Eager Britons Snap Up Wii

The future is now for Nintendo fans as the Wii finally arrives in the UK and across Europe.

Marwan Elgamal slept in a tent on London's Oxford Street most of this week. Armed with his makeshift shelter and more than a little loyalty, the 17-year-old from Wembley Park picked out his spot at the head of the Wii line on Tuesday to usher in Nintendo's next generation. He was far from alone.

Hundreds of people queued outside stores in the capital and across the country this week for a chance to buy the new console, mirroring launches over the past month in Japan and the US.

At the HMV on Oxford Street, the epicentre of Nintendo's launch campaign, footballer Ian Wright and one-time Lara Croft model Nell McAndrew spent the last hour before the Wii's midnight debut playing Wii Sports against cold, tired Nintendo fans.

Elgamal relished the chance. "I have been looking forward to this day for months!" he said. "Despite the cold and rain, it was well worth it - not only was I the very first person in the UK to own the Wii, but I also got to thrash Ian Wright in a game of Wii Sports!"

David Yarnton might not have held the spotlight with Wright and Elgamal, but behind the scenes the Nintendo UK boss and his team were working hard to make this even more successful than the previous record-breaking debut of the DS.

Nintendo is getting a lot of press thanks to the Wii, something that hasn't come cheap. The company was reported to have an ad budget of £12.5 million to introduce the Wii to the British public.

The talking point of the Wii is its motion-sensing controller. This and the games Nintendo and others are building around it are being pushed as a new type of all-inclusive gaming, one that doesn't push away newbies like the more complicated consoles from Sony and Microsoft.

It worked with the DS. Nintendo has sold 2 million of its portable in the UK and 24 million around the world. Almost half of those were to women. Nintendo is hoping the Wii will cross as many barriers.

Not everyone who wants a Wii this Christmas will get one, despite Nintendo's promises to get 4 million consoles onto shelves around the world by the end of the year. Demand everywhere is high, and some retailers say they won't have consoles to sell freely until into the new year.

You can find out much more about the Wii in our full Wii launch feature.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo