We wait for Wii (Bible Belt edition)
by Ross Miller 
{ Oct 13th 2006 at 2:58PM }
Fifteen minutes pass and the crowd nearly doubles to 12 people and two DS phats. No one seems worried about getting a Wii; the general consensus is that every store gets about 14 Wii consoles, with maybe two going to EB Games employees. We all decide to form a line. "Just because it seems right," notes one college student.
A rather boastful security guard walks up, shakes his gun holster and asks, "y'all got tickets?" We all look at each other inquisitively until he announces, "well that sucks, I got to get my Wii first." As he walks to the end of the line, one heckler calls out, "I got speeding tickets if you want those!"
"You can go get it; we'll save your spot," muttered one man as he played New Super Mario Bros. minigames.
"You better," the security guard said, "I got a gun!"
The line dissipates to the first ten or so people; many grumbled that employees probably took two or three pre-orders themselves.
Five of the remaining six (from left to right): Mirna, Jon, Patrick, Joey, and Hasan. Not pictured: me.
At 10:00 a.m., the pre-orders begin. The entire pre-order procession lasts 15 minutes. There was little excitement in the store; people took their pre-order receipts and quietly shuffled themselves out of the store and off to work or school. A few people lined up behind us, but the employees would inform them of the pre-order sellout and they'd walk away. I pay my $60 ($50 for the Wii, $5 each for Twilight Princess and Rayman Raving Rabbids reservations) and watch the lucky few walk out.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
The1 @ Oct 13th 2006 3:03PM
2 people not including me were at my local Gamestop in Chicago.
jayntampa @ Oct 13th 2006 3:25PM
There were way more people for the Wii pre-orders at the Gamestop I go to as compared to the PS3 pre-orders. I'm more excited about the Wii myself -- I got it for mmy girlfriend and I to play together. She seems really interested in how it controls -- she thinks it sounds cool. I noticed more women interested in it at the store, too.
I am a bit worried about Wii related injuries when we play, though -- she's an Amazon ... I can see her accidentally whacking my head off playing Wii sports (she's 5'8, thin, and with a 34F bust, but still an amazon ...).
craft user @ Oct 13th 2006 3:16PM
only 7 at the oregon clackamas mall (well there was about 2 other game stores around)
Tooley @ Oct 13th 2006 3:11PM
All 3 of my local Gamesotps/EBs had lines of about 15 people. I was in line and denied the chance to pre-order and accused of planning to sell my previosly pre-ordered PS3. This did not make me happy.
HoodOrnament @ Oct 13th 2006 3:14PM
Well, i couldnt personally go, because i had class this morning and if i skip again i Fail, but my girlfriend and best friend went. Here in the southern tier in New York the local Oakdale Mall had many people apparently. At 8 o'clock when they got there they were 19th and 20th in line. My gf skipped school and was all ready to get her wii-order. Both EB and GS had lines of about 20 people. Some were there as early as 6:00, there were DS lites everywhere. At about 10 o'clock there were nearly 60-80 in each line. At GS where my GF and friend were waiting there was an announcement, there were only 18 consoles, 4 going to employees. The majority of people were furious and one fat lady tried to sell her and her boyfriends spot in line for $350 and everyone told her to go shove off. Then her and her boyfriend go in and she comes out yelling "haha you fucking nerds" and took a picture of anyone, if i was there i woulda have punched fatty mc fat ass in her fat face, and gave her fat head a nice fat hemmorhage. Anyways, word came out that EB received 34 Wiis, while GS only received 14, this was because EB had more preorders for games, everyone was bitching about "Who the hell orders the games before they have a system?". Exactly. Well, in conclusion the only thing that they walked out with were pre-orders for A wii-mote and nunchuck each with twilight princess. I promised my girlfriend that I would go to the local walmart 24 hours before launch at the latest and make sure she was going to get one.
??? @ Oct 13th 2006 3:19PM
HOT OFF CANADIAN PRESSES: Just visited my medium sized city's EB GAMES here in BC Canada. Preorders for PS3 will commence at that store 10k Mon. morning. Amount for d.p.-$200 down or $50 trade in games. Amount of PS3's for launch: Hello Wii60-smell ya later, Sony!
Tracy @ Oct 13th 2006 3:15PM
hey guys, ya'll are in my neighborhood now...over in Atlanta but spend many good years there in Athens...even remember some of them!
danielOut @ Oct 13th 2006 3:20PM
This story makes me a little sad for two reasons.
