Gamers Embrace Cold Weather For Wii U Launch
Hundreds of gamers visit Nintendo World Store in New York City's Rockefeller Center to be the first to usher in a new generation of gaming.
The Wii U is finally here. As of midnight, Nintendo's new hardware is available in the United States. To mark the occasion, hundreds of gamers braved the cold weather last evening to attend the Wii U launch at the Nintendo World Store in New York City's famous Rockefeller Center.
Nintendo representatives kicked things off at 6 p.m., when the most dedicated fans were allowed off the street and into a roped off carpeted area to hunker down for the next six hours. The rest were compiled in a line that ran to the corner of W. 48th Street and 6th Ave, then wrapped around to W. 49th. Here's a map to show just how long the line was.
During the course of the evening, Nintendo handed out apple cider (and also grilled cheese sandwiches) to those waiting in line. An interesting combination of choices, but fans seemed eager for the sandwiches more than anything else (see pictures). The food and drinks were prepared out of a special Wii U-branded food truck on West 48th Street.
Music blared throughout the night; sometimes it was Nintendo-themed remixes, and other times it was Daft Punk or Ellie Goulding or Deadmau5. No matter the selection, fans seemed to enjoy every moment.
Nintendo of America president Reggie "The Regginator" Fils-Aime was on hand at the event, and gave two emphatic addresses to fans: one at 10 p.m. and the next just before midnight. During both, he proclaimed to fans, "My body is ready." This got the crowd going.
For more on the launch event, check out the full image gallery below and on the next page. And for more Wii U coverage, have a look at GameSpot's reviews of Nintendo Land and New Super Mario Bros. U. Additionally, check back tomorrow for an interview with Nintendo director of product marketing Bill Trinen.
Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He lives in Connecticut, works out of the company's New York City office, and loves extra chunky peanut butter.
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Reggie looks like bowser
same old story haters did not liked wii it sold 100 million, Haters don't like wii u it will sell a lot more, as for Specs it's next gen it's more powerfull than ps3, xbox 360, Read Specs before say stuppid things.
@wexorian Eglish isn't my language either, but dude your English gives me a headache!
1nitram2 wexorian i got hang over this morning so, my fail :)
It's no wonder I am anti-social. Stuff like this flat out disgusts me. It's beyond pathetic. A bunch of sheep flocking to feel special and make rich people richer.
DarthLod That depends on what your idea of social is. My friends and I met for a couple midnight attempts on the Wii, back in the day, and had a roaring good time hanging out. Now, we're all too old, and in different cities for such things, but I won't dis people that do this kind of thing with friends. Alone? That's a different story.
DarthLod
Whats wrong with hanging around people who essentialy like the same thing I mean I could say the same about any major console or game release.
lol look at the guy in the first pick that is receiving the Wii U he is wearing the powerglove he is probably a huge Nintendo fan if not a fanboy
I'll never understand why people would want to wait in line for a system when you have the internet at your grasp and can have it delivered to your door step.
I waited in no line, came 15 minutes before my GameStop opened at 9am, and was the first to get one. I live in Chicago. I never understand waiting in line.
WllDan7
At 1:40 PM, I dropped off my sister at a local boutique (she just wanted a pair of shoes), went to GameStop, ran in, got my Wii U and was out and picked her up by 1:45 :D
I'm not jealous or anything. Nope.
Nexozable i am
So many people hate the Wii U so much that they took the time to express their feelings here. I wish I had nothing better to do than to complain all day about something I supposedly didn't plan to buy.....
Nooooooooooooo!!!!!!!! Goddamit why did I move away from the US.
not new gen, its the Wii now in HD circa 2006 but instead of a wagglestick, you now have a tabletcontroller.
Kenji_Masamune lol for your ignorance.
Kenji_Masamune lol. nintendo came eith motioncontroller, sony jumped in. MS tried.
Ninteondo came with touchcontroll, Sony came in, MS tried.
Nintendo outsold xbox360 and PS3, Sony is coming, MS is pushing XD
If they were in line to usher in a new generation of gaming, I hope they brought enough food for a year because the Wii U is NOT next gen.
deathstream
I think it's cute that you guys think you know more than developers, analysts, and journalists, all who've called it next gen.
They gave us grilled cheese and hot apple cider and bags of swag.
My body is ready lol oh Reggie
"Hundreds of gamers visit Nintendo World Store in New York City's Rockefeller Center to be the first to usher in the same generation of gaming."
Fixed it for you, Eddie.
Scarab83 And thousands of fanboys, who are afraid of the system, lie to themselves, so they feel better.
Sepewrath Scarab83 it's HD like the PS3 and 360, but has a tablet controller, no internal HD, limited external mem card memory. Yeah, it's like 2006 minus the things that made the true next gen great but with a tabletcontroller.
