One of my goals here in NYC today was to pick up a Wii. I didn’t expect my odds to be very good and they weren’t: Nintendo Store, Best Buy, and Toys R Us are all out of stock. Though, I did see one guy purchase a Wii at the Toys R Us and another wandering with a unit in hand — perhaps these were pre-orders?
At the Nintendo Store I had some hands on time with Excite Truck which turns out to be a horrible game and makes me question my desire for a Wii. The graphics are poor and the game is just boring, though I assume two player mode is more fun.
Those of you who live in town better wake up early tomorrow… Both the Nintendo Store and Toys R Us received Wii shipments and will be selling them at 10AM.
Bonus NYC day tripping pictures after the jump…
no apple store?
Seen one Apple store, seen them all. ;) Seriously, I hit it the last time I was here and there’s nothing new for me to check out. Maybe after Macworld in January…
I’ve already heard about three cases of Wii controllers flying about and breaking widescreen TVs and a smart phone (?). How’s that work?
Why aren’t you getting up oily to get one?
With 480p graphics only, I don’t think I could do it; for my 9-year old son: maybe, but his Gamecube keeps him happy. It’s disappointing to me that the Wii can’t output at least 720p, but then again, they target a younger crowd than the PS2 and Xbox 360. That crowd usually doesn’t have enough allowance saved up for an HDTV set. ;)
Oops; I meant “PS3”. :)
Excite Truck seems to be the worst of a bad launch lineup. There may still be hope for the Wii, just not now.
Dave I agree with you about the Wii.. I played on @ ToysRus here in SC and was not really impressed. They show Tennis, BBall, etc. as games to play but my kids looked up and said they would rather play those in real life.
Mike: I did get up early, but we left NYC at 5AM to avoid all the after-holiday traffic. Unlike the PS3, it should be possible to get the Wii within the next few weeks.
They store reps were putting the wrist strap on and cinching it before allowing folks to play. So the threat of flying controllers must be a real. Work buddy Alexi also camped out for the Wii and hasn’t reported smashing his screen yet. Though if he does, I’d like a photograph!
I would like to try Wii Sports and Zelda (which must be better than Excite Truck?) — but the line for those was way too long. Good thing Alexi has them for me to try.
My friend was going to get up early and get a Wii — I haven’t even checked to see if she got hers. If so, my kids are going to wear helmets when they play over there!
I recently had some friends over and gave a little demo of the Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 in action. The “gamers” were most impressed by Gears of War for Xbox 360 for both its graphics and gameplay. The overall crowd favorite was the Wii, though. Wii Sports Tennis was a hit among both non-gamers and gamers alike, despite the relatively terrible graphics.
Give it another chance, Dave!
I love excite truck, I think it’s a perfectly good arcade sports title. There’s some skill involved with driving using a controller in the air while at the same time it’s goofy enough to let you slam into people and knock them off the road. Once you get the hang of the controller sensitivity, it’s just as playable as any gran turisimo title on the playstation line.
I’m also enjoying Excite Truck and agree that it’s a whole lot of fun. It also looks like the comments are mostly from people who haven’t had a chance to play the game at home with frinds and family-it compeltely changes the perspective. Dave, like ALexi said, give it another chance!
I did give it another chance, playing at Alexi’s home… along with the 360 and PS3. I went with the 360 for now, but if better software titles come out I can see picking up the Wii to play when friends are over. I’m also a huge Metroid fan, so whenever that title is released I could become an owner.