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This has been a crazy Christmas season because of looking for a Nintendo Wii. I wrote a few weeks back about how I was harassing employees at Walmart, Best Buy, and Gamestop trying to get a system and it finally worked out. 2 weeks before Christmas I went to Best Buy at about 7am and waited for an hour or so but I was able to get me two of them badboys. I think you already know what I did with the extra one…Ebay!

I almost, and I say almost, felt bad about getting two that morning. They had about 100 Wii’s and when I got to the store it was about 60-70 people. Everyone had already heard they had 100 so I’m feeling good (except that it was starting to snow a little). When they start giving out tickets at 8am there was only about 10 more people in line after me. Then they start giving out the tickets and they are coming my way. Since I’m at the end I notice that people are running from their cars seeing that they still had tickets left. After they went through the line people are still running to get in line because they must have had about 120-130 Wii’s that day. Knowing that the Best Buy worker wouldn’t remember that she gave me one already I go back to the end of the line and take the last ticket for a Wii, now I have 2.

This lady walks up with a sad face, “Is that the last ticket for a Wii”, and of course the employee just told her to try back again next Sunday. I’m feeling real bad at that moment because I could see the pain on her face but someone else who took two gave her a ticket right before I was going to hand her my second ticket. I put in some work for these though. Going to Walmart at lunch everyday, calling these places all the time, and coming up short about 4 or 5 times (e.g. getting to Gamestop right when the last Wii they had is being bought).

But, if you haven’t played the game that comes with the system, Wii Sports, it is a little workout. I played the boxing for about 2 hours last night and I was sweating so bad after. It is the perfect gift for a kid who is putting on weight just sitting around the computer or playstation all day. It is such a different concept then just the typical controller, pushing buttons, you have to be interactive. You swing your arms, punch, swing the controller like a baseball bat, like a golf club, etc. My arms are sore and so is my lower back from last night. There is going to be some buff kids walking around in a couple of months after playing this everyday.

Anyway, I hope anyone who reads this is safe and blessed over the Holiday Season and enjoys the time with their family, friends, and away from work.

I have recently found out that the Nintendo Wii console is not an easy thing to buy. If you go on Ebay the going price for a new Wii (sports pack) is in the mid $400 range. There are a few used ones out there (Amazon and Ebay) but they are in the mid to high $300’s. All the local, major chains (Best Buy, Circuit City, Walmart, etc.), where the purchase price should be $250, would be easy but of course EVERYONE is out of stock. Then, I go to shopping.com and any online store with a Wii has it at a minimum of $530. That is just crazy.

I fell like Ahab…”Hast thou seen the White Whale Wii”. I cannot find one of these bad boys anywhere, to save my life. What is funny though is that my son, who I’m trying to buy this for, doesn’t even really want this. He insists that a PSP would be better but a 7 year old who has lost a gameboy, 6 of 12 gameboy games, and 2 backpacks just isn’t a good candidate for a $200 handheld.

This search may be me just reliving my child hood again. I remember one Christmas that I wanted the Power Glove. That glove was a piece of trash but I had to have it. So maybe if I find one I should just turn around and sell it for $150 more than I paid for it like everyone else on EBAY? Anyway, I plan to sit out front of Circuit City Sunday morning and try to get a voucher. They usually get in about 10 a week and on Sunday they give out vouchers (first come, first served) an hour before they open. Anyone with one is guaranteed a Wii.

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I haven’t even played Halo 3, or do I have an Xbox 360, but I find it amazing how many people have bought the game. It has only been out since Sept. 25th and it sold more games than all Playstation 3 games sold for the last 5 months combined. 3.3 Million games as of October 12th…I must be about the only person to not have the game.

Within 12 days, it had sold 3.3 million copies, according to the NPD Group, which measures U.S. video-game sales performance.

The NPD numbers, published today, show Halo 3 outselling the next best-selling game, Wii Play, by more than 10 times (Wii Play sold 282,000 from Sept. 2 to Oct. 6, the five-week time period NPD measured in its latest report).

It seems like the Xbox 360 has separated itself as the platform for older kids and young adults. The Wii seems like the family choice and best choice for younger kids. I told my son that we might upgrade to one of the newer game systems for Christmas but I think I will get him a Wii. Why? I have a good amount of co-workers that play Halo and Madden. So, if we went with the 360 I would be the one playing. This is for him so I will get the more “kid oriented” system, or so it seems.

Overall, the video game industry has continued to capitalize on the new generation of consoles. NPD reported that in the five-week period ending Oct. 6, sales of games, consoles, mobile gaming devices, and accessories were $9.37 billion, a 47 percent increase over the $6.38 billion during the same period a year earlier (a significant figure, but remember that this industry is cyclical, with the peaks tied to the release of new consoles).

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I am not addicted to Halo but the game is tight. My online game of choice used to be Socom on the playstation. I would stay up all night playing that game and would drag into work the next day, struggling to stay awake. I still haven’t given up on my PS2 yet but I was real close to getting a 360 a couple of months ago because of the HD and games like Halo.

Anyway, the makers of Halo are breaking away from Microsoft and becoming independent. It will be interesting what will happen in the next few years with the games franchise seeing that it is on pace to out sell both Halo 1 and 2 and it has already created $300 Million in sales.

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Microsoft said yesterday that it was giving up its controlling ownership of Bungie Software, the video game subsidiary that developed the hugely popular Halo franchise, including its latest iteration, Halo 3.

Bungie, based in Kirkland, Wash., said it planned to return to its roots as an independent game studio, a move that eventually will cost Microsoft exclusive ties to one of the most successful and sought-after teams of game developers.