We've been deliberating for around 3 weeks on whether we'd get one or not. 2 months ago, our mom in the US offered to get us a unit and send it over here since my Tita got one for their house and my sister got one for her daughter. We declined, macho head of the households that we were.
Both my brother and I thought we were busy enough with our everyday lives to add another task to our daily or weekly routines. Everyone I knew who had one never regretted getting Nintendo's newest console. But being the non-console gamers that we were, we thought it might just go to waste in one corner of the house.
But December 9 came around and there was a celebration in my tita's house. Yes, the same Tita who brought home a unit from the US. We decided to try it out. And we did. And we lost ourselves (and probably our souls) to the white box with the bluetooth bar. We were holding the controls, yet we were the ones who couldn't let them go.
That night, it was decided that we'd go back on our word and request for a Wii from the land of milk and honey.
Too late the (Guitar) Hero
To our chagrin, Christmas demand shut out Filipino supply. They couldn't get any Wiis anywhere. Impatient excitement was creeping in and it demanded to be satisfied. So on New Year's Eve, my brother and I went around Greenhills' Theater and V Malls as much as my feet would allow us.
But there were no more US Wii's available except in Toy Kingdom and a couple of other stores. There were also only a few Japanese Wii's in the stores. This was when a new question arose: Axis or Allies? The version from the former Axis power was a clean 7000 cheaper than the Allied version. The only differences were:
- Japanese Menu and instructions
- Inablility to play new games from the US
- The US version comes with Wii Sports
We were now ready to go home. All this was possible with funding from the best gift-giver we know -- Mom. This was her collective gift to her sons and their families. Of course, we weren't sure how our wives would like it. But the big kids -- and their children -- definitely will. It's a good thing mom got bags and other stuff for our wives already.
5 Wii Hours
Tired and satisfied, we left Greenhills a full 5 hours after we started, including lunch and snack times, and a smoking, bathroom and TimeZone breaks. I still have to test the unit myself but custody belongs to Weng and Carla for now. I heard Sky had a fit when they had to interrupt her Hi-5 Alive to test the Wii. But she got into the mood as well, clapping with the sound effects for every won game (in Wii Sports Tennis) between her parents.
Until then, I'll have to dream of Wiis and TyTns. And maybe learn a little Japanese.
Moral of the story: Whenever you're offered one of the newest and hottest pieces of technology by anyone, don't refuse. Hehehe... We love you, mom.
