Nintendo Wii $250 on November 19th.

[Dryden]

Went back to TRU this afternoon for the Buy 2 Get 1 Sale. Wife and I picked up titles for me and our 7 year old son: Battalion Wars 2, Fire Emblem, and Raving Rabbids 2 on one purchase, using the $25 Gift Card from buying Galaxy on Friday, and then getting back another $10 Gift Card for a purchase over $75. Then on the next transaction we bought Zak & Wiki, Banana Blitz, and Need for Speed Carbon. All told, with the two free games plus gift cards, we got $115 in free Wii titles over two trips these past three days: or Buy 4 Get 3 Free.

TRU on Hamilton Rd in C-Bus was wiped out by the time we got there around 4 or 5 PM. They had probably sold around 80-90% of their Wii software stock off the sale. The cashier told us that people started lining up outside at 3:30 this morning.

However, you can still take advantage of the deal online, or you can go to the store and choose from whatever they do have, and take it back for exchange once what you really wanted is in stock again (unopened and within 45 days, of couse).

Also, another special to take advantage of. At Amazon.com, there is a poll where you can vote for what will be on sale for Black Friday. The choices right now in the game section are a Wii at $79, a PS3 at $139, or the 360 for $99. Whichever one you vote for registers you in a drawing to be eligible to buy that console at that price for that day only.

 

[BrutusMaximus]

Ok after months of consideration, I have changed my mind on the Wii........ Yes, that's right, I admit it.

Ok just kidding, not only does it suck balls, but it now MAJORLY sucks balls. :p

 

[Ginn4Heisman]

anyone else play Super Mario Galaxy?

I rented it and its really fun, hard as hell when it goes upside down and sideways.

not to mention the swimming is a bitch. Not sure if i want to just rent it again (almost saved princess peach - 15 stars away from the middle of the galaxy) or buy it and just have it sit there.

 

[Dryden]

anyone else play Super Mario Galaxy?

I rented it and its really fun, hard as hell when it goes upside down and sideways.

not to mention the swimming is a bitch. Not sure if i want to just rent it again (almost saved princess peach - 15 stars away from the middle of the galaxy) or buy it and just have it sit there.

We picked it up two weeks ago at Toys R Us during their promo. Already over 60 stars through it and have defeated Bowser to complete the story mode the first time around. Overall, a fantastic game and a good successor to Mario 64 (screw Mario Sunshine).

Most appealing aspect to me is the level of difficulty. I can't remember any Mario games that have been this challenging since Mario Bros. 3 on the original NES. The EX levels for Galaxy from the star bits/hungry Lumas and other unlockables are very hard.

Second thing that stands out is the orchestrated soundtrack. The sound quality in Galaxy is amazing.

 

[Ginn4Heisman]

so you recomend buying it not just renting it?


i had it for 6 days and i have like 35-40 stars.

 

[Dryden]

so you recomend buying it not just renting it?

Yeah. Arguably the best title on the Wii right now.

I think the Mario titles have a lot of replay value too, since they're pretty much timeless.

 

[BuckeyeTillIDie]

Do you like it better than Zelda?

I think Zelda is the best game released in the 2000s, so my bar is set pretty high.

 

[Dryden]

Do you like it better than Zelda?

I think Zelda is the best game released in the 2000s, so my bar is set pretty high.

I don't know. I think it's a push really, because both suffer from being too linear. Neither one had the sense of exploration that their Nintendo 64 counterparts had. My biggest gripe with Twilight Princess is that it felt like I was being led from Point A to Point B, and there weren't any real challenges thrown in my way outside of a few of the combat stages, like I was just pressing buttons to unpause a story that was already written.

Galaxy is more polished, IMHO. The lighting effects are really amazing, and the sense of gravity as you're planet-hopping is something I've never seen before in any other game.

Galaxy's soundtrack is worth the price of the game on its own, though. Orchestrated versions of 20-years worth of classic Mario tunes is a treat.

There's already been lots of talk that Galaxy will be every rags Game of the Year pick. It's already moved 2M copies in just two weeks (against 15M Wiis sold). 1-in-8 Wii owners ran out and bought it at launch even before Black Friday. It even briefly overtook Ocarina of Time at Game Rankings as the #1 game all time, though it has since settled in at #2 over this past week.

Now, I don't know that I'd place it on the mantle of the Top 10 games ever, but it's definitely a return to everything that worked in Mario 64.

 

[Dryden]

Pictures from a Toys R Us after the Buy 2 Get 1 promo last week. These were found online from the TRU in San Antonio; I can confirm that the TRU on Hamilton Rd in C-Bus looked just like this.

TRU employees at the San Antonio store said that when the sale was over, they had 26 Wii games left in the store, total!

All the boxes you see in the glass display case that are turned around are actually empty demo copies and pre-order boxes.

 

[Deety]

I had a chance to try the Wii last week and it was fun. Is there skeeball? If there's skeeball I'm getting one. :)

Oh... and the Mario fans might need to buy one of these to jump on.

 

[MolGenBuckeye]

Is there skeeball? If there's skeeball I'm getting one. :)

Actually, there is!

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/review/product/B000QD7BBM/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1"]Carnival Games[/ame]

 

[Ginn4Heisman]

went to TRU today and they were having a deal if you bought Super Mario Galaxy, you got another wii game 50% off.

so i got SMG and Cabela's Big Game hunting for 65.00

 

[PennState1985]

I'm waiting until the price drops to reasonable levels like I do with every system I buy. Of course that means I'll end up buying it one year before it becomes obsolete.

 

[Dryden]

I'm waiting until the price drops to reasonable levels like I do with every system I buy. Of course that means I'll end up buying it one year before it becomes obsolete.

Considering the going price for a Wii on eBay is north of $400 now, and virtually never dipped below $300 this summer, I think Ninty will keep the $249 price for at least another year, if not two.

It's going to be a loooong time before supply ever catches up to demand, so you're going to be waiting awhile for a price drop on the Wii.

 

[Dryden]

If anyone is looking for a Wii, or knows someone looking for a Wii, this weekend is your last best chance to get one at retail before Christmas.

Nintendo: Wiis Hit Shelves This Weekend

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime confirmed today what we first broke earlier this week, Best Buy and six other national retailers will be stocking Wii this weekend. And by stocking I mean they will be advertising the console in their weekly circulars (except Wal-Mart) and then throwing the consoles up on the shelves come the weekend and then running away.

Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart, Sears, Kmart, Toys R Us and Circuit City are all stocking the Wii this weekend for those still on the hunt. We had several tips after our rumor story ran about the stock issue.

According to Best Buy tipsters it sounds like all stores will have at least 21 of the consoles with some carrying as many as 100. ...

EB/GameStop will not get Wiis. Instead they'll get a batch of IOUs to sell all the Wiis Nintendo thinks they'll make by January.

Breaking: Nintendo Announces GameStop Wii Raincheck Program

On December 20th and 21st, hopeful Wii-owners will be able to pre-purchase a Wii at their local GameStop for guaranteed deliver by the end of January. $250 gets you the promise of a Wii by the end of next month ...