Me and my brother both wanted to preorder the Wii but it was a "one per household" rule at EB. He goes and uses his real information. I go up (I'm like 15), pokerface. Use completely made up name, never have to show ID. Hold on to reciept for the next few months and use the receipt to get the system, never once had an ID or anything. Got two Wiis for the household on day 1.
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Share your best midnight launch story
- Thread starter superNESjoe
- Start date
Baron Von Beans
Member
On October 25th, 2000, I was a 16 year old kid with a dream. That dream was owning a PS2, and it was oh so close. It was the day before the PS2 launched, and I found out the Best Buy close to me (Springdale, OH) already had people lining up. I don’t exactly know why, but I decided I *must* get down there NOW. I worked at that particular Best Buy at the time, but I found out before that I had to line up like everyone else. So I talked to my dad about me camping out overnight there so I can get a system. He laughs, but then agrees to take me. I called a buddy who also wanted a PS2, and tried getting him to come along. He tried and tried, but his parents wouldn’t let him stay out overnight. Whatever, he at least came down with me initially. About 5:45 pm the day before launch, we pull into the Best Buy, all golden yellow from the setting sun of a beautiful October afternoon. We get to the front of the store to see roughly 6-8 people standing well off to the side of the entrance, sitting on lawn chairs with blankets. My excitement levels were through the roof, some say over 9k, as I jumped out of my dad’s car and grabbed my chair, blanket, and entertainment for the night. My friend and I got the “corner spot” literally on the corner of the building, right where the line wrapped around the side. In front of us were fellow coworkers of Best Buy, so that made the wait initially more bearable. So then we sat. And sat. My friend and I talked for while, and talked to the other line mates of ours. We got a lot of odd looks from the “regular crowd” going in to buy their TVs and washing machines. Around 9 pm or so, more people started to line up. More and more came the darker it got. People were getting rowdy, and the night was young. This line, I must say, was a “loose” line, where the people ahead and behind of you knew who was who, so you could leave the line and return and still have the same spot. Because to hell with standing/sitting in one spot for 19+ hours.
At midnight, we were treated to a spectacle. Fellow Best Buy employees that went to EB games for their PS2 came buy the Best Buy after they bought theirs at midnight. These were cool cats that had TV’s and stuff installed in their tuned Honda Civics. They were cool enough for me to want to play PS2 right then and there, I tell you what! The BB employees who were friends with the Civic owner were let into his Driver & Passenger seat respectively, one by one to check it out for a bit. I played a few minutes of SSX and Armored Core a little after midnight, in the cold Best Buy parking lot, while roughly 100+ people stared at this car emanating loud explosions and youthful exclamations. Oh yes, by this time, the line had grown to roughly over one hundred people, almost to the back of the building. We ended up draining this dudes battery, and he had to get a jump to leave around 2 in the morning. After that, the cold silence crept in. I met some people who shared some beer with me, which made me feel scandalous – drinking in public, while underage!! I only had 2 beers, but it was plenty at the time. More line shenanigans occurred with pranks, stories, and tall tales. Lots of worried remarks about BB not having enough, but I knew the amount they had. 170 PS2s. I was counting the line, and pretty much everyone there was guaranteed one. But I didn’t let that info slip, didn’t want to get fired for released info or something stupid. I was a dumb kid! The news even came out about 3 am, and was there for a bit. Around 430 pm though….I ran in to a major problem….I had to poop, and it was 430 in the damn morning.
Almost panicking, I find a friend and coworker who had his car there. I ask him to drive me somewhere so I can go boom boom. He laughs, and says “drive yourself”. Now – at the time, I *think* I had my learners permit…but not my actual license. Trying to not seem like a wimp, I grabbed his keys and took off to his car. Problem was, I didn’t know a thing about his car, and it was pitch black. I started it up, and sat there for about 20 minutes while I wrestled with the concept of turning on his headlights. I couldn’t find a dome light either, so that was no help. When I finally happened to stumble across the headlights, I (illegally) drove myself to a Burger King a half a mile down the road.. If I didn’t have to poop so bad, I would have been scared out of my mind for driving someone else’s hoopdy car, underage, and with a little alcohol in me to a place I wasn’t even fully sure of where it was! I pull in, run in to a stall, and start to do my business. Almost two minutes later….my cell phone rings. It was my buddy that lent me his car.
