Remember The Launch Of The Wii

I stumbled across some old photos I took with my phone from the launch day of the Nintendo Wii.

There was a website, I don't remember which one, that allegedly listed the number of units different department stores had on launch day. I didn't believe the numbers. How would a random website have this information?

Luck for me I had a friend that stocked shelves at Target at Boca Park here in Las Vegas. I emailed him the night before and asked if he could verify the stock. He texted me around midnight and said that they had alot.

The next morning I drove by the Boca Park Target, and by 3:00am there was a line. They were not opening until 8. I checked out two 24 hour Walmarts but neither had them.

So I waited in line at around 5:00. I estimated I was probably 100th in line.


Some people had a generator and a PS2 hooked up. I think they played it all through the night. By 5:30 I had to pee and my battery in my phone was dying.



Around 6:30 a store manager and a security guard passed out tickets. If you have a ticket you were guaranteed to buy a Wii until closing that evening.



I was number 93. They ran out of tickets around 150. There was about 400 people in line. Women and children started screaming. They were not going to open the doors until 8:00. I asked the manager to verify he said I was guaranteed to get one with this ticket. He said yes.



So I bailed and went to Del Taco, then Star Bucks, then home to Pee, then back to Target. They were taking us in ten at a time. Buy your accessories, buy your games, go to the customer service center to pick up your console.


It was a fun day and an experience I'll always remember.