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It's been hailed as a revolution in gaming and last night hordes of eager addicts queued to become owners of the Nintendo Wii.
More than 150 fans were crowded outside GamePlanet in Mt Eden counting down to the console's midnight release time.
The Auckland store hosted a Wii
party urging fans to dress as their favourite Nintendo character, offering food and drink and a chance to test the consoles in-store before they went on sale.
Another Auckland gaming store opened at 12.01am and was sold out within half an hour.
Fan Graeme Howard was one of the eager gamers in line at GamePlanet. He pre-ordered his console three months ago and lined up early so he could be one of the first in NZ to get his hands on the Wii.
Howard resisted the temptation to stay up all night test driving the console as he had work early today, but said he would not be doing much else come this weekend.
"I can't wait to get home, it's all I'll be doing, starting this afternoon!" he said.
The Wii is the first gaming console to use motion sensor technology, allowing users to physically imitate hitting a ball or swinging a bat when playing games.
The technology has been hailed as a revolution by industry insiders, who believe the Wii will be more accessible than previous consoles as it does not require any new skills.
Howard said the appeal of the Wii was the motion sensor technology providing a different experience to those game consoles already available.
"It makes playing these games more enjoyable for a whole range of people, not just gaming nerds," he said. "It's a more physical experience than just pressing a whole lot of buttons."
Though the console package came with a nine-game sports pack, one gaming store manager said a major drawcard for the Wii was the game Zelda Twilight Princess.
He said finding a Wii for sale in New Zealand would now be near impossible before Christmas.
"It would be like finding a golden egg," he said.
By this afternoon fans had already taken time out of their gaming to post their thoughts on New Zealand gaming forums. One likened playing the Wii to "a religious experience".
The sports package was also a highlight.
"Boxing is a work out. The controls are unbelievably fun!" user Jonny commented on Wii forum nwii.co.nz.
Softprint Interactive, the company that distributes Wii in New Zealand, said they were very pleased with the response to the launch.
Softprint's Aaron Price said over half of the stock bought into the country was pre-ordered and most was already sold. A new shipment would arrive in the country in mid-January.
A total of 20 games are currently available, with several more arriving in the first quarter of next year.
