Nintendo Wii Fanboy

The Wii has been a hard console to find, which is why Wal-Mart has a "one console per customer" policy. This policy backfired on a couple of friends recently, at an Exton, PA store where they found 7 or 8 consoles sitting on the shelf, almost calling out to them in a Siren's song. When they went to each purchase a console, a Wal-Mart employee Wii-blocked them, stating that they were "together" and thus could only purchase one console "together."

Now, personally, this blogger must admit to purchasing a Wii at a Wal-Mart because, frankly, nowhere else was the console to be found. And, like the hero of the story here (also named Dave, that's how we know he's a hero), this blogger was in the store with a friend. We each purchased a console, some games and accessories no problem. The store employees or the manager in the back of the Electronics section had nothing to say about our purchase. So, this story really ticks us off, to be honest.

Besides, isn't it the goal of this particular business to sell things? What should the company, or the lowly employee that pulled off the block here, care about what happens to the console after it is sold. As far as we're concerned, that's where the retailer's responsibility ends. Maybe that's why we're not in the retail game ...

Update: Whoops, typo!

Sam's Club, the members-only warehouse store owned by Wal-Mart, is going to start taking preorders of upcoming games. The first game to be tested with this program is Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which will be the reason for a midnight launch party at every store. What a great opportunity to pick up the game immediately and celebrate with ... other Sam's shoppers! Stores will even have a stock of twenty Wiis each.

The awesome part of this (assuming you don't find the prospect of hanging out at Sam's at midnight awesome) is that Sam's will be selling the game for only $44. The other awesome part is that you can get, like, these huge jars of red licorice while you're there.

A GoNintendo reader snapped this amazingly tantalizing picture of $10 Wii accessory bundles at his local Wal-Mart. For half the price of just the accessory, shoppers at this particular store can get a bundle containing a Nunchuk, 2000 Wii Points card, or a Classic Controller, along with a controller cover. So that's more than you usually get, for much less than it normally costs.

No doubt these are holiday bundles being clearanced out simply because it's not the holidays anymore, but Wal-Mart's poor judgment can definitely be to your benefit. Be warned that Wal-Mart deals vary from store to store, and there's a fairly high probability that your store will either have a different price on these or won't carry them at all. But if you happen to be going to Wal-Mart anyway, which we hear happens occasionally with a lot of people, it may be worth your time to check out the electronics section!

Remember how a bunch of you promised that you'd buy Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros Treasure as soon as it hit the bargain bin (sub-$20)? Well, we remember, so you better not go back on your word ... Now that the adventure game has been marked down to around $29 at most retailers, if you've received one of those $10 gift cards Wal-Mart gave out to apologize for its Brawl preorder mess, you can use the $10 to order Zack & Wiki online for only $19.82!

Who could have expected that a blundered Super Smash Bros. Brawl reservation would lead to you buying a cheap copy of Zack & Wiki? Masahiro Sakurai works in mysterious ways!


[Via NeoGAF]

Unwilling to honor its erroneous $19.82 pricing listed last Friday for Super Smash Bros. Brawl preorders, Wal-Mart has done the next best thing to appease the gamers who felt entitled to more than just an apology -- they've given us all free money.

If you haven't received it yet, this is the message you'll receive soon, provided that you took advantage of Wal-Mart's too-cheap reservation: "As we are always striving to provide a positive customer experience, we will be sending you a $10 electronic Gift Card toward a future purchase as an apology for your recent experience. (One Gift Card per affected customer; this card can only be used online at Walmart.com. Look for details in a separate email.)."

Alright, so a $10 gift card only valid online isn't nearly as great as a ten-dollar bill in your hand -- or a twenty-dollar copy of Brawl, for that matter -- especially considering that every game or accessory at Wal-Mart that's worth a damn will run you much more than $10. You could always just use the card to offset the cost of an expensive purchase, or you could purchase one of these cheap alternatives we've picked out for you from the online store instead:

• Soho Cooler 4-Piece Glassware Set, Clear - $7.97
• ReliOn Ultima Blood Glucose Monitor - $8.88
• Disney - Men's Grumpy Love Boxer Shorts - $7.58
• Puddles Rainwear - $6.97-$9.97
• Spice Girls CD: Greatest Hits - $8.82
• Playtex One Step Breast Milk Storage Kit - $9.62
  
• Doodle Dinosaurs: Draw-Ruptor - $9.00
  

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Disaster!

Just as we assumed, the epic Super Smash Bros. Brawl preorder deal we featured this morning was a total boner on Wal-Mart's part, as evidenced by the now-missing product page. But instead of honoring the $19.82 price for anyone who ordered the game before its listing was pulled -- like we all hoped the retail giant would do, despite our usual pessimism -- Wal-Mart has canceled the reservations, presumably refunding all charges.

Already, notification emails are being sent out with the following message: "We have received your request to cancel the item(s) listed below from your order." We tried arguing over the phone with a Wal-Mart customer representative (1-800-966-6546, not 1-800-966-6456, the number the email advises you to call) that we had made no such request, but our protests found no purchase; we were told the distributor canceled all orders, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl will be relisted online tomorrow with its regular $49.99 price.

