I went to IGN. They went to Japan to see the launch of the Nintendo DS Lite, and maybe get their hands on one themselves. But they couldn't. I saw the pics of what happened at launch, and it bought a tear to my eye, cause It reminds me of when I lined up to get a N64 back in '96. in other words, It reminds me of the Big N's glory days back then. I can't stop looking at those Pics.
Anyway here's IGN's report...
March 1, 2006 - The original Japanese DS launch was pretty quiet thanks to generous supply and a comprehensive pre-order program that ensured anyone who wanted a system could get one without hassle. It may have lacked the carnage of a PSP or PS2 launch, but those who wanted some quality games without the headache of getting up early and waiting in the freezing cold probably weren't complaining all that much.
With the Japanese DS Lite launch on Thursday morning, 3/2, Nintendo has embraced launch carnage like the good old days of Super Famicom and N64. Forget about selling out minutes after opening -- the DS Lite was sold out hours before opening time at every retailer IGN was able to visit.
The main Yodobashi Camera in Shinjuku, which had lines of over 2000 at the PSP launch, had guards holding "sold out" signs by 6:00AM when IGN checked in. At least 500 people were waiting in line at the time. The store started selling DS Lite at 8:15.
Similar scenes were spotted elsewhere in Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ikebukuro and Akihabara. The famous Tsutaya retailer in Shibuya had a small line of around 20 people when IGN checked in at 8:30, but this was apparently enough to cause a sell-out (presumably, Tsutaya had managed to get fewer units than Yodobashi). Shibuya's two Bic Camera outlets had closed off their lines by 9:00, with one store having over 200 people patiently waiting for sales to begin (IGN managed to just make the cut here, one away from being last in line). The Shinjuku Bic Camera matched Yodobashi Camera with a line of over 500, both topped by the 600 people at the Ikebukuro Bic.
With such an early sellout, it should come as no surprise that retailers had to turn people away.
IGN noticed a steady stream of people arriving at shops, seeing the line, confirming that the DS was indeed impossible to get, then leaving. Some got in line anyway, perhaps in the hope that a few extra units would be available at the end.
The instant success of the DS Lite should come as no surprise. Take one part social phenomenon and one part pent up demand, and bring it to a boil under the high heat of a sexy new redesign, and a sellout is on the menu.
The DS has been in short supply ever since Christmas, with instant sellouts as soon as new hardware arrived. Low retail stock has lead to fluctuating weekly sales, with the system pushing 5,000 units at its low point, recently climbing back up to 50,000.
Meanwhile, Nintendo has been hyping up the launch of the DS Lite, as well as new games like Children of Mana that were scheduled to launch with the system on 3/2. Commercials for all DS games now include the redesigned unit rather than the bulkier older model. Nintendo has also placed DS Lite demo units in retailers.
Much of the systems' success can be attributed to the new audience Nintendo has captured through its "Touch Generation" label that include such big games as Nintendogs, Brain Flex and Animal Crossing (the latter has shipped 2 million units). We noticed a wide demographic at the Bic Camera at which we'd lined up.
In addition to a wide variety of people willing to wait a few hours in line, we noticed girls, elderly couples and businessmen making inquiries about the system's availability.
And best of all, today's launch was exclusively for the white version of the system.
Nintendo will launch two more colors on 3/11, a Saturday. The phenomenon won't be coming to an end any time soon. Check back with IGN for more next week.
See? that's why Nintendo's got the handheld gaming industry ON LOCK. Here's to hoping it will be like this in America., cuz I'll be the 1st man on on the line!
To see this on IGN, right here.
http://ds.ign.com/articles/692/692939p1.html
To see the chaos that erupted at launch, right here-
http://media.ds.ign.com/articles/692/692939/imgs_1.html
ALL PSP OWNERS!!! TRMBLE AT THE MIGHT OF THE MIGHTY (and sexy) DS LITE!!!!!!
Oh yeah, what I said at the top. I was the 1st guy to get an N64 in my hood. and it was awesome...
Peace.