“DUDE, WHERE ARE YOU?! THEY ARE HANDING OUT THE TICKETS!!!!!!”
I nearly dropped the (my dads) phone into the toilet. I stammered something to the effect that I was in an emergency situation. I asked him to get me a ticket, but he said he couldn’t. I did what needed to be done in BK, and tore ass back to the line. Lemme rephrase. I freakin Colin McRae’d that car into the BB parking lot due to the panic I was feeling from potentially missing out….When I returned, they had passed tickets out to everyone in line. LUCKILY, my buddy told them what happened, and they saved a ticket for me (also helped I knew the guy handing out the tickets). With empty bowels, a ticket in hand, it was almost 6 am, and the sun was not far from rising on a great, great day. Taking little power naps and having short conversations made 7:30 am roll around very quickly. The news van came back, and was set up inside, ready for the opening. 7:45 came, and I started rounding up my chair and stuff. Once 8 am hit, the cattle drive had started, two hours earlier than the normal store opening…!! Everything in the store was funneled into one line. The line never broke out – you walking in the store in the line, stayed in line and walked through the games and accessories, all the way to the register. I got my PS2, and was asked to wait around to do a group shot of a group of people exclaiming their happiness over getting a launch PS2. I made a few “whoops” and “yeehaws”, and awaited my dad to come pick me up.
I got it home, played maybe 10 minutes of both SSX and Armored core, and immediately had to go to school for the rest of the day. It was torture, despite me missing over half the day so far. 3 pm rolled around after what seemed like an eternity, and within minutes I was at home again, ready to lose my snit in the glory that is PS2. It was one of the greatest “gaming” nights I’ve had; it was unbelievably fun, and I barely even played any games.
At midnight, we were treated to a spectacle. Fellow Best Buy employees that went to EB games for their PS2 came buy the Best Buy after they bought theirs at midnight. These were cool cats that had TV’s and stuff installed in their tuned Honda Civics. They were cool enough for me to want to play PS2 right then and there, I tell you what! The BB employees who were friends with the Civic owner were let into his Driver & Passenger seat respectively, one by one to check it out for a bit. I played a few minutes of SSX and Armored Core a little after midnight, in the cold Best Buy parking lot, while roughly 100+ people stared at this car emanating loud explosions and youthful exclamations. Oh yes, by this time, the line had grown to roughly over one hundred people, almost to the back of the building. We ended up draining this dudes battery, and he had to get a jump to leave around 2 in the morning. After that, the cold silence crept in. I met some people who shared some beer with me, which made me feel scandalous – drinking in public, while underage!! I only had 2 beers, but it was plenty at the time. More line shenanigans occurred with pranks, stories, and tall tales. Lots of worried remarks about BB not having enough, but I knew the amount they had. 170 PS2s. I was counting the line, and pretty much everyone there was guaranteed one. But I didn’t let that info slip, didn’t want to get fired for released info or something stupid. I was a dumb kid! The news even came out about 3 am, and was there for a bit. Around 430 pm though….I ran in to a major problem….I had to poop, and it was 430 in the damn morning.
Almost panicking, I find a friend and coworker who had his car there. I ask him to drive me somewhere so I can go boom boom. He laughs, and says “drive yourself”. Now – at the time, I *think* I had my learners permit…but not my actual license. Trying to not seem like a wimp, I grabbed his keys and took off to his car. Problem was, I didn’t know a thing about his car, and it was pitch black. I started it up, and sat there for about 20 minutes while I wrestled with the concept of turning on his headlights. I couldn’t find a dome light either, so that was no help. When I finally happened to stumble across the headlights, I (illegally) drove myself to a Burger King a half a mile down the road.. If I didn’t have to poop so bad, I would have been scared out of my mind for driving someone else’s hoopdy car, underage, and with a little alcohol in me to a place I wasn’t even fully sure of where it was! I pull in, run in to a stall, and start to do my business. Almost two minutes later….my cell phone rings. It was my buddy that lent me his car.
