Wii-nner

I finally got a Nintendo Wii this Wii-kend from the local Target. I have been eyeing one since its launch but I must tell you back then it was not my first choice. I was more interested in XBox 360 which I think is a more complete media system. But, Wii won me over (like it did a lot of others) with its elegant simplicity. Last week I finally convinced my wife that we need a Wii. I first tried Wii as as a fitness gadget but that did not do the trick. But, the Freakonomic blog entry on Wii titled Wii? Whee... did it - she Wii-kened and gave in.

So, on Friday I went searching on the web and found some website that said Gamestops may have a few this Sunday. So, I made a list of Gamestops near my place and started calling them one by one. The first guy told me they don't have any but the local Target may have some on Sunday. I called the second Gamestop they too said they don't have any. I then called Target. The guy confirmed the information provided by the first Gamestop and suggested I be there by 7.30am for the tickets.

I woke up at 5.30, got to Target at about 6.15. I was #3 in the line for Wii. There was one other group for XBox 360 Elite. The last time I had lined up to buy something before the store opened was possibly at a Public Distribution Shop (ration shop) in Chennai for palm oil which like Wii was perpetually out of stock.

The average age of the folks waiting for Wii seem to be a lot more than the ones waiting for XBox. That was even before a retiree came to buy a Wii for her grandson. Most of us seem to be first time game console buyers. At least a few of us took pride in saying we are not what you consider the typical addicted on electronic games type. At 7 am I got the ticket - #3. I was out of the place at 8.15 with my Wii.

I tried the Wii sports - loved it esp. the Wii-mote. It is what my friend would call "devilishly clever" (I call it "Wii-kedly clever"). Mind you my previous experience with games have been Prince of Persia on monochrome monitors with computers running DOS (I am dating myslef), Gorilla and a few really bad attempts at Unreal. I just noticed they have a new PoP for Wii. I might get it one of these days. For now... back to Wii sports.