CNN: Lines, anger, police ... A Wii story

Zen Davis

Zen Davis

Banned
We all know the new Nintendo Wii is the number one present to give this holiday season. You've heard the stories of those who camp out in front of stores the night before shipments come in, or those who pay double the cost on eBay. It's obvious that people will do almost anything to get their hands on this hot new item.

I found myself waiting for a Nintendo Wii one late afternoon. A massive shipment had just come in that morning and the line didn't look too unbearable, so I decided to wait and try my chances at getting one for my boyfriend. Since it was a little late in the day, I knew the odds were against me, but for some strange reason, I was feeling optimistic.

I didn't see any other women in line and I didn't bother talking to the guys around me. All of them were way too serious about this; full of anxiety and tension. I had never felt so out of place in my life. It seemed like each one of their lives depended on whether or not they got this game system. Their eyes were fixed on the front of the line. No one knew how many were left. We were all just hoping the last box would be ours.

After about 2 hours I was near the front of the line. Could this be it? I could see the pile of white boxes dwindling down. My heart sunk. I started to get nervous. Why didn't I come earlier? I couldn't imagine getting this close and not getting one! That wasn't even an option anymore.

Closer and closer until finally, I was handed a white box. I honestly could not believe it. In that one moment I became the girlfriend with the perfect Christmas present. My heart was pounding and I kept asking the guy, "Are you sure this is it? This is the new Nintendo Wii right?" I couldn't help it...I was shaking with excitement and felt like this was one great day.

While paying at the register, the man handling the Wii's said very loudly to the line full of people still waiting, "Sorry folks, that's it. There's no more for today." Instantly I started hearing groans and seeing other disappointing gestures. It was then that I realized the position I was in...here I was in line with all these tense guys who didn't get a game system and I did. All at once, I felt their angry, jealous eyes shift focus to me. To them, I was an easy target. But I felt confident that I could deal with angry Christmas shoppers. After all, there were still 2 weeks left of shopping. That's plenty of time to get a Wii.

"Hey, I'll give you triple for what you just paid..."

"There's no way you deserve that game system..."

"You probably don't even know how to play. Here, give it to me. I'll put it to good use..."

Were these people crazy?? Yes, they were. It only went downhill from there. While I was walking toward the exit, unsatisfied customers began to grab at my bag. Just like that! They were acting as if I was just going to give it to them. There was no way anyone was taking this away from me. I was caught off guard in a game of tug-a-war when a security guard intervened and rescued me from the chaos.

He took me outside. And the crowd followed.

The security guard flagged a police car. I thankfully jumped in. And it was a police escort for me and my Wii back to work.

I have not experienced any more drama with the Wii. Afraid of how my roommates would react to a Nintendo Wii being in our house, I hid it from them in a secure location until I can safely wrap it up and give it to my boyfriend for Christmas. Mission accomplished.
Click to expand...
http://money.cnn.com/2006/12/16/news/funny/wiitale/index.htm?section=money_latest

~ahmed!~
 
Wow, people really need to calm down. It sucks not having one, but gosh...

The girl gets points for not selling it to the guy offering 3x the MSRP :)
 
The PS3 and Wii launches sucked, and so did the 360 launch last year. Companies need to really re-think how they're doing this crap because it's sickening to see violence and disappointment.

All three companies knew demand was going to be massive and should've done a heck of a lot more to ensure adequate supply, and the fact that nunchuks are going for $60-ish on auction sites a full month after the launch is absolutely unacceptable.
 
[quote name='Scobie']The PS3 and Wii launches sucked, and so did the 360 launch last year. Companies need to really re-think how they're doing this crap because it's sickening to see violence and disappointment.

