Wii officially $250 on Nov. 19

vader29 · Post by **vader29** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 5:39 pm

Yeah I don't see any reason to preorder the Wii, I think they will easily be more readily available than the 360 was at launch or the PS3 will be.

I am going to try and hold off picking one up until next year, only game that would have sold me on it right away would have been if the new Mario game was a launch title.

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 10:50 am

Well, it seems if you haven't preordered Wii by now, you're out of luck. EB started taking pre-orders this morning, and I called the two local ones and they both sold out in less than 5 minutes.

This could be like DS Lite launch however, where EB sold out weeks in advance but Target (or similar stores) had plenty available.

grtwhtsk · Post by **grtwhtsk** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 10:57 am

Naples39 wrote: This could be like DS Lite launch however, where EB sold out weeks in advance but Target (or similar stores) had plenty available.

That's what I'm thinking too.

EZSnappin · Post by **EZSnappin** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 11:18 am

I waited this morning at the local Gamestop. They had 36 systems and there were that many in line 30 minutes before they opened. The manager printed out a list of available games & accessories for us to select from so the entries into the computer could be as quick as possible. Pretty smart way to do it.

I did an informal poll of the people that were there at 9am. Out of 24 people, 18 had either bought the 360 or were planning to get a PS3. A guy said, "If that holds true, Nintendo has won the next gen" - maybe that Wii60/PSWii thing has more truth to it than I had thought.

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 11:53 am

That kind of makes me worried. If EB games are getting 30+ systems and they are selling out this fast, the Target option may not be so easy. One reason that worked for DS Lite is because those quantities were very limited to EB. Guess we'll see. Either way, Nintendo has gotta love this early response.

grtwhtsk · Post by **grtwhtsk** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 11:58 am

If Nintendo delivers what they're saying, then getting one won't be impossible . It just might not happen on launch day for those who want one.

Inuyasha · Post by **Inuyasha** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 12:22 pm

What are the games coming out for it? I am late to the wii party but think I may be leaning towards this rather than a 360 or PS3.

bdunn13 · Post by **bdunn13** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 12:31 pm

I sent my fiance to preorder me one right after 10 this morning when I heard of the lines.

Anyways, when she got there, there was not anyone else there(they could have been gone already). But I got mine along with a copy of zelda.

w00t

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 12:39 pm

If Wii does boost its market share or even win, that would say a lot about the power of the web versus traditional media.

Then again, it could be argued the PS1 and PS2 benefited from web word of mouth too. I remember people in Japan posting how Ridge Racer looked like a movie and Battle Arena Toshiden being so great.

There weren't lines for PS1 launch but there were a fair number of preorders. There wasn't much advertising for a brand new company to the console market before the launch either.

Sport73 · Post by **Sport73** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 5:09 pm

I pre-ordered this morning, surprisingly, since I haven't been a fan of Nintendo for some time. My ownership of the N64 was short-lived, and the initial Wii announcement had me laughing that this would be Nintendo's downfall.

The more I've seen, however, the more I'm convinced Nintendo's got a gem on their hands with this one. Innovative and FUN control, open pick-up-and-play style to invite non-gamers (maybe even my wife) to play, a massive back-catalog of Nintendo classics (and others) in the Virtual Console, and more...

I'm a graphics whore, but the Wii has me eager to try it out...

Sport73 · Post by **Sport73** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 5:09 pm

Double post.

Move along...Nothing to see here...

grtwhtsk · Post by **grtwhtsk** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 4:43 pm

I'm bummed that I didn't reserve one at my local Gamestop. Out here in Bismarck, ND, finding one at launch will probably be impossible. If anyone out there is getting one at launch and is interested in selling, please let me know. Thanks guys.

bdunn13 · Post by **bdunn13** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 4:51 pm

2 gig memory card for the Wii with no rebate, 37 bucks.. if you want to do the rebate its 28... not bad.

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?l ... =202743332

I ordered mine earlier.

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 5:03 pm

Word around town is that the Wii will probably not be very hard to find shortly after launch if Nintendo's #'s are accurate.

I pre-ordered one and am very excited for it, however. I am a bit bummed at the launch games. I thought that Mario Galaxy was a launch title for sure. Nope. In fact, there really is not one launch game that I am looking that forward to. Rayman will be fun and the new Super monkey Ball could be cool with the Wii-Mote, but other than that I think I am most excited for the packed in Wii Sports.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 5:15 pm

I'd bet Target and WalMart will have quite a few Wiis between the launch and Christmas. With their strategy, it makes more sense to send more product into the mass merchant channels rather than the specialty stores.

I had originally planned on getting one at launch, but I also didn't plan on having a 360 at this point. Still tempting, but there probably isn't an individual title to push me over the edge. But my DS experience has been so positive that I find myself drawn to the console's quirkiness.

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 5:44 pm

I think Toys R' Us is taking preorders on the 29th as well if people are looking to lock up a unit.

grtwhtsk · Post by **grtwhtsk** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 5:50 pm

Naples39 wrote:I think Toys R' Us is taking preorders on the 29th as well if people are looking to lock up a unit.

