When news started leaking about a new Nintendo console, it was codenamed "Revolution". I liked the ring of "Nintendo Revolution", and I was excited about many of the features that were being kicked around as possibilities -- like the ability to buy legacy games online and play them on the console.
Then they made the official announcement...and they called it the Wii. And I thought that was the dumbest name I had ever heard. It's not even a word! I proclaimed that, regardless of its official name, I was going to continue calling it the Revolution.
Well, that didn't even last a month. Revolution is harder to say, and harder to type, so I gave in and went with Wii. Admittedly the name has grown on me. The tagline (see post title) is clever and so is the "the two 'i's are people -- it's about playing together!" design thing. Plus the Wii has been out for two years, and laughing at the name is passe.
So, we had our XBOX 360. We got a PS3 around Christmas. The only console we needed to complete our Next-Gen collection was a Wii -- and EVERYWHERE was sold out.
Brian got a bunch of gift cards to Target for Christmas -- literally just enough for a Wii. So since Christmas, we (by which I mean Katie) have been calling Target at 8 AM to see if they got any shipments. At first it was just Sunday mornings at the local Target. Then it was every morning at the local Target (apparently they get daily shipments). Then it was every morning at every Target within 20 miles. It was getting to the point that the calling took an hour of her day and she was starting to seriously demand some money for the gig. Having worked in retail myself, I'm sure that the Target employees didn't enjoy it any more than we did.
On Friday we had a cock-block (I tried to come up with an amusing equivalent that started and rhymed with "Wii" but I couldn't do it): our local Target had a Wii in stock! I raced out there and got there five minutes after the store opened -- and discovered that they had only had one, and some woman had been there AT OPENING and snagged it. That put a damper on the whole day.
Then yesterday, Saturday, Brian and I are both awakened by Katie, who frantically informs us that a Target in Culver City has 20 Wiis in stock, and the guy said if we get there in the next hour we have a shot at getting one.
So we all rush down to Culver City (a 40 minute drive) and come back, at last, triumphant owners of a Nintendo Wii. We spent the rest of the day playing Super Mario Galaxy. Fun game so far, although all of Mario's grunts and exclamations make it sound like whatever drugs he takes to get to the Mushroom Kingdom (I guess I just answered my own question) are starting to take a toll on his sanity.
I was also excited about being able to play Super Mario World. Even though I had a Super NES, the SNES did not come packaged with Mario World and I never wound up getting a copy. I played it a little bit at my cousins' house, but they wouldn't let me play for long because watching someone play is boring and they wanted to go hit wasp nests with sticks. So I'm finally getting to play it.
My In Bruges review is forthcoming -- short version, go see the flick!
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2 comments:
I am glad you finally got a Wii. That's great.
My friend Jonathan and I had the same problem, and our solution was a bit...unorthodox.
Growing up in Alabama, we are surrounded by very poor communities. Especially Mississippi, and certain communities in Tennessee.
So Jonathan suggested that we go to a Wal-Mart in one of these poor communities. Every Wal-Mart receives a certain amount of stock, but in those same communities, people just can't afford them.
So we drove up to podunk Lynchburg, Tennessee, to the super Wal-Mart there. Sure enough, they had two of them.
This technique, while questionable, because it tips the financial misfortune of others in you favor, seems to work quite well.
Our Wii's nickname is WiiSoHORNY.
Also, Mike and I played some Super Mario Stirkers Charged. It was a good game, though I still like the original on Gamecube better. Highlights of the game were definitely suddenly having Luigi turn HUGE and we start screaming "Holy crap, GIMME THE BALL! PASS THE BALL, I'M HUGE!" "WHY ARE YOU HUGE?" "I DON'T KNOW, BUT THAT MEANS I SHOULD GET THE BALL!!!"
And our Finals match against Bowser Jr. running into Sudden Death due to no one scoring a shot. Pass ball to Luigi, super-charged the ball, and it's the only time either of us pulled off the super-charge perfectly, both lines in orange. Right when it mattered.
Also, with all our mention of the Mario titles, I think I should also say that most of our Wii time so far seems to have been on the Mii Channel, downloading/making celebrity Mii's. Wii got one for Hulk Hogan (see what I did there?) that's so dead-on I crack up every time I see it.
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