FINALLY!!!!
VICTORY!!!!
I got a Wii!!!!
I was about to go to the Wal-Mart in Giddings, TX (halfway to Houston) this morning at 7AM to chase one down because I knew that they would be putting 5 out on the shelf then. But then, after talking with my roommate Topher who bought one at launch for his friend Eric, that maybe they would putting them on sale at midnight here in Austin (I had called ahead about the Giddings Wiis and knew for a fact the manager would sell them at 7). So, on my little whim, I decided to take Anna and investigate if they would be on sale at midnight.
We got there at 11:30 to discover a crowd already forming by the electronics. I asked somebody if they were waiting for Wiis, and he explained to me that he and the rest of the people already had numbered vouchers they had gotten from the manager and that I should go wait for him by the restrooms to get one for myself. So I tried that, and five minutes later he turned up and gave me a voucher. I was #15. He still had a few more after that. Some more people showed up, and he gave them vouchers too until they were all gone (with #19 -- so I just made it!) Then at 11:50 they formed us up in a line and at midnight they marched us to the register where they sold all their Wiis to us one by one. When I got to the front of the line and payed with my debit card, I was so in awe at the shiny white box in front of me that I momentarily forgot to put in my pin number. I also bought Zelda of course. Anna and I then hurried home to immediately set the thing up and start playing with it.
Now, recently some new channels have opened up for the Wii. You can now check the weather with the Weather Channel (just kidding, they called it the Forecast Channel) and the News Channel. And I downloaded the trial version of the Wii's custom Opera internet browser and messed around surfing the internet with my Wii on the TV set. Youtube and Facebook both worked great. The cool thing about the browser is that it uses the + and - buttons on the Wiimote to zoom the pages in and out so you can see it better.
Today, I'll be going to see if I can find Wiiplay or extra controllers or anything for the thing and also try and figure out how I can get my Wii hooked up to the projector Topher and I play all our video games on. I think I can get a wireless sensor bar, but I'm not sure if the only place I can find them is online or if they might carry them at a Gamestop or something.
Well, if you're in the Austin area and might want a Wii yourself, I'm sure most Austin Wal-marts have sold out by now. But you might try your luck with the Giddings Wal-Mart. Call ahead to confirm it before you drive out there, but generally it takes them a day or so to sell out of the systems they still have, so assuming you call ahead to confirm that they have them in stock, you have a good shot. Well, happy Wii-hunting for all of you still searching for one. I have finally finished my hunt.