I arrive at the Alpharetta Best Buy around 10PM this evening, planning to take a few quick pictures and then head off to my midnight GameStop launch. I don't really expect tents after seeing the low turn out over at Fry's, but there they are, in numbers rivaling the PS3 launch.

Several people approach me, asking if I am planning on camping for the Wii. They've got a list set up. So far they have some 40 people in line, with a total of 102 consoles available. They figure some more folks might show up after the Toys R' Us midnight launch is over, though considering the toy store had 170 Wii's on hand that isn't likely.

I start telling them about the PlayStation launch here two days ago. About Dave, whose car was broken into. "So me and the guy chase off the thieves, and...wait, there he is!"

Yes, it's Dave, the victim of the car break-in the other night, his tent pitched at the very front of the line. He got his car window repaired yesterday, in time to get in line this morning at around 7AM. He's gone from victim to holder of the mystical list of power, containing the numbered names of each person in line. We really need to come up with some official title for the list holder for console and major game launches. Line King or something. We could even get a baboon to present him atop a rocky promontory. It would be magical.

As I catch up with our hero, a Best Buy employee comes out, carrying a large Wii preorder countdown poster. The kind with the digital clock embedded. "Anyone want a sign? It's useless to us. The countdown ends at midnight, and we don't sell the system till 9am." I take the poster, displaying it proudly for several minutes before I get bored and hand it off to someone else - but wait...what's that black box on the back?

What follows is some serious MacGyver shit. Someone calls out for paper clips and a shoelace. I order someone to chew a stick of gum and give me the wrapper. We don't need any of these things, but it's much more exciting than simply fiddling with the buttons and the circuit board. We discover the clock is actually set to countdown to the New Year. We set the internal time to 10 and a half hours before January 1st, 2007, and booya! We have a working countdown clock.

Soon after that I have to leave for my own launch at GameStop, of which you will hear much more of once I've gotten several hours of much-needed sleep, but after I'm done I stop by to check on the Best Buy line one last time.

People are tossing around a frisbee. Someone stops over on their way home from the Toys R' Us launch to sell their extra Wii to a camper for $10 above cost. We're still trying to figure that one out. There's a guy in a tuxedo wandering around, apparently having just come from the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

From the pose, I suspect he might secretly be a superhero.

As many of you expected, the Wii launch is a much more lighthearted affair than the PS3's was. Perhaps it's because most of the people in line actually want to play the system rather than sell it. A group of people united by a shared passion is just a lot more fun than a group of people driven by potential profit. It's the difference between work and play.

I am going to miss these launches. Part of me wishes there was one every month. The other part of me is going to bed now. Michael Fahey

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