One, the security guard didn't get one.
Two, my friend Andrew (a UGA student) wasn't one of the six. I'm dissappointed in you, Andrew.
I stopped by a local (Mongtomery, AL) EB Games during my lunch hour today, and asked how their preorders were going. They also had six, and said that three of those were still left. Aparently they, too, had PS3 preoders that lasted the majority of the day earlier this week. This might be due in part to the absurd number of EB Games/GameStop stores in the Montgomery area.
J.Goodwin @ Oct 13th 2006 3:16PM
Guys, this crap is not news.
People stood in line for Attack of the Clones, for gods sakes. If that doesn't show that someone will stand in line for anything, I don't know what does.
I have personally witnessed people who will stand behind some people who appear to possibly be standing in line with no idea what they might be waiting for. So yes, there are queue junkies out there. That doesn't deserve a half dozen posts with pictures.
??? @ Oct 13th 2006 3:20PM
That amount of PS3's for #4 should read 6 for launch.
Enzo @ Oct 13th 2006 3:21PM
J GOODMAN! MY MAN!
SHUT UP
kiwi @ Oct 13th 2006 3:22PM
"That doesn't deserve a half dozen posts with pictures."
Well, as someone who has been checking joystiq all day for the eventual "Wii pre order" story, I disagree. I enjoy reading peoples stories about the process and enjoy seeing pics as well. Joystiq is a gaming blog, not necessarily just a gaming news site.
I've actually been very surprised at how few people (and machines) are at most stores. The one I was at was getting about 30 machines, and there were 40 people in line when I got there 45 minutes early. This is in a suburban area in upstate NY, too, not a major city... Needless to say, I didn't get one. Hopefully my pre order at FYE I made a month back will get me a system at launch...
Bret @ Oct 13th 2006 3:26PM
I had woken up at 7:00 am in hopes to pre-order my Nintendo Wii. I want one so bad. I arrived at my local EB Games at 8:30 and grabbed the 8th spot in line. Surely I thought I would get one, considering the same store (and all other stores in the area) got 14 PS3 pre-orders. At 9:30 the manager came out and announced that his store is only recieving 3. I immediately head to the next store and arrived at 9:45. I grabbed the 11th spot in line. They only had 10 to pre-order. Next I proceeded to the one near the mall. I arrived at 9:55 and grabbed the 12th spot in like. They had 11 for pre-order. By the time I left that store it was 10:00 am and all EB and Gamestops within the area were sold out.
I got screwed over!
Why are they pre-ordering less Wiis than PS3s? They wont even have anough PS3s at launch (400,000 for North America) but 2 million Wiis are all ready made sitting in a warehouse.
Logan @ Oct 13th 2006 3:27PM
I hate to throw a bomb into all of these stories to criticize a journalistic decision, but is it necessary for there to be three different editions of a Wii preorder news story and "share your experiences" post?
Ricky Singh @ Oct 13th 2006 3:28PM
Only six? Wow, my gamestop took 35
number40one @ Oct 13th 2006 3:29PM
I live in a strange part of California where there are two Gamestops within a mile of my apartment... one in a shopping center, and another inside a mall across the street. I had heard from a Gamestop employee near my job that each store was getting an average of 14 Wii consoles.
When I got up this morning, I drove to the shopping-center Gamestop. It was 8:00 AM, and there were already at least 20 people camping out in front. "Shit."
I almost gave up and went to work... I thought I'd be met with a LONGER line if I checked out the in-the-mall store. But I had to try. Walked in, and found only 5 other people waiting in there!!! So I pulled out my DS Phat and plopped down next to all the chic people with their Lites (this is NorCal, after all).
From 8:15 - 9:00 we were pretty much the only people waiting. Then, folks started showing up in droves. The line went from 6 people to 40+ in about fifteen minutes. At 9:30, a Gamestop employee came out and told us that they were "only" taking preorders for 32 CONSOLES! While the last 10 or so people grumbled, there was a vast amount of enthusiasm from many of us who were expecting a much lower number. I actually felt happy for those 20+ people behind me who thought they were waiting in vain.
So, gate opened at 10 sharp...
...and I got my Golden Ticket... er... bleached white Gamestop receipt. My first console preorder experience ever was a success. (I've never wanted a console so badly before.)