All three companies knew demand was going to be massive and should've done a heck of a lot more to ensure adequate supply, and the fact that nunchuks are going for $60-ish on auction sites a full month after the launch is absolutely unacceptable.[/quote]
I think the Wii launch was adequete. The Wii follow-up sucked. On a whole though, I think Nintendo has definitely done the best job of getting systems into the hands of gamers following a launch. The 360 was impossible to find after launch and PS3 is pretty much around that level. The fact that Nintendo has almost managed to sell 2 million Wiis in the first month of release alone tells us that it's not a matter of how many systems Nintendo makes; it's that the demand is absolutely crazy.

~ahmed!~
 
Holiday launches are never going to change, because the companies positively love this shit*, not to mention that between October and Christmas, the demand will always exceed the supply (even if there were a slightly-improved "ColecoVision 2" launched next year during the holidays, people would convince themselves that it was a must-have for its 'kitschy, retro-cool'...I'm only one quarter-kidding there).

EBay hoarding fuckwads don't exactly help, either (although they may back off a little after the largely disappointing PS3 auctions of late).

EDIT: Everytime I read these sorts of stories, I reflexively think of guys that look like Drew "Moriarty" McWeeny from AICN, and that 'diner parking lot scene' from last year's War of the Worlds.

*--You can give me the "Why would they not want to sell as many as they could?" argument, but what these shortages do is get the media talking, and get people off the proverbial fence and caught up in the greedy 'me too' mentality. The lost sales will be more than made up for after the holidays.
 
I stayed up all night for mine in early December. Though no obsceneties were exchanged, the evil eyes of the moms and dads with 2.5 kids were on high beam when they started handing out the white boxes of goodness. To some degree, I sympathize with the faction of people who can't or don't have the time to wait around all night. It's a real bitch (especially during the work week). On the other hand, if you want to win you have to grab the opportunity to put yourself at an advantage. I searched online for data: when they were showing up, how many, what time they go on sale, factored in where this was happening during the week, which store is the better location for amount of units vs. population, etc. Most people are aware this is a high demand item with a slim supply. Despite all my intentions of being first in line, there were two teenaged girls ahead of me when I showed up at midnight.

A good analogy, I think, would be concert tickets. If you show up an hour before a sold out concert expecting front row, you would either have to pay a scalper or lose out all together. Same thing applies here. Those who put in the effort to beat the average joe are going to walk away with what they intended to get in the first place. You snooze, you lose.

I have no opinion on Nintendo's or Sony's roll out. I think if there were 8 million units, 8 million and one people would want one. People are frenzied and fanatical around Xmas/Kwanzaa/Chanakuh. It's up to the individual consumer if, when and how they plan on dealing with it. Is it fair? No. But neither is life.
 
It amazes me how parents continue to heavily underestimate the amount of time they'll have to invest in obtaining a system like this, and when they realize that an hour or two didn't come close to 'cutting it', they should just graciously accept defeat...and maybe "double their efforts" next time, for my daily Star Wars reference.

Thank God this is almost over for the next three years or more.
 
[quote name='Scobie']The PS3 and Wii launches sucked, and so did the 360 launch last year. Companies need to really re-think how they're doing this crap because it's sickening to see violence and disappointment.

All three companies knew demand was going to be massive and should've done a heck of a lot more to ensure adequate supply, and the fact that nunchuks are going for $60-ish on auction sites a full month after the launch is absolutely unacceptable.[/QUOTE]

I think the Wii has been in adequate supply if you looked at how people felt about the system 3 months ago. The demand for the Wii right now has overshot even Nintendo's highest expectations. I'm absolutely amazed.
 
I'm not...it's less than half the price of the PS3, people gave up on the PS3, oh, a couple days before it launched, and--as I predicted months ago--fickle non-gamers are momentarily sucked into the hype machine here. I'm not going to bicker about the longevity of their fascination, but it's in overdrive right now, and that's all that matters for the moment.

Also, witness Nintendo's backpedalling about year-end shipment numbers and then read my signature. If you find that quote inflammatory, then you might be a little too emotionally invested in someone else's business venture.
 
