With all the psychos out there standing in line for 3-4 and sometimes 5 days on end, braving the weather however harsh it may be, racing towards one of 10 chairs holding the key to Holy Grail of gaming consoles only to be smacked in the face by a flag pole...(c'mon people its just a gaming console), I find it somewhat amusing and so I thought Id give an account of my journey that begins in approximately 19 hours.

I am not one of the psycho's standing in the freezing rain to get a PS3 ...I am one of the psychos going to stand in line for the Nintendo Wii...thankfully its not raining, though it is freezing.

My local Best Buy said I can get in line 24 hours before the release which is 8am CST Sunday morning. I am planning on my making my way over there tomorrow morning at 8am to make sure I get a spot but with Nintendo releasing TEN times more units than Sony's counterpart (4,000,000 to 400,000)... I can't imagine standing in line for 24 hours is necessary, but nonetheless I am ready.

I've got my video iPod juiced and loaded with 25 of my favorite flicks and seasons 5 and 6 of Seinfeld, my PSP ready, a copy of Eldest (Book II in the Inheritance Trilogy - sequel to Eragon (coming to a theater near you this December!)) - shameless plug, copy of the latest CardPlayer magazine, and my MacBook Pro. If thats not enough to keep me busy for a fully day, Im just not trying hard enough.

Sadly I am not an owner of a tent. I am going to need to borrow one or plan on sleeping out under the stars. If all goes well I will be walking away with a brand new Nintendo Wii and a copy of The Legend of Zelda:Twilight Princess and Marvel Ulitmate Alliance.

I have never done something like this before and admit I feel a little foolish, but for some reason I dont want to wait for this one. I have always been a huge fan of the Nintendo game base and felt it is the strongest of all gaming consoles, though the PS3 and XBox tout better graphics and feature rich console. But for the average gamer like myself who spends more time playing RPGs than anything else, Ill leave the graphics to the big boys and stick to my trusty gaming company that has been fulfilling my gaming needs since Final Fantasy and Dragon Warrior on the NES, and dont forget the early pseudo-RGP classic, Mega Man and its many successors.

My biggest anticipation for the Wii is the release of Mario Galaxy set to release in March. I finished up Paper Mario and the Thousand Year Door last summer and have been anticipating this release for sometime. Another intriguing release set for March is Super Smash Bros Brawl to appease my deepest Street Fighter-esque desires.

So for all of you out there taking similar journeys I wish you luck
and may you walk away with what you seek.
Whether a PS3 or a Nintendo Wii.


...im a poet...and I didn't even know it. (woohoo for slant rhyme! )

I highly doubt that waiting out there for a whole day will be necessary, but it can be fun to turn oneself into a big nerd for a day or two and do something like this. I hope you have friends who are going try to do it with you or you may find yourself getting somewhat bored.

Good luck, try not to freeze.

My friends have either waited in line for PS3 or arent nerdy enough to wait in line in the first place so it looks like im on my own.

...Oh well Nerd for a Day. I can handle that.

Good luck, bring some peppermint schnaups with it will help with the freezing temperatures.

I dont drink... Hot cocoa will have to do.

mmmm....hot cocoa.

The roommates and I got Final Fantasy XII last night. No need for a new system, that game owns.

you know, alcohol actually constricts the blood

nice.

I don't care it works for me at snowmobile races all day long sitting in the grand stands.

Two of my friends decided they we going to wait for the X-Box 360 overnight and said they felt like the biggest nerds ever. They finally got their hands on it after spending all night outside the store sleeping on the ground. They later said that it was a nice experience but that next time they would just wait the extra couple of months to get the system.

Good luck on the endeavor.

i imagine if you went all out and had tents and food and entertainment it would actually be pretty fun camping outsie of a store.

I'm always hot as hell when I'm drunk. I've been known to come home from a bender, open all the windows (with below freezing temperatures), run every fan I can, and proceed to sleep that way without covers. I can never cool myself off when I drink.

I don't think their will be that big of a crowd for the Wii....after all not many people are going to resell the Wii online for big profits. Which was why most of the people waited for so long for the PS3.

GL though.

I'll be getting in line at the huge Best Buy in my area around 8-9pm, but they start selling them at midnight. They will have at least 80 at that store, maybe even double that (they had just over 60 360's on it's launch) so I'm not worried. If there's too many people in line, which I doubt there will be, I'll go to a couple of Wal-Marts to see what spot in line I get into.

And if all else fails, they will be releasing more systems a week or 2 after Thanksgiving then they are releasing on launch day, so I'm sure I'll get one then...I'm sure I'll be able to get it at my first stop though.

I stayed in line overnight for the 360 at a different Best Buy and it was a lot of fun talking with all the others in line throughout the night. I would do it again if I really wanted a system that bad.

I don't think you'll need to wait at all to get a Wii.

