Nintendo Wii kiosks build big buzz

The mystery surrounding Nintendo's Wii kiosk solved itself last week when the first in-store demo unit reared its head at a south-Florida Gamestop. To understand the buzz, and the mystery, one must first understand the Nintendo Wii.

At the 2005 Tokyo Game Show, Nintendo announced that its next-generation Wii video game console, which was then still in development, would come with a new kind of controller. Instead of the ubiquitous two-handed, thumbs-to-buttons directional control pads that Nintendo pioneered with its original Nintendo Entertainment System, the Wii (pronounced, "we") would come with the Wii Remote: a cordless, motion-sensing controller that could either be waved around (like a sword, or a ping-pong paddle) or turned sideways and played like a traditional control pad.

The concept left gamers goggle-eyed and wanting more, but the first opportunity for most people to play with what bloggers promptly dubbed the "Wiimote" wouldn't come until the deployment of the in-store demo kiosks. And, as gamers waited to use the Wiimote first-hand, bloggers went to work stoking the buzz surrounding the game system and its demo kiosk.

"In-store demo kiosks are big news because it means tons of gamers have a chance to head out and try the Wii for themselves," Kevin Cassidy, owner of gaming blog GoNintendo.com said. "The Wii units are such big news because Wii is a completely new way to play games."

On August 31, Kotaku.com, one of several gaming blogs covering the coming kiosk, showed photos submitted by a user calling himself "sirpilf" and claimed that they were photographs of the still-then-under-wraps Playstation 3 and Wii kiosks. Bloggers shot back a volley of comments, criticism and claims that the photos were fakes.

The company that manufactures the kiosks (which declined to be named in this article) would not comment on the design of the kiosk, citing non-disclosure agreements. But, in October, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications told gaming magazine IGN, in response to questions from readers, "We have spent considerable time designing in-store displays that will best showcase the Wii console's unique games and provide an entertaining experience for players while still fitting well into a retail environment. Wireless controllers will be used and we are asking retailers to have staff available to help consumers have a successful first experience with Wii."

Far from clearing up any mystery, Harrison's comments created a bigger debate: How would the kiosks secure the wireless controllers? After all, tethering them to the kiosk would defeat the purpose of making them wireless, and remove the full range of motion.

On Oct. 4, Kotaku posted speculation that retailers featuring the Wii demo kiosk would require users to leave their credit cards at the service desk as collateral against walking off with the remote. The rumor came from an unnamed GameStop manager who'd recently attended a conference detailing plans for the in-store demo units.

A gamer uses the "Wiimote" to conduct a virtual orchestra at the E3 expo.

Meanwhile, Nintendo announced the Wii's release date, Nov. 19, and suggested retail price, $249.99. However the public's first look at the Wii would come, it would come in early November. GameStop's corporate office would not return phone calls to answer questions about the kiosks — though it was the first retailer to announce it would have them.

Late last week, employees at stores in New York, N.Y., Louisville, Ky. and Los Angeles, Calif. said they didn't yet have the kiosks. Then, an employee at a Gamestop in Alpharetta, Georgia confirmed that most of the machine was on premises, but that they were waiting for shipment of the Wiimote. The store representative in Alpharetta confirmed that the Wiimote will be kept behind the counter, and patrons will have to leave their driver's licenses with a store employee in order to use the device. On Nov. 2, bloggers posted the first finding of a Wii kiosk at an unnamed GameStop.

Then, on Nov. 3, David Hinkle at NintendoWiiFanBoy.com found a Wii kiosk with remote, and ready to use. It offered users the chance to play Excite Truck, looked exactly like the original photos posted at Kotaku — the ones respondents speculated were fakes. Fahey noted that he had to surrender his car keys to use the Wiimote.

The value of the buzz surrounding the Wii kiosk is unquantifiable. Nintendo does not release any sales figures related to the in-store displays. But it's a telling sign that all three major players in the game console market deploy new kiosks to demonstrate every new system they build.

Photos courtesy of Marcin Chady.