Wii warriors fill streets of Manhattan

  • By Tim Surette, Brendan Sinclair, GameSpot
  • Posted Nov 18, 2006 4:31 pm PT

Anticipation for launch nears apex as hundreds gather outside Times Square Toys "R" Us, nearby Nintendo World Store.

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Tim Surette talks to those first in line at the Nintendo World Store, just hours before the launch.

NEW YORK--Yesterday, when the gaming world was still reeling in the wake of the PlayStation 3 launch, the Times Square Toys "R" Us, official site of the Nintendo Wii's 12:01 a.m. Sunday launch, had yet to see a single soul lined up for it. At the nearby Nintendo World Store in Rockefeller Plaza, the scene wasn't much bigger, with a mere handful of faithful fans camped out for the system.

What a difference a day makes. Saturday afternoon, hundreds of people had lined up at the two stores to be among the first in the world to buy a Wii at retail. While the gaming giant is releasing its next-gen system tomorrow in the US, gamers in its home country will have to wait until the December 2 Japanese launch to get their hands on it.

All lined up and no where to go: the Wii line outside Toy "R" Us.

While both stores had respectable lines of people forming, the difference between these crowds and those attending the PS3 launch was like night and day. The Toys "R" Us crowd existed in an orderly line snaking along the block, rather than the massed clump of those waiting for the PS3. Early on, a member of the line had started a sign-up sheet to keep the order straight, and the line itself was self-policing, for the most part.

And while the 50 or so campers outside of the Nintendo World store weren't terribly organized, they seemed much more at ease and laid back than the PS3 crowd, with its own distinct kind of buddy-buddy camaraderie.

Those waiting for a Wii were far mellower than those who picked up a PS3 on Friday.

"It's cool waiting here at Nintendo World," said Joe Lopez, who arrived at the store around noon on Friday. "If I get bored, my buddies will just hold my place in line while I go inside and play the Wii [on one of the store's demo kiosks]."

One observer noted that the crowds waiting for the Wii were decidedly "less gangsta" than those who camped out for the PS3.

The scene was still hectic at Toys "R" Us, where the hustle and bustle of everyday foot traffic in the heart of the Big Apple is only amplified by having to share the sidewalks with a crowd of gamers. Many passersby expressed an interest in the line, although the most common question they asked of those waiting seemed to be, "Is this the line for the PS3?"

One gamer expresses his willingness to talk to reporters.

Those sorts of questions likely became less frequent this afternoon after the store hung giant banners advertising the Wii along its exterior and began promoting the official launch events on a huge LCD screen outside the store. About a dozen police officers arrived on the scene as well, closing down 44th Street to set up a stage for this evening's launch festivities.

Inside Toys "R" Us, Nintendo had finally set up Wii demo kiosks. Wii Sports, Rayman, Zelda, and Excite Truck were all available for play, and a Nintendo representative was on hand to help walk gamers through the system. An interactive monitor with Mario was also there, with a man, through a webcam, voicing the iconic plumber and chatting up passersby.

It's all smiles as those in the Times Square line wait it out until midnight tonight.

While most of the commotion for the Wii so far seems to be coming from the core gamer crowd that Nintendo has always courted, it appeared that Nintendo's strategy of bringing in the nongaming crowd with an intuitive and inexpensive console is working, at least for one family. Just after checking out the Wii in the Nintendo World store, a family of tourists expressed their interest in the machine.

"How much is it," asked one child's mother, to which the father replied "$249." Surprised, she merely noted, "$249? That's not expensive at all!"

Check back later tonight for more GameSpot coverage of the Wii launch.

246 Comments

  • halomastaman

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 10:38 pm PT

    wow! wii graphics are ALMOST as good as xbox and ps2! good to see that nintendo is now only one generation behind!

  • Chameleon1990

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 10:32 pm PT

    yeah seriously the fanboyism has to stop for every system. soon calling someone a fanboy will be just as bad as calling someone a communist during the cold war.

  • Burin077

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 10:24 pm PT

    tidusjeff posts:

    "Your icon is a give a way. Like I said Wii or 360 fanboys are more lay back because they think they are the best, when in reality their losers."

    Wow, just because of an icon, you must stereotype him as a fanboy of some sort? I chose my own icon because it symbolizes who I like from a game. You should try that sometime, it might make you look more than just a general user.

    In the case of the consoles, does no one else think it's too damn early to be depicting who's better than who yet? I mean come on, the 360's been out for a year, the PS3 and the Wii were just recently released, give the two late arrivals some breathing room!

  • yoshirox85

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 10:20 pm PT

    Wow. He changed his last name to Triforce.

  • nelfer320

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 10:03 pm PT

    My dad isn't able to spent more than $100 on me this Christmas so I'm going to start saving money to get a Wii myself.

  • alberto2045

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 10:01 pm PT

    how many Wii is America getting man? and I hope there is no problems with people steeling money from the buyers

  • solidleader

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 9:59 pm PT

    I just got it!!!! 9 hours in line!!! And we all played metroid and mario kart!!! Good times.......