Kenji_Masamune Sepewrath Scarab83
Much more powerful and introduces new ideas, by hardware standards it's next gen and regardless, generation is defined by time, not power so stop acting like you guys know everything when it's clear you've let this generation cloud your judgement.
Kenji_Masamune Limited external card memory???? Now we know your just trying to start crap.
abHS4L88 Kenji_Masamune Sepewrath
Oh, so if they had released the Gamecube in 2012 it would be considered next-gen as well? Right...
Scarab83 Kenji_Masamune Sepewrath
Pretty much yes because generations are defined by time. Tell me then, how are generations between people defined? What separates the Baby Boomer generation from Generation X? Looking at people like you I could say intelligence (or lack of) but no, it's time that separates us.
abHS4L88 Kenji_Masamune Sepewrath You're really kinda wrong. Generations of PEOPLE work that way, yes; but hardware generations are a whole different thing. Each generation builds on the last, showing SIGNIFICANT hardware upgrades. I see nothing significant; just a straggler at the end of this current generation of consoles.
Scarab83 abHS4L88 Kenji_Masamune Sepewrath
So just because YOU see nothing significant, it automatically means there's no significant improvements? Judging by Nintendo's systems alone, the Wii U is a significant jump from the Wii.
If it's all based on what you said, then how come no one complains about Nintendo being behind on hardware for their handhelds? There's always another company with a more powerful handheld out yet no one ever says that "Oh the 3DS isn't next gen." Or the DS, or the GBA.
Also I do recall people calling the XBox 360 just an XBox 1.5 since in the beginning, they didn't see really any significant jump. You people need to learn that just because YOU think something or you have an opinion about something doesn't automatically make it true, especially when you don't know or understand the whole picture.
abHS4L88 Kenji_Masamune Sepewrath
Sure, if you'd like to say that the WiiU is next-gen for Nintendo, that makes sense, but it's not next-gen compared with any other console. It's current-gen.
And the fact that you don't see the irony in your own post makes me want to end this discussion.
...Oh, well that makes me feel better...Now I know that all my antipathy toward the Wii U was a subliminal warning to keep me out of the cold...Well it ends up being the same either way.
Now IN HDand with a second screen...Oh w8.
I have just returned with my Wii U console. I have bought the Deluxe set and New Super Mario Brothers U, Zombie U and Arkham City Armored Edition. So I will try out this 6th Nintendo. I see if the Gamepad is comfortable for a long session of gaming.
LOL! New generation of gaming?
Bwahahahahaha!!!
What a joke. Just like this gimick of a system.
@Tripwolf ok grumpy
Tripwolf Your birth was a gimmick.
if only the wii u launched with a new smash bros, mario kart or zelda, would become an instant sucess
The first new console gen to offer a downgrade in graphics in favor of another control gimmick.
This hype is purely that, at the end of the quarter the barely good sales figures will come out from a holiday season.
stailcookie
Downgrade in graphics? You can't be serious right? The Wii U is capable of putting out far superior visuals compared to the PS3/360, obviously the system is new so the games right now won't be taking advantage of it just yet.
I' m not planning to get me a Wii U but damn I wish I could have been there. And those sandwiches... yum!
go nintendooooooooooo :)
I got my WiiU however I will admit that there was a serious lack of fan fair at my gamestop and heck in general about the WiiU. A system just launched and honestly it feels like the quietest launch yet. I'm a bit worried but I'm going to enjoy the system and have some fun with it.
For everyone that still loves the nostalgia of Nintendo but does not two craps about a WII and DS hybrid. LIKE THIS!!!!!
jcuffley1209
What do I get?
Volgin jcuffley1209 Beans ..lots of them.
Yeah no kidding it was 29 outside and I could not feel my feet. I am very happy with my black Wii U but! Next time I will gear up better. It was so cold cars were full of ice and the grass and trees were white.
This is the second time I wait outside for a Nintendo Console I did not do it for the Wii because I was broke sadly but this one and the gamecube have been great so far... some advice.. pee before you leave the house a few times and do not drink anything about 2 hours before you leave. Call your local store to see if they will have midnights launches because not all of them do so you don't have to wait until 6 in the morning outside.
Most people waiting for consoles are awesome I had a blast talking with other players it makes the time pass by fast and they are usually very awesome people and very nice.
I love the powerglove. It's so... bad.
Is the president of Nintendo of America a Frenchman ? I could swear his last name is french.
Table of Contents
Wii U (Basic Set)
-
WIIU
- Publisher:
- Nintendo
- Category:
- Hardware
- Release:
- Nov 18, 2012
