Here is another one of those heartwarming stories about families really getting into the Wii:
My older son thought the Wii was “stupid” when I first turned it on and he saw the remote. Then, he watched as I created my first Mii. When I handed the remote to my younger son, my eldest watched his little brother create HIS own Mii, and he couldn’t stand it anymore. With typical “too cool” haughty nine year-old arrogance, he took the remote and was instantly having a great time. His face lit up and he was having tons of fun with the rest of us. This was their first Wii experience, and it was good. It was very good, and the system made itself their new favorite in that five minute span. And this was before we had even played a single game.
The kids never went to school and talked about the 360, or the Gamecube, or any other system. They never ran in from school and ran straight to a console before, but the Wii has changed all that. They can’t wait to get home from school and play it.
The pre-Wii experience at Toys R Us wasn’t so great:
They were now only stocking “bundles”. This “bundle” is not officially-sanctioned. It does not come in a bigger box with factory-packed extras. No, the Toys R Us “bundle” consists of simply a standard off-the-shelf Wii, upon which you are forced to add a game, two accessories (which don’t even have to be official Nintendo accessories), and the extended protection plan from Toys R Us.
I was forced to purchase these “extras” if I wanted to walk out of there with a Wii (which I was told they had in stock) – I was offered a Wii Starter Kit which is made a company called Bensussen, not Nintendo. This is a collection of cheaply made, useless items like controller covers and a game carrying case.
I think its safe to say that everybody hates the bundles that most game places feel the need to throw at you early on in a console cycle. Especially when they include $30 Wii Remote covers, a stand for that controller…and not much else.
