Wednesday, March 7, 2007

WiiQuest : Prologue

I haven't been one to get a launch system in a long time. In fact, the last time I got a new system on launch day was when the Nintendo 64 came out. For me, with any system, it's always about the games. If there's a game I really want for it, I get it. Thus, if the Nintendo Wii didn't launch with The Legend of Zelda : Twilight Princess, I probably wouldn't have cared.

I'd been watching the development of the latest Zelda game for some time, and had long ago reserved a copy for the Gamecube. But when I heard that it was going to be a Wii launch title, with the new controls and all that, I cancelled my Gamecube version of the game and waited for the release of the Wii.

I was prepared to go the distance - camping out on launch day and all that. Enter my wonderful, naive fiancee'. She forbade me from getting it on launch day, saying that such an expenditure was best left for Christmas. In other words, she would get me a Wii as a Christmas gift, along with Zelda. I acquiesced. I was a little concerned about her ability to get one at the time, but I had a contact at an EB - a friend who could help her get one. So I was not overly worried.

Launch day came and went, and the hardcore people got their Wiis. Good for them, they deserved it for their dedication. A few weeks later, in early December, my fiancee's resolve began to falter. It was too hard. She was unwilling to camp out or do anything other than going to a store and grabbing one off a shelf. So I took back the initiative.

My budget, already strained by Christmas shopping (including getting my fiancee' a $250 Ipod), was barely able to squeeze in the money for a Wii. So, I contacted my friend at EB and she told me about the next shipment. I gave her the cash and she told her co-workers to hold one for her. They didn't. I got my cash back just in time to pay for what happened next - my fiancee's piece of shit car broke down and required about $270 to fix. I took care of that.

At that point I came to three conclusions. One, that I was totally alone in my quest to get the ONLY thing I had wanted for Christmas, a Wii. I could count on NO ONE but myself to make it happen. Two, I wasn't going to get one before Christmas. Three, until her car situation was taken care of, I had no business buying a Wii.

Christmas came and went, and I got a copy of Zelda for the Wii, and extra Wii-mote controller, and a card for 2000 Wii Points. All useless without a Wii. What fun.

February forced our hand as her car finally broke down to the point where it could not be repaired for a reasonable amount of money. The plan was to wait until her tax refund arrived and use it as a down payment, but like I said our hand was forced. Nonetheless, she managed to get financing on a brand new car. So with that obstacle out of the way, I was free to get my Wii.

Except I was broke. I pay most of the bills and buy most of the groceries, so I barely make it from paycheck to paycheck. My fiancee's tax refund arrived, but she spent it mostly on shoes and jewelry she apparently needed. So, it's taken me another month to get my budget in order to where I could squeak out the money for a Wii. Don't get me wrong, I'm madly in love with my fiancee' and these issues are insignificant compared to the joy of being with her in my life. However, she could not have obstructed my purchase of a Wii more if she were my worst enemy.

This brings my story of my quest to get a Wii up to date. Today I began the hunt.

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