Didn't have much trouble finding one in Northern, Ca. I'm outside Sacramento and was not one smart enough to pre-order. Most stores had lines outside starting on Saturday morning and by the evening, say around 8 pm, the line was long enough that most people wouldn't be getting one. So it was up to the store manager on how to handle the various situtions. Wal-mart had a couple issues I heard as did Target.
My son bought his Wii at Toys R Us. As much as I dislike that chain, I have to give them credit. I called on Saturday doing a little phone shopping and the manager said they had 70 in the store with 30 - 35 on pre-order. The rest he will sell during normal business hous on Sunday - store opened at 10 am. He would not allow anyone to camp at the store until the store closed on Saturday night. After that he didn't care and it would be a first come first server order. One Wii per family regardless if you pay for cash, etc and ID would be checked.
We visit the store at 6 am and there are 14 people in line ahead of us - we are ready for launch...I must say - the store manager showed up around 7, explained how many he had, and some in-store rules. In short - no running or pushing - and no cutting in line - you do any of that and a security guard will pull your wii ticket and escort you out. About 15 minutes later, he comes out and starts at the front of the line moving down handing the Wii tickets for purchase. Explains to the folks who didn't get one that he is really sorry and there was nothing he could do. For those that received the ticket, he said they can leave if they want as their Wii will be there for pickup when they want it - as long as it was picked up on Sunday - if not, it would be sold on Monday. However, due to limited game titles and accessories, you might want to stay in line to be sure you get some. So far - the guy was a class act - I told him later he did good and his employees and set off a letter to head qtrs.
Enough of the ramble.
I'm a gamer, but of the PC sort. We have just about all the current consoles out as my kids love to play them. We could not find a PS3 for the life of us so my other son will try and buy one in March 07. Active consoles in the house at the moment are a PS2, game cube, and Xbox 360. So - I feel I have a pretty good idea of how they work along with some strengths and weaknesses...probably all subjective - but oh well
The Wii gets kudos for backward compatability and launch. Lets face it, I didn't pre-order and was able to help my son buy one. It was safe to do and pretty easy. I was pleased. Backward compatability - lets face it - all the game cube games he has tried work great. You can add controllers and memory cards - pretty neat if you ask me. Other consoles did not have as easy of a time...new console pretty much required new memory cards and hit or miss compatible games...
Package - it pretty much comes with everything to get you started and even ships with a game in case you didn't pick one up. 1 controller device, built in wireless, nice overall package which went together pretty darn easy - what more can you ask for? My mother could have set it up if she wanted to - that is how easy it was to do. Other systems if you want wireless you need to spend additional money to get an adapter unless it defaults with a ether port. Wii does not have a built in network jack - I think they just ran out of room - I would have liked one, but the wireless seems to work pretty good so far and getting the MAC address to add to your filter allow/disallow list was a no brainer. Again, the overall package was neat and orderly - includes a game to get you going, and a controller to use as well.
Controllers - lets face it - they are unique and give the Wii something that sets it apart from the mini-super computers it has to challenge for market share. The Wii does not have the power of the current gen consoles. It was never the intent nor will the Wii be the entertainment hub of choice. It will, on the other hand, be a device that allows family fun and interaction. You can see this by some of the games out on the market today. You sort of play the game in the pixel world but on the other hand you are also moving and josting about in real life with your gaming buddy getting a work out. As mentioned somewhere in this thread, just try the fishing in Zelda - it is fun. It is this type of fun that the Wii offers in which the PS3 nor the Xbox 360 do not. The sample game pack is also noted for its interaction via tennis, boxing, and bowling. All bring much laughter when playing this has a family or with a group of friends. While it may seem silly to some, when you sit back and watch everyone playing the various games - you can see how one gets caught up in the act - both in a pixel world and now reality - it just gives that extra bit of something that is lacking.
I've talked abou the roll out and launch. The controllers and how I feel it will work as it adds another dimension to playing games; and the installation. What I have not talked about now is really its downfall in the end - or so I think.
Graphics and HDTV support. While I pretty much give the Wii a 10 for a overall score I must say that I think this is a doomed product line and I honestly feel Nintendo will fall much like Sega years before. The future is here and everyone wants content. The virtual worlds are a place where people can meet other people and become friends and more as well as escape reality. The Wii lacks the power to take you there in the end. While Zelda looks pretty good, the images are not as crisp or clear on HDTV as other consoles. The look is dated for lack of a better word. Cartoon type characters and Animae is one thing which the Wii can probably handle - but anything like GoW or CoD3, etc - forget it. As I said - Zelda looks pretty good in native format with my HDTV handling the scaling but it does not look anywhere as good as the other consoles. Granted - I do not currently have nintindo's hdtv hook up device but I'm still not sure how it will look on my 60' sony...
So in the end Nintindo won the launch process if you ask me. If you wanted to buy one and didn't pre-order, chances are you were still able to pick one up. At least that was the case for me. Easy to set up, excellent backward compatibility support, included controller and game for standard price, and wireless network support built in. A pretty darn good deal for 260 bucks, if you ask me anyway. However, the lack of pocessing power and entertainment hub potential pretty much leave this as a stand alone untit.
On the other hand, it really is the console of choice for the younger generation and families who want to spend some time together. Or so I think anyway.
