US Wii Launch: New York Report

SPOnG headed out to the Toys’r’Us in Time Square (New York, New York that is) for the midnight launch of Nintendo’s highly anticipated new console.

Two key points arose from this second platform launch in three days: firstly, while producing less media coverage than the more expensive, less available and more powerful Playstation 3, Nintendo did manage to get hardware, software and accessories into the hands of consumer. There were enough units available - in New York, at least - for Toys’r’Us to set a maximum purchase of two Wiis per purchaser. This in itself will generate the one form of coverage that PR and advertising campaigns strive to produce: word of mouth.

Secondly, people buying Wiis were also asking, pointedly, which games used specific Wii controls. In short, people really wanted to ‘use the Wii’. This, of course, is exactly the reaction to its console’s unique selling point (U.S.P.) that Nintendo was hoping for.



Much like the rest of the country, we showed up only a few hours ahead of time. Upon our arrival, however, we discovered a line several thousand people deep.

For scale, pull up Google Maps and find Time Square. Find the block that the Toys’r’Us is on, then imagine a line about six people wide wrapping around the entire thing. The craziest part, however, is that the retailer had enough for everyone… and then some!

Those ‘Mercans who don’t live in the NYC area now know why there are no Wiis at their local Best Buy - because Nintendo had ensured that there were just under 9,000 of them on hand for the flagship launch. Yup, that’s a nine followed by three zeros. Thankfully, this SPOnG reporter got two of them - there was a two-per customer limit, if you can imagine.

Keeping the mammoth queue concentrated on the main even – aside from the obvious excitement that comes with sleeping on the streets of NYC – meant that Nintendo had also erected a stage with performers just around the corner form the front of the line. The irony here being that no one in the line could actually see it.

At about 11:30pm Nintendo’s president of name-taking, Reggie Fils-Aime, took the stage to announce the 30-minute marker and also to inform the crowd that while they had been waiting the Wii online service had gone live. Then, as if that wasn’t exciting enough, a bunch of guys on those bouncy stilt things took the stage and jumped around, to bad music!

When the time came for the sales to begin T’r’U started letting people down into the R-Zone area a few at a time. Customers could wander freely to pick up games, accessories and two consoles each. Of course, the first console was sold by Reggie himself. However, as with Wiis themselves, all the nunchucks seem to be in NYC - meaning that the rest of the country can’t seem to find one.

The games that people were buying to accompany their new console were as this reporter would have expected with the most popular appearing to be: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess , Red Steel, Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz, Trauma Center: Second Opinion and Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam. The next tier saw Rampage: Total Destruction, Happy Feet and, of course, Madden NFL '07 dropping into carrier bags.

Now that SPOnG has our hands on the yummy little peace of kit we will be putting up tons of previews and reviews in the days running up to the UK launch. Be sure to check back often and if you have any particular questions, stick em in the forums and we’ll do our best to stop touching our Wiis, for you.