Just find a store that isnt Best Buy or Circuit City and i bet you can probably snag one. There will be a lot out there.

That being said... I got my PS3 today! Took 22 hours. Was freakin cold, but a pretty cool experience overall. Lots of characters out there.

Did you freeze yourself to make the wait seem shorter?

I've called a few places in my area and they have been lining up since late afternoon, so I think many people will be S.O.L. when it comes to getting one.

Just drove by my best buy in 3 layers of clothes preparing for the all nighter.. There is currently only 5 in line and a sign that says the store has 48 quantity and is giving out tickets for them at 6am.

I will be heading back over in a few hours to check out the line again.

The Best Buy in my area that has done a midnight launch for the 360, PS3, and PS2 is not releasing the system until 9am tomorrow There were only 12 in line, and they told me they are getting "around 100" As much as I would like to, I'm not going to wait overnight for something I'll be able to get in 2 weeks fairly easily. I may get up early in the morning and go by to see if I can still get one, but I'll probably just wait a couple of weeks...

All of the 24 hours Wal-Marts have already given out tickets, so I can't get one there.

No go on the Wii. The local Wal-Mart had 20 systems and guess who was #21 in line?

On a whim, and 2 hours sleep, I went out this morning to a Wal-Mart that wasn't opening until 6 AM and got in line and of course I was #21 in line AGAIN. I wasn't going to succumb to defeat just yet so I drove to Target and bingo...they had 25 systems and I was #12. I got my Wii

I liked laughing at all the people in line for hours as I left my place at 11:50, drove to my local gamestop where they had my preorder waiting for me. No line, no waiting, and even security guards in place from parking lot to the store to make sure no one got robbed.

I tried to pre-order but the local EB and Gamestop both had their's filled up within a matter of minutes. The only way you were getting one here is if you stood in line, paid 4x the amount on eBay, or beat the shit of someone and took it.

my freind and i saw a line of people waiting outside best buy last night when we were coming back from a party. they had their tents and everything. we were drunk so we went up to them and talked to them for a bit, they seemed to be having fun.

I waited in line from 12:30am, I was #41 out 48 available units at best buy.

While I'll never camp out in front of a store again, it was a night to remember and I'm happy I got it and my Zelda

Man, I had to wait in line for 18 hours at best buy.



and all I wanted was a toaster

And you didn't even have to freeze yourself. congrats!

this sucks! stupid australia gets it way later than US and japan.
i have had mine pre-ordered for months tho so i will be one of the first to get it in my country.
ps3 will pwn tho. i loved seeing all the microsoft and xbox fanboys faces drop when the crapbox 360 snapped their disks lol.
ps3 will pwn followed closeley by the wii.
the wii's gameplay is superior but in terms of power the ps3 will crap on it.

Power doesn't = good games.

PS3 isn't going to have any flagship titles out for at least 6 months to a year. By that time they will be so far behind 360 and Wii in terms of units in home that they will have trouble catching up at a 500+ price point.

Little Suzy and Johnny's mom and dad are going to look at price points and pick between the Wii and the 360 the majority of the time.

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!! I finally got it after 24 hours of waiting in line in actually very nice temperatures! It was supposed to get down to the low 30s and actually stayed in the high 40s. I was number 3 of 45 units at my best buy and the launch experience was very enjoyable. No fights, or crazies trying to cut in line or cause problems. We had a little nerd party with all the Nintendo DSers syncing up for some all night Mario Kart. The Best Buy here was on short supply of most games and accessories but being number 3 I was able to get everything I wanted/needed:

1 The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
1 Excite Truck
1 Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
4 Nunchuck Controllers
4 WiiMotes
1 Classic Controller
1 512 MB memory card

for a grand total of $674.68.

Spent most of yesterday playing Twilight Princess but also trying to catch up on sleep. I played a little Excite Truck (pretty sweet game), and tonight (after work ) plan on breaking out Marvel:Ultimate Alliance.

I am also pumped about downloading some of the classics that are availble for download to the Wii:

NES: Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Ice Hockey, Pinball, Soccer, Tennis, Urban Champion, Wario’s Woods, Baseball, Solomon’s Key

SNES: F-Zero, SimCity

N64: Super Mario 64

Sega Genesis: Sonic the Hedgehog, Altered Beast, Golden Axe, Columns, Ecco the Dolphin, Gunstar Heroes, Space Harrier II, Toe Jam & Earl, Ristar, Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine

TurboGrafx16: Bonk’s Adventure, Super Star Soldier, Victory Run, Bomberman ’93, Dungeon Explorer

After December they will be releasing more every month.

Woot for Wii, Poot for PS3!!!!!

Color me jelous.

LOL @ Urban Champion....such an awful game in a good way however.

I'm going Wii me thinks.

Damn, they've added more games since last night.