  • SpearX

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 9:49 pm PT

    "It's all smiles as those in the Times Square line wait it out until midnight tonight." ...Until they get home and play the thing!

  • Tsuchikage

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 9:42 pm PT

    I like the more friendly atmosphere of the lines for the Wii. There hopfully won't be any shootings over it like there were for the PS3 because Nintendo made a lot more units than Sony did Playstation 3s. And, no, I didn't get a PS3, in case you were wondering.

  • trackmanep233

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 9:41 pm PT

    haha, movies out of launch days sounds dumb yet funny

  • makaid

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 9:41 pm PT

    Wow they aren't even shooting at each other yet!

  • Nawras

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 9:33 pm PT

    We should make movies out of launch days

  • tidusjeff

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 9:29 pm PT

    ''Nintendo fans seem to be much nicer/kinder or even happier than ps3 fans.''

    Simple. The stareotypes your talking about are more egocentric in this case, and others keep quiet and try to act polite inorder to protect their reputation and defend their company.

  • yoshirox85

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 9:27 pm PT

    On another note, I saw a PS3 on eBay being sold by itself for $3,001,100 about an hour ago. Poor idiots. I saw this promo video for it at Walmart today and all of it was lies. The rejects that passed were all like "ZOMG LOOK AT ITS FEATURES". I screamed "LIES! IT'S ALL LIES!" at it all. But my news channel did a report on the PS3 but NOTHING on the Wii.

  • CheddarLimbo

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 9:25 pm PT

    Of course the Wii lines were calmer. When you're in line for the PS3, you're hoping to God you get one because they are so scarce, and because there's a thousand bucks on the line if you do.

    When you're waiting for a Wii, you're just waiting to get a Wii so you can play it.

  • yoshirox85

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 9:23 pm PT

    Wierd. My mom says "$250 is WAY too much for a videogame system!" Oh well. I'm still getting one by the end of the year. My awesome sister and her husband are camping for it right now. 10 AM.

  • maximo1

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 9:20 pm PT

    Nintendo fans seem to be much nicer/kinder or even happier than ps3 fans.

  • hidealice

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 9:14 pm PT

    Nintendo produces fun!!!

  • NOA_Shadow

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 9:10 pm PT

    lol, in the first pick, the guy on the bottom right playing the blue DS is playing some illegal roms I bet on his m3

  • Pumper

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 9:05 pm PT

    Just got back - live 10 minutes way from the New York Store - got turned away, and not because they didn't have enough machines, but because they said there was not enough hours to handle all the sales.

    The line was UNREAL - it wrapped around the entire Manhattan block which is actually one avenue - and massive, and ended where the line started. It looked like over 2000 people. It was a real bright spectacle and the people in line were cool calm and all smiling. We were told to come back at 12: Noon tomorrow and they would be no problem getting one.

  • Ryodude

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 9:00 pm PT

    More people wanted PS3 to sell it. More people line up for Wii to play it. Nintendo has already won in my book. Ofcourse, this is only the start. I get more excited when I think about what's to come in this generation of gaming that starts in mere hours.

  • Deathscyth-Hell

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 8:41 pm PT

    go big N! Show Sony up!

  • PoopTete

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 8:24 pm PT

    yay

  • judgenxcutioner

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 8:13 pm PT

    I can't wait to get the Wii to play that 1 year delayed Zelda gamecube game!! high five!

  • True_Sephiroth8

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 8:08 pm PT

    "
    They can't and they won't.

    The Wii is for more civilized gamers, and the 360 is for true gamers that are in the NEW zone and not living in the past.'"

    Way to generalize.

    I could just as easily say that Wii is for blind fanboys and 360 is for rednecks. Is that completely true? No. Which is exactly why you look like a moron while saying this.

  • Brokendemise

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 8:08 pm PT

    Well, as long as Nintendo sells some sort of Number of Wiis, and I get one, I'll be happy as a...as a...a...pear...

  • True_Sephiroth8

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 8:04 pm PT

    My prediction is that Wii will rule for the next two years then PS3 will come and begin to match it.

    360 has no place here. This new era belongs strictly to PS3 and Wii.

    (If you have any questions,complaints, or arguments, please PM me because I rarely check back for those)

  • liljon546

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 7:58 pm PT

    Can't wait.

  • nestea_king

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 7:54 pm PT

    halopower67
    i like crazy system launches like the ps3 one and this isnt crazy....but whatever. its great that there is a lot more wii's available so maybe it will be easier to get one sooner, although i am worried about some ratings the wii games got.

    By crazy you mean getting shot, robbed, beat up and have other various crimes commited to you right? Besides that, don't worry about the ratings of the games from ONE SITE. Go to more than one site, then average out the scores. By the way only 2 games here on GS got bad for the Wii, while there are 2 games for the PS3 that got even worse than the lowest rated game for the Wii. Gundam got a 3.something, and I was looking forward to this game very much. It was the whole reason why I was going to try and get a PS3 by the end of this year. But Resistance still looks good, so if I SEE a PS3 in stock, then I will buy it. But I dont want to go around looking for it until there is more than one launch game that pleases me.

