In line, instead of reading about it

(tags Dual Screen, hardware, game, purchase, pre-order, Wii)

Tis the season to be... waiting in line?!?

I don't know how to order this entry and the next one, so I'll just start with this one.

I was supposed to be trying to find the Oshare Majo Love and Berry DS Collection Special Pack. I picked Toys 'R Us as my first stop on this horrid day. I got there at around 08:50 and there was a whole gang of people. There were actually two lines, one short line of about 20 people for some reason (a PS3 crowd ? with mainly guys) and a hundred or two for the Wii pre-order and Nintendo DS purchase combined. Kinda like a Sony faction versus a Nintendo faction. The people in the latter line were of all ages, but not many kids on this school day. You know, mom types, NEET-alikes, doods in suits, people on their way to work.

Anyway, the clerks shunted me to this latter line. Later on when they head counted the Wii customers, I told them I want a DS Lite only. But I changed my mind and I got a Wii pre-order slip anyway.

The above picture shows my pre-order slip with the Famitsu Magazine from last week with the Oshare Majo Love and Berry DS Collection Special Pack blurb to show the clerks. You know, like ordering at a Japanese restaurant with glossy menus. "I want this one." Eliminate confusion.

Acutally I wasn't planning on pre-ordering the Wii, or purchasing it this year. Really. Luckily this slip allows me to think about it until Xmas. And I'm sure if I really wanted to get rid of this pre-order slip there will be someone in my circle that will want it.

The line was a frenzy after the slips were handed out. Once one got a slip, one could put down the deposit any time during the day, but still people lined up to pay as soon as they got in the store, just to make sure. Also the remaining would-be purchasers of a Nintendo DS Lite had to go to a seperate line to receive a DS Lite slip, then go back to the main line. There was no instruction for this one though, stupid clerks.

A lady next to me was alarmed with the two lines and asked me if this was the line for the Wii. I assured her that this was the line for the Wii, when it really was the line to get into the store and she would have no problems because she was holding a Wii slip. She perhaps was going to get it for her kids, because she didn't sound like she was all that knowledgable about it (「テレビの前でふるやつよね？」）. I tried to ask her what game(s) she would buy but she just laughed, embarassed. How can a laugh end a conversation?

It took about an hour to pay the deposit. I now know a lot about the baby goods just before the register. Just to make sure the store didn't pull one on me, I confirmed that I was finished for the day after I put down my deposit.

Hm. Wii in 2006, Wii in 2006...