What started out as a simple Best Buy run to see if they had any wireless Rock Band guitars for the Xbox 360 turned into a Wii run -- all in the Long-Term Ford GT.
After seeing said wireless guitars on display at the store entrance I casually asked about the availability of a Nintendo Wii. This question has been met with a quick, "Nope, none in stock" over the past 18 months, but on this particular day the store employee said, "Let me check" and returned with hushed instructions to "Go to register 8 and tell them your name." I think the Wii is still rather hard to get, but an order had apparently just come in. As I was buying mine I saw another guy at the next register getting his.
This was all great...until I remembered the original purpose of the trip -- the Rock Band wireless guitar. Either item could be squeezed into the GT without issue, but both? After trying out the Wii in the front cargo area, and confirming it would actually fit (along with a Wii Zapper and a second controller) I remembered how hot it gets up there. The thought of finally scoring a Wii only to fry its innards on the drive home had me putting it in the passenger footwell -- the area I'd intended for the guitar. But I was happily surprised when the guitar fit perfectly behind the driver's seat, leaving enough room for me and my 9-year-old son.
The ride home was calm; the home gaming environment has been anything but.
Karl Brauer, Edmunds.com Editor in Chief @ 13,100 miles
estreka says:
11:10 AM, 05/ 5/08
I'd really like to get a Wii, but I'm a PS man. Once Sony figures out a Wii-like controller for the PS2, I'm all over that.
greenpony says:
11:46 AM, 05/ 5/08
My wife and I have had a Wii now for about half a year and it's been a blast! (We happened to be at the right place at the right time to score one of those). Much more fun than Playstation or Xbox, with less complicated graphics. Glad you could get it all to fit in your GT. Ah, the sacrifices you guys make to give us mortals long-term blogs on cars we could never afford! :)
zoomzoom22 says:
11:56 AM, 05/ 5/08
I got a Wii the first time I ever went out looking for one...just luck, I guess! I bet the BB employees were thinking "oooooooh...look at this guy with his new Wii and his supercar..."
norsairius says:
12:09 PM, 05/ 5/08
I waited outside of a Best Buy for about 13 hours with a friend to get a Wii, and it's been fantastically fun so far. I don't play it too much though because it got left at my parents' house when I left after Christmas.
And man, those 'supercars' really do have limited cargo space! I didn't think it was THAT bad, but I guess it can get pretty constricting. Still though, I think the fun of the car far outweighs the fact that it has limited cargo space.
jr1m90 says:
12:29 PM, 05/ 5/08
It's probably lucky that you weren't trying to buy a PS3 or 360, because those things are huge compared to the Wii.
Though if you put the Xbox in the front trunk, you wouldn't have to worry about the heat compared to the 'normal' operating temperature on that little space heater (spoken from a 360 owner...).
cruiserhead1 says:
12:35 PM, 05/ 5/08
Ok now the GT is the real SMARTcar! So it is a bit ridiculous that a game console requires packaging thought but at least you are getting a uber exotic. Fair trade.
The SMART probably doesn't hold much more than this.
blueguydotcom says:
02:05 PM, 05/ 5/08
PS3 has wireless controls that allow wiggle.
I've bought and resold a bunch of wiis (at cost) to friends and family. right place at the right time I guess. I have no desire to own one. Now the PS3 with GTA4 - that's tempting. But still can't see using the PS3 for more than a blu ray player.
mnorm1 says:
02:26 PM, 05/ 5/08
"But still can't see using the PS3 for more than a blu ray player."
That's what we do with the PS3. Play games on the Wii, and watch Blu-rays on the PS3.
jordanw says:
03:09 PM, 05/ 5/08
Karl, now that you finally got the Wii, the next thing to get is Mario Kart Wii, talk about hours of fun!
stovt001 says:
07:44 PM, 05/ 5/08
You got a Wii while driving the Ford GT. You've just used up your entire lifetime supply of "awesome day".
thebigal says:
10:01 PM, 05/ 5/08
Score a Wii!! Those things are still relatively hard to get where I live. I went looking for one for my father-in-law and was met with the same response at all the stores... out of stock, but this is when they come in.
My mother-in-law finally got one somewhere, I don't know where. We have had one since Christmas that my brother gave us because he wasn't using it. It's been a lot of fun. Most fun has been the virtual console games.
daytona_500 says:
06:55 AM, 05/ 6/08
I'm more of an Xbox person, but I admit playing Wii bowling was a ton of fun.
langjie says:
07:11 AM, 05/ 6/08
i just waited in front of a circuit city last january. there were websites telling you when they would be getting shipments. it wasn't so bad, only waited for about 1.5 hours
greenpony says:
10:25 AM, 05/ 7/08
Mario Kart rules!