Worst part of the experience: The security guard that came by at 8:20 to tell us we couldn't sit on the floor and made us stand the whole time.
Best part of the experience: A little girl was riding on one of those "drop-in-a-quarter-and-ride-the-horsey" thingamajigs. Her mother was standing next to her, and kept shouting out "Wheeeeeeeeee!" as her child bounced on the plastic horse.
Wiiiiiiii indeed.
SuperChuck @ Oct 13th 2006 3:33PM
My local EB was pretty honest. People were showing up between 5 and 8 am, they were getting 13, and if I was the 14th person, I might as well go home.
I stopped by on my way to work just to see if there was really a line. It was more of a huddle, but if you know there are only 13 available, who needs a line?
Tiffani @ Oct 13th 2006 3:40PM
We Wait for Wii (West Lafayette Edition), I was #9 in Line at 1am and was blissfully awared a bleach white EB Games ticket. There were only 17 given out at this EB. I was happy to be in the top 10. I'm super tired this afternoon at work, but... what a fun night :) :) :) I can't wait for November!!!
Jeff Barrick @ Oct 13th 2006 3:39PM
I got a PS3 and Wii pre-order, and I have to say that the Wii was far more anticipated than the PS3. Everyone (including myself) that I spoke to at the PS3 pre-order said they were going to sell it, but almost no one was going to sell their Wii. There were also way more people that showed up. Puyallup, WA: About 9:30 they handed out place holders (Game Cube trade in sleeves), and the last guy in line got the last one. After that mostly soccer moms and their kids started to show up, so I directed them to the mall where I got lucky and got a PS3 pre-order on Tuesday. The saddest part was the looks on the faces of the kids when they showed up and we had to tell them that they weren't going to get one there; you'd have thought someone had killed their dog or something from the reactions, but it still wasn't enough for me to give mine up for them. Hope they got one at the mall.
SerenityKry @ Oct 13th 2006 3:47PM
I camped out for the Wii, was my first camp out for anything so it was a fun experience.
My sister and I live in a growing town west of Phoenix, AZ and we have an EB Games and a GameStop in the area. We decided the morning of we'd go sit out front and hope we get our hands on a pre-order.
We got there about 6:30 and there were 3 people already, so that made me 4th and her 5th in line. We started a huge game of Mario Kart DS, it was a blast, talking and hanging with fellow gamers.
The store manager eventually walked up at 9am and told the line of about 12 people that they only had 7 pre-orders available.
So my sister and I got our Wii Consoles! (We live in seperate households, she with my mom still and I live with my fiancee, so no, we aren't trying to turn a profit people.)
It truely is a good feeling knowing that I have a good shot of getting my console on the 19th.
John @ Oct 13th 2006 4:20PM
#7 in line 45 minutes early at Portland, Oregon Lloyd Center Mall. 17 people in line at 10am store opening. They had 25 units for the presale. 8 are still available.
Addison @ Oct 13th 2006 3:55PM
there were people waiting in line here in edmond, oklahoma since 5 am. I dint get my preorder
Nao Lo Ding @ Oct 13th 2006 4:05PM
Here in Auburn, AL we had a pretty tame crowd at our two local EB Games stores. I stopped in at the EB in the Tiger Town shopping center, arriving late about 8:10 AM. The store opened at 8 and I wasn't sure what amount of interest there would be in the area. I walked in behind a handful of people who had been waiting, some of them for an hour or so. I was told by the manager that they were sure that all the preorders would be taken up by those who arrived earlier, but I waited anyway. I ended up as lucky #13, the first and ONLY person in line NOT to get a preorder. One of the women in line suggested that I head to the mall where her son was waiting to get a preorder. She had spoken to him not moments before and there were only 5 people in line since the mall jsut opened and EB wouldn't open till 9:30. I made my way to the mall, getting in about 7th in line. I was a great line as lines go, we had several DS's among us and the PictoChat began almost immediately. The employee's in the store even hopped in to PictoChat to taunt us a few times. It was a nice, cordial group, and all but a few who arrived before 9:30 got away with a preorder. All your Wii are belong to us.
Ben @ Oct 13th 2006 4:15PM
At the GameStop near me, I was the 10th person in line for the 10 pre-orders that they had...until an employee rolled up at 8:45 and got to jump to the very front of the line, in front of people who had been there as long as two hours. I had to go scramble to find another EB/Gamestop without a big line. GameStop is so shady.
