Wii U now on sale Australia, Full Midnight Launch Report
EB Games in Swanston Street, Melbourne, threw another crazy Nintendo party last night. This one was to bring in a new age – the age of the high definition Nintendo experience, via the all new Wii U.
I’ve been to my fair share of Nintendo launches at EB Games and it amazes me that they keep raising the bar higher each and every time.
I entered the party, which began at 10pm, fashionably late. I was proudly wearing my Samus t-shirt, as if by some luck it would magically begin a chain reaction that would culminate in a great Metroid game for the Wii U. Imagine what they could do with Metroid in high definition, guys!
Where was I?
I headed upstairs and immediately witnessed a large group of people waiting their turn to play Nintendo Land on one of the Wii U stands set up around the store. Scoping the room, it seemed there were about five main party points. In one corner, Nintendo and EB Games staff were serving delicious donuts and red and green slushies. It’s much deeper than just lime and raspberry flavouring, though; these were Mario and Luigi slushies. In the next corner, a highly-skilled artist was drawing caricatures of all the Nintendo fans, literally giving each and every person a souvenir of the evening that was special to them. Further across, a talented manipulator was handing out balloon animals. And all this to the beat of the groovy music being conducted by the DJ extraordinaire, from his perch at the top of the stairs.
The main floor area was where competitions were held and prizes were handed out. Prizes for winners. For losers. For cosplayers. For raffle winners. And that’s not even counting the random prizes thrown out by the EB Games manager, dressed appropriately in red jacket and Mario hat. I hear tanooki hats were popular amongst the crowd. Multiple copies of New Super Mario Bros U were handed out, and the raffle winner won a free Wii U Premium. Sweet, sweet loot indeed.
Nintendo 3DS fans were loving the Streetpass hits, myself included. I almost forgot to take photos because of how busy my 3DS was. Thanks to everyone for the puzzle pieces!
As midnight drew closer, everyone lined up in an orderly fashion to collect their highly sought after new console. A Wii U for everyone and to everyone a Wii U!
Thanks again to EB Games and Nintendo staff for holding the launch and being so accommodating with us!
Remember to leave a comment if you were there and tell us about your experience or leave some of your own photos for everyone to view!
Until next time, I’ll see you all online.
I was the one that one the Wii U! Pretty cool for my first midnight launch and for the first time I’ve ever won anything :D.
Congrats, Dean! I tried to snap a pic of you but you moved out of the way pretty quickly. Straight home to play your Wii U, I assume?
i got there and the granita machine broke 🙁 Was a really good, tight launch though, great night.
Fuck I love chicken!
Congratulations Dean.
I was there too, the launch was a lot of fun. I was lucky enough to get a caricature drawn (however, this morning my boss made me hang it up at work…).
Loved the Streetpass too. I was hoping to get the 100 hits in a single day, however I only got half that many hits. It wasn’t as crowded as the Mario 3D Land and Skyward Sword launch though, which made it better as you got to move around and see everything (and play on the demo Wii U consoles).
By the way, is there anyone in Melbourne who has the top two pink pieces for the Kirby’s Adventure Wii puzzle? They were the only pieces I couldn’t get at the launch.
You guys on the east coast go-large with this stuff.
The west-coast experience by comparison was rather muted and I expect probably a little slower to ramp-up this side of the rabbit-proof fence because of the abysmal promotion locally outside of the gaming universe.
No midnight launches although EB Games opened at 0800 (in the Hay Street store).
No crowds.
Just me and my son standing outside until the boys at EB opened the door at 8 o’clock yesterday – first Wii U Deluxe cab off-the rank for that store.
Mind you, it’ll probably be bedlam today – glad it was quiet in some respects – LOL!
I was there. Number 59 in the queue. It was a great night, at least until I got home and couldn’t connect my Wii U to my router. Went to bed at 6:30am without ever playing a game but thankfully because of the internet I had connected and got my update outta the way!