“DUDE, WHERE ARE YOU?! THEY ARE HANDING OUT THE TICKETS!!!!!!”
I nearly dropped the (my dads) phone into the toilet. I stammered something to the effect that I was in an emergency situation. I asked him to get me a ticket, but he said he couldn’t. I did what needed to be done in BK, and tore ass back to the line. Lemme rephrase. I freakin Colin McRae’d that car into the BB parking lot due to the panic I was feeling from potentially missing out….When I returned, they had passed tickets out to everyone in line. LUCKILY, my buddy told them what happened, and they saved a ticket for me (also helped I knew the guy handing out the tickets). With empty bowels, a ticket in hand, it was almost 6 am, and the sun was not far from rising on a great, great day. Taking little power naps and having short conversations made 7:30 am roll around very quickly. The news van came back, and was set up inside, ready for the opening. 7:45 came, and I started rounding up my chair and stuff. Once 8 am hit, the cattle drive had started, two hours earlier than the normal store opening…!! Everything in the store was funneled into one line. The line never broke out – you walking in the store in the line, stayed in line and walked through the games and accessories, all the way to the register. I got my PS2, and was asked to wait around to do a group shot of a group of people exclaiming their happiness over getting a launch PS2. I made a few “whoops” and “yeehaws”, and awaited my dad to come pick me up.
I got it home, played maybe 10 minutes of both SSX and Armored core, and immediately had to go to school for the rest of the day. It was torture, despite me missing over half the day so far. 3 pm rolled around after what seemed like an eternity, and within minutes I was at home again, ready to lose my snit in the glory that is PS2. It was one of the greatest “gaming” nights I’ve had; it was unbelievably fun, and I barely even played any games.
Meh, I find them largely unnecessary, the only one I went to was God of war 3. I had just seen a Puscifer concert with a friend in Boston. We then went to a bar and drank for an hour while we waited for midnight. We stopped by the gamestop first and found the whole scene obnoxious and annoying. When the ps4 launched, I had co.e from a Bruins game and just sat in ny car with a friend and listened to music for an hour or so until midnight, walked in, grabbed my ps4, and left.
Actually, I forgot something kind of crazy. I waited outside of a Circuit City for two days with a couple of friends for a ps3. A guy pulled up in a Ferrari at best buy and offered me friend a thousand bucks and the opportunity to drive his Ferrari for his spot in line. He obviously accepted.
Actually, I forgot something kind of crazy. I waited outside of a Circuit City for two days with a couple of friends for a ps3. A guy pulled up in a Ferrari at best buy and offered me friend a thousand bucks and the opportunity to drive his Ferrari for his spot in line. He obviously accepted.
Allforce
Member
Come on, this is all too insane to be real. A girl attempting to STAB you over moving up 2 spots in line? Why would she give a shit? Everyone gets a copy of the stupid game at these things. You assaulting someone and then having a GameStop employee come out to save the day and order a cop to stand down?
Version 3.0
Member
I've never been to a midnight game launch, but I've been to quite a few system launches. The best one was the Wii, because it was at a Game Crazy whose manager was a friend of a friend. So we got to wait inside, have our systems, controllers and games set up and ready to go at midnight, pay and leave before the line outside was let in the store. We played Melee and ate takeout in the few hours before.
I've never been in a bad line, though, it's always fun chatting with people. The only real annoyance I can recall is being behind a group of re-sellers in the 360 line, who were yelling out eBay prices and cheering every half hour or so until the store opened (wasn't a midnight line, it was an 8 AM line, so auctions were ending from midnight purchases).
