Apex Community Forums - View Single Post - The Wii Hunt

IronSerif · 18-July-07, 10:14 AM

Well due to some ongoing software training I was away last weekend and I'll be away again this weekend, the joys of the IT world.

So as of a few weeks ago I was pretty set on getting a Nintendo DS. I love playing my nephews brain age games, and I liked how almost anyone can pick up and jump right into a majority of the games.

Than my fiance played Wii sports and Big Brain Academy on the Wii at a few kiosks in the mall. That's all it took for her to get hooked - great. And it didn't take much for her to talk me into ditching the DS idea and springing for a Wii. Not a problem right? Sure, if you could find one. I couldn't believe how hard it was to find one of these things. Apparently these have been a hot ticket all year and we weren't the only ones having problems finding one. We seriously called every Best Buy, Circuit City, Target, Wal-mart, EB Games/Game Stop, KMart, Sams Club, and Toys R US within 20 miles for the past 2 weeks and everyone was always sold out. In most cases where a store would get stock they would sell out within 2 hours of receiving it. Sad news for people who work 9 - 5. Luckily since my fiance is a teacher and is fof during the summers she was willing to hang around stores that would get shipments in mid-day.

After another round of calls this week we were very lucky to find 2 walmarts that just received their stock, 4 Wii's each. After gleefully spreading the word like a little school girl to my fiance and friend, we were on the hunt to pick these up. Unfortunately I was stuck at work, fiance was at a doctors appointment, but our friend was freeloading the day away and was more than willing to be the go-runner.. So a quick call back to one of the Wal-Marts showed that they only had 2 left and wouldn't hold them, but the other Wal-mart still had 4 left and I was able to talk him into holding 2, as I informed him that someone will be picking them up but they will be 2 seperate purchases for 2 different people. No problem right?

How could I imagine that nothing would go wrong.

My buddy gets there, starts to ring things up, and then the manager comes up and lays down the law of 1 per customer, no exceptions no matter what. So here I am on the phone pleading my case with the manager and she is not budging what so ever.

All hopes, dreams, and joys of getting a Wii were flushed away. Or were they?

Not to be outdone, I quickly called the other Wal-mart and luckily and thankfully talked to another employee that was willing to hold one of the two Wii's, but only for half an hour. NO way would my friend be able to get there in time from the other store, and my fiance was still at her appointment. Low and behold, guess who comes through? The mother. Left work early, on her way home and 2 miles from the store. More than willing to pick it up. How freaking awesome is that.

Haven't had a chance to pick up any games or accessories, and won't get a chance to really play it till I get back from training this weekend, but we definitely busted out the Wii Sports last night.

Boy were we happy that we finally got one, and the search was over. I'd imagine that the Wii shortage is the same elsewhere? Anyone else have to play phonetag with retail stores to finally track one down?

Some things we have lined up to get so far: Wii Play (w/ extra remote), Rayman, Raving Rabbids, Big Brain Academy, WarioWave: Smooth Moves, either Zelda or RE 4, and one of the biggest she got hooked...Wii Fit (when it comes out)

I also want to get a charging station for the Wii motes too, but I'd like to find one that fits the skins/sleeves of the wii motes. I like the charging station from Nyko, but I'm not sure if you can actually charge them while they are in the gloves.

I seriously never thought that I'd want a Wii so soon. I figured the 360 would be enough to carry all of my entertainment needs, and trust me it does a great job and I love it and Xbox live is one of the best things ever, but boy was I surprised at how much fun a Wii actually is.

The fact that my fiance actually wanted one and enjoyed playing the games and got addicted was amazing in itself. The Wii is definitely a party box for everyone.

18-July-07, 10:14 AM		#1 (permalink)
IronSerif Lead Pimp Writer? Hell Yeah!	The Wii Hunt - My Adventure Well due to some ongoing software training I was away last weekend and I'll be away again this weekend, the joys of the IT world. So as of a few weeks ago I was pretty set on getting a Nintendo DS. I love playing my nephews brain age games, and I liked how almost anyone can pick up and jump right into a majority of the games. Than my fiance played Wii sports and Big Brain Academy on the Wii at a few kiosks in the mall. That's all it took for her to get hooked - great. And it didn't take much for her to talk me into ditching the DS idea and springing for a Wii. Not a problem right? Sure, if you could find one. I couldn't believe how hard it was to find one of these things. Apparently these have been a hot ticket all year and we weren't the only ones having problems finding one. We seriously called every Best Buy, Circuit City, Target, Wal-mart, EB Games/Game Stop, KMart, Sams Club, and Toys R US within 20 miles for the past 2 weeks and everyone was always sold out. In most cases where a store would get stock they would sell out within 2 hours of receiving it. Sad news for people who work 9 - 5. Luckily since my fiance is a teacher and is fof during the summers she was willing to hang around stores that would get shipments in mid-day. After another round of calls this week we were very lucky to find 2 walmarts that just received their stock, 4 Wii's each. After gleefully spreading the word like a little school girl to my fiance and friend, we were on the hunt to pick these up. Unfortunately I was stuck at work, fiance was at a doctors appointment, but our friend was freeloading the day away and was more than willing to be the go-runner.. So a quick call back to one of the Wal-Marts showed that they only had 2 left and wouldn't hold them, but the other Wal-mart still had 4 left and I was able to talk him into holding 2, as I informed him that someone will be picking them up but they will be 2 seperate purchases for 2 different people. No problem right? How could I imagine that nothing would go wrong. My buddy gets there, starts to ring things up, and then the manager comes up and lays down the law of 1 per customer, no exceptions no matter what. So here I am on the phone pleading my case with the manager and she is not budging what so ever. All hopes, dreams, and joys of getting a Wii were flushed away. Or were they? Not to be outdone, I quickly called the other Wal-mart and luckily and thankfully talked to another employee that was willing to hold one of the two Wii's, but only for half an hour. NO way would my friend be able to get there in time from the other store, and my fiance was still at her appointment. Low and behold, guess who comes through? The mother. Left work early, on her way home and 2 miles from the store. More than willing to pick it up. How freaking awesome is that. Haven't had a chance to pick up any games or accessories, and won't get a chance to really play it till I get back from training this weekend, but we definitely busted out the Wii Sports last night. Boy were we happy that we finally got one, and the search was over. I'd imagine that the Wii shortage is the same elsewhere? Anyone else have to play phonetag with retail stores to finally track one down? Some things we have lined up to get so far: Wii Play (w/ extra remote), Rayman, Raving Rabbids, Big Brain Academy, WarioWave: Smooth Moves, either Zelda or RE 4, and one of the biggest she got hooked...Wii Fit (when it comes out) I also want to get a charging station for the Wii motes too, but I'd like to find one that fits the skins/sleeves of the wii motes. I like the charging station from Nyko, but I'm not sure if you can actually charge them while they are in the gloves. I seriously never thought that I'd want a Wii so soon. I figured the 360 would be enough to carry all of my entertainment needs, and trust me it does a great job and I love it and Xbox live is one of the best things ever, but boy was I surprised at how much fun a Wii actually is. The fact that my fiance actually wanted one and enjoyed playing the games and got addicted was amazing in itself. The Wii is definitely a party box for everyone.