The Wii acquisition

A little more detail on how it shook down:

Yesterday, acting upon a well-corroborated rumor, I got up at 6:30 and drove to Target. They don't open until 8, but when I pulled into the parking lot at 6:45 there was already a long line -- much longer than I'd expected. More people showed up every few minutes, and finally around 7:10 a guy in a red shirt came out the front door. "I've got 48!" he yelled. He'd be handing out tickets shortly so the lucky 48 could claim their prize. The kid behind me, who looked college-aged and was accompanied by his girlfriend, did an exact count and determined that we were in the low fifties. But surely not everybody in the line would want a ticket. There were girlfriends, bros, and kids. We just didn't know. They didn't start handing out the tickets until 7:30. And it was cold. The line continued to grow.

Finally, the Target manager started working his way along the line, counting off loudly. I didn't hear him until "Twenty-one!" It seemed like he hadn't even made it halfway to me. I started to get worried. But as he proceeded, suddenly he was only a few spots in front of me, still in the thirties. I got ticket number 40. Once the 48th was gone, dozens of people in line dispersed. Many headed to the Best Buy across the plaza, which didn't open until 10.

At 8 o'clock, they opened the doors to Target. At that time, I glanced over at Best Buy and saw the entire line dispersing. They must have gotten bad news about Best Buy's stock. We lined up again inside Target, tickets in hand. Nobody was allowed into the department without a ticket. It took me half an hour to get to the front of the line. I was ushered over to the games, pointed out my selection, and then had to wait to be escorted over to the register. There, I handed over my ticket, and my debit card, and then I was finally able to walk out with my Wii.

NP: Andrew W.K. - "Victory Strikes Again"

P.S.: Given the units Nintendo has been able to deliver so far, and its status as one of the hot Christmas gifts this year, I'm guessing it'll be much easier to acquire one after the New Year. They may even stay on shelves for a couple of hours at that point. But I'm not sure how easy it'll be to get one before Christmas.