Nintendo Wii launches in Japan

According to our row of clocks in the Engadget situation room here at Engadget HQ, it's now past 9:00AM, December 2nd in Japan, which means the Wii has been out and about in its home country for around two hours by now. We just got some pics from a friendly tipster at the Yodobashi camera store in Shinkjuku, Japan, where the line stretched several blocks and the console quickly sold out. Apparently the scene was very calm, with most people picking up an extra Wiimote along with 2-3 games, before heading on their merry way home to partake in unboxing rituals and a weekend of Zelda fun. There are purportedly 400,000 consoles available at launch in Japan, and at this point we're guessing just about every one of 'em is either sold or spoken for. Happy Wii-ing Japan! Keep reading for some more pics of Japanese launch "mayhem."

[Thanks, Eric "Fumanku" Ku]

Everything's so... clean! What's wrong with these people?


Nothing to see here, move along.


More intense cleanliness.


Shortly after this picture was taken, zero riots broke out, followed by a complete absence of drive-by shootings.


More rabid Nintendo fans, holding in the emotion. Don't worry, we're sure they'll all break their fair share of Wiimote straps.


The end of the line. We're pretty sure that sign says "Sold out," but it could very well say something like "Sucker! All these Wiis and you couldn't get your lazy-azz out of bed in time to hook one up?" It could really go either way.

[Eric @ Dec 2nd 2006 12:03AM]

I guess you like to live in filth. Both you and kaztm....sheesh.

[PreGHz @ Dec 2nd 2006 2:33AM]

Where the hell do you guys live at?

I live in Des Moines, Iowa.

We don't have dirty streets. You see some trash, you pick it up and move it to the nearest trash can. Takes five seconds.

[Brennan @ Dec 1st 2006 8:27PM]

wow, japanese culture sure is different from America, i heard anime n hentai is the money maker.....er....popular in japan.

hope none of them shoot their Wii remotes at TVs, because it is so easy NOT to break the strap.

[s7r1k3r @ Dec 2nd 2006 9:18AM]

Yea only when you DONT HOLD your wii and just let it flind around.

[Sizer @ Dec 1st 2006 8:43PM]

Wow, what a huge difference from the PS3 launch. People actually buying the consoles (and games) to play!

[nick @ Dec 1st 2006 9:15PM]

The Wii is definitely the other hot seller this Holiday season, specially with the PS3 in such a limited number, what more could Nintendo have wished for.. I think Christmas is coming early for Nintendo this year..

I heard on the radio last week just this sentiment.. when a tech expert was talking about how Wii would definitely be the beneficiary of the PS3's marketing. It again has put a focus on game consoles. A good combination of the marketing and the PS3's limited availability is good news for the Nintendo Wii..

(nicholas)

[wako @ Dec 1st 2006 9:24PM]

I love how the police are actually there to help MAINTAIN order in the line. Unlike in the US, they just come and create chaos and tell everyone to scatter, only to create a terrible riot when the store opens to sell them.

[kaztm @ Dec 1st 2006 9:35PM]

Just FYI, those police-looking people in the pictures are security guards, not LEOs.

[max @ Dec 1st 2006 10:22PM]

The sign says ??? -- end of the line.

[tekdroid @ Dec 1st 2006 10:49PM]

nintendo fans; the gentler, kinder species.

[Jas @ Dec 1st 2006 10:50PM]

My Chinese is bad (yes, it's really Chinese and not Japanese), I'm pretty sure the direct translation is "very tail of the line."

[ashikase @ Dec 2nd 2006 10:12AM]

No, it is Japanese; yes, Japanese uses Chinese characters, but it's still Japanese. Your translation is accurate though. Underneath the large print, another sign is tacked on that does indeed say "sold out".

[Sabeer Kibria @ Dec 1st 2006 11:29PM]

My japanese is pretty unsophisticated also. I think it translates to about "close of the line." Don't take my word for it though.

[Lock720 @ Dec 2nd 2006 12:01AM]

Next week's Media Create Japanese Hardware sales should be interesting. It may be the first time since its launch in March, that the DS Lite won't top the charts.

[stormtrooper @ Dec 2nd 2006 12:22AM]

neat, NEAT!

[cyn @ Dec 2nd 2006 12:35AM]

signs usually just tell you what the line is for that that it's the end i believe.
went to japan this past august and garbage cans are RARE
but the streets are so clean

[Aaron @ Dec 2nd 2006 2:49AM]

I don't quite know how things are in Iowa but in Illinois the streets can be filthy. I don't think I will ever be picking up trash on Wabash or Michigan from others because one it's gross, two there's far too much of it. There are garbage cans everywhere too yet to some people they are just too far because they require effort. I'm no hippie but it would be nice for large cities in the US to be on par with large cities in Japan as far as cleanliness. For a lot of people it would seem like if the garbage can isn't magically under their hand when they wanna drop something it might as well not exist.

