Black Friday: Wii crowned, economy still down
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Dec 1st 2008 at 2:58PM }
Meanwhile, a stack of Xbox 360s caused a brawl at Walmart, and, in a macabre turn of events, an employee was trampled to death by a frenzied mob at the Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream, New York. In California, two men killed each other in a gunfight that erupted at the Palm Desert Toys R Us. All convincing examples of why we prefer to pay it safe from our keyboards: Hellooo Cyber Monday!
[Image credit: Bruce On Games, Dec. 2007 -- same tune again this year, eh?]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
ryan @ Dec 1st 2008 3:04PM
I think it only fitting that the Wii fit would sell like hot cakes during a season filled with too much hot cake consumption.
severian00 @ Dec 1st 2008 8:51PM
I'm tired of seeing these posts about how the Wii is in short supply, it's not. We've had it in stock for over 2 months straight. I'm not saying that it won't become scarce later on in the shopping season, but please at least do some research. Go to your local game store and actually ask if they have any. My feeling is that more often than not the answer will be yes. WiiFit is a different subject.
ryan @ Dec 2nd 2008 1:06AM
I sincerely hope that was a Joystiq comment screwup. I do believe you have the wrong villain sir.
Jamesology @ Dec 2nd 2008 9:02AM
WOW this city must be crappy to run out of Wiis I mean I see loads here. Heck in every store I see full stocks of Wiis.
Wii Fit and Wii GH World tour Full Bundle is a different story.
ryan @ Dec 2nd 2008 10:00AM
Jezus, quit replying to my post because it's "the first one on top". If you don't have anything to debate, don't bother replying.
Deeznuts420 @ Dec 1st 2008 3:07PM
fake ass bart simpson smiley!
Wiinterfang @ Dec 1st 2008 4:15PM
Holy fuck that avatar's creepy.
riggs @ Dec 1st 2008 6:17PM
why the hell did they take it down? i loved pedo joker bear
michas_pi @ Dec 1st 2008 7:48PM
Why so loli?
Pedobear @ Dec 2nd 2008 3:24AM
What avatar? Now I feel like I missed something.
(The Award-Winning) dark_inchworm @ Dec 1st 2008 3:08PM
I bought a Wii (for my lady :) ) this past Monday at Target in Spring Hill, TN. They had about a dozen in stock, much to my surprise. A trip to the same store two days later revealed that there were NONE left...
Good timing on my part.
Organic_Shadow @ Dec 1st 2008 5:40PM
A Monday eh? So I guess a lot of people didn't show up the Sunday prior to grab them. I saw 2 Wii's at a Target SATURDAY, which I found kind of strange. I really don't think the economy is affecting everyone THAT much. Maybe a lot of people aren't even trying because they assume they'll be sold out. Did you see any WiiFit? I've only seen maybe 2 in the wild ever since it's release.
This is good news though. I'll start telling my friends without Wii's to actually TRY getting one instead of telling me "they won't have any".
(The Award-Winning) dark_inchworm @ Dec 1st 2008 5:42PM
Haven't seen Wii Fit yet, but I didn't wanna get that for her so soon anyway. I was more interested in taking that $90 and buying a wide variety of good games marked to $10 or $20.
tmacairjordan87 @ Dec 1st 2008 3:11PM
Average selling price of $350 eh? That's down from when I was in that business, but it's still much higher than I thought it was at this point.
I guess now's as good a time as ever to get back in and make some profit on stupid people :)
Vcize @ Dec 1st 2008 3:24PM
It was down to around MSRP recently, looks like it's shot back up since Thanksgiving.
nealbailey @ Dec 1st 2008 8:59PM
God Damn it! I just sold my Wii on half.com for $229 and I tossed in an extra wii remote and nunchuck, HD Component Cables, and Super Swing Golf!
I had a bad feeling that I priced it way too low because as soon as I submitted the listing I received an email stating that it was sold and had to be shipped out in 2 days.
M. @ Dec 1st 2008 3:15PM
Not so slight or pleasant when you're trampled by a horde of greedy Wal-Mart shoppers/murderers.
Dirty @ Dec 1st 2008 3:21PM
That shit is pretty horrible.
knighty (GT: ZeraKnight) @ Dec 1st 2008 3:23PM
The people who value their bargains over the life of others and property should be fucking locked up, it's disgusting. How can someone feel the need to trample on someone to buy something? It's enough to make me lose even more faith in mankind. I wouldn't have opened the door personally, fuck the stupid bargain murderers. And I love how the blame goes to Wal-mart. How about blaming the people who trampled the guy to death?