[quote name='furyk']I think the Wii has been in adequate supply if you looked at how people felt about the system 3 months ago. The demand for the Wii right now has overshot even Nintendo's highest expectations. I'm absolutely amazed.[/QUOTE]

Sure Nintendo's done better than the competition at getting supply flowing, but it doesn't negate the fact that they should've had more.

What's even dumber is the inexplicable controller shortage. They bundle the console with a multi-player game and didn't even have a 1:1 ratio of extra controller sets to consoles at launch.

Controllers should be the least difficult thing to find right now. I can go into any number of stores around me and pick up as many PS3 controllers as I want. By way of contrast, it's impossible to find Wii-motes, much less nunchuks and classics. That gets a big "WTF" stamp from me.
 
First off JD, I don't see your signature. Check your options. Secondly, where has Nintendo backpedalled with their shipment numbers? They said they expected 4 million minimum worldwide and it's going to be at or pretty close to 4 million.

As for non-gamers wanting the Wii, I've got to disagree with you there. I think a lot of gamers on the periphery want the Wii. People who lost interest after the Genesis and Super Nintendo. People who played a bit of Halo 2 at a friends house or who's brother was a major gamer. The Wii isn't pulling in non-gamers yet, but it is pulling in people who wouldn't call themselves gamers despite having played games at one point or another. I'm just shocked at how large that market is, then again with the DS and DS Lite selling around a million units in November I guess I shouldn't be shocked. Mario, Link, Nintendogs, Brain Age, and Wii Sports are driving a lot of people back to gaming it seems.

Edit: The controller situation is unacceptable. The one thing I can see some people saying though is "I'm glad I waited for an extra controller" when they're buying Wii Play in January.
 
Are controller still in horribly short supply? While not readily available, I happened to see a half dozen remotes and one nunchuk sitting on the hang tags at a Target last week. Would have grabbed one if I had any real use for more than two at this point.
 
[quote name='furyk']Edit: The controller situation is unacceptable. The one thing I can see some people saying though is "I'm glad I waited for an extra controller" when they're buying Wii Play in January.[/QUOTE]

I was stoked on Wii Play for the extra controller, but I don't need it any more and the game looks kind of ho-hum. I'd rather throw my money at Wario Ware.

Gonna make one last stab at nunchuks tomorrow morning. If I can't get 'em, I'll be more than a little pissed.

[quote name='botticus']Are controller still in horribly short supply?[/QUOTE]

Yup. My town has a population of about 700,000. Can't find a single Wii-mote, nunchuk, or classic *anywhere*. As soon as they come in, they're snapped up within an hour or two. Week day deliveries have clobbered me. By the time I get out of work at night, there's not a chance in hell.
 
Well, it's in my first post in this thread, but just to be safe...

"'Cause they just have 'em sittin' around. They're just waitin'. They're just holdin' 'em to drive up demand, short-change supply."--Luke Smith, on Nintendo replacing Wii, being spot-on.

And they have subtly backpedalled. I was listening to the latest "The Hot Spot" Gamespot podcast yesterday, and I heard them discussing a bet-hedging quote that I know I've read in recent days about year-end numbers (it's early in the show). The Regginator himself did that 'eleventh hour' tapdance about how "you may want to preorder", or whatever he said, which contextually implied a shift from their message of plentiful Wii up to that point. I'm not crazy here. I'm not the only person who extracted that they weren't going to ship as many as they had strongly implied before.

The Wii has been more 'available' than the PS3, and the numbers are clearly greater, I'll give them that. But I don't think they're putting as many out there as they actually have right now, and what's happening is they've created exactly what they wanted, which is a world where the Wii is still incredibly difficult to get, but not...quite...impossible, which keeps Hope alive, which in turn ratchets up demand for it much higher than if people perceived pursuing it as an exercise in futility. So, it's simultaneously easier to find than the PS3 and harder to find. That doesn't make sense, except that it does.
 
[quote name='Scobie']I was stoked on Wii Play for the extra controller, but I don't need it any more and the game looks kind of ho-hum. I'd rather throw my money at Wario Ware.

