Topic: Nintendo Virus Sightings

[Smash_Brother]

This belongs both here and the DS board, actually, but it primarily involves the Wii.

I've noticed that Nintendo products, especially the latest ones, have a viral effect on people: once they try it, they're determined to go out and get one of their own. Such is true with the DS I won in the birthday contest which was given to a friend and then promptly stolen by his mother after he made the mistake of making a reference to Animal Crossing and then had to show it to her to explain what he was talking about.

She just recently gave it back (after 2 months or so) and went out and bought her own DS, AC and a copy of Nintendogs (since she loves chihuahuas with a passion).

Yesterday, I went to Gamestop to pick up Killer 7 and Rayman DS. I asked the two clerks about Wii preorders and they both expressed excitement about the Wii, one of them saying "I can't wait!". This surprised me as I had long ago resigned myself to the notion that any game store employee would more than likely be a Sony/MS fanboy, usually MS. These two had been converted by just the promise of the Wii on the horizon.

So, in the interest of that, report occurrences of the "Nintendo Virus", be it Wii, DS or otherwise. If anyone you know has opted to buy a DS because of a game they tried or if you've seen Wii excitement in people who you didn't expect to see it in (game store employees, friends who don't game much, etc.) report it here.

I remember someone had seen a Wii ad already. Feel free to report sightings of those as well.  

[eljefe]

while in line to buy the FIFA World Cup Game there were two clerks working. I was shocked when I overheard the  other clerk trying to convince a guy to preorder Red Steel. He was explaining the controls and everything, but I didn't hear his whole conversation cause I was up nextat the counter with the other clerk.

Before ringing up my game he was like, "Wanna preorder any DSlite or Wii products"? Again, I was shocked. I told him no that I'll pick it up when it comes out. He said, "I don't you'll find one here...It's gonna sell out really quick". I told no again but while he finished scanning my card I talked to him about E3 and what Wii demo kiosks might be like.

I would have stayed to chat longer but I was headed somewhere important.

But I'm still dumfounded. If Nintendo has ALREADY convinced clerks that usually advise customers to avoid their products in favor of XBOX and Playstation, they really have the casual fan in their pockets.  They didn't even mention the PS3 once!

[Smash_Brother]

Quote
Originally posted by: eljefe  But I'm still dumfounded. If Nintendo has ALREADY convinced clerks that usually advise customers to avoid their products in favor of XBOX and Playstation, they really have the casual fan in their pockets.  They didn't even mention the PS3 once!

Hot damn...

See, this is EXACTLY what I mean. I've never seen prehype for a product like this before, let alone a NINTENDO product.

Again, I wonder if Nintendo's marketing machine suddenly became massively more effective than it has been in the past or if the Wii is catching on like this on its own.

Either way, this bodes extremely well for Nintendo.

[JonLeung]

As I mentioned in another topic, my supervisor was talking about her bad memory last week, so I mentioned Brain Age and how it seems to be really helping my memory. Over the weekend, she stumbled upon an ad for Brain Age in a fitness magazine and was further intrigued.

So I brought it to work today to show her.  She got a 63 (she's not near that actual age).  I laughed.  At her.

Am I mean?  But at least she's definitely getting a DS Lite and Brain Age (she said she probably would've even if I didn't have a chance to show her today). Though I have still helped to spread the word by mentioning it in the first place!

She likes to play Xbox/Xbox 360 games with her son (she thinks Halo/Halo 2 are awesome), but now besides the DS, she seemed interested in the Wii when I gushed about it after coming back from E3.

If Brain Age comes out for the Wii, it may be my topic for another of those silly office presentations "about anything you want, so long as it's somewhat relevant".  I hope to dispel myths about games, since most people in my office (besides my supervisor) don't play games at all.

[Smash_Brother]

Quote
I was shocked when I overheard the other clerk trying to convince a guy to preorder Red Steel.

Wait, I read this as convincing the other CLERK. It was just some random customer he was trying to push a Wii game on?!

[Louieturkey]

My roommate's fiance played Brain Age when I left it at home one day(I usually bring it to work with me) and when I came home, the battery was near dead and she said that with her next paycheck, she is getting a DSL and Brain Age and possibly Tetris DS(she loves Tetris).  This has also prompted her and my roommate to get a Wii at launch.  