I've never been in a bad line, though, it's always fun chatting with people. The only real annoyance I can recall is being behind a group of re-sellers in the 360 line, who were yelling out eBay prices and cheering every half hour or so until the store opened (wasn't a midnight line, it was an 8 AM line, so auctions were ending from midnight purchases).
Catalix
And on the sixth day the LORD David Bowie created man and woman in His image. And he saw that it was good. On the seventh day the LORD created videogames so that He might take the bloody day off for once.
Got to meet Garnett Lee at a Gamestop in west LA during the MGS4 launch. He just randomly showed up to gauge the general level of excitement. This was still back during 1-Up's heyday, so I was legit star struck lol
FrontalMonk
Banned
Went to several midnight releases in my day, but most of them were sedate. Black Friday, though...man. I've seen some shit at a Black Friday out front of a Best Buy.
The following happened at the BB Black Friday I went to:
The following happened at the BB Black Friday I went to:
- Played monopoly with some strangers in line
- Got dumped on by a random storm that rained for a few hours
- Took turns with said strangers heading out to the 7-11 a few blocks away for sustenance
- Had a family of six all leave for a few hours and then come back later expecting their spot in line because "we went to eat dinner"
- In the middle of a large amount of resistance, someone decided we should "put it to a vote" as to whether to let them back in line or not, because 'merica
- The vote decided that they should get back in line, but only one of them should get a ticket for the big ticket items, like the cheap shit laptops everyone wanted
- They all got tickets anyway
- I wasn't the first in the store, but I was the first out because all I picked up was a PS3 bundle, a new monitor and a few games
- I went home and played PS3 for all of about an hour before I went to bed
- Woke up with a cold that lasted the next week
I worked at EB in a mall during the launch of the Dreamcast. We had about 15 people waiting outside, sitting on benches or milling around. No line had formed yet. Our store didn't have a rear door so every time I wanted to take a smoke or bathroom break I had to unlock the front door to leave. Every time I did this everyone jumped up and scrambled in a line only to be disappointed that I was just heading for a smoke. I did this to them three times before we let them in at midnight. It was amusing.
Markitron
Is currently staging a hunger strike outside Gearbox HQ while trying to hate them to death
I have only been to 2 midnight launches, GTA V and the PS4.
The GTA V launch was fairly uneventful, I probably wouldn't have bothered but it was only a 15 min walk and I was pretty drunk, figured it would be better to go and get it while buzzed rather than have to wake up and have to get it hungover.
The PS4 launch on the other hand was a pain in the fucking arse. It was at pretty much the busiest Gamestop in my area and it was packed. we were queueing from about 22:15 and myself and my friend were sandwiched in between two groups of absolute scangers (the Irish equivalent of a chav - can be identified by their tight haircuts, exaggerated accents and expensive Nike tracksuit bottoms with matching t-shirts even though it was a freezing November night). The queueing system was a mess as it was a tiny shop and there was a line for paying, and then a line for collecting. Eventually both of these lines got completely mixed up and all of the aforementioned scangers skipped the queue. The worse part was that we were stuck kinda at the entrance for most of the night, so had to listen to a combination of the crappy band outside and the awful techno music inside the shop. It didn't help that there were both amps and speakers right next to us, I couldn't hear what my friend was saying so we just didn't talk to each other. We both walked away with massive headaches.
Oh and they were nearly not gonna give us our fully paid off PS4's aswell because the new girl serving us wasn't sure about our ID's, even though they were completely legit and we had full receipts. Fucking nightmare, love the console though.
Best story yet
The GTA V launch was fairly uneventful, I probably wouldn't have bothered but it was only a 15 min walk and I was pretty drunk, figured it would be better to go and get it while buzzed rather than have to wake up and have to get it hungover.
