The line started forming outside EB Games around midnight on Friday. Bundled in winter clothes to combat the 32-degree temperature, video game aficionados kept their minds occupied and their hands warm by playing together on their handheld Nintendo DS' while they waited until dawn.
They were waiting to snag one of the 14 preorders for the new Nintendo Wii (pronounced "wee") that the store was allocated. The last person able to preorder began waiting in line at 6 a.m.
When Wii is released Nov. 19, it will be able to play games from all the previous Nintendo consoles -- its father, the Nintendo GameCube; its grandfather, the Nintendo 64; its great-grandfather, the Super Nintendo; and its great-great-grandfather, the Nintendo.
Wii will play its disks and GameCube disks and will play games from 64, Super and Nintendo downloadable from the Internet, said James Wright, assistant manager at EB Games. In the same fashion, Wii will play games from Sega Genesis and Neo-Geo.
Wii will feature a motion-sensitive, wireless controller that looks like a TV remote.
The controller will have a built-in vibrator and built-in speaker, Wright said.
A two-piece, nunchacku controller that plugs into the standard controller will be available, as will a traditional controller similar to what the GameCube offers.
The standard controller will clip to gun and wheel attachments for playing shooting and driving games, Wright said, adding that they are not as expensive than the gun and wheel accessories that can operate on their own.
When the Sony PlayStation 3 is released Nov. 17, and the Wii two days later, the PlayStation will feature sharper graphics while the Wii will feature more innovation, a cheaper price and more availability, Wright said.
The Wii will retail for a Nintendo-enforced price of about $250 everywhere it is sold. Initially, about 1,000,000 Wiis will be available versus about 400,000 PlayStation 3s, Wright said.
For their $250, students will get Wiis bundled with Wii Sports, a package of five sports games included with all initial Wiis.
Baseball, bowling, boxing and tennis are included with the console and were chosen because they rely heavily on the arms and can highlight the Wii's motion sensitive controller, Wright said.
While he thinks the Wii is cool, Chris Biedrzycki (senior-toxicology) said he would try someone else's before buying his own Nintendo Wii sytem. "I wouldn't go out and get it right away," he said.
Biedrzycki added that Wii "could flop or it could be big" as the new Nintendo console is heading into uncharted territory.
Tim Barth, of Tyrone, meanwhile, called the Wii's motion-sensitive controllers annoying.
"I shouldn't have to be an action hero to play a game with an action hero in it," he said.
