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Official Worldwide Nintendo Wii Launch Thread

For those of you living in Los Angeles, it sounds like Nintendo will be holding a launch party at Universal CityWalk (like they did with the DS). My local GameStop told me about it, so I swung over to the EB Games flagship store at CityWalk to find out what the story is. And to my surprise, I was still able to preorder a Wii (plus Zelda, Excite Truck, and Rayman). They told me that Nintendo is sending that specific store a ton of Wii consoles... I'm guessing it's for the launch party, but the employee didn't say.
 
Nintendo of America Rep @ GameCrazy the other day was adamant that included with the Wii will be a voucher for ~$20 worth of Wii Points. I'd typically dismiss this statement due to the credibility of the source, except the Rep appeared competent and well informed otherwise.

Hypothetically, throwing in some Wii Points with the console would:
1) Entice users to connect their console to the Internet and create Wii Store accounts
2) Acclimate users toward purchasing games and content online through the Wii
3) Be yet another on-shelf selling point for parents purchasing a console this holiday season
4) Fuel the nostalgic attraction among older-generation players with 2-4 free Nintendo classics

Rationale for why this information could be inaccurate, and no Wii Points will be included with the system:
A) Archetypal Nintendo decision-making: do not blatantly forfeit profit
B) Specifically, Wii will sell out this year regardless of Wii Points inclusion
C) Only three weeks to go; why save this as a last minute announcement?
 
FreakyFink said:
Nintendo of America Rep @ GameCrazy the other day was adamant that included with the Wii will be a voucher for ~$20 worth of Wii Points. I'd typically dismiss this statement due to the credibility of the source, except the Rep appeared competent and well informed otherwise.

Hypothetically, throwing in some Wii Points with the console would:
1) Entice users to connect their console to the Internet and create Wii Store accounts
2) Acclimate users toward purchasing games and content online through the Wii
3) Be yet another on-shelf selling point for parents purchasing a console this holiday season
4) Fuel the nostalgic attraction among older-generation players with 2-4 free Nintendo classics

Rationale for why this information could be inaccurate, and no Wii Points will be included with the system:
A) Archetypal Nintendo decision-making: do not blatantly forfeit profit
B) Specifically, Wii will sell out this year regardless of Wii Points inclusion
C) Only three weeks to go; why save this as a last minute announcement?
Click to expand...

Hmm... this possibly could be true.

It appears Nintendo expects the 'Wii' to be showed off to various friends and family during the holidays. One of the reasons why Wii Sports is included is to get other people playing. ("Wii Sports Included" is a sticker on the box which means once the software has served its purpose as a bundle, it will be taken out).

But why on earth is Opera Browser free for the first six months? Wouldn't those who buy it at launch be the most willing to buy the browser? What if the Opera Browser is free at first so people can show it off to potential buyers?

Free Wii game and Browser. But the Virtual Console is very important so how will that be 'displayed' for new users? 20 free 'Wii points' offered the first six months could be the carrot for new users to show off the Virtual Console to friends and family.
 
Captain N said:
so what games are you all going to be buying?

Edit - on day one.
Click to expand...

Zelda, Excite Truck, MSA, TC:SO, SMB:BB, and of course, Michael Ancel's latest masterpiece.

Y'know, all the good ones.
 
Captain N said:
so what games are you all going to be buying?

Edit - on day one.
Click to expand...
By default? Wii Sports.
By choice? Zelda.

Everything else I want won't be available day one. I might get Excite Truck but probably not right away.
 
DefectiveReject said:
Have these been posted yet?
matt-blog-20061026074530382-000.jpg
Click to expand...

Nice. Wavebird compatibility re-confirmed (if there was any question left)

matt-blog-20061026074601491-000.jpg


The Sensor Bar stand comes with the system? Very cool if true
 
Quick update to any Australians who pre-ordered a Wii through Toys R Us to get the unspecified free game. The free game is Open Season. :(

BAIL OUT.
 
AniHawk said:
Yep. And remember, just five days after launch is Black Friday. So that's probably why.
Click to expand...


I understand that, just looking for reassurance that Ill be able to pick up a unit at launch without a preorder. :-(

With a million units that shouldnt be a probelm.
 
Slurpy said:
Holy shit that Zelda case is GIGANTIC.
Click to expand...

looks like an average DVD case to my eyes... you may be a bit thrown off by the misleading scale Wii's box, which I'm assuming is actually pretty small, considering the Wii itself measures "5 CD jewel cases, stacked" or something like that.
 
Scalemail Ted said:
I understand that, just looking for reassurance that Ill be able to pick up a unit at launch without a preorder. :-(

With a million units that shouldnt be a probelm.
Click to expand...

I was told our store would be getting a few extras on top of the preorders we had sold out of.

A LOT of people are expecting a sellout- if only because they're used to the 360/PS2 type launch craziness. Launching so close to the PS3 has given the Wii a lot of extra good press in that aspect.
 
xaosslug said:
looks like an average DVD case to my eyes... you may be a bit thrown off by the misleading scale Wii's box, which I'm assuming is actually pretty small, considering the Wii itself measures "5 CD jewel cases, stacked" or something like that.
Click to expand...
The Wii box is quite small. Roughly 2 PSP boxes stacked on top of each other.
 
hmmmmm... If i have the willpower and fortitude, I may decide to go stand in line at TRU to preorder Sunday morn, that prospect does sound postively horrifying though. :-/
 
consoul said:
Quick update to any Australians who pre-ordered a Wii through Toys R Us to get the unspecified free game. The free game is Open Season. :(

BAIL OUT.
Click to expand...

Ugh that's crap.

Did you also see their ~$800 family "Deal" ?

Console
Extra remote (no mention of nunchuck)
5 Games (zelda, Carbon, Open Season, Raving Rabids and Wii Sports!) They include Wii sports pack in as one of their 5 free games WTF!!!!!
A bag (yay)
$400 worth of vouchers, no doubt for absolute shit you wouldn't even give to a hated relative at christmas.

Oh and of course I will need a component lead + $50

Hmm, so I could get last gen hardware with one decent game and 3 shitty ports with some worthless vouchers or a premium 360 with either Kameo, PGR or PDZ with a second wireless controller for about $100 less.

Once again Nintendo Australia is up to their usual tricks *sigh* and THIS after delaying Excite truck till march 2007.

F*CK you Nintendo was so excited for this launch now it's all turned sour.

Wii am failed in Australia.
 
Quick update to any Australians who pre-ordered a Wii through Toys R Us to get the unspecified free game. The free game is Open Season. :(

BAIL OUT.
Click to expand...
WHAT THE **** IS THIS FOR REAL?

AMGAYUTOTALANNIHILATION!!!!!!! DIE TRU!!!!!!!!!!!

:(
 
Surfheart said:
Ugh that's crap.

Did you also see their ~$800 family "Deal" ?

Console
Extra remote (no mention of nunchuck)
5 Games (zelda, Carbon, Open Season, Raving Rabids and Wii Sports!) They include Wii sports pack in as one of their 5 free games WTF!!!!!
A bag (yay)
$400 worth of vouchers, no doubt for absolute shit you wouldn't even give to a hated relative at christmas.

Oh and of course I will need a component lead + $50

Hmm, so I could get last gen hardware with one decent game and 3 shitty ports with some worthless vouchers or a premium 360 with either Kameo, PGR or PDZ with a second wireless controller for about $100 less.

Once again Nintendo Australia is up to their usual tricks *sigh* and THIS after delaying Excite truck till march 2007.

F*CK you Nintendo was so excited for this launch now it's all turned sour.

Wii am failed in Australia.
Click to expand...
Is this a bundle from TRU in Austrailia? If so how is a shitty bundle offered by a retailer Nintendo's fault?

And if it isn't a forced bundle then what's the problem?
 
Jive Turkey said:
Is this a bundle from TRU in Austrailia? If so how is a shitty bundle offered by a retailer Nintendo's fault?

And if it isn't a forced bundle then what's the problem?
Click to expand...

Technically that's true, sorry I didn't mean for my post to come off as a Wii/Nintendo troll.
I'm still quite bitter about the excite truck delay it would seem.

Let's just say that an Import Wii is looking better and better and that for Nintendo Australia it seems to be business as usual.
 
jarosh said:
posted?

new wii trailer with more retarded people (although not quite as retarded as the red steel ones) and lots of different games.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Nxi7ib-Wew
Click to expand...

At least it was all pretty indicative of actual gameplay (No behind the couch dodging).

