My God, this took far longer than I expected.
You all probably expected me to go abouts blathering on about my Wii from day one, but things did not exactly go as planned.
See, I ordered two Wiis from my usual place; one for me, and one for my friend. A couple of weeks ago, I strolled in, only to find a UPS guy with a parcel of the same dimensions as a Wii box talking with the manager. I walked up and exclaimed, loudly: "HOLY PENIS, IT'S HERE!!!". I excitedly took a gander at my console and the games I had ordered along with it (including Zelda and ExciteTruck).
Just then, I remembered something. My friend was going to go home to China for Christmas break, and the whole reason I had it ordered for him was so he could get one before December.
So... let's just say I'm too damn nice.
Yeah, I ended up giving it to him, along with one of my auto transformers so he could play it in the appropriate voltage standard. Of course, I managed to demo it for a little while and explained to him the different features of the console before he took it home with him.
As for the other Wii, it got stuck in customs, and still hasn't been cleared.
But I wasn't about to give up on getting a Wii just yet. I recalled that there was going to be a big midnight launch in London on the 7th. Since I be studying here in Newcastle, which is three hours away, I booked a train trip for the 7th as soon as possible.
Whilst enjoying my train ride, I constantly kept track of the launch happenings via my trusty Macbook. That is when I discovered two things: One, there was almost no way I was going to get into either of the two big London launch events, and two, there was a far greater chance of my getting a UK launch Wii regardless.
The people were lining up for the big event a day or two before it even started, and were given wrist bands so they could get into the store and get their Wiis. It didn't look like there were any left. However, I also read that some chains, including Toys R Us and Asda (UK equivalent of Wal-Mart) were selling Wiis on a first come, first serve basis. That was my backup plan in case I couldn't get into the party.
Upon my arrival, accompanied by my trusty assistant Mr. Fathi, we spent the first few hours trying to find a place to stay for the night. I thought I could simply go and come on the same day, but I discovered too late that the last train to Newcastle would leave before the event even started. And to top that off, there was another big event going abouts in the city, so all the hotels, even the cheapest fleabags, were fully-booked. I was stuck in London without a place to stay.
Isn't that nice?
Anyway, we left our bags at the hotel we usually stay at when we visit London and went over to the event. We managed to pick up a couple of launch soveniers: a balloon and a silver, foily cover thing to keep us warm whilst waiting in line (Not that I needed it, myself. My trenchcoat and gloves were sufficient. But I took a liking to it anyway).
Sadly, I could not get in. All the wristbands were indeed given away.
Unfazed, I decided to simply check out the launch events from the outside. The lines were quite massive, indeed, and there was music, camera peoples and mascot guys at one of the two events (the GAME store one). Given my aversion to people in mascot costumes, I didn't stay very long.
After briefly taunting the people at the front of the line, I decided it was time to get a head start on my backup plan. We were to wait outside a Toys R Us until opening hours so as to guarantee ourselves a Wii.
We first went over to the 24 hour Tesco (big supermarket in England. Don't know if it's elsewhere in Britain) to pick up some provisions. And wouldn't you know it, there was a Toys R Us right next to it. However, upon scanning the place, there didn't appear to be any Wii advertisements anywhere. Thus, I was concerned that they may not have been allcoated any units, especially since there wasn't anyone camped out at the time (This was at 3:30 AM).
I went about the next few hours checking the other chains where they were selling them first come, first serve. No lines were in any of these places, even as the time approached 6 AM. I thought to myself: "It can't possibly be this easy to get to a place before anyone, especially given the huge lines at the midnight events".
Regardless, we decided to head back to the first Toys R Us near Tesco, but not before getting breakfast! Did I ever mention I love cumberland sausages?
By the time we got back there, it was nearly 8 AM. And there was still no one lining up. Since we got this far, we decided to wait until opening time (9 AM) and see if anyone turned up. Sure enough, a few minutes after we arrived, people started coming over. I was the first one in line, and I didn't have to camp out or anything. A bit dissapointing, since I expected to have to deal with one of those long line camping scenarios. But I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, so I was relieved.
Anyway, half an hour before the store opened, a couple of young men stepped out with a few clipboards and coupons. They said that there was a special midnight launch event there the previous night which they did not advertise, so as to satisfy their most loyal customers with Wiis. But fortunately, they had THREE units left for the first three people in line. Since I was the first guy in line, I exclaimed: "TAKE ME TO YOUR PENIS MACHINES!!!", much to the amusement of myself and everyone in line who wasn't no.4 and onward.
They let us in before opening, since it was cold and a bit drizzly. They went on to show us what special offers they had for the Wii. We all picked the one which came with Wii Play, any game of our choice and a 1GB SD card. I gleefully picked up my stuff, along with a VC controller for the classics, and took the first train home, cradling an honest-to-goodness launch Wii.
Anyway, after talking to the manager of the aforementioned private games place, he said that I could trade that Wii in for the NTSC U/C one I ordered, should it ever come, even after using it, which would save me well over £100.
So, that's my Wii story. I've got one, and I spent the entire weekend enjoying it. I'll talk about my experiences some other time. Right now, I should prepare for my trip home for Christmas break, whence I shall be back on my home connection. I'll post my Wii Code then.
