Thursday, January 18, 2007

Wii, Bitches

So we've been trying to get a Wii. I think I wanted one, at this point, mostly because the "collector" in me wants the ultra-rare foil shiny thing safe in my binder. I mean, don't get me wrong—that's certainly not the only reason. It looks like a fun console, I can see us using it to unwind after the B goes to bed, and it's certainly the most money-conscious of the three "big" consoles. But they're hard as bejeezus to find.

We tried the early-morning stuff only to find we were too far back in line, or that the consoles were accidentally put on the shelf the day before. I was recently put onto an online app called "Refresh Thing", which has a page for Wii online retailers. I loaded it yesterday and checked it a couple of times, not really seeing any good leads.

I opened it again today, telling myself that I would not (and with the B, I cannot) obsessively refresh it over and over. I'd just check it occasionally, and if fate's hand reached down and showed me a store that had 'em in stock, I'd contemplate purchasing it.

Now, I'd ruled out several retailers who are forcing the console into $600 bundles with a bunch of games I don't want, but Circuit City (I know CK, you hate them...sorry) was on the short list of retailers because their bundle had only two games in it, and they were Zelda and Madden, which I could see us buying anyway. (Although I would happily switch Madden for Super Monkey Ball.) The first, and I mean FIRST time I loaded the page today, Circuit City was showing them in stock. I clicked through and grabbed my credit card, thinking I'd miss the window for sure.

The order did go through, but I still reasoned that they might have sold too many and would send out "sorry, it went out of stock while you were buying it" emails. I waited, happy that their website said it would ship today if it shipped at all, so at least I wouldn't have to wait too long for the verdict.

Around 5:00, the shipping confirmation popped into my email box, with real live tracking numbers and everything. The console and both games shipped, along with our extra Wiimote (our TV is shivering in anticipation of a Wiimotedisaster). Should be here by Wednesday.

And I don't have to wait in the cold in it in front of a Target before it opens this Sunday, which was the next super-sekrit release day.

Whee! Who wants some Monkey Ball action?

3 comments:

TheGirard said...

definitely need Elebits

Cush1978 said...

I got up to try and preorder one and was successful. Only 12 of the 18 slots were filled when the local Gamestop opened. It was slow here in Virginia Beach.

Some helpful (maybe) hints and opinions:

Watch out for ambient light. The Wiimote has an IR *receiver* that triangulates based on the sensor bar. However, any light you point the Wiimote near can be mistaken for the sensor bar. You'll notice if your pointer jumps around a bunch while navigating the Wii menus. There are sensitivity settings, but I turn off lights between me and the Wii.

Super Monkey Ball is hit/miss. The single player game is about on par with the other Monkey Ball adventures. All it really adds is the ability to jump. There are 50 mini games (which is why I bought the game) and some just plain suck. I recommend Monkey Darts, Monkey Disc Golf (it gets to be a pain, but it's disc golf!) and Racing Birds among my favorites.

Wii Sports is awesome. Tennis and Bowling are top, followed by Boxing. Baseball and Golf are lukewarm.

Enjoy your Wii!

Bishop

Kathy said...

Mike! Shoot us an email (there's a link on the front page of my blog that will work) with your Wii ID so we can friend you!

Nice to hear from you, man!