Gonna make one last stab at nunchuks tomorrow morning. If I can't get 'em, I'll be more than a little pissed.



Yup. My town has a population of about 700,000. Can't find a single Wii-mote, nunchuk, or classic *anywhere*. As soon as they come in, they're snapped up within an hour or two. Week day deliveries have clobbered me. By the time I get out of work at night, there's not a chance in hell.[/QUOTE]

I saw a semi-open shipping box of about 15 nunchucks at a local Circuit City that was just lying around
 
maybe i just got lucky, but one out of the three gamestops in my local mall had a stack of wiimotes and nunchucks. if you have large mall with multiple eb/gamestops, check them all.
 
[quote name='furyk']
As for non-gamers wanting the Wii, I've got to disagree with you there. I think a lot of gamers on the periphery want the Wii. People who lost interest after the Genesis and Super Nintendo. People who played a bit of Halo 2 at a friends house or who's brother was a major gamer. The Wii isn't pulling in non-gamers yet, but it is pulling in people who wouldn't call themselves gamers despite having played games at one point or another. I'm just shocked at how large that market is, then again with the DS and DS Lite selling around a million units in November I guess I shouldn't be shocked. Mario, Link, Nintendogs, Brain Age, and Wii Sports are driving a lot of people back to gaming it seems.
[/quote]

Here's my personal take. I have a Ps2 and the damned thing has done nothing but collected dust. It's not that I dislike Sony. But as I get older I find it harder and harder to keep up with the product. The only game(s) I ever found midly fun were the GTA series out of the 20 some ought games I've collected over the last 5 years. My girlfriend and I are in our early 30s/late 20s and the appeal of a game system that you can just pick up and play and not have to read the instruction book while you're on the shitter for an hour is overwhelming. We had to have one. My dad has collectively played Wii Sports for at least 6 hours now. He's 67. The potential for this system to appeal to older gamers and even an older generation is MASSIVE. I could give a crap less about Ps3 at this point. Again, I'm not knocking Sony. I'm at a point in my life where I don't have time to learn fandangled new games with a thousand buttons or the money to invest if I chose to take on the challenge. This is where the Wii shines, at least in my house.

I've noticed in my short time here on this board, people speculate alot. Not that it's without warrant - there's a generation of gamers now that don't even remember what a TurboGrafx is, let alone a single console that only played Pong. Everyone is subject to the reality that they are surrounded with. It may seem obsurd that a new system can magically break barriers. But look at my dad. He hasn't had fun playing a console since the aforementioned Pong days. HE LOVES MY WII. And to some extent, I'm on the same boat. I've long sinced lost interest in new systems, fancy graphics, huge levels, etc. Where the Wii may surprise people is that it has the ability to cross generations and deliver 'fun'.

Hope I didn't rant too much. But I felt like sharing... And I'm stuck at work with alot of thumb twiddling.
 
Well, once again, the big question is...for as easily 'accessible' the Wii is for so many people outside the button-mashing idiot savants of the world, will it become that easily dismissible? In other words, will your 67-year-old father still feel the need to play it six months later? I don't know, but it's going to take a lot more that Wii Sports/Play/Lawn Darts to do it.

I'm just not sold on the system's charm enduring with a good portion of the gaming (re)indoctrinated here. I just keep having this vision that some day in March, when people catch the first legitimate whiff of Spring, they're going to look at the Wii and collectively wonder "Now why did I want one of these so badly?" It's a temporary cultural phenomenon as much as it is a great, innovative system earning attention based on merit, and if anyone reading this can't deal with that, then it'd probably be better if you just didn't respond to this.
 
What you say is only true if no further games have the same draw as Wii Sports, which would be incredibly pathetic. But that's a challenge inherent to all game consoles, no matter who the audience.
 
