Dedicated Nintendo fans of all ages gathered in front of Fry’s Electronics on the morning of Nov. 19, eager to grab Nintendo’s newest gaming console, the Wii.
Over 50 people lined up in the dense fog of the parking lot, waiting enthusiastically for opening hour. Several gamers had camped out overnight in front of the building to be first in line on Sunday morning. Avid gamers in beanies and jackets huddled in groups, discussing what they will do with their new gaming system: the Nintendo Wii.
"After this, I’m going to sleep," said one avid Nintendo fan, who had been at Fry’s since 7 p.m. "It will just be a relief to know that I can play it whenever I want."
Lori, a mother, had been waiting to get a Wii for her 13-year-old son as a Christmas present.
"I got here at six this morning and I’m number 18 [in line]" Lori said.
The entrance of Fry’s was sealed off with yellow caution tape, only allowing in Fry’s Electronics employees.
To make the most out of the high demand for the console, Fry’s bundled the 36 consoles in stock with five games, setting the price at $479.95.
"I don’t really mind how they’re bundling the console," said Nick, a lifetime gamer. "It forces more exposure on me, and that should be interesting."
At about 8:50 a.m., 10 minutes before opening hour, the lineup was straightened out and 36 yellow vouchers were handed out. The remaining 27 people waiting in line were signed onto a waiting list.
At 8:58 a.m., with the caution tape ripped apart, and the doors thrown open, the fans poured in through the doors.
Gathering in another line, the lucky 36 clustered into the video game section of Fry’s, where there was one employee per customer to help the procedure run smoothly.
There was shouting and smiling faces, and the fans were finally rewarded for their patience. Triumphantly, people marched out with their new state-of-the-art gaming console tucked underneath their arm.
"I’m not as much excited as I am relieved," said Justin Young.
The Wii is Nintendo’s fifth generation console, and it is the smallest yet. About the size of three DVD cases stacked on top of each other, the Wii sits sideways on a stand, which is slightly tilted to give the console a unique look.
The most atypical aspect of the new system is the controller. Looking like a TV remote, the Bluetooth wireless controller has an accelerometer and a six-axis control, allowing the player to control aspects of the game by physically moving the entire controller. This motion-sensing technology allows for interactive gameplay for sports games, swordplay, and first-person shooters. A built-in speaker allows for in-game sounds to be played through the controller, adding another interesting aspect in the game play.
When playing a game like "Excite Truck", the player holds the controller sideways with two hands, and treats the controller like a steering wheel.
The separate "nunchuk" attachment is an addition to the Wii remote. Meant to be used in conjunction with the Wiimote, the nunchuk has an analog stick and two separate buttons, as well as motion sensitive technology.
A nice feature of the Wii is the backwards compatibility to the Nintendo GameCube. This means that all the games made for the GameCube can be played on the Wii.
Another jump for Nintendo is the network capabilities of the Wii. The Wii can connect wirelessly (wiirelessly?) to the Internet, and can even purchase and download games from the original Nintendo systems like the NES, the SNES, and the N64.
Unlike Sony, which did not manufacture enough Playstation 3s, (released on Nov. 17), Nintendo has an abundant supply of consoles available. They expect to sell four million units by January.