The Wii launched in the USA on the 19^th November 2006. Now all of the next-gen consoles are out on the market in the USA, signifying what many would say is the start of the next generation of gaming.

Unlike the recent PS3 launch, Nintendo have managed to pull off their launch smoothly and with style. In Times Square thousands of fans were waiting to get their hands on Nintendo's new console. Unlike Sony, Nintendo welcomed everyone to their festivities, even setting up Wii demo pods on the side walk, so buyers would not get bored while waiting for their console. Stock of the console was also good, meaning there were no riots, and everything was done in an orderly fashion. People also were not waiting days for the Wii, the majority had been there a few hours with the more die hard fans bing there for about a day.

Isaiah "Triforce" Johnson', wearing the old Nintendo power glove, and a Wii beanie hat. Was the first to receive the Wii. He was given a signed copy of the Wii by Reggie Fils-Aime, the president of Nintendo in America. Who also stopped by to play some Wii sports with members of the crowd, which caused a stir.

Reggie was greeted with loving chants, which cannot be said of many of the people over at the Sony camp. Reports say that the crowd was very diverse, which suggests that Nintendo might have succeeded in their quest to get different groups of people interested in the Wii.

The launch by the looks of things, was a large success for Nintendo. Plenty of units were on hand to shell out to hungry customers. Very few launch horror stories have also been heard, compared to the PS3 or Xbox 360 launch. Nintendo appears to have been the only manufacturer who got their stocking system right. Not many stores however offered a midnight opening for the Wii, others decided that they would just open in the morning. All the on line services are now officially up, including the anticipated virtual console and also Wii connect, a service which offers connection to the Internet even when the Wii is in stand-by, although there is hardly much use for this service at the time, if any.

Source: Gamespot