Kind of disagree. The central challenge to game consoles in past generations has been to win as much of the currently-existing gaming population as possible, whereas with the Wii, it's all about venturing outside of that subset of the general population. How do you keep these people interested? Are they really going to get comfortable enough with it to undertake incrementally more complicated or, as Reggie put it, "meaty" games down the road?* How many 'zero learning curve' experiences can the Wii give them? Will they even care after the second or third one? Are board and card games on TV the future of gaming for so many? (Gulp.)

*--Not a chance. Not even with the next Animal Crossing.
 
[quote name='jollydwarf'] How many 'zero learning curve' experiences can the Wii give them? Will they even care after the second or third one? Are board and card games on TV the future of gaming for so many? (Gulp.)[/quote]So what if it is? I foresee the Wii having many games much akin to the Touch Generations line of the DS. Simple, easy to understand games. Look at Clubhouse games. There's not a thing fancy going on there, but once people grasp the touch screen idea, it's all very familiar. And if you can get it linked up that Aunt Martha in Boston and Aunt Mabel in Phoenix can play card games with each other over the internet, why not?

Will they play Zelda? I doubt it. But I don't think Nintendo cares that the grandparents who own a DS aren't playing Prime Hunters either. Nintendo's not zeroing in on one group of people, but trying to broaden things out, and will have software to cater to everyone.

In the end, even if people only buy the System and Wii Sports, it's still money made. The beauty of not subsidizing your hardware.
 
[quote name='daroga']So what if it is? I foresee the Wii having many games much akin to the Touch Generations line of the DS. Simple, easy to understand games. Look at Clubhouse games. There's not a thing fancy going on there, but once people grasp the touch screen idea, it's all very familiar. And if you can get it linked up that Aunt Martha in Boston and Aunt Mabel in Phoenix can play card games with each other over the internet, why not?

Will they play Zelda? I doubt it. But I don't think Nintendo cares that the grandparents who own a DS aren't playing Prime Hunters either. Nintendo's not zeroing in on one group of people, but trying to broaden things out, and will have software to cater to everyone.

In the end, even if people only buy the System and Wii Sports, it's still money made. The beauty of not subsidizing your hardware.[/quote]

Well said daroga, I think you're right on the money about this.
 
That story is really surprising, more like something you'd hear from the PS3 launch. I had a similar experience at the PS3 launch, but the Wii launch was a lot of fun.
 
[quote name='Scobie']The PS3 and Wii launches sucked, and so did the 360 launch last year. Companies need to really re-think how they're doing this crap because it's sickening to see violence and disappointment.

All three companies knew demand was going to be massive and should've done a heck of a lot more to ensure adequate supply, and the fact that nunchuks are going for $60-ish on auction sites a full month after the launch is absolutely unacceptable.[/QUOTE]

While I'd agree that the 360 launch was a bust (in the sense that they remained out of stock for months after launch day, and there was hardly a secondary market for reselling the consoles two weeks after launch), I don't know that Nintendo could have done more, or should do more.

That's a mighty big sense of entitlement you're carrying on your shoulders there, I'm afraid. Nintendo's in a funny spot because they have surpassed the launch numbers of the 360 and PS3 several times over, and yet a month after launch, there are still people fighting to get one.

I'm trying to find one for a prof in our department (for his kids), and he told me a story the other week, where a colleague of his (also Wii-hunting) went to a Wal-Mart in smalltown, USA (where the men are all good-looking and the children are all above average): the Wal-Mart faced a riotous crowd clamoring for Wiis, so they sold them the night before a publicized shipment was supposed to be released.

This is mass-market phenomena; you can't BUY this kind of publicity. Even that new Elmo is jealous.

I haven't seen a single Wii in stores; after the 360 launch, I didn't see one in store until late-February/early March. Yet, I've been in three game stores over the past three weeks with PS3 consoles available. Now, I'm just one person (but data is just the plural of anecdote!), so I can't say that this is the case with PS3 systems in other places...but the Wii is seriously kicking some fucking ass this holiday season.