Online or in stores only?

LAking · Post by **LAking** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 6:04 pm

bdunn13 wrote:2 gig memory card for the Wii with no rebate, 37 bucks.. if you want to do the rebate its 28... not bad.

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?l ... =202743332

I ordered mine earlier.

That's one thing i love about the Wii, you can pick up any sd card and it will work with the system. You can easily bargain hunt for a killer deal. $27 for a 2 gig card and MS charges $40 for a paltry 64mb.

Although i was very excited about the system a few months back my interest has died down a bit since the price was revealed. I'll wait to see what kind of reaction the system gets from the rest of the gaming community before i pick one up.

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 6:08 pm

grtwhtsk wrote:
Naples39 wrote:I think Toys R' Us is taking preorders on the 29th as well if people are looking to lock up a unit.
Online or in stores only?

Not clear as far as I know.

http://www.siliconera.com/index.php/200 ... two-weeks/

Sport73 · Post by **Sport73** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 7:16 pm

What's everyone's gut telling them about the Wii?

I've read mostly glowing reviews, but have some concerns surrounding the 'gimmick' that the control scheme may become, it's overall sensitivity/accuracy (or lack thereof), and the room/space/lighting requirements for a worthwhile and accurate gaming experience.

My 50" HDTV has precious little room in front of it before you get to a LONG coffee table. I'm hoping that you can stand slightly to the side or further back (10 ft) and still have a good experience, otherwise my room may limit the Wii's appeal.

I'm anxious to try it myself, and to hear reports from others here.

Do you think the Wii will provide accurate/fun sports games? Will Wii Sports be but a preview for MVP Baseball, Tiger Woods Golf, Virtua Tennis 3 etc. in that we'll be 'living' the game with awesome control? Or will this be just a gimmick that will quickly lose its charm?

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 7:20 pm

I'm thinking that the new controlle will be just a gimmick for most sports games. Where it will really shine is games like Super Monkey Ball where the motion is key to the game itself. Unless Nintendo can come up with more games that benefit from it, it's just gonna be a gimmick.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 7:37 pm

I have my doubts about complex sports games, not so much because of the motion sensitivity of the Wiimote but because of the lack of buttons on it. I can't imagine the button combos of Winning Eleven on a Wii, for example.

Tennis, golf, bowling and baseball -- games with natural swinging motions -- should be killer.

I think DB's assessment is spot-on for other games. I also think first-person shooters could be superb on the Wii. Combine a precise, accurate Wiimote with the nunchuk, and I think you could have something very immersive and cool. The Red Steel videos give a glimpse at how much fun FPS games can be on the Wii.

Take care,
PK

EZSnappin · Post by **EZSnappin** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 7:50 pm

I think Winning Eleven could be pretty decent on the Wii - the motion sensitivity of both remote & nunchuk should make it more organic. There is no reason you can't combine buttons and motions as well; I believe the Marvel Universe game is doing just that. The 'chuk has two buttons, and it would make sense to assign the xbox black/white button functions to them.

The one game I see as pretty hard to translate would be hoops. Madden is looking pretty decent, and hockey and baseball are no brainers. I love that they included a "fake" button for multiplayer in Madden - hold the B button and make the hike motion to draw your friends offsides.

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 8:03 pm

I am very confident that the Wii will meet my expectations, but maybe my expectations aren't as high as those of others. I have much, much more confidence in the Japanese developers utilizing the new control scheme in intuitive and effective ways, far more than the western devs. For example, I would point to the introduction of the Madden passing cone, at which time I thought that if there were a way to intuitively and naturally point the cone on the screen without the clumsiness and inaccuracy of the R-stick, then the cone would immediatley become a perfectly intuitive and effective new element to the game, one that reflected very well an element of the real sport that is sorely missing from the video games. This was, of course, well before the Wii became annoucned, and so now the passing cone has been all but burried, and Wii Madden uses the controller for the basic moves like throwing and juking. Hmm.

I hope that we in the States get a chance to try some of the Japanese baseball games, which I think will shine brightly with integration of the Wii control scheme. But I'm not holding my breath that any US developers will embrace the new scheme in any kind of courageous ways.

The Ubi game PK mentioned does look to be the cream of the crop, and I have no doubt that there will be plenty of games that really work great with the Wii. I'm actually thinking of going with the Wii version of CoD3 due to the control scheme (although a lot of that has to do with my general dislike of CoD2's online game, which lessens the draw of the 360 version for me).

Let's just say, I'm not getting the Wii for sports (though I would think if we get more Japanese sports games, the happier I will be), but have nothing but confidence that the system will work well for me, as a fine complement to the 360.

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 8:05 pm

EZSnappin wrote: The one game I see as pretty hard to translate would be hoops.

I actually think hoops would have the greatest improvement from the Wii control scheme of any sports game, since shooting is so critical to basketball. Now with the Wii, you could actually have control over the accuracy of the shot, rather than just the timing, something that to me (someone who just has never 'felt' a hoops video game) could make all the difference.