BigD145 @ Dec 1st 2008 3:24PM
There's been plenty of PS3 induced murders out there. Is this sign in the door trying to encourage that or discourage it?
Vcize @ Dec 1st 2008 3:47PM
Knighty
I don't know the details of the incident you're referring to, but in most crowds (whether it be football games, sales, etc) you typically don't know you've stepped on someone until, well until after you've stepped on them. And it was a crowd, so likely a lot of people stepping on him without knowing that was going to happen until after it happened. It's not like one guy ran back and forth running over the same guy repeatedly. I'm sure most if not all of the people that stepped on the guy would have chosen not to if they knew ahead of time that with their next step they had the choice of mashing a guy's head into the ground and killing him or waiting a second for him to get up.
Crowds are chaos.
Vcize @ Dec 1st 2008 3:50PM
Ok, I just read the story. Nevermind, that was pretty f'ed up. I didn't realize they had literally taken the doors off the hinges on the way to their rampage.
Roto13 @ Dec 1st 2008 3:53PM
This thread is giving me serious deja vu for some reason. I'm sure I've read it before. >_>
Paulmichael @ Dec 1st 2008 4:34PM
Wait, there's still Wal-Marts with doors that have hinges on them? All the stores from that chain in my area have sliding doors...
LaughingTarget @ Dec 1st 2008 6:47PM
And people wonder why I pay the higher prices the week before. That's because my pistol only holds 15 rounds, not enough to hold off a stampede of wild-eyed materialists.
rudimentalist @ Dec 2nd 2008 11:56AM
The tone of the last paragraph of this article could have been a little more considerate of the family the guy who got trampled left behind. I don't know the full story behind the other cases like the gunfight, but it's still pretty macabre that people died over some BS 10% markdown, and I know I wouldn't be complacent enough to say "Good thing I stayed inside and bought stuff on my computer!"
Al2x @ Dec 1st 2008 3:20PM
If only people would see past popularity in some games and look at quality games to buy their children/siblings/relatives...
I can't tell you how much shovelware my own family has given to my younger cousins and nieces for their Wii. For God sakes, last year my mom bought 2 (count em) 2, not just 1, copies of Carnival Games for my two cousins. Sickening.
Wiinterfang @ Dec 1st 2008 4:03PM
Carnival games isn't that bad.
Mest @ Dec 1st 2008 4:59PM
whats wrong with fox news besides the point that they dont lie and soften up there stories like cnn and any other liberal channel?
Danny F. @ Dec 1st 2008 3:22PM
The stores better be taking responsibility for those deaths of people being trampled down at their own store. To see shoppers act in such a stupid and idiotic manner is just sad, and every year the owners take no steps to prevent such incidents. Its like they never learn there lesson.
My heartfelt prayer and thoughts out to those families who had their relatives killed for such a stupid reason that was beyond their control.
Strategy_Panda (the artist formally known as Titanium_Orchid) @ Dec 1st 2008 3:29PM
From what I understand, that was only one trampling reported on. I can't remember what news outlet I read the story on, but it was pretty tragic and sad.
In terms legality, there could be a lot of arguments made for an against holding the store accountable. It will probably be settled out of court though, with the store taking care of the employee's family... which would seem to be the most moral outcome.
Anyways, if you haven't already, read an account of what happened. Its pretty scary.
As far as the shooting is concerned, the store would probably have to liability.
I'm not trying to refute an of the above comment, and agree what what you have stated. I just thought I would chime in
Strategy_Panda (the artist formally known as Titanium_Orchid) @ Dec 1st 2008 3:30PM
oops,
As far as the Toy's R Us shooting in concerned, the store would probably hold NO accountability.
WiiFTW @ Dec 1st 2008 3:32PM
You're fucking crazy dude, it's the stores fault for people being greedy bastards? The shoppers willingly chose to fucking trample an employee.
People just cannot control themselves when consumed by greed.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,458744,00.html
Danny F. @ Dec 1st 2008 3:37PM
Luckily it was only one that was reported so far. Though there are accounts across the states that some were simply injured. I'm sure as you stated that they will probably settle out of court with the family. Hopefully they take certain precautions next year at least though..
