This is my epic journey across middle Tennessee in search for a Nintendo Wii. Unlike many others I did not have the time to camp out for the initial launch day and I was busy finishing school projects for graduation, so my Wii search began a month later than most.

 

I began my search on December 17 of 2006 after an all night graduation party. There had been a lot of speculation that the 17th would be a major Wii release day so my boys Aaron and Zack joined me as our search began at 5AM. Unfortunately I underestimated the demand for the Wii as we soon found out driving around Murfreesboro that there had been people camping out since the day before and the “wii” hours of the morning. We first stopped by Toys-R-Us where there were thirty some odd people waiting in line for 18 systems…so we moved on to Target, two EB Games, and Wal*Mart to be received by campers waiting in line, and all locations had nearly twice as many campers waiting to buy systems as there were expected systems.

We then decided that we might be better off moving away from the college town and traveled 40 minutes down the road to the Franklin/Cool Springs area in hopes of smaller crowds. Best Buy was our first stop and we quickly moved on considering that there had to have been atleast 75 people waiting in line. The GameStop next door was well packed and at this point all of our hopes were fading. We ran over to Toys-R-Us and Target to find massive lines waiting there as well. Fortunately Franklin has many stores so we weren’t out of luck just yet. We went over to another EB Games were they claimed to only have three and there were 4 people in line and Circuit City at this point had already handed out tickets…but there was still the mall GameStop. We rushed over to the mall to find two ladies waiting out side the GameStop and the sign said they would only have 2! So I left Aaron and Zack at the mall and this kid I met while waiting at the mall headed over to the EB Games were we had seen only four people in line. While talking to him Aaron called and told me his dad had found one in Oklahoma and he wouldn’t have to find one but he would still camp with me and Zack till we had ours or until he had to return for school. While talking with my new friend he told me that his buddy works for UPS and had been the one to deliver the Wiis to the store, that they came in palettes of 3, and that this EB had actually received six, not three.

 

This information came in handy because I quickly called Zack and Aaron upon finding this out and informed them that the GameStop should have at least three Wiis unless the employees were holding on to one for themselves which at launch went against company policy. Aaron being in law school decided he needed to speak with the manager before the store opened to cause a scene. He asked the manager as he was entering the store before it opened why they only had two when the Wiis were shipped in threes? The manager turned and said, “That is none of your business!” and quickly shut the door and locked it behind him. This set Aaron off and we quickly found out the phone number for corporate and Aaron pleaded his case. Corporate apologized for their employees behavior and said it was un acceptable but that was it. About half an hour after this had all happened, one of the other GameStop employees showed up for work with a disgruntled look on his face with guess what under his arm…That’s right, a Wii. After the scene Aaron had caused one of their employees just happened to “return” his Wii before the store opened. Zack had lucked out because he was third in line and GameStop now had three Wiis.

 

Meanwhile I was getting worked up over at the EB Games since I was 5th in line, there had received 6 and were only selling 3. When the doors finally opened I watched as the three Wiis were sold off one by one. The woman in front of me asked if there were anymore over hearing my conversation with my new friend and the employee quickly responded with a “no ma’am, we are all out.” This answer was un acceptable to me hearing that they had received 6 so I attempted to start a riot…no I had no intentions of harm or destruction…but kids will fold many times when you have 20 angry adults yelling at them. I began by casually asking if they had any more Wiis fully aware of what they had just told the woman in front of me (who was still standing by knowing what I had up my sleeve). The employee with a smile told me that they were all out. I responded, “Are you sure, because I have been told otherwise.” The kids eyes grew as if I knew something I wasn’t suppose to know and he immediately became defensive saying, “I don’t know where you got your information from but they lied to you.” Hmm I thought before responding, now assuming the kid was holding back, “Well I was told by the UPS delivery man who delivers to this store that he delivered two palettes of three Wiis. That equals six not three.” This really got the kid going and changed his story from my source went from being a liar, to “it’s possible that we received more than three but the district manager ‘may’ have taken them to another store to meet their demands.” Fine I thought, the kid has been lying through his teeth and now is the perfect time to catch him in my trap. “Alright then, well I’ll be on my way if you could give me your corporate phone number and some way to get in contact with your DM(District Manager). The kid was baffled but willingly gave me the corporate number (probably assuming I would get it off line if he didn’t give it to me), however, he then claimed that he did not know his DMs last name or contact information. I had had my fun so I took the information he had given me and left to go pick up Zack and Aaron who had already informed me that Zack had gotten one, and as I was leaving one of the other employees mumbled under his breath (to my back), “fucking brat”. I ignored him and left, but as I was walking to my car I found it humorous that a Franklin police cruiser came flying into the parking lot and parked on the curb right in front of the store. I didn’t stay to find out if the employee who snuck off during my rant had called the cops on me or if he was there looking for a Wii himself, I was still on a mission and I was gone.

 

After picking up Zack and Aaron I was not satisfied that my roommate who was moving in a week and one of my best friends both had gotten one and I, the puppet master for this trip was still empty handed. So the search continued with a trip to Wal*mart and Kmart in Franklin. Now normally I wouldn’t go to Kmart but when the N64 was released I got the last one in all of Williamson county at Kmart…and no one shops at Kmart so I figured I had good odds. When we arrived we found the store manager up front so instead of rushing to find electronics we decided to ask if they had, have, or would have any. The Manager said no they didn’t have any and would not be carrying the Wii anytime soon. At this point I was so frustrated I looked her straight in the face and said, “It’s no wonder why Kmart went bankrupt and nobody shops here.” She didn’t find this amusing and we left Wii less.

 

At this point I decided to give up for the day. There had been lines everywhere that was suppose to have the Wii and all the stores had now been open for at least an hour. However, my hunt would not end there. For the next week leading up to Christmas I was waking up around 6:30-7:00AM and camping out at Target/Toys-R-Us. Each morning with the same response. The TRU manager would come out and tell me and whom ever else was out side waiting that they did not have any and then there would be a quick rush to target where the too had empty shelf space where the Wii belonged. I was determined to get one before Christmas and on the 23rd of December after being up all night a massive search began covering 5 cities that ended up with the same results of every other trip…no Wiis but lots of PS3s. I searched Murfreesboro to Antioch, to Brentwood, to Franklin, to Shelbyville. It was just not meant to be. Then rumors surfaced that Best Buy would be getting one last shipment in before the new Year around Friday the 29th. I was excited until I came down with a fever of 103 for two days straight. The next time I left the house was on the 31st in hopes that I might get a Wii before the year’s end, but again I returned home Wii-less.

 

My search has continued, but my spirit is breaking. I have been calling stores more frequently now then camping out in the morning in hopes that if they do have any Wiis that I can make it there before they sell out. I have been constantly checking websites such as:

• Wiiloaded.com
• itrackr.com ($2 Signed up 1/6/07)
• wiitracker.com/
• ps3seeker.com/wii

And still remain Wii-less. The hunt continues with speculation of Best Buy receiving a shipment on January 15th…but until then it’s internet research and prayers.

 

I will make another post reguarding this soon.