Liquid @ Oct 13th 2006 4:15PM
Columbia, SC here. Showed up at my local Gamestop at around 8:50 a.m. Only one other person was in the parking lot. After 15 minutes or so another guy showed up looking to buy the "new Nintendo joint". The guy bragged about how he knew someone who worked at a Wal-Mart distribution center so he was getting two PS3s and a few Tickle Me Elmo Extremes to hock on eBay. After 30 minutes, the guy asked me what the name of the Wii was then decided he didnt need to wait in line and left. Weird, I know.
Anywho, by the time the manager opened the door there were only 3 people in line. I was second on the pre-order list so I'm fairly confident i will get one at launch. The guy behind the counter said he wasnt allowed to tell us how many consoles the store was allocated.
Jesse @ Oct 13th 2006 6:31PM
I have to start paying better attention to these pictures. I'm staring at the bible-belt Wii hopefulls thinking to myself how much that mall looks like the Georgia Sqaure Mall here in Athens, Ga. Then I read the post and then I realize that there are some Joystiqers here in Athens!!
Now as I read Joystiq constantly at work, it will be even more enjoyable knowing that there are some Joystiq folks in this town.
anonymoose @ Oct 13th 2006 6:42PM
First, he was an officer of the Athens-Clark County Police Department, not just a security guard.
Second, the manager had to do his job, and having a reporter there taking clandestine pictures and trying to make a story out of an unfortunate situation is not going to make his day any better. Do you really think that the manager was at all happy about the low amount of tickets? He even did more than he had to for the people there.
Try being more considerate when you write, rather than just going for the story. Sensationalism is only cool for so long.
Gromit @ Oct 13th 2006 10:02PM
I worked at that store. But it was back when it was Waldensoftware (yeah, I'm old). I have nothing else to contribute, I just think it's weird that I've lifted that damn gate countless times.
Ross Miller @ Oct 13th 2006 10:05PM
Anonymoose --
Eh, normally I'd let these go, but this one feels a bit personal.
In regards to the first objection, simply putting "just a security guard" was more of an intention to conceal his identity (note how no pictures were posted).
For the second part, I have to quibble with your use of the word "clandestine," which would imply subversive intentions. I personally asked the manager what I could or could not quote him on, and abided by his wishes accordingly (although, as a first-hand observer, I am not required to). I also mention that he went above and beyond by offering to call up nearby GameStops and helping people find Wii pre-orders. The discouraging "shit," as one could interpret it (at least in the way I intended) is that he was really sorry to disappoint the customers, and he did personally apologize (all that noted). I'd say that's a pretty positive interpretation.
The guy was doing his job, and I was doing mine.
I feel that how I treated the story was with as little sensationalism as possible. Whether or not you feel a Wii pre-order line is newsworthy or not is personal opinion. It's a story, and no one is getting hurt or losing their job over it. After all, we're just some two bit gamer blog.
Jon @ Oct 13th 2006 11:28PM
Hey Ross, it was nice meeting you this morning. Glad to see the story up with some pictures to remember the day.
cheers,
jon (#5)
Joe Thompson @ Oct 14th 2006 8:57PM
NANDO CALRISSIAN!
My brotha from Another Motha!
I was a fellow Store Manager @ EB before the Evil GS Merger. Got my Wii as the 2nd in line here in Dawsonville, Ga. Got there @ 7am. ENded up being around 15 people, just enough to cover Presells.
Nov. 19th here i come!
Gennee @ Oct 22nd 2006 8:51PM
I was able to pre-order a PS3 at the GSM Ebgames, but I was out of town for the Wii pre-orders. It stinks. =/
Hazman @ Oct 26th 2006 1:33PM
Hey Ross,
I think this was an excellent article, thanks for
really portraying what that day was like. I hope to see you on Nov.19 when we get to pick up our Wiis.
Take Care,
#1
Sol @ Nov 22nd 2006 11:46AM
I enjoyed this article. Being from the same area I recoginized some of the people in the pictures and I have to say I'm glad to know some of the stuff you mentioned here. I have always disliked this EB location.... almost every employee (with very few exceptions) that I have delt with there was short and rude.... like somehow you, the "average gaming customer" are the bane of their existance. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to write this up.