The shooting though was just two idiots finding a reason to argue over nothing. But the store won't hold any liability though so I think you might've typo'd on that one.
Strategy_Panda (the artist formally known as Titanium_Orchid) @ Dec 1st 2008 3:39PM
From what I understand, there was no attempt made to implement and kind of crowd control. People were allowed to gather in front of the store before opening. The senior most person at the store did not properly assess the situation (doors coming off hinges because of the force being applied?) and tell the employee to move away. Also, he incident happened within the Wallmart (?).
If I were a lawyer, I would argue these points.
Danny F. @ Dec 1st 2008 3:41PM
@WiiFTW
Dude don't get me wrong, I agree 100%, the people are definitely responsible in the end. But thats not to say the stores couldn't at least take certain precautions in preventing such incidents.
I mean in the end how are you gonna get back at over a 100 ppl who you have no way of knowing trampled over the guy? Legally it be a mess, and in the end its also the store responsibility to make sure such things never happen, and in this case they failed at it.
OMGOMG @ Dec 1st 2008 3:49PM
@WiiFTW
Can you get another link? You know, from an actual news source instead of FOX News?
Duke @ Dec 1st 2008 5:16PM
In the end the store will have to deal with some liability, though the guy was an employee at the time - likely limiting the liability. Also, you probably wouldn't get much from trying to track down all the people involved because after you sue and get an award - you have to get payment. Wouldn't likely work out well against a bunch of shoppers who probably don't have a specific insurance policy covering them at the moment of going to the store.
Duke @ Dec 1st 2008 6:09PM
Oh, the others hurt were not employees of the store so they will get a nice lawsuit going!
mr mobius @ Dec 1st 2008 6:16PM
Crowd control barriers would help. If nothing else then the blame would land solely on the crowd as the store would have taken appropriate lengths of crowd control.
WiiFTW @ Dec 1st 2008 6:24PM
I'm a liberal but that one was straight from googling "wal-mart employee"
Are you so opposed to a source that you don't agree politically with? Maybe if you bothered to read "The Associated Press contributed to this report." then you would have known it was credible.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20081128_13_0_NEWYOR392534
By COLLEEN LONG Associated Press Writer
Happy?
@ Danny F: Ok I thought you meant there was no blame on the people. There's surely blame on both, Wal-mart for not preparing for crowds and for people being greedy bastards.
Youthinized @ Dec 1st 2008 3:31PM
Many lol's with that pic.
Its like the Wii's are Turbo Man and everybody wants turtle man and nobody wants booster. Of course everybody has a booster this holiday season!
T @ Dec 1st 2008 3:32PM
I saw tons of Wiis on shelves after Black Friday was past (also son tons of other consoles). Sure a few stores were out, but those were mostly Gamestops and Blockbusters (places that don't get many)
I'd say if a product can make it through Black Friday with units still around, there is no longer a shortage. So retailers can kindly stop treating them like some kind of prized treasure (even if they do still print money)
Gun Barrier @ Dec 1st 2008 3:50PM
I think its just a matter of people not knowing where to find Wii's. Toys R Us is a great place to go, since people forget that they sell games. I got my wii at a toys r us on launch day with ease, no lines.
Azbulldog @ Dec 1st 2008 6:49PM
I got my Wii on launch at Toys r Us, with about 150 or so many people in line, ha.
Lee @ Dec 1st 2008 3:32PM
"Sorry we don't have your cream cake, but here have some asphalt in the shape of a cake instead =:-)"
Boucaner @ Dec 1st 2008 4:07PM
Why is there an apostrophe on System's? Do people have any idea how to use that punctuation mark?
Brodie-san @ Dec 1st 2008 5:00PM
I was going to say the same thing but reckoned I'd just be called a grammar Nazi.
Which, of course, I am.
HEIL CORRECT USE OF POSSESSIVE APOSTROPHE !
Hala Madrid!! (THE BIRD IS THE WORD!!) @ Dec 1st 2008 5:23PM
@Brodie-san
HEIL, korrekte Verwendung von besitzergreifend Apostroph!
Heil, mein Führer!
Brodie-san @ Dec 2nd 2008 4:42AM
Many thanks Boucaner. I work with a lot of German people but refuse to learn the language. I really don't want to understand all the those things they are definitely saying about me.
:)