We haven't been this sad since we saw that episode of Fresh Prince in which Will Smith reconnected with his father, only to find himself abandoned by his dad again shortly afterwards.

[Via Our Heartbroken Inboxes]

You'll be kicking yourself for months if you don't rush over to Wal-Mart's online store right now to put in your Super Smash Bros Brawl preorder before someone at the giant retailer wises up and updates the listing. At $19.82, this is likely the lowest you'll see this game priced for the next couple of years, so you would be a fool to not immediately pounce on this. And you know how we feel about fools -- we have no pity for them. None!

Here's a protip for those of you who missed out on this reservation deal because you didn't hear about it until much later in the day: read Wii Fanboy more often.

Update: Sale's over, kids! We hope you took advantage of this while it lasted!

Update 2: Wal-Mart has canceled all preorders. :'o(

[Thanks, John, Keith, and Mario!]

For those of you who have yet to find a Wii, we have potentially good news! Or a totally mean waste of your time. We don't really know.

Tipster Memnoch tells us he saw a handwritten sign in a Wal-Mart electronics department in Fairfax, VA telling employees to hold Wii shipments for April 1st, when a new advertising circular would announce their availability.

Our readers have yet to lead us astray with these shipment tips, but we aren't 100% sure about it. It's not that we don't trust Memnoch-- it would just be foolish to take a rumor involving April 1st at face value. Hence the more skeptical, pensive Matthew Lesko. Good luck if you check this out!

Planning to camp out this weekend in search of a Wii? We understand. Promises of plenty of consoles for everyone be damned -- when it's launch day, it's time to get your camp on. But there's a problem, see. There will probably be other people camping, too, and when it comes to a console launch, anything goes. We don't advocate violence ... but if someone tries to get between us and a Wii, well, we might have to kill them in front of their momma (apologies for quote bastardization). But no worries, fanfolk -- the crew at Gaming Out Loud did a little research* for you and they have some tips for outcamping all the other console-crazed individuals.

We favor tip #3 (check out the original article for the rest):

Nothing gives you more insta-cred than whipping out a DS lite while waiting for the sun to rise. Not only does it validate your nerdocity, but it can be a great way to spark conversations with others.

"Hey, is that DS lite?"
"Yes."

Isn't that amazing? That right there has bonded you two for life.

Though now it's going to seem like copying if we take a DS. Thanks, Alec. Thanks a lot.

*They read a wiki. Not the Wiki, just a wiki.

[Thanks, izzyb412!]

Joystiq has managed to confirm with Wal-Mart corporate that a midnight Wii launch is definitely happening and much of what Joystiq previously reported was true. Corporate says they are not currently accepting online pre-orders due to the demand for the console. So, we suggest you show up as early as you can to your Wal-Mart and get a ticket Saturday night at 10pm.

Wal-Mart's Wii pre-orders, despite coming with a ridiculous four game (!) bundle, apparently came and went in the space of a heartbeat. Tipsters have told Wii Fanboy that though they signed up for a newsletter or notification e-mail, nothing arrived ... so unless you were one of the lucky ones who got one, or you were camping Wal-Mart's site, odds are you didn't snag one of these pricey bundles.

There is, however, the possibility of a light at the end of this tunnel. At this time, we have not located anyone who actually obtained one of the bundles, and there is some question as to whether or not they even went on sale. Most of the people we've talked to who were camping the preorder got a big nothing. In the interest of getting the whole story (including how many units they had available for this), we've put in a call to Wal-Mart, but in the meantime, if you got one or know someone who did, we'd love to hear about it. We'll update you as the information comes in. It certainly looks like they really did sell out -- the main page at Walmart.com is advertising the pre-orders and the actual page is reporting them as out of stock ... but where are the lucky folks who got one, if that's the case?

Dislike forced bundles? Who doesn't! But word is that after the Xbox 360 launch (which featured another enormous bundle at Wal-Mart), buyers had little trouble returning unwanted items for a refund. That takes some pain out of the bundle, if there's a repeat of that policy this year ....

[Thanks to everyone who's been sending this in!]

[Update 1: Now seeing a few posts on forums from people who say they got one (where are the screencaps of evidence, guys?), but still waiting to hear back from Wal-Mart rep on veracity and number of units.]

[Update 2: Reader WedgeTalon forwarded us the text of an e-mail posted at Cheap Ass Gamer (it's somewhere in the 20+ page thread, we expect), and we quote this line only: Amount Charged to Your Credit Card: $ 597.66. Ouch! Looks like the two minutes of preorders did go down -- now we have to hope for the callback from Wal-Mart verifying number of units.]

One blogger was traversing the aisles of his local Wal-Mart when he stumbled upon a booklet. Upon further inspection, he saw the book was a buyer's guide focusing on what the Wii is and what it has to offer. Coming in at a whopping 30+ pages, the guide features educational facts on the Wii, game profiles, and an interview with ass-kicking, name-taking extraordinaire Reggie Fils-Aime.

Should we expect this marketing strategy to work? Will shoppers actually stop to give the Wii the time of day? Regardless, we're all for the corporate giant pimping the Wii.

[Via Go Nintendo]