It all started with Videogames Plus. A Canadian site, they’re renowned in the niche UK videogames import community for their reliable service, low prices and willingness to mark packages down so the receiver can avoid the government’s iron fist in the form of import tax rape. Surely, who would be better to pre-order a Wii from?

 

One wintery night, VG+ (as they’re known to their friends) fired an email off to their mailing list, proclaiming Wii preorders would be opening at 9pm that very evening. Hundreds, nay, thousands of the faithful sat at their monitors at the hallowed hour, hammering ‘Refresh’ and waiting for the Wii to appear.

 

And appear it did. Verrrrrryyyyyy sloooooooowwwwlllllllyyyy. Preordering was like one of the dreams where you end up wading through treacle. It was a good hour for me to add the Wii and the games I wanted to my cart and checkout, but I figured it was definitely worth it. I was guaranteed one now, right?

 

Time passed, and then the sword of Damocles fell in the form of a fateful email from VG+ to their pre-orders; they wouldn’t be able to fulfil any of the Wii orders they’d received. Not one. Their suppliers weren’t sending them any, and you might as well just cancel now and have done with it. Gutted. Right, cancel then. Pointless hanging onto it.

 

More time passes.

 

VG+: OH HAY GUYS WAIT WE ARE ACTUALLY GETTING SOME LOL K SORRY TO EVERYONE WHO CANCELLED

 

...motherfuckers! >_<

 

Needless to say, they’ve left a few gamers out in the cold on this one, especially those who cancelled their order only to pay over double the US RRP to secure a machine on Ebay. Enough’s been written and recorded about PS3/Wii launch hysteria already, but few know the plight of the humble importer :(.