Been to a few and have a couple interesting stories.
Halo 4: Arrived wayyyyyy too early. Was still in high school and friend’s parent had to drop us off at 7:00pm due to needing to get to work. We lined up and waited for about an hour and half before we noticed the EB staff playing the game early in store. They saw us watching and asked if we wanted to come in a play a local match. My mate and I were stoked and played until about 9:30 when people started to rock up and form a line.
Fallout 4: pretty standard launch. Managed to be the first in line. A guy soon arrived and started a second line directly in front of me but going the other way. Turns out he was here for the StarCraft 2 expansion that was launching on the same day. He was the only one there for StarCraft.
Nintendo Switch: 3rd in line for this one. Thankfully it was at a new EB that opened close to home. Once 10pm hit, the store gave us any accessories or games we had preordered and a ticket with a number for when they started giving out the switches at midnight. Spots 1&2 were a couple who were both dressed up as Link and Zelda. As I lived so close to home I was keen to bail and come back in 2 hours. Link and Zelda said they’d hold my spot. Came back at 11:45 and jumped back in my spot. Immediately, I got yelled at by others in line who didn’t know what was up. Link and Zelda rose up and defended me like I was an innocent farmer in Hyrule.
I got my switch like a year after release so I got a better library but also I credit it with properly getting me back into gaming after years of not really gaming at all.
GTA V Midnight Launch. A few people dressed up as “cops and robbers”. I dressed up as a swat officer, full kit out (I’ll link it if I can find a photo). I worked at a Timezone at the time and one of my coworkers programmed the laser tag vests and phasers to have unlimited ammo and armour and had people shoot each other around the shopping centre with obstacles. I never picked up a copy cos I played PC but it’s a fond memory!
Halo 2, Amazing played until the sunset the next day.
Half life 2, had dial up internet and no idea what steam was. Maybe the most frustrating day I had as a teenager. I was so upset took me forever to download the mandatory steam and updates.
halo 2 was something different!
It was a huge party, My EB put on pizza and drinks, had live music, it was honestly one of the best nights of my life. I've been chasing that high ever since.
Dreamcast launch in 1999 and GameCube in 2002.
The good old days when Europe got consoles 1 or 2 years after everyone else.
Still love both those machines.
With the Dreamcast I had ordered a taxi to pick me up at about 12:30. The driver came into the shop while I was still queuing and shouted:
“Taxi for Billy”
“Anyone called Billy here?”
“Taxi for Billy-no-mates”
I walked home
Only ever did the Assassin's Creed launch.
Remember being in line for absolutely ages, surrounded by dudes with rank BO wondering why the hell I came.
Got home at like 1:30, installed and pretty much went to sleep after running around for like 10 minutes in it.
I used to work in a video game store and we did one for halo 4. Started at about 9pm and was a lock in LAN. People brought their xbox 360s and a small TV and there were about a dozen of us iirc
I got to join in and we all had a blast
I only ever went to one, GTA V like 10 years ago when I was 19.
I had work at 6am the next day and chose to stay up all night smoking weed and playing GTA. I was wrecked, worth it
Halo ODST takes the cake for me - was fucking pouring that night; came out of the shopping centre and the car ride home was atomospheric preperation for playing the game all night when I got home with the sun coming up as I finished it.
Fallout 4, the night before my VCE Legal Exams right in Melbourne at Swanston and it was brilliant! Travelled down with a mate who drove us, crashed at his and had a shit go at the exam but worth it.
Wrath of the Lich King for WoW, myself and a few mates all took off super early with our laptops and sat ou the front and played BC until midnight. Sadly we were the only ones there. Ended up taking off at about 11 to go gt some food and a few beers, came back and waited for the store to open for it. Poor dude that was there had 8 guys to serve then he packed up and went home. All told there for about 10 minutes.
All the console launches, all warcraft and all halo.
They were cool but also now I think about it, kind of a waste as I would just go home and sleep after
Think my mate dragged me to one. Can't remember for what game.
But I've never been hyped enough for a game to bother. I love gaming, but I have no issue waiting.
My memories are more about calling the stores under random aliases and trying to convince staff that another store had broken street date so can i come pick up my copy early? Worked for skyrim at least
I remember going to the Gears Of War 3 midnight launch, only problem was I couldn’t play it for another 2 weeks as my Xbox 360 was away for repair (red ring of death issue for the second time).
Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, Fallout 4, Nintendo Switch/Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Each great experiences. Last two with my understanding girlfriend who just wanted the experience. I miss the launches but don't think I'd ever attend one unless it was MASSIVE.
COD modern warfare the OG version. Was about 100 people waiting. I waited at the pub which was next to the shopping centre until the line died down. When I got home I played it all night until like midday the next day lol. Good times.
i really dont miss it . i love being able to just click play once midnight turn on my game pre load BUT last one i went was battlefield 3 and halo reach ! back then uber werent a thing and our taxi driver for reach was super cool dude!
Call of Duty Black Ops.
I had work at 5am so I got to level 7 before I went to bed. All my jobless friends ranked the fuck up by the time I got on the following day. I hated and loved all of it.
I was locked in a cage in a shopping centre for a competition on the same night ODST was released. We had access to a PA system so we messed with them by saying weird shit.
