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Here's what happened on June 11.
Sunday / 06.11.06 / 01:16PM / Joe
Today is DS Lite launch day. It sold out rather fast in Japan, and expectations are high for big sales in the US. Lots of major retailers broke the street date and started selling them last week, but I had to wait until today to go get one. As I headed out the door, I realized I had to go to the bathroom, but I opted to hold on to the bladder pressure to keep it real.
This is the Toys R Us parking lot at 10:30am on a Sunday, a mere half hour after opening. This is not the parking lot of retail store experiencing a "run" on the launch day of a new popular piece of consumer electronics.I walked in and found nothing except a photocopied flyer taped to the wall of the video game section, talking about how awesome the DS Lite will be, how you should totally buy one, and how there will be a special one day sale (June 11) for $5 off any DS "software" with purchase of a DS Lite.
As I stumbled around the video game aisles in a fear-soaked haze, I spotted an employee headed my way. She obviously noticed my swoon, because she asked me how she could help. I asked about the "new DS" and pointed at the sign, and she revealed what was in her arms... the DS demo box and a stack of unperforated DS Lite sales tickets. 10:40am.
Here's how many DS Lites are available at my Toys R Us. No shortage here. That's the benefit of living around here... soldout panic rushes just don't happen.
The accessory section is confusing, and is likely to remain that way while Nintendo transitions off of classic DS stuff and into DS Lite stuff. The only DS Lite accessories I could find were a couple of official starter kits with cases and extra stylii. Oddly, all of them had old-look DS artwork and pictures on the package; the only DS Lite mention was a sticker tacked on to the blister. Clueless grandparents are going to have to be careful this summer, because the DS and the DS Lite use differently-shaped AC adapters and stylii. Caveat emptor.
The $5 Off deal caused a minor stir at the cash register since I was the first person to take advantage of it all day. The TRU cash register system handled it automatically, even though the clerks weren't entirely sure what I was talking about.
My Toys R Us still lacks an R-Zone, which means you have to brave the Death Camp service counter in the far corner, dangerously littered with half-assembled bicycles and giant Power Wheels boxes.
And here we are at home. Now I finally have a DS that matches my iMac. Phew.As you can see, I went with Brain Age on the Save $5 deal, which made it a bargain $15. A final strange TRU moment: all thye Brain Age tickets were stapled to a $15 DS accessory kit tag. I asked a clerk about it, and she told me I could tear them apart. Maybe they once ran a bundle deal and didn't separate out all the tickets?
Here I am transferring my WiFi data from the old one (right) to the new one (left). Even in this crappy Hiptop pic, you can see how the Lite is much brighter.
So now we're off the races. Time to check out some Brain Age. But first, the hunt for dead pixels... |