Other than that, I expect the actual commercials to be far more interesting. It just wasn't really that well put together. The Wii experience vids, for example, give a far better indication of what its actually like to play this thing.
 
i didn't realise nintendo is already expecting wii shortages. it came from their finanicals announcement, has it been posted?
http://gamesnews.virgin.net/Virgin/...sDetail/0,13470,1636567_playbetandwin,00.html
http://www.n-sider.com/newsview.php?type=story&storyid=2495
Nintendo expects Wii shortages

Despite having the largest allocation of units available at launch, Nintendo still expects DS-like shortages when the Wii finally makes it hugely anticipated entrance later in the year.

Speaking during the release of their first half financial reports, Nintendo's Yoshihiro Mori confirmed that the Japanese publisher and hardware manufacturer is on course to ship 6 million units before March 31st 2007, but suggested this may not be enough to supply the likely demand for Nintendo's leap.

Whether Nintendo will be able to increase production to meet such demand has yet to be confirmed, though the decision to maintain the allocation at 6 million suggests that Wii shortages could be a problem going into the New Year.
Click to expand...
 
ziran said:
i didn't realise nintendo is already expecting wii shortages. it came from their finanicals announcement, has it been posted?
http://gamesnews.virgin.net/Virgin/...sDetail/0,13470,1636567_playbetandwin,00.html
http://www.n-sider.com/newsview.php?type=story&storyid=2495
Click to expand...

Well, let's face it. At the beginning there should be plenty of units. But as people actually "start" buying Xmas stuff, it's going to become harder and harder to find a system laying around. Black Friday is going to clear up any inventory there for the next week after it launches. Then, the hunt game begins. 125 million Americans or so with disposable income. 6 million Wii systems.
 
Why couldn't they have built the wavebird receiver into the console somehow? Makes the console look ugly with that sticking out.

I'm sad that we'll never get a Wavebird with rumble either :(
 
I'm hoping for a Gamecube games/Virtual Console Controller all in one device, which is wireless without being hooked up to the Wiimote, and has rumble. I'd buy it at a high price.
 
This has been asked a zillion times I'm sure, but I'm totally not browsing through this thing to find the answer.

But yeah, what are the chances of waltzing into a store next Sunday without a pre-order and getting one?

****ing more important expenses making me po' until now :(
 
I have already pre-ordered Zelda, but I'm not going to buy any other games until after I finish it..... a few times. :)

Wii Sports should be a good game to play in between Zelda. If I'm buying another game, it will be Super Monkey Ball or Rayman, depending on reviews.

Since the place that I pre-ordered from isn't going to be open until 10 A.M. I'm probably just going to walk into the place a little after 10:00, and stroll out with my system.

One of my friends didn't pre-order anywhere, so he decided that he was going to camp at a Target that is getting 52 Wiis. I'm going to keep him company there, play DS, watch Family Guy, and do other random crap. This will be the first time I have camped for anything. The DS was fairly easy to find around where I live, I picked it up around 4:00 P.M. the day after it came out. So I didn't have to camp for that. I was going to camp for the Gamecube, except at the time I didn't have enough money, and I opted to get it for Christmas instead.
 
i am currently still finalizing my plans for launch day. Target opens up at 8am so i think i will try there first arriving around 7am. If there is a huge line of campers, i will truck myself over to costco which opens at 10am and wait it out. If for some strange reason my costco has a line, I can try circuit city next door or best buy down the road. *crosses fingers*

depending on where i get the console i will have zelda and monkey ball + maybe excitetruck which many believe is the 2nd costco bundle game.
 
AdmiralViscen said:
For those of you trying to get a Wii at store opening on Sunday: At what time are you getting on line? Midnight? 8pm?
Click to expand...

Does anyone know a list of stores selling them at midnight on Saturday preferably with Twilight Princess?
 
With a little bit of patience, I don't think it'll be too tough to get a Wii at launch. I'm predicting a tough time finding extra remotes, nunchucks, Zeldas, and especially component cables however. Sure, the console is the most important part, but don't forget about the accessories. :)
 
There's a 24 hour Walmart by my place, and I know they're doing a midnight thing. Probably show up around 8 or so to make sure there's not a line, and then come back around 9:30 - 10:00, hang out with my buddies and play my DS. :)
 
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