Salut!
You all probably expected me to go abouts blathering on about my Wii from day one, but things did not exactly go as planned.
See, I ordered two Wiis from my usual place; one for me, and one for my friend. A couple of weeks ago, I strolled in, only to find a UPS guy with a parcel of the same dimensions as a Wii box talking with the manager. I walked up and exclaimed, loudly: "HOLY PENIS, IT'S HERE!!!". I excitedly took a gander at my console and the games I had ordered along with it (including Zelda and ExciteTruck).
Just then, I remembered something. My friend was going to go home to China for Christmas break, and the whole reason I had it ordered for him was so he could get one before December.
So... let's just say I'm too damn nice.
Yeah, I ended up giving it to him, along with one of my auto transformers so he could play it in the appropriate voltage standard. Of course, I managed to demo it for a little while and explained to him the different features of the console before he took it home with him.
As for the other Wii, it got stuck in customs, and still hasn't been cleared.
But I wasn't about to give up on getting a Wii just yet. I recalled that there was going to be a big midnight launch in London on the 7th. Since I be studying here in Newcastle, which is three hours away, I booked a train trip for the 7th as soon as possible.
Whilst enjoying my train ride, I constantly kept track of the launch happenings via my trusty Macbook. That is when I discovered two things: One, there was almost no way I was going to get into either of the two big London launch events, and two, there was a far greater chance of my getting a UK launch Wii regardless.
The people were lining up for the big event a day or two before it even started, and were given wrist bands so they could get into the store and get their Wiis. It didn't look like there were any left. However, I also read that some chains, including Toys R Us and Asda (UK equivalent of Wal-Mart) were selling Wiis on a first come, first serve basis. That was my backup plan in case I couldn't get into the party.
Upon my arrival, accompanied by my trusty assistant Mr. Fathi, we spent the first few hours trying to find a place to stay for the night. I thought I could simply go and come on the same day, but I discovered too late that the last train to Newcastle would leave before the event even started. And to top that off, there was another big event going abouts in the city, so all the hotels, even the cheapest fleabags, were fully-booked. I was stuck in London without a place to stay.
Isn't that nice?
Anyway, we left our bags at the hotel we usually stay at when we visit London and went over to the event. We managed to pick up a couple of launch soveniers: a balloon and a silver, foily cover thing to keep us warm whilst waiting in line (Not that I needed it, myself. My trenchcoat and gloves were sufficient. But I took a liking to it anyway).
Sadly, I could not get in. All the wristbands were indeed given away.
Unfazed, I decided to simply check out the launch events from the outside. The lines were quite massive, indeed, and there was music, camera peoples and mascot guys at one of the two events (the GAME store one). Given my aversion to people in mascot costumes, I didn't stay very long.
After briefly taunting the people at the front of the line, I decided it was time to get a head start on my backup plan. We were to wait outside a Toys R Us until opening hours so as to guarantee ourselves a Wii.
We first went over to the 24 hour Tesco (big supermarket in England. Don't know if it's elsewhere in Britain) to pick up some provisions. And wouldn't you know it, there was a Toys R Us right next to it. However, upon scanning the place, there didn't appear to be any Wii advertisements anywhere. Thus, I was concerned that they may not have been allcoated any units, especially since there wasn't anyone camped out at the time (This was at 3:30 AM).
I went about the next few hours checking the other chains where they were selling them first come, first serve. No lines were in any of these places, even as the time approached 6 AM. I thought to myself: "It can't possibly be this easy to get to a place before anyone, especially given the huge lines at the midnight events".
Regardless, we decided to head back to the first Toys R Us near Tesco, but not before getting breakfast! Did I ever mention I love cumberland sausages?
By the time we got back there, it was nearly 8 AM. And there was still no one lining up. Since we got this far, we decided to wait until opening time (9 AM) and see if anyone turned up. Sure enough, a few minutes after we arrived, people started coming over. I was the first one in line, and I didn't have to camp out or anything. A bit dissapointing, since I expected to have to deal with one of those long line camping scenarios. But I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, so I was relieved.
Anyway, half an hour before the store opened, a couple of young men stepped out with a few clipboards and coupons. They said that there was a special midnight launch event there the previous night which they did not advertise, so as to satisfy their most loyal customers with Wiis. But fortunately, they had THREE units left for the first three people in line. Since I was the first guy in line, I exclaimed: "TAKE ME TO YOUR PENIS MACHINES!!!", much to the amusement of myself and everyone in line who wasn't no.4 and onward.
They let us in before opening, since it was cold and a bit drizzly. They went on to show us what special offers they had for the Wii. We all picked the one which came with Wii Play, any game of our choice and a 1GB SD card. I gleefully picked up my stuff, along with a VC controller for the classics, and took the first train home, cradling an honest-to-goodness launch Wii.
Anyway, after talking to the manager of the aforementioned private games place, he said that I could trade that Wii in for the NTSC U/C one I ordered, should it ever come, even after using it, which would save me well over £100.
So, that's my Wii story. I've got one, and I spent the entire weekend enjoying it. I'll talk about my experiences some other time. Right now, I should prepare for my trip home for Christmas break, whence I shall be back on my home connection. I'll post my Wii Code then.
Salut!
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