What is it about a console launch that has gamers frothing at the mouth?

And I don't just mean excitement: with console rivalries deadened slightly in recent times, the period up to now has been awash with nasty slurs against the Wii made by PS3 supporters and vice-versa. After months of 'exciting' apathy in the face of the death of the GameCube and Playstation 2, we suddenly find ourselves immersed again in the nastiness and name-calling that marked the halcyon days of the Megadrive vs SNES era.

Is it really all worth it? After all, it's just a games console. They can add to your life, but surely they should not be your life- that would just be a tragic waste of a precious gift. As I am sure I have written here before, life is for living, not for passing you by while you sit behind a closed door enjoying the latest video game.

However: For the love of all things purple, how long have we been waiting for this? Seriously, it's been nearly two years and this Friday marks the culmination of all our hopes, dreams and lusts. Can it ever live up to our own self-proliferating hype? No, of course not. Nothing could ever reach the potential that we have hoped for, nothing could possibly be expected to fulfil our every desire, satisfy all our wishes and meet all our demands. We are only setting ourselves up for a collective fall in expecting that the Wii will match the impossibly high standards we have set for it. Yes, it will (most likely) be awesome: but there will be glitches, little bugs that begin to nag and niggle once the initial euphoria has worn off.

But looking on the bright side, for those of you who have yet to pick up a Wiimote and take your first swing at Tennis: I envy you. This old hack has already had his appetite partially (though temporarily) sated by a quick fumble in a backwater game store in the States during a recent stay. There is nothing quite like that exhilarating first moment of near-weightlessness when you first realise that the power to game truly is in your hand.

From the very second you begin to create your first Mii, to that perfect 300 in bowling: there is no doubt that this new console is something incredibly special. I feel no shame in admitting that initially I was downright sceptical of the new approach taken by Nintendo �in the face of far superior graphics and bigger numbers, I have to admit a certain lack of faith in the direction taken by Nintendo. The same uncertainty I felt when the DS was announced- "Ah, a map", I thought on seeing the bottom screen. Yet how wrong I was, and now I am in no doubt that I was wrong about the Wii.

Back to the matter in hand, though: what is so great about launch day? Even the most ardent fan will have to admit that prices at the till are over-inflated with ridiculous bundles forcing you to buy games that your four year-old sister would reject as rubbish. Let us not forget also that it is almost certain to be a cold night/morning in these frosty European climes, leaving us frozen and soaked to the skin as we hand over wads of cash to hung-over sales assistants. Then there's the guy in front and his screaming child/odour problem/obnoxiously loud girlfriend who keeps stepping on your toes. Great, it's just a recipe for a happy experience. Yet queue we will.

But again� that magic moment when you present your hard-saved money and in return you get a box so full of mystery and possibilities� it's an incomparable feeling. Perhaps a mixture of your first kiss, coupled with passing your driving test and all your best birthdays rolled into one. And that does not even come close to describing the euphoria as you leave the shop, safe in the knowledge that the next week is going to be so full of gaming joy that you will never feel this way again.

Until the next one comes out.

Iun Scott-Hockley
[email protected]