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No Reservations for Wii WTF !?!
I am slightly miffed that there seems to be no local video game retailers that have a reservation system set up for the launch of the Nintendo Wii in November. I tried Game Crazy, Software Ect, Gamestop and Toys R Us and no place is ready to give me a freaking reservation ticket. I am pretty sure that I will be able to get my Wii fix on time but I would still like to have it reserved. It looks like it is going to be much easier to manufacture than the PS3 and the Xbox 360 so no retailer is expecting a shortage but I would still rather put down a fifty to secure my unit on release day.
I am completely stoked that Nintendo is going for the $250 system price and is going to be packing in the game Wii Sports. This will make the Wii playable and fun right out of the box. It is the first in box game pack in since Super Mario World on the Super Nintendo. I am also going to pick up The Legend of Zelda : Twilight Princess for Wii when I pick up my system in November. I am stoked about the affordable pricing for the emulation virtual console games and the "Mii" custom game avatar is pretty cool and the on line channels interface looks good.
Today I listened to a Xbox Live's Major Nelson's podcast and he was mentioned the phrase "Wii 360" platform. Basically you can get a Xbox 360 AND a Nintendo Wii for the same price as just a Playstation 3. Since the Xbox 360 and Wii are not really direct competitors they might be a good synergy between the two systems. Microsoft and Sony are both going after the market by providing a powerful hard core game system while Nintendo is going for an innovative fun approach and I think that it should serve them well. I still think that gamers will either buy a Xbox 360 or a PS3 (If you can actually find one and sell and spare internal organ to afford it on the black market) and then consider getting a Nintendo Wii as a next game system since the experience of playing the Wii will be so different. I also think that families will be much more inclined to give a $250 Nintendo Wii system as a gift to a kid rather than shelling out $500+ for a PS3 or $ 300+ for a Xbox 360.
Oh one thing. Last weekend I took my 360 over to my pals BBQ's place in Seattle and we played some Dead Rising and had an orgasmically zombastic time. We used his LCD monitor using the VGA cable at 1280x1024 but I forgot to set my 360 back to 1024x786 before I went home. My LCD TV then game me an error when I tired to use the VGA cable. I hooked up the standard resolution cable and was disturbed to see that I was only presented with the options for the AV cable. I tried to reset to the factory setting using the standard cable but it did not work. I had to set the resolution setting down to 1024x786 flying completely blind since it was set to high for my LCD TV. So let that be a warning to you when you take your 360 over to your pals place. BBQ could not believe the size of the 360 external power unit. He pointed out that if you ever get mugged you can fight them off by using the hot 360 power unit a club.
Jake at September 20, 2006 
Rants
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[It is the first in box game pack in since Super Mario World on the Super Nintendo]
Didn't the VirtualBoy come with Mario Tennis in-box?
Posted by: Bryan at September 21, 2006 4:30 AM
Alas you are right. I like many other had forgotten about the Virtual Boy.
Posted by: Jake of 8bitjoystick.com at September 21, 2006 9:24 AM
Being a long-time Nintendo fan, I am stoked as well. But am I the only one who thinks they could have come up with a better pack-in than Wii Sports? A little generic and hardly a killer app! I'm interested to hear your thoughts on it Jake.
Posted by: Boyd at September 21, 2006 3:51 PM
It seems like they are packing in Wii-Sports so people have something to test out the majority of the features the system has to offer. It's not new technology, but it's a new concept for mass gaming, and just the idea that it comes with something to try out before you buy a game, makes buying the Wii more comfortable.
That's my take anyway.
I know that when I think about buying a Wii, the thought of it coming with a game makes me feel a lot better about the system. It's a gaming machine, and by packing in a game with the system, they show that. The PS3 will probably come with a crappy movie on Blu-Ray instead of an HDMI cable, or a game (they would pack in a demo disc actually, bastards).
Posted by: Shawn L ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.8bitjoystick.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at September 22, 2006 5:32 PM
They aren't taking preorders yet because Nintendo just announced the official price and and release date. Then the retailers need to know how many systems they are getting before they can start taking preorders. I talked to a guy at EBGames and he said they don't want to take too many preorders because that happened with the 360 and made a lot of people mad. I also talked to a Nintendo rep and they are supposed to launch 2 million units on release day.
Here is some gamestop/ebgames preorder info: http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/gamestop/fresh-gamestop-wii-preorder-details-202170.php
Posted by: Ryo at September 22, 2006 8:32 PM