The PS4 launch on the other hand was a pain in the fucking arse. It was at pretty much the busiest Gamestop in my area and it was packed. we were queueing from about 22:15 and myself and my friend were sandwiched in between two groups of absolute scangers (the Irish equivalent of a chav - can be identified by their tight haircuts, exaggerated accents and expensive Nike tracksuit bottoms with matching t-shirts even though it was a freezing November night). The queueing system was a mess as it was a tiny shop and there was a line for paying, and then a line for collecting. Eventually both of these lines got completely mixed up and all of the aforementioned scangers skipped the queue. The worse part was that we were stuck kinda at the entrance for most of the night, so had to listen to a combination of the crappy band outside and the awful techno music inside the shop. It didn't help that there were both amps and speakers right next to us, I couldn't hear what my friend was saying so we just didn't talk to each other. We both walked away with massive headaches.
Oh and they were nearly not gonna give us our fully paid off PS4's aswell because the new girl serving us wasn't sure about our ID's, even though they were completely legit and we had full receipts. Fucking nightmare, love the console though.
Best story yet
blame space
Banned
this was great because Nintendo sent every gamestop cat ears and i wore them the whole night.
I don't think she snapped over the single 2 spots, its the fact that she had been getting so built up from the crowd of guys she came up through. She was in the back of our line that had at least 70+ people in it. She chatted her way up to the front and at that point was expecting to get in the front of the line I can guess.
She might've been angry that I 'disrespected' her or something I couldn't tell you. I have no idea why any of these things happened and have no way to convince you they happened because they were that ridiculous. Also the cop wasn't gung ho about the situation he was just getting ready to take me in for disorderly conduct, it was a crowd of people yelling at my friend and i then saying I was fighting. The gamestop employee just came out after the commotion and let him know the whole situation. The cop didn't even know why we were all outside of the store until the gamestop employee explained it was a midnight release.
IXIKelsonIXI
Member
Mildly humorous story time!
First in line for the midnight launch of Halo: Reach, got in line at 6pm. Dude behind me in line seemed a little strange. Didn't know much about the game (almost nothing). Throughout our conversations over the ~6 hours standing in line, more and more signs point to this guy never having played Halo in his life.
Asked what the game was about.
Said he didn't have an Xbox.
Eventually, we get up to the door to finally enter. He clarifies something with the guy working the door.
"I can pick up Lego Indiana Jones 2, right?"
"Umm...yeah, you can I guess."
Guy was waiting for 6 hours to get Lego Indiana Jones 2 for the DS, which happened to have the same street date as Reach. More power to him, but I was a little blown away at the time.
First in line for the midnight launch of Halo: Reach, got in line at 6pm. Dude behind me in line seemed a little strange. Didn't know much about the game (almost nothing). Throughout our conversations over the ~6 hours standing in line, more and more signs point to this guy never having played Halo in his life.
Asked what the game was about.
Said he didn't have an Xbox.
Eventually, we get up to the door to finally enter. He clarifies something with the guy working the door.
"I can pick up Lego Indiana Jones 2, right?"
"Umm...yeah, you can I guess."
Guy was waiting for 6 hours to get Lego Indiana Jones 2 for the DS, which happened to have the same street date as Reach. More power to him, but I was a little blown away at the time.
TheSlySoul
Member
I remember waiting outside a store at 5 AM for the Wii. I really did not do many midnight launches and now with online midnight releases there is no need to do it anymore.
SliceSabre
Banned
It was the CoD: MW2 midnight launch.
I was about at the midway point of the line and while we were waiting the temperture dropped like crazy. I think it was in the mid 30s if that and some guys were shivering their balls off. However me and some guys I was talking to in line were absolutely fueled and heated by MONSTER energy drinks, Doritos and hype. Yes we all happened to have MONSTER energy drinks and doritos to eat while waiting in line. We just spent the night joking and laughing about the games, talking about other games we were hyped about and a bunch of other stuff. It was really great compared to other where I just kinda stood there in silence. Ha cold? Ha snow flurries? Nope the hype was our heater and and it couldn't drive us of of this line.