  • Lauryn2000

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 7:54 pm PT

    Nintendo fanboys are less "gangsta".....LOLOLOL

  • MasterGamer111

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 7:53 pm PT

    i cannt because dont have a card

  • MasterGamer111

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 7:52 pm PT

    NO Unfortilly, im not a subscriber eaither

  • EddyG0RD0

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 7:50 pm PT

    any EBAY for wii?

    LMAO

  • orbitj

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 7:49 pm PT

    The people in chi-town waiting for games looked like this,, poeple waiting for the wii today look like people waiting for concert tix for Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews, Phish, or White Stripes. the popele waiting for ps3 looked like a line waiting for 3-6 mafial , Rammestien, Pantera, or 50,, the wii crowds laughing and joking around about games and whats the best hero in a game and stuff, all the ps3 peeps were thinking of what sock to hide the money in and if they loaded a full clip or just a half mag,, and wait did i take the saftey off hhmmmmm , awe S&%@ i just got jumped.

  • Jwinn401

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 7:49 pm PT

    Um, if you aren't a subscriber you can't watch this?

  • MasterGamer111

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 7:47 pm PT

    omg i cant wait untill i get wii!! WII YOU ROCK!!!!!! HAHA ON PS3 !!!!

  • halopower67

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 7:46 pm PT

    i like crazy system launches like the ps3 one and this isnt crazy....but whatever. its great that there is a lot more wii's available so maybe it will be easier to get one sooner, although i am worried about some ratings the wii games got.

  • Jin_the_samurai

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 7:45 pm PT

    The line is smaller than the ps3 and 360 line.

  • MasterChiefSF

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 7:44 pm PT

    One observer noted that the crowds waiting for the Wii were decidedly "less gangsta" than those who camped out for the PS3.

    pwnage (notice the quote where the line was much more civilized, i would have to agree with that because my friends are all waiting at Wall Mart for a Wii, and i was there for a while and everyone was like talking to each other.

    Nintendo pretty much brought out normal people lol

  • cheezlarson

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 7:35 pm PT

    xangel0884
    "Questions for SONY FANBOYS or people wanting to buy a PS3 :

    What weakness/es do you see on PS3 ? Do you believe SOny is overpromising some things about PS3? Please give me an unbiased answer."

    The PS3 has a high price point and not enough consoles at launch, even for people who want to wait 10 hours during a tornado watch aka me.

    Sony will make promises it can't deliver, but so will Microsoft and Nintendo. Sony will never have the equivalent to Xbox Live, and it won't have its Killzone 2 graphics probably until this time next year. Also the whole rumble thing is bs and Sony needs to suck it up.

    On another note, why does the DreamCast get such a bad reputation. It had better graphics and games then the PS2, it had online, it came out first, and was even cheaper than the PS2. The only thing Sega ever did wrong with the DreamCast was having the Sega Saturn before it. Think about it, who had a Sega Saturn? You should always want a console to be the next DreamCast, you just don't want it to be the next Saturn. If you don't believe me about the DreamCast having better games, it has 1 10.0 rating and 3 9.9 ratings on this site, that is better than any other console. If the DreamCast had a whole console cycle we could have been looking at a dozen or more perfect to near perfect games, with Xbox graphics on a system that would have cost less than the GameCube.

  • ChuckNorris621

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 7:34 pm PT

    ya anyone who went and bought a PS3.... you got guts, waiting in line for like 2 days, and then you don't even keep the damn thing, 25000 people kept there PS3's instead of flipping them....

  • mackdaddy1342

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 7:33 pm PT

    Take That PS3!!!!

  • exedeath

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 7:32 pm PT

    All I have to do is wait till my EB opens, and pick up my pre-order. Guess that makes me the smart one.

  • edger2006

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 7:28 pm PT

    I shouldn't of helped hype people about the Wii....Now it looks like I won't be getting one today. I have called 5 Wal-Marts in my area and they are already posed to sell out. Tickets have been given out and the max one store had was 30 wii's.....

  • vjso2

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 7:27 pm PT

    Ha, ha to those PS3 fans. Now they are feeling what we did yesterday. Now the spotlight is on the Wii.

  • waawo

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 7:24 pm PT

    Camping really looks better than pre-ordering...

  • mrnoonoo

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 7:23 pm PT

    u lot are reallt lucky its 18 days until us Brits can get 1 ive already pre ordered mine though so i will get 1. That quote about them being 'less gangsta' is too funny just shows why the ps2 dominate the market, the majority of people are sheep lol. any one in their right mind will get a wii even an xbox 360. Now sony doesnt even care about gaming they just use the playstation name as a gimmick to draw people in.

  • nestea_king

    Posted Nov 18, 2006 7:23 pm PT

    "s0ldier69
    wii...because we all love those 5.5 rated flagship titles!:

    No, PS3...because we all want those 3.5 and 4.9 titles! Don't take the advice of only one site for one game, go to other sites as well, look at Zelda. 8.8 here, 9.5, 10 at 1up etc... This is the only site with Zelda rated below a 9.

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