It's also a plus for me because he works at Walmart in the electronics dept.  He can secure two Wii's and we can get them at the EE discount.

[EasyCure]

my sister and mother both beg me to borrow my ds with brain age. this started when i first got the game a week or so after its release and they still bug me about it.
as for wii, there's one guy at the gamestop i go to thats excited about it, but the rest of the staff.... all these new guys... i dunno.. they talk about it in a positive way but it doesnt come off as convincing. the older staff, who i see every now and again in their various new jobs are all raving about it, and some of them were former sony fanboys who are completely turned off by the price point and lack of any new types of games on the ps3. one of them actually got to go to e3 and was even more excited about it after playing it, though he was already the lone nintendo fanboy of the staff.

a few of my coworkers who favor their ps2s or xboxes over ps3's are also showing excitement about it, but their the types who called the gamecube tiku tiku tiku! . one of them hasnt played video games since snes/genisis days and i've told him all about the virtual console and he's stoked. he's also really intriguied about the motion sensing controls of the wii, and says hed love to try it out.  

[Smash_Brother]

I figured I'd post this...

Best Buy's Wii info

Again, I'm not sure if Nintendo had a sales rep talk to the BB higher-ups to get this kind of information onto the website, but I'll tell you THIS: this is the most amount of support I've ever seen for anything Nintendo by a retail chain.

Also, FYI, you can reserve most Wii games at BB and Gamestop right now, it's just the system itself which you can't reserve.  

[SgtShiversBen]

I've had the strangest people talk to me about the Wii.  Whenever someone asks why I went to LA for and I tell them that it was for E3, they immediately say "Did you get to play with Nintendo's new system?"  This always catches me off guard just because it's not who you think would be saying this.  

I think Nintendo is doing something right.  I will say this though, I will keep playing on like a playa because that kid told me to.

[Requiem]

I told my brother (28), a gadget freak, and he's basically sold. He said he'll try mine out before he gets his. He sucks ass at console FPS (hates Halo), but loves PC shooters (mainly Halo and Max Payne). He said the Wii might be the first console he's ever bought. (P.S. -- He loves my DSL. He thinks it's the slickest gadget out right now)

I told my other brother's friend (23) about the Wii and showed him the Red Steel trailer. He's really excited about it. He said something to the effect of "There's that one game that comes with every generation of new consoles. Like, there was GTA and Halo, or GoldenEye for the 64. Now this.....this is that game that everybody will want."

I couldn't agree more (if it ends up exactly like the trailer).

[Ceric]

Wii Phenomenon

Thought this went well with this topic if memory serves me correctly.

[Smash_Brother]

It just occurred to me to ask the rental places if they'll carry Wii games.

God willing, their support will be better than the abysmal support they offered the GC.

[eljefe]

today

My mom needed something at the mall, we haven't been in ages. I avoid the EBX there because they're usually less informed than me and their selection is crap. Plus they usually have broken demos.

I decided to go there JUST because of this topic. I took my neice so we went straight to the DSlite kiosk w/ NSMB. My brother went over to NCAA Football 07 on 360.

After playing for a little bit, I decided to see what was on the other side of the 2-sided kiosk (after a little kid left). So I'm playing the Hunters demo now..

And these two guys walk past me arguing about PSP and DS graphics. The "DS dude" eventually starts talking to the other one about how "the DS will be Revolution compatible".

My ears perked up and I struck up a conversation with him. First, to confirm my suspicions, (and since he was talking about graphics vs. style)  I asked him if he'd seen the Heroes stuff. He hadn't; and I realized he wasn't up to date with all things Wii.

He brought up his concern about controller sensitivity; I explained how Wiitennis and other games work and how it allows differing play styles and levels of effort. Then I asked how even got interested in the "Revolution". He said once he saw MP:C he was sold.

Pretty cool guy.


I had another cool experience with a guy I work with today, but I don't feel like typing it all down right now.  