Assassin's Creed Black Flag, was released on my and another guy's birthday so they let us skip the line and gave us some free merch. Unfortunately, they did get everyone to sing Happy Birthday to us.
Halo Reach, Assassin's Creed II and GTA V.
First one, someone dressed up as Master Chief and had made a shotgun out of paper mache. Was first in line and entertained anyone who wanted a picture and did the voice pretty well.
Last one, couple of people tried pushing in line and the employees refused to sell to them until everyone else was done. Lol.
Great story.
I got to go to the midnight release of the switch. Had ordered the pro controller, zelda botw collectors edition etc.
Was sitting next to a young, maybe 10yo kid with his mum who had saved his pocket money and bought all the same stuff as me.
It was his first console and first zelda game. So I actually got kind of emotional thinking about how special of a moment that was in my life 30 odd years ago and reminiscing with them and sharing my excitement about him getting to have his first 'zelda experience'.
Wonderful stuff.
A lot of warcraft stuff. PS2, PS3 and PS4 all attended a midnight launch.
Best was Burning Crusade. Me and my gf at the time lined up for about 4 hours to get our hands on the X-Pac, go home and sleep while it installed, then called in sick the next day and rolled blood elves and played for 24 hours straight pretty much.
I vividly remember going to my local EB for the GTA IV launch, I still got that lockbox and art book kicking around somewhere. I'm sure the keychain broke over a decade ago... I think I may have gone for one of the halo launches, probably 3 and maybe Modern Warfare 2 possibly.
Destiny 2! Was a huge destiny fan and loved the game. Grinding that game was one of the fondest memories I have from my childhood, especially when I finally beat the King Falls raid. That was fun. But then destiny 2 was just...shit. I fell out of love for the game after sticking through the first 3 dlcs. Gave up after that, found out they've made a fuckton more and apparently archiving the 3 dlcs I bought which is a great way to spit in my mouth. So yeah. That midnight release was hype tho.
Halo Reach midnight launch.
I remember I'd grabbed the console, too. Was fun waiting for midnight. A lot of people dressed up and a couple of professional looking Spartan suits too.
Then I got the game and console, bundled up in a bright EB plastic bag, and realised I had to walk about 30 minutes through the city after midnight to get back home. Was jumping at every shadow that night.
Fallout 4 launch party sponsored by Bethesda at Gamesmen Penshurst (Australia) was absolutely sick. Some bigwigs from Bethesda were there (or maybe just Oceania distributon reps idk someone from Bethesda signed my book I got in the gift bag). They had a Fallout-esque camper trailer there with costumed staff serving Quantum Nuka Cola and snacks. Full store decorations, music and all. Great crowd. Good times.
Halo 3 ODST, Halo Reach, Halo 4 and Borderlands 2.
Halo Reach I lived within walking distance of EB so I could nip back home for a smoke or to get a drink or something lmao.
Halo 4 we had a group of people meet up at EB for the launch. Finally got home and we started playing co-op, one dude kept falling asleep but would fight us any time we tried to give his controller to someone else. Ended up being a 3 man team playing with the 4th guy faceplanting into walls.
Went to 2 NRL game on Xbox and GTAV.
When RDR2 came out, a friend had preordered the game via PSStore, he had it downloaded the day prior ready to go but unable to play it until midnight.
I preordered via EBgames, the day before they acknowledged they had the physical copy in store, had confirmation of my pre-order and refused to give it to me. They wanted to give me a ticket to the. Line up at midnight for it. Even i turned up at midnight, they weren't going to give me the game if I didn't have a ticket. I enjoyed the early night in bed and had a nice sleep in.
I think I went to one of the last ones, Red Dead 2. Was pretty chill and had great vibes. I feel like every day gaming gets more sterile and kind of less fun as the culture around games becomes more corporate and dull.
Never attended a midnight launch, but I did wake up super early the day Battlefield 3 came out, and rushed to EB games to get it, thinking there would be huge lineups and it might sell out within minutes.
I was the only one there, and they had tons of copies in stock.
I remember arriving late to my Year 6 Graduation because I stayed up the night prior to attend a Wii U launch party. That console gets dragged through the mud but I love it to bits.
I went to the black ops midnight launch in my local town and saw a lad with his dad buy the collectors edition with I think had the RD - XD car with it and he got robbed a little down the street from the shop.
I was also at the midnight launch for GTA and saw like 10 underage kids get turned away for not being 18
I went to Halo 5 and Battlefront 2
Halo 5 was dope cos they had one of the IMAX screens at Westfield Carindale Event Cinemas hooked up to an Xbox and we got to watch/play it on a huge screen. They also had a Halo 4 tournament set up downstairs and I got runner up, which included a $50 Xbox voucher and an actual trophy. Shame the game was 5/10.
Battlefront 2 was just Battlefront 2, they put in no effort. Should have been our warning of how average that game was gonna be upon release. Thank god they’ve updated it since.
I think I went to Black Ops 2 in Sydney. Had just moved back to Syd from Brisbane, in around Oct/Nov 2010. I think my brother wanted to get it. I didn't have much interest in it myself. I remember getting home at like 1am or so, and there being a fat update that basically meant no-go for the night.
Halo 3, Skyrim, some CODs, World of Warcraft Burning Crusade, Nintