Wii pages roundup
by Kevin Kelly 
{ Nov 4th 2006 at 10:00AM }
It's two weeks to Wii, do you know where you'll be buying it? We took a look at the major retailer Wii-pages today to see who looks the best.
- Amazon: Their pages all look so similar and bland. It wouldn't hurt them to break the mold every now and then. Lots of info on this page if you scroll down far enough, but it seems way too busy looking. B-
- Toys "R" Us: Very simple and to the point. While it doesn't have a lot of pizzazz, it gets the job done. B+
- Wal-Mart: Not too different from the Toys "R" Us visually, but what's up with the image of the guy sitting down using the Wiimote? He looks bored. B+
- Best Buy: Scrolling images, whole pages for different categories, tons of information about the system. This is a good example of what a console focus page should look like. A+
- Circuit City: Not much going on here, although there is the tantalizing link to their Ultimate Gaming Giveaway Contest. B- for content, A+ if we win that thing.
- Target: Too simple. You'll get more information walking past the displays they have up in Target stores now. Just don't end up dropping $25 on the dog tags. C
- EB Games: Largest usage of the Wii logo, probably as a space filler. Not too much info here. Their Nintendo Wii tab up top is even worse. Only a breakdown on the upcoming games, and no console info there. C+
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Cry Havoc @ Nov 4th 2006 10:17AM
At first I thought these were the various stores rating the Wii Channels idea.
Whoooo's a moron? That's right. Me.
gamerx @ Nov 4th 2006 10:25AM
Look at the Wave/Point/Rumble/Listen picture.
Funny how the SIXAXIS controller can only do ONE of those things(Wave, and that too only six directions whereas the Wiimote is able to handle 1:1 motion recognition) yet Sony fanboys love to call the Wiimote a gimmick and "just a new controller".
Million Dollar Link Experiment @ Nov 4th 2006 10:29AM
definitely agree with the best buy assessment. Far and away the better retail and online store of those mentioned.
Ramen Jinkue @ Nov 4th 2006 10:37AM
The eB Games page goe to a gme called Elebits (for the Wii).
Shiv @ Nov 4th 2006 10:40AM
Come on guys... you know as well as most of us that the "bored" guy is an official picture from Nintendo in their usual screenshot plus pic of person playing with the Wiimote. Actually, I am pretty sure that he is in one of the trailers that was put out around E3. You can't really mark them down for that, given that there probably aren't that many official Metroid pics to choose from.
As for the sites themselves and their quality, do people think this reflects the respective laziness of the respective companies or is it meant to reflect how much they are "pushing" the Wii in the Christmas season?
Sikaffy @ Nov 4th 2006 11:07AM
http://wii.yahoo.com/
lol
Matt. T @ Nov 4th 2006 7:36PM
LOL , I am camping out at Best Buy, AND they have the best ad, WOOT
george @ Nov 4th 2006 11:45AM
You cant even preorder one or a ps3 online yet. I dont understand why since eb was taking preorders for 360 in august of last year!
Luke @ Nov 4th 2006 2:24PM
I downloaded a Wii countdown timer widget.
Judd @ Nov 4th 2006 2:05PM
Gamecrazy. http://www.gamecrazy.com/platforms/wii.aspx I know a lot of gamers want to buy their systems from a video game retailer and not Walmart or Best Buy. And I know many gamers have problems with Gamestop/EB. But Gamecrazy offers certain things with their membership that you can't get at Gamestop(Like entrance into tournaments, I've won $100 in store credit). By the way for full disclosure, I used to work at Gamestop, and my brother works at Gamecrazy. Gamestop employees aren't allowed to play any games when customers are in the store, but at Gamecrazy assuming a customer doesn't need you, they encourage it. There aren't nearly as many Gamecrazy's as Gamestop's/EB but if you find one, they might have an extra Wii on launch day.
matt @ Nov 4th 2006 2:10PM
to #7:
i think since so many retailers did not receive anywhere near the amount of machines to cover the pre-orders they took on the 360, they are wary of taking too many, if any, pre-orders this time. with all the questions and hassles, customers may look down on a store if it is unable to ship them their wii/ps3 at launch and most stores would rather err on the side of caution than lose customers to another store
FSK405K @ Nov 4th 2006 5:33PM
How many times has someone mentioned Game Crazy in the comment in the last few weeks? Is it the same guy every time? Isn't the store going to close, anyway, as in, it sucks?
Wii @ Nov 12th 2006 5:13PM
Not long now... =)