Wii get! A look back at the beginning

Today may mark the debut of the Wii, but it's not necessarily been a year for everyone who's gotten one so far. Some Wii owners preordered in advance (like this blogger!), while others had to hunt for months in order to track down a system. We spoke with a few people from around the Joystiq network about their experience with snagging the year's most hotly-desired console -- and we'd love to hear your stories as well. Reminisce with these fine bloggers, and then let us know how you got yours. Was it a heroic effort, or were you one of the lucky ones to secure your little white box early? Since we're going to be celebrating everything Wii this week -- even more so than usual! -- we might as well start at the beginning.

Kyle Orland, Joystiq

Rather than kicking off with a more traditional pre-order story, we thought we would revisit something a little different. Back in January -- two months after the Wii's initial release -- Joystiq's Kyle Orland shared not his story, but the story of his sister's quest for a Wii. Paige spent a morning in the cold, driving with her mother from store to store, suffering through 30-degree weather and people who tried to cut in line. Even then (did we mention this was January?!), stores were handing out tickets and facing lines that were double the size of their shipments. The Wii craze was in full effect, and we'll bet that many consumers will be seeing the same thing over the holidays.

"Apparently, she ... hadn't gotten out of the house until 8. I had told her the night before that this should be plenty early enough to get a place in line for a 10 a.m. store opening. I was wrong. By the time they hit Circuit City at 8:15 a.m., there were already 20 customers lined up for the 16 Wiis indicated by a sign on the front door. What's worse, a surly line-goer told them the nearby Best Buy had over 50 people in line for only 20 systems.

Figuring the short Circuit City line held better odds than the reportedly overflowing Best Buy line, they stuck around until 8:30 a.m. when an employee gave out exactly 16 Wii vouchers, just enough to leave my mom and sister out in the cold. Desperate, the pair decided to swing by Toys 'R' Us (which was closed, with no signs of life or Wiis) and a nearby Gamestop (where the lights and a neon "Open" sign were on, but no employees responded to my sister's pounding on the door). This was the story my sister was recounting as they rolled towards the fifth and final store on their list, another Gamestop. As the minivan approached the parking lot, Paige cut her story short in mid-sentence. "Oh crap, there's a line," she said, "and there's a sign on the door, and the first word on it is 'Wii.' I'll call you back."

Fifteen minutes later, I was pleased to hear from Paige that the store had 17 systems, and that she had signed an unofficial sign-in sheet for the eighth one ...."

Chris Powell, PSP Fanboy, PS3 Fanboy

"I was actually the first person in America to buy a Wii when it officially went on sale. You see, I'm in the Air Force and am stationed on Guam, which is a U.S. territory and is about 14 hours ahead of EST. There's a saying that Guam is where America's day begins since it's the territory/state that's furthest ahead of all time zones. On the night leading up to launch, I was the first person in line at the midnight launch at Gamestop, and am therefore technically the first person in the United States to have purchased a Wii.

As soon as I bought it, I took it home and filmed several videos where I posted them at the Cheap Ass Gamer forums showing people the menu screen and how the VC worked and such."

(Clearly, a man with this level of dedication is writing for the wrong sites, amirite?)

Chris Chester, Massively

"I managed to avoid almost all of the hustle and bustle that most gamers had to subject themselves to in order to get their hands on that precious white cargo. Instead of wrangling pre-orders or waiting in line at a big box retailer, I tapped a secret connection... I'd like to say I met a contact in a clandestine location and was passed my Wii in an unmarked briefcase by a nondescript man in a trenchcoat and sunglasses. The reality is that I just worked for the Entertainment Software Association at the time, and our contact at Nintendo offered us access to the official supply. Gave her my credit card and shipping info, and my Wii showed up a few days after launch, no muss, no fuss. I guess that'll cost me some gamer cred."

And of course, the Joystiq crew put together all their own stories, which you can find here, thanks to the helpful search function.