The Wii U is just hours away – but it’s been a long wait for these four lads and their tent

Five days. In a tent. On the street. For a games console. Hurrah?

They set up their tent outside HMV Oxford Street on Saturday November 24th and tonight four students will at last get their hands on the pot at the end of their rainbow – the Wii U.

Izzy Rahman, Sing Duong and brothers Teddy and Michael Djuma – who together form development company Vertalex Studios London – decided who would officially be No.1 in the queue via a Mario Kart tournament. That Izzy Rahman won.

"We all grew up playing Nintendo, which is why we didn’t want to miss out on tonight’s official launch, and we just thought it would be fun to try to get to the front of the queue and enjoy the experience,” Rahman stated.

It’s been tough camping out in the rain and the cold, but it’s been a laugh and it’s also given us a chance to play loads on our 3DS handhelds and it’s also given us the time to do some more games coding for our new business."

HMV’s Oxford Street store is the official launch venue for the new console and will be treated to extra stock to try and satisfy what is expected to be some very high demand.

Its doors will open at 11pm tonight. The first 100 in the queue will get a free copy of Super Mario Bros U and an additional freebie game from an HMV-picked selection.

"We can’t wait to get the Wii U into the hands of our fans in the UK and are delighted to be partnering with HMV on this exciting night,” Nintendo UK marketing director Shelly Pearce stated.

Not only will those that come down to HMV be amongst the first in the country to get their hands on the console but there will be lots of opportunities to try the games and to find out more about what makes Wii U such a unique new console."