With the week off due to a company shut-down, I got bored enough that I decided to try and get my hands on Nintendo’s newest game console, the Wii. I’m actually more interested in a PS3, but I’d rather wait for the price to come down first. Besides that, I haven’t had much time to play video games lately, so it’s probably best if I go for the cheaper game console.
Amazon.com had advertised that they would have the Wii in stock and would be selling it sometime between 7AM-11AM PST. So, of course, I got up at 7AM, hopped on my computer, and waited. After an hour, I got bored and decided to hit the stores instead. Good thing I didn’t waste any more time with Amazon. From what I was reading on the message forums, there was a 10 second window right before 9AM where you would’ve had a chance to purchase a Wii. Basically, your chances of purchasing a Wii from Amazon was slim and none. But then again, I didn’t fare any better at the stores.
Using itrackr.com, I was supposedly able to find out when local Target stores had the Wii in stock. This is where the real fun began. Every 15 minutes, I would log on and check. At around 11:15AM, I found that the Target on Coleman Ave (near the Airport) reported that they had the Wii in stock for 10 minutes already. I put on my shoes and drove the 20 minutes it took to get there, but no luck. That Target had only received a shipment of 6 Wiis, and sold them out about 15 minutes before I got there. When I got home, I checked itrackr.com again and the Target on Hillsdale Ave had the Wii in stock. I was off to the races again. I got there in 10 minutes, but the sales lady denied having received any new shipments of Wii that day. Either she was lying to me, or itrackr was wrong. But either way, no Wii for me.
By now, I figured my best chance at getting a Wii would be from the Westgate Target, which is about 5 minutes from my house. At about 1PM, itrackr reported that the Westgate Target had some Wii in stock, so I made my way there as fast as I could. Once again, I was denied. The sales dude confirmed that they did receive a new shipment of Wiis, but they were gone in a matter of minutes. So my first day of Wii hunting ended with no success.