Nintendo Brings Wii U E3 Demos To Best Buy Stores
May 29, 2013
In a bid to expose as many prospective customers to its Wii U console as possible, Nintendo has struck a deal with Best Buy to bring playable demos of unreleased titles to stores across the United States and Canada during E3 week. It's all part of Nintendo's plan to expand its reach during this year's expo to send its message more into the world at large and less in Los Angeles. Polygon has a list of which U.S. cities will see the Nintendo/Best Buy E3 road show. Be sure to plan your time carefully; the games will only be playable 4-8pm Wednesday, June 12 and 1-5pm on Saturday, June 15. Sadly, you may not be near one as only 110 stores will see that sweet unreleased Wii U demo action.
Alabama
Birmingham
HuntsvilleArkansas
Fort Smith
North Little RockArizona
PhoenixCalifornia
Culver City
Elk Grove
Emeryville
San Jose
Tracy
VisaliaColorado
DenverConnecticut
ManchesterDelaware
WilmingtonFlorida
Brandon
Fort Myers
Gainesville
Kissimmee
Miami
PensacolaGeorgia
Augusta
Duluth
Savannah
SmyrnaIowa
Cedar Rapids
West Des MoinesIllinois
Bloomington
SchaumburgIndiana
GreenwoodKansas
Overland Park
WichitaKentucky
Florence
Lexington
LouisvilleLouisiana
HarveyMassachusetts
Cambridge
Dedham
WorcesterMaryland
Frederick
Glen Burnie
WheatonMichigan
Ann Arbor
Flint
Grand Rapids
Rochester HillsMinnesota
Eden PrairieMissouri
St. LouisNorth Carolina
Cary
Fayetteville
Pineville
Winston-SalemNew Jersey
Iselin
West Paterson
WoodburyNew York
Albany
Amherst
Long Island City
Syracuse
Valley Stream
West NyackOhio
Fairborn
North Olmsted
Reynoldsburg
ToledoOklahoma
Oklahoma CityOregon
PortlandPennsylvania
Erie
King of Prussia
Pittsburgh
Reading
WhitehallSouth Carolina
Greenville
North CharlestonTennessee
Brentwood
Knoxville
MemphisTexas
Arlington
Austin
Houston
McAllen
The Woodlands
TylerUtah
SandyVirginia
Charlottesville
Glen Allen
Virginia BeachVermont
WillistonWashington
LynnwoodWisconsin
Greenfield
It seems like a lost opportunity to not cast this net wider. Best Buy has 1,055 stores operating right now. The demo tour is coming to just 10% of them. How is that bringing the Wii U experience to the masses at large? Some states contain only a single store that will host the demos. This public E3 demo thing is a great idea, but it should be expanded to attract as many interested people as possible. If this venture is a success and Nintendo repeats it next year, perhaps the list of stores offering the experience can increase and the operating hours can expand. The more people that can play and experience the Wii U, the better.