At one point the line outside the GameStop we were waiting at had a couple of cops waiting there watching it because it was a quiet town and the line was insanely massive and wrapped around the plaza we were waiting at.
When I got home my buddies were powering up their 360s at the same time and we all hopped on line and played MW2 until my eyes bled and I passed out on the floor at 5 in the morning then woke up 2 hours later and played more.
I was about at the midway point of the line and while we were waiting the temperture dropped like crazy. I think it was in the mid 30s if that and some guys were shivering their balls off. However me and some guys I was talking to in line were absolutely fueled and heated by MONSTER energy drinks, Doritos and hype. Yes we all happened to have MONSTER energy drinks and doritos to eat while waiting in line. We just spent the night joking and laughing about the games, talking about other games we were hyped about and a bunch of other stuff. It was really great compared to other where I just kinda stood there in silence. Ha cold? Ha snow flurries? Nope the hype was our heater and and it couldn't drive us of of this line.
At one point the line outside the GameStop we were waiting at had a couple of cops waiting there watching it because it was a quiet town and the line was insanely massive and wrapped around the plaza we were waiting at.
When I got home my buddies were powering up their 360s at the same time and we all hopped on line and played MW2 until my eyes bled and I passed out on the floor at 5 in the morning then woke up 2 hours later and played more.
It's a customer perk you can buy for fifteen bucks, and it pays for itself if you buy $150 worth of used games over the course of a year. That's maybe ten games at the outside. It's not like it's a super secret club or anything.
I have it because the other perks (One week to return games no questions asked, etc) are worth it to me. The front of the line thing isn't even strictly limited to paid, Platinum members. If you get 1500 points you reach Gold, which is free and also allows you to cut the line at launch events.
It's just a loyalty program for frequent customers, which is fair game as far as I'm concerned. I think I'm actually over the 5,000 points for free Platinum by now, so I won't have to pay for it all now.
EdwardTeach
Member
Crazy story!
Doctoglethorpe
Member
When ME3 launched, I had never been to a midnight launch before. I usually didn't care but I made an exception that time. My cousin tricked me into thinking I needed to get there at least an hour early (even though I later found out you cac just show up at 11:59 no problem). I sat on a bench for about 80 minutes playing Mario Kart on my DS while people waited in line and did the games and stuff. When they were calling out names for winners, I heard them call the name of someone who was my best friend in highschool I hadn't seen in like 5 years. I didn't even look up from my DS, Bowser was kicking my ass. Fin.
A semi-midnight launch story.
I used to work at EB and my manager there was super awesome. I was really into WoW at the time and had to do midnight launch for Lich King. Since I had a spit shift that day and got off at 7 or something, he let me take it home early and just pay for it later at midnight. Being on the west coast with servers opening on eastern times, I got to be one of the first people on my server (which was a mainly west coast server) to enter to the new game at 9 that night. Best experience ever, going into a new game with only like 5 other people, quietly exploring the new land. The chat was SUPER quiet too and it was a sort of awe with the new place and discovering things...
Went back to work with a smile on my face, handing out people their copies and paid for my own. When I got back home, the server was already flooded with people exploring the area. I'll never forget that short time and peace, quiet, and exploration though
I used to work at EB and my manager there was super awesome. I was really into WoW at the time and had to do midnight launch for Lich King. Since I had a spit shift that day and got off at 7 or something, he let me take it home early and just pay for it later at midnight. Being on the west coast with servers opening on eastern times, I got to be one of the first people on my server (which was a mainly west coast server) to enter to the new game at 9 that night. Best experience ever, going into a new game with only like 5 other people, quietly exploring the new land. The chat was SUPER quiet too and it was a sort of awe with the new place and discovering things...
Went back to work with a smile on my face, handing out people their copies and paid for my own. When I got back home, the server was already flooded with people exploring the area. I'll never forget that short time and peace, quiet, and exploration though
I've only been to one midnight release - Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty.
