Steven Rodriguez, Director

I had approached the Wii launch unlike I had any previous console launch before it. I've always been an early adopter of Nintendo systems, but I didn't need to deal with launch day hassles for either the Nintendo 64 (parents bought it for me) or the GameCube (bought one at my retail job). Sure, it was great to get the hardware, games, and accessories I wanted right away without dealing with launch lines, but the hardcore gaming nerd inside of me was telling me I was missing out on something. In the months leading up to the Wii launch, I had come to realize that in order to become a true and complete dork, I had to camp outside of a store overnight to secure a launch system the old fashioned way.

With that, I laid down plans to hunker down out in front of my local Best Buy. I had called up a friend who said he was game, and I had plenty of TV shows on my PSP's memory stick to help pass the 14-hour wait we had scheduled. Back in my game testing days, 14 hour shifts were the norm, and 24-hour shifts popped up from time to time; waiting overnight outside of a store wasn't going to faze me. I was determined to do it.

That was, until my friend flaked out on me. I won't get into the details of exactly why he did (I'm sure his girlfriend would if you asked her), but needless to say this threw my glorious plan into a tailspin. I could have handled the mental stress of waiting it out for that long, but my bladder would not have. Without a buddy to watch my back, I worried that people might "forget" to hold my place in line, or worse yet, steal some of my possessions as I went around the corner to "relieve myself of doody". Simi Valley, CA is one of the safest cities in the United States, but that doesn't mean I would let my $600 worth of PSP and DS gear be left unattended.

So, going it alone was out of the question, and with less than two weeks to go until the Wii launch, I didn't really know what I wanted to do. I didn't pre-order, because I was hellbent on waiting in line on launch day for my Wii. I was still hanging on to the notion of waiting in line at Best Buy (it was actually only a five minute walk away my place), but then NWR's IT Director (and fellow SoCal resident) Michael Cole got to talking about our launch day plans.

Long story short, we thought it would be the best to both go down to the Los Angeles CityWalk Wii launch. Nintendo had just announced the event's existence, so we figured we should go over there and do our jobs. You can read about what went down at the event right here, but there's a little more to add to the story.

TYP and I arrived on scene at 2:00 PM on Saturday afternoon. Actually, I got there an hour earlier to check things out, and naturally there was already a line about 150 people deep. Although we had press credentials, no one was really sure if we could be guaranteed a system to purchase. Since the press check-in didn't start until 6:00 PM that evening, I did what any other gamer would do.

I got in line.

It was about three hours later when we eventually got our "you're standing in line" wristbands, which were numbered '215' and '216'. Another hour after that we hooked up with Nintendo, who assured the media we would be able to purchase our systems without too much of a fuss. Half relieved, I stepped out of line and got to work, which was an adventure in its own right; to listen to the craziness we experienced for yourself, I recommend you check out our Ultimate Wii Launch Spectacular episode of Radio Free Nintendo.

I said I was only half relieved: The other half of me was a little disappointed. There were about six hours to go until the Wii went on sale at that point, meaning almost an eight hour wait from where I would have been standing in line to get to the EB Games storefront. I could have done it. I wanted to do it. I wanted to prove to my inner dork that yes, I was hardcore enough to stay in line for a ridiculous amount of time and get a Wii, hours after everyone else in the country (and line) already had theirs. Instead, we were whisked inside just after the first Wii owner on the West Coast got his system, to purchase ours before the rest of all hell that hadn't already broken loose did just that. I could have been a part of that hell.

I did get a taste of it, though. If you're going to be standing in a line, you might as well stand in the biggest line this side of New York City. Five or six years from now, when everyone's ready to do it again, I'll be waiting in line—whereever that line may be. I probably won't be the first one in it (and I probably don't want to be), but I'll be close enough to the front where I don't need to worry about not going home empty-handed. That's probably the real reason why people wait in line. Not me, though. I want to wait in line because I've got something to prove.