Could Nintendo have done more? Well, I remember the Zelda II "chip shortage" fiasco; I was 9 years old then, but I still knew it was bullshit. Could they do the same thing today? Sure, though the stakes were different then: Sega wasn't a competitor (though they soon would be). I've said time and time again that this holiday doesn't matter for any of the consoles, that 07, 08 and 09 will show us the true victor; nevertheless, Nintendo certainly doesn't want to give Sony any appreciable lead, or to allow MS the opportunity to extend theirs. I'm not convinced they intentionally shorted anything.

Except for some of the tripe coming out on the Virtual Console. I almost expect a goddamn "Skuldagger" or some shit to come out next week. ;)
 
I agree with ya myke, I really don't believe they're short changing anything. Their "Playing is believing" marketing means that sales = hype, because the more people get thier hands on a system, the more people will want it (in Nintendo's ideal world). It's in their best interest to get this thing out to as many people as possible, since its obvious that tech specs or movie players aren't selling this thing.

The way some retailers are managing this whole ordeal is downright criminal in my book, though. You have people forming a line to buy a Wii or a PS3? Have the decency to count the number of systems you have and the number of people there, and turn people away. Once the number's been reached, give them vouchers and let them go home. For heaven's sake, these people are waiting to GIVE you money. Treat them with some humanity. They're not stray animals.

Waiting outside in December may not be a huge deal in Phoenix or Miami, but in northern Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota (all places I have friends who have or would get a Wii)? Come on.

I don't like the holding till Sunday tactic either, but then again, randomily putting them out when the truck comes in doesn't seem fair either. I guess my solution would be to hold them, and when enough people show up the night before, pass out the vouchers and send them on their way. Video games aren't worth dying for. The craziness of consumers + the seeming stupidity, cruelty, or general cluelessness of retailers has really angered me since the 17th of November.
 
I gotta go with myke on this one, dirty as that makes me feel.

It takes a looooong time to manufacture millions of units. And this is in the wake of everyone saying things like "Oh yea, you'll have no problem getting one before Xmicus."

Also have to agree with Darogamans - my 19 hour wait outside Target could have been cut drastically short if the manager had been smart/nice enough to realize selling the system a few hours before the official launch date wouldn't have killed anyone, and that we had reached the quota at roughly 8 PM the night before. What would have been so terrible about a midnight launch? Or geez, a Target-is-closing launch?

I just had a friend call me. He's looking for one for his gf's mom, and heard Target is getting some for tomorrow, and he's on his way out there now. I feel kinda bad for him. If he were in town, I'd drop by and keep him company. Not only is it cold where he is, but he's sick and has no one really to go visit him.
 
[quote name='Scobie'] and the fact that nunchuks are going for $60-ish on auction sites a full month after the launch is absolutely unacceptable.[/QUOTE]


No, the nunchucks are only going for about 25-35 right now, the wiimote+nunchuck those are going for 60+ .
 
that's fucked man....i'd be killing someone if they tried to steal my wii the night i got mine. killing...kill...
 
i have to say it was much more tame here in canada (at least in vancouver), people joking around, playing their ds's and just mingling rather than anxiously waiting for the HOT holiday console, I personally wasn't going to buy one until later, but I came home one day and my bro had bought one, safe to say i was ecstatic :D
 
Thats just sad, how you have to be scared straight to get to your car with one of these. What all stores should do that are not taking preorders is about 2-3 days before hand, have instore raffle tickets, where if someone wants a system, they will have to fill out their info on a ticket. The day before they should call the winners. It would decrease e-bay alot and well give people who deserve one a console. I hope tomorrow goes good.

Another thing why the hell is there no fucking points cards around, I went to an EB games, Gamestop and a Wal Mart and they only had 1 fucking points card which I grabbed (1 in EB games thats it). It is a damn piece of paper, I can see no controllers but jeez no points cards... damit. I need more points :cry:
 
[quote name='Sir_Fragalot']Thats just sad, how you have to be scared straight to get to your car with one of these. What all stores should do that are not taking preorders is about 2-3 days before hand, have instore raffle tickets, where if someone wants a system, they will have to fill out their info on a ticket. The day before they should call the winners. It would decrease e-bay alot and well give people who deserve one a console. I hope tomorrow goes good.