[Reg @ Dec 2nd 2006 2:49AM]

Well that place is nothing like downtown Philly. It's filthy here. The streets are dirty, trash is everywhere, and vagrants sleeping everywhere (and we pay a 4% City Wage tax which is supposed to "help" the city...but I digress).

I wonder how the Japanese culture is accepting the Wii? Apparently everyone seems excited about it. Hopefully everyone there will only play Wii Sports before casting their opinions about the system because that is so far the only release title that actually fully utilizes the Wii Remote (you know, the whole point of the Wii Revolution in the first place).

[rainking187 @ Dec 2nd 2006 9:40PM]

Wow, it must be really different where you live, I wouldn't even consider picking up trash here. The closest I ever got was picking up a five dollar bill someone dropped once. Even that took several minutes before the greed finally gave in. And I scrubbed my hands for about a half an hour afterwards. If anyone's wondering why I'm so worried about picking things up off the ground, one time I walked past a dead squirrel on the sidewalk on my way home. Three weeks later when I took that route again the squirrel was still in the exact same place. Not sanitary around here.

[PreGHz @ Dec 2nd 2006 2:59AM]

I guess it comes down to respect.

If people respected themselves and their city, it would be cleaner.

Plus, the Japanese have a great number of "Masters of the Custodial Arts" who take pride in their job. It's one way Japan has created jobs for overpopulated areas.

Also. 40,000 systems? The PS3 launched there with 80,000 and people acted like it was the end of the world. Nintendo sells 40k and no one bats an eye. I guess it isn't as in demand there as the PS3.

[Miniboss @ Dec 2nd 2006 3:25AM]

Yeah, that's 400k, not 40k there, buddy.

[PreGHz @ Dec 2nd 2006 1:13PM]

Sweet Lord, my bad. It was late at night.

Apologies.

[Mike @ Dec 2nd 2006 4:48AM]

Didn't you guys know there's iRobots roaming the streets of Japan?

[drebes @ Dec 2nd 2006 6:04AM]

I have made a video of the waiting line at Yodobashi Camera in Shinjuku:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8429718990182088441&hl=en

[Blake @ Dec 2nd 2006 9:35AM]

I love how the xbox 360 is left out of this. Wii and PS3 ftw!

[kev @ Dec 2nd 2006 10:59AM]

Shinkjuku? Are you guys retarded or have really fat fingers? :p

[Tamyu @ Dec 2nd 2006 12:19PM]

We got one today - Had one reserved since September, so we were one of the lucky ones who didn`t have to line up.
Everywhere is sold out. There were people lined up at every game shop and department store in our area, even out into the countryside. People were trading stats on which stores were getting what number in, etc. It was all very peaceful, and it seems that most of the people buying were doing so because they wanted the console - not because they wanted to resell it... Which was a huge problem with the PS3.

It`s pretty sad, but the PS3 is actually sitting on shelves here unsold. Which is really BAD news for Sony. The 360 on the other hand is actually gaining some popularity.

Oh, and the sign? It`s Japanese for (literally) "Tail end of the line".... Basically "Line ends here". It`s so people know where to line up. When you encounter a huge line like that, it can be hard to locate the end of it.

[Ihar `Philips` Filipau @ Dec 2nd 2006 1:23PM]

I wonder what kind of chances I will have to snatch a Wii next week - when it will launch in Europe.

Not a fan, but I will be morning 8th by the store anyway. I definitely want to drop by. But seeing all that hype, I not much eager to find myself in crowded room with no actual Wiis in there.

[kaztm @ Dec 2nd 2006 3:01PM]

"I wonder what kind of chances I will have to snatch a Wii next week - when it will launch in Europe."

Japan seems to have had problems with some yakuzas and foreign nationals hoarding PS3 and Wii at launch.
http://www.asahi.com/business/update/1202/031.html

It is very unfortunate that some gangs and terrorists found a legitimate way to collect money from us through ebay.

[uclatommy @ Dec 3rd 2006 1:55PM]

Japan has such beautiful cities. I like the way the smaller stores have storefronts that open up to the street rather than having a doorway and a display window like the stores in the US. Seems like it would be much more interesting to walk down the street and shop.

[Douglas @ Dec 3rd 2006 6:41PM]

I live in Des Moines, Iowa.

We don't have dirty streets. You see some trash, you pick it up and move it to the nearest trash can. Takes five seconds.

-- Seriously? Where I live I can pick up a lot of trash on the side of the road, & a week later it will be replaced. No one seems to care. Infact if they see you cleaning it up they treat you like a freak.

[Paul D @ Dec 4th 2006 2:25AM]

I lucked out and didn't even have to wait in line! A local game shop near my house made their entire shipment available for pre-order yesterday, and I managed to reserve one of the last ones. Just walked in and picked it up today.