Nothing exciting. Lined up outside the store, the store opened, we slowly walked in, purchased game, and left.
I did attend a 7 AM release for World of Warcraft though. Since they had the two variants of box art, the guy at the cashier had to ask each patron 'Alliance or Horde?'.
Nothing exciting. Lined up outside the store, the store opened, we slowly walked in, purchased game, and left.
I did attend a 7 AM release for World of Warcraft though. Since they had the two variants of box art, the guy at the cashier had to ask each patron 'Alliance or Horde?'.
Nathan_Drake
Member
PS4 at Walmart. You could pay it all off but a penny. Showed up at 1130 and they went by order number which I was #1. At midnight I walked up with a receipt and a penny and walked away with my baby. I then hustled to my jeep and got the fuck out of there. I am always sketched out in Walmart parking lots at midnight. Though I would have went straight up ninja on someone if they looked at me weird.
Northeastmonk
Gold Member
I've been to a large amount of them. I worked for EB/GameStop during the Halo 3, GTAIV, and numerous Madden/NCAA launches.
My favorite would of been Gears of War because EB Games had a 10 PM (late) preview of the game (they handed out posters, tattoos, Cliffy B was on TV talking to us), but I think they ended up cancelling the actual midnight launch because there was a problem with either shipping or something. I'd say Final Fantasy XII. The guys working there were big fans too. They ended up putting on Advent Children and handed us all Mountain Dew while we waited in line. It was great. I remember one of the employees handed us a list of up and coming games from their database and some guy ate his whopper from Burger King while we waited for other people to show up.
All the Call of Duty launches were hectic. Guys would set posters on fire (Black Ops 2), getting into fights, screaming at the people driving by, and people talking about getting high or drunk. Black Ops 1 went very well, but I was at a Best Buy for that. Skyrim was 3 blocks of people and it was such a long wait.
I was there when H2 came out. People would arrive stoned or they showed up late. I was 2nd in line for that. H3 was pretty cool because the games arrived a couple days before the launch and sat in the supply closet with large "Do not open before Street Date" stickers ontop. I remember we sat outside asking people Halo related questions. GTA was the only launch when they had security guards show up to monitor the crowd.
MW2 had a great launch looking back on it now. I think it was because we all anticipated it from the start. I was like 30 feet away from the door. They were packed. A lot of people purchased that game. It sucks because MW3 was not as memorable.
Things are always larger when you're younger. Now you can legally get hammered, pick up as many games as you want, and stay out till 6 am. Great story.
My favorite would of been Gears of War because EB Games had a 10 PM (late) preview of the game (they handed out posters, tattoos, Cliffy B was on TV talking to us), but I think they ended up cancelling the actual midnight launch because there was a problem with either shipping or something. I'd say Final Fantasy XII. The guys working there were big fans too. They ended up putting on Advent Children and handed us all Mountain Dew while we waited in line. It was great. I remember one of the employees handed us a list of up and coming games from their database and some guy ate his whopper from Burger King while we waited for other people to show up.
All the Call of Duty launches were hectic. Guys would set posters on fire (Black Ops 2), getting into fights, screaming at the people driving by, and people talking about getting high or drunk. Black Ops 1 went very well, but I was at a Best Buy for that. Skyrim was 3 blocks of people and it was such a long wait.
I was there when H2 came out. People would arrive stoned or they showed up late. I was 2nd in line for that. H3 was pretty cool because the games arrived a couple days before the launch and sat in the supply closet with large "Do not open before Street Date" stickers ontop. I remember we sat outside asking people Halo related questions. GTA was the only launch when they had security guards show up to monitor the crowd.
MW2 had a great launch looking back on it now. I think it was because we all anticipated it from the start. I was like 30 feet away from the door. They were packed. A lot of people purchased that game. It sucks because MW3 was not as memorable.
Things are always larger when you're younger. Now you can legally get hammered, pick up as many games as you want, and stay out till 6 am. Great story.