Another thing why the hell is there no fucking points cards around, I went to an EB games, Gamestop and a Wal Mart and they only had 1 fucking points card which I grabbed (1 in EB games thats it). It is a damn piece of paper, I can see no controllers but jeez no points cards... damit. I need more points :cry:[/quote]

just get them online
 
You can just log on to the Shop Channel and buy some points, you don't need a freaking card, do you?


People are just freaking crazy. With most people I know, having the newest, trendy "thing" for their child is like a competition. They compete to see who can "love" their child more by showering them with the latest, must have gift for christmas. The "I care more about my kid than you care about yours," attitude is really sickening in the upper-middle-class suburbia of america. God forbid they should spend a little time with their child instead of supplanting affection with the latest popular toy or electronic gadget. I never got that shiny new Batcave playset when I was a kid, but I lived and never thought my parents didn't love me enough. But, you see, it's not really about the kids, it's about the parents and their egoes.

When I was a teen it was cabbage patch kids. I witnessed the most abhorrent behavior by adults that I've ever seen. Pushing, pulling, shoving, swearing and actually stomping on other people to get at a freaking uglyfaced doll in a cardboard box, just so little Ashley had the best present on christmas day. Don't get me wrong, I love the consumerism that centers around christmas, I just don't like the artificial urgency imprinted in peoples' minds that if they don't get it by christmas, the world's going to end. It really brings out the ugliness in people at the most wonderful time of the year.

Relax, people, jesus doesn't give a fuck about your gifts - he's dead.
 
[quote name='bmulligan']You can just log on to the Shop Channel and buy some points, you don't need a freaking card, do you?


People are just freaking crazy. With most people I know, having the newest, trendy "thing" for their child is like a competition. They compete to see who can "love" their child more by showering them with the latest, must have gift for christmas. The "I care more about my kid than you care about yours," attitude is really sickening in the upper-middle-class suburbia of america. God forbid they should spend a little time with their child instead of supplanting affection with the latest popular toy or electronic gadget. I never got that shiny new Batcave playset when I was a kid, but I lived and never thought my parents didn't love me enough. But, you see, it's not really about the kids, it's about the parents and their egoes.

When I was a teen it was cabbage patch kids. I witnessed the most abhorrent behavior by adults that I've ever seen. Pushing, pulling, shoving, swearing and actually stomping on other people to get at a freaking uglyfaced doll in a cardboard box, just so little Ashley had the best present on christmas day. Don't get me wrong, I love the consumerism that centers around christmas, I just don't like the artificial urgency imprinted in peoples' minds that if they don't get it by christmas, the world's going to end. It really brings out the ugliness in people at the most wonderful time of the year.

Relax, people, jesus doesn't give a fuck about your gifts - he's dead.[/QUOTE]

Well said. :applause:
 
[quote name='daroga']The way some retailers are managing this whole ordeal is downright criminal in my book, though. You have people forming a line to buy a Wii or a PS3? Have the decency to count the number of systems you have and the number of people there, and turn people away. Once the number's been reached, give them vouchers and let them go home. For heaven's sake, these people are waiting to GIVE you money. Treat them with some humanity. They're not stray animals.[/QUOTE]

Working retail, I can tell you that's exactly what we did at my store. We knew how many systems we had and told people in line.

We still had four people who wanted to wait in line "just in case". (in case of what? Someone's credit card was declined? We're too dumb to count? What?)

Sure enough, when we sold out at person #20, persons 21-24 where the most angry people you've ever seen. "You mean we've waited here all this time for NOTHING?!?".
 
