We wait for Wii (Bible Belt edition)

After reading about the PS3 pre-order debacle at the local GameStop, I decided to drive the extra five miles to the Athens, GA EB Games inside the local mall. At 8:30 a.m., 90 minutes before the store opened, seven people were waiting in a broken circle. Most people had shown up 7:30 or later, but one gentleman, Hasan, arrived at 5:30 a.m. (one of the perks of being a mall employee is that you can show up before the mall even opens).

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!"

By 9:00 a.m., the line has grown to 22 people, 3 DS phats and 2 DS Lites. Most people are excited about The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, though others mentioned Wii Sports, Monkey Ball, Trauma Center, and Wario Ware. The security guard exclaims that he has a DS in his car right now.

"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!"

About 40 minutes before the store opens up, the manager arrives. Walking past the line, he lets out a disparaging "shit" before ducking under the gates. After a quick meeting with two recently-arrived employees, the manager (who asked that his name not be used) walks out to the crowd of 25 people to give some somber news: his store could only take six Wii pre-orders. He apologized profusely and offered to help call nearby GameStop stores. When one guy mentioned Tuesday's PS3 pre-order, the manager huffed. "Don't want to talk about that," he said, but did mention that an EB Games about 20 miles outside of Athens did not take their last PS3 pre-order until 4:00 p.m.

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.