ain't gonna be the one". Took that same bus route going south to a Walmart, saw the line and thought this might be it. It was. Just had to wait until 9AM (or was it 8AM... ah who knows) until it opened. Got a bunch of games, and a variety of controllers, the system, and zipped right back to the comfort of my home.
Farewell to the Wii: Memories of the Launch
The PixlBit staff shares their Wii launch day memories.
My Wii launch story is definitely one for the ages; however, I can’t jump right into it without giving some back-story. One year before the system hit store shelves, Nintendo began releasing some promotional materials about the system – and they had me hook, line, and sinker with the idea. Motion controlled gaming? That sounded more than amazing. I could just imagine it, slashing a sword with Link, Monkey Ball with real tilt controls, and sports games kicked up to the nth degree of interactivity.
I waited patiently as Nintendo trickled out more information, eating up every crumb they left for me. Before long, a year had passed and my excitement hit fever pitch. Right before the demo units hit stores, South Park featured the system and Cartman’s failed attempt at jumping forward into the future to avoid waiting. No question about it, I was Cartman. Nothing could speed up the wait until November 19 – it was unbelievably painful.
But then, a break! Demo units started becoming available in Gamestop and before long I was able to play Excite Truck a couple of weeks ahead of the release of the system. What a glorious and amazing experience! My excitement grew to excruciating levels.
Thankfully, with school and work in full swing the next couple of weeks went quickly and before I knew it, the night before the launch had come - no, not November 18, hours before midnight, November 17, more than 24 hours before the launch. Chessa and I were at Walmart grabbing some groceries, as we were expecting friends the next day to come by and enjoy the brand new gaming experience after midnight. And then I saw it…
The line, I saw the line that was already forming. “Jesus, you’ve gotta be kidding me!?,” I exclaimed to Chessa. “How can this possibly be forming already?” “I don’t know,” she responded, “but you’d better get your ass in line if you expect to get one tomorrow.” At that moment, the reality of the situation sunk in, I was going to have to sit in line for almost a full day to get the new system.
So, we drove home and put together an assortment of goods to begin our long stretch. Lawn chairs, check. DS, check. Snacks, check. Bottles of water, check. At 2AM, we tossed everything in the car and headed out.
Arriving back at Walmart, we set up our chairs at the entrance of the store inside, near the soda machines and bottle return. It stunk like stale soda, but I was happy to be inside and in a comfortable chair that I might even be able to catch some Zs in. I closed my eyes, praying to fall asleep until at least morning.
But I had no such luck. Weary eyed, but wide-awake, I sat playing Elite Beat Agents until I could take no more. Morning slowly arrived and my other camping companions began to awaken from their slumber. They, like myself, were greeted by a couple of store employees who explained to us that we’d have to relocate to the outside of the store.
“Seriously?” I asked the store clerks in bewilderment. “Unfortunately, sir, yes you will.” “Any particular reason why?” I responded in frustration. “After last week’s launch of the PlayStation 3, we can’t have any patrons in the store waiting,” they stated. “Multiple fights broke out inside the store and merchandise was also stolen.”
I stared back in utter disbelief. This was Rochester, NY. It’s not warm in Rochester, NY… almost ever, but it’s ESPECIALLY not warm in Rochester, NY in the middle of November.
So into the freezing cold 20-degree weather I went, chair in tow. Chessa, understanding what had to be done, ran back to our apartment to grab some heavy blankets to wait for the next 16 or so hours. Upon returning, I bundled up, climbed under the blanket and sat in my chair, taking only occasional bathroom and warm up breaks inside the store.
Chessa went home to stay warm at my request and a friend came by to grab her spot in line to get a system for his son. We BSed intermittently, which helped pass the time, but the oppressive cold was almost too much to take.
Over the course of the day, I got to know some of the other campers and we had organized both a list to keep track of everyone in line and to make it easy for the clerks to assemble all of the goods that everyone wanted alongside their system.
It was all very organized and at times, even fun, despite the random light snow showers and freezing cold weather. Around 11PM Chessa returned and waited out the last bit to grab our system and head home.
Shortly after we got our system and my friend got his, we headed back to our apartment with high hopes of keeping things going with drinks, games, and partying. This apparently went well… however, I’ll never know because I passed the hell out minutes after setting up the system and playing half a game of Wii Sports. Memories.
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