Two years from now I am going to walk into a Best Buy, pick up my Black or Onyx Wii, pick up a game or two (LoZ:TP PC version :) ) , another nunchuck/wiimote, walk to the cashier, pay for my items and leave within 10 minutes. Will I have to worry about mentally retarted people who will kill you just for a video game system? Nope. And yet I will walk out with something a lot cheaper then what people were paying for so much this season.
 
[quote name='ITDEFX']Two years from now I am going to walk into a Best Buy, pick up my Black or Onyx Wii, pick up a game or two (LoZ:TP PC version :) ) , another nunchuck/wiimote, walk to the cashier, pay for my items and leave within 10 minutes. Will I have to worry about mentally retarted people who will kill you just for a video game system? Nope. And yet I will walk out with something a lot cheaper then what people were paying for so much this season.[/QUOTE]

Yea. But I get to play my system 2 years before you do.

That's sort of the trade off, aye?
 
[quote name='Strell']Yea. But I get to play my system 2 years before you do.

That's sort of the trade off, aye?[/QUOTE]


nah..... There isn't a *must* have game on the system. Sure when I first saw Resident Evil Remake and Zero for the cube, I was like damn i gotta buy the cube...but due to lack of funds and a gf who thought it was a waste of money to buy a game system for 200 bucks, I had to wait it out. 2 years later I picked up my cube for 100 and RE: remake for 20 new vs the 250 I would have paid if I bought it at the time of release.

Plus I got a PC, PS2/XBOX/GC with a shit load of games to tie me down til something amazing come out on the wii.
 
[quote name='ITDEFX']nah..... There isn't a *must* have game on the system. Sure when I first saw Resident Evil Remake and Zero for the cube, I was like damn i gotta buy the cube...but due to lack of funds and a gf who thought it was a waste of money to buy a game system for 200 bucks, I had to wait it out. 2 years later I picked up my cube for 100 and RE: remake for 20 new vs the 250 I would have paid if I bought it at the time of release.

Plus I got a PC, PS2/XBOX/GC with a shit load of games to tie me down til something amazing come out on the wii.[/QUOTE]

Well then that's the difference.

I want it now, you can wait a while.

That doesn't make either of us wrong.
 
[quote name='ITDEFX']nah..... There isn't a *must* have game on the system. Sure when I first saw Resident Evil Remake and Zero for the cube, I was like damn i gotta buy the cube...but due to lack of funds and a gf who thought it was a waste of money to buy a game system for 200 bucks, I had to wait it out. 2 years later I picked up my cube for 100 and RE: remake for 20 new vs the 250 I would have paid if I bought it at the time of release.

Plus I got a PC, PS2/XBOX/GC with a shit load of games to tie me down til something amazing come out on the wii.[/quote]Every other system I've been right with you. The Wii was just different enough that I wanted to get one right away, but by-and-large, getting a system at launch is stupid. The software sucks and you have no idea what the legs of the system are going to be.

I took a chance on the Wii this time. We'll see how it pans out. :)
 
[quote name='ITDEFX']nah..... There isn't a *must* have game on the system. Sure when I first saw Resident Evil Remake and Zero for the cube, I was like damn i gotta buy the cube...but due to lack of funds and a gf who thought it was a waste of money to buy a game system for 200 bucks, I had to wait it out. 2 years later I picked up my cube for 100 and RE: remake for 20 new vs the 250 I would have paid if I bought it at the time of release.

Plus I got a PC, PS2/XBOX/GC with a shit load of games to tie me down til something amazing come out on the wii.[/QUOTE]

Zelda and (I can't believe I'm gonna say this) Madden. I've never been that big into football games, I'd buy them every couple years but Madden for Wii is freakin SWEET. The thing about the Wii is, there's no must have games but the system itself is a must have. Its just fun to be able to play games differently, that's what I spent my $250 for.
 
This story is such bullshit and I don't buy it for a second. I bet she only had to wait in line for a couple hours and that was it. Once she got home and realized she had a lame story, she added the 'last in line' and raging dorks parts to make it sound more interesting.

I can't believe this story was published on CNN. Sounds like it was written by a high-school student.
 
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