[RiskyChris]

Cross-posting:
This past Saturday, one of my oldest friends came by since I was in town. We chatted a while, talking about the upcoming Wii, and I told him I don't fear for Wii's future, seeing the social phenomenon in Japan with the DS. I pulled out my DSL and started playing Ouendan. Not even 20 seconds into the game he told me to stop so we could go shopping for one. I had to hold him back to show him other games, because I didn't want him to make such a rash decision that he'd regret. 5 stores later, we found a system and he picked up New Super Mario Bros, which we played competetive minigames for a few hours on. Today he calls me saying he convinced 3 families to pick up a DSL while he was at EB.

[IceCold]

Wow.

[SixthAngel]

I can't really see any videogame clerks support the PS3.  I don't know how much they get but I guarentee they don't get paid enough to afford the PS3 and still eat.  I heard a clerk kill a customers enthusiasm for the PS3 by mentioning its price before selling me some DS stuff.

[Caterkiller]

Just as I was about to type in this progress report, my mother asks me who did I buy a new DSL for. She asked "is it for me?" and not in a joking tone either... simply amazing.

I have been crusading around my work place spreading nothing but the greatness that is the DSL and Wii. But there were several times when I stumbled onto conversations discussing the Wii that were very pro Nintendo. Just yesterday my friend asked if we could drive out and look for a DSL. I called around to 2 targets, 2 EB's and 1 Walmart, of course each one had them sold out. And each one also had plenty of PSPs. Our power went out as I was gathering store numbers online so we just drove out hoping to find one, not even thinking about looking in a phone book or anything.

Toys R Us was up first and wouldn't you know it, they had 4 left.  We both baught one each, and the clerk just starts praising the machine like crazy, and tells me that people aren't buying their PSP's as much any more because of the price. Im thinking to myself... "wow, and I didn't even have to jump start the conversation."

There has been many more instances where something like this has happend, but much more surprising. Usualy because I assume no one knows about the Wii, and if they do they are on the PS3 bandwagon no matter what.  

[Smash_Brother]

You jogged my memory.

At Toys R Us, when I went to return a DSL with a stuck pixel, the women at the counter, upon seeing the DSL, said, "Oh, is that the new one? It's nice!" as though they not only were excited to see the DSL but had positive experiences with the original DS as well.

It begins to feel like the whole gaming market has come full circle: Nintendo used to be what everyone talked about. They lost that status, but now it seems that they're rapidly gaining it again, even in the ultra image conscious US.

Sony may have buggered up badly this gen, but I start to think that the Wii could have pulled this off even without their screw-ups.

[Smash_Brother]

Happened again yesterday: two friends of mine were playing with my old DS (not the lite) and stumbled into the NSMB poker minigame. The most memorable quote was: "Dammit! After we win enough money, we're going to buy this casino and fire Luigi!"

They decided to buy one after that.

[ThePerm]

i was at the mall and saw a lady in her 70s playting ds...

[Sir_Stabbalot]

A few days ago, my barber asked me if I knew how much a DS and Brain Age would cost.

[BlkPaladin]

I have had a person yell across the place where I work at me. Asking if I have heard about the Nintendo Wii and who cool it is. He did own a Gamecube but this behavior is not something you would have experience with the Gamecube.

[Smash_Brother]

Quote
Originally posted by: ThePerm i was at the mall and saw a lady in her 70s playting ds...

Umm, wow...

[Requiem]

I showed a friend this demostration on youtube, and he thought it was the coolest thing ever.

Then I had dinner with him and his parents, and he felt obligated to tell them about what he just saw. They were amazed. Suprisingly, his mom loves to play Donkey Konga (which is an awesome game by the way).

I told them how much the PS3 would cost for the premium and un.....premium version, and there jaws dropped. His younger brother wanted a PS3, but there at that table, they decided that the Nintendo Wii was the better choice (especially after I told them about the VC).

[WalkingTheCow]

I work at the electronics department of a department store called Fred Meyers (United States' Northwest) and it used to be that when I brought up the Wii with customers I got blank stares and a "what's that?". Now THEY bring it up to ME every now and then and now when I mention it to them they know about it and are most often excited about it. So there's certainly been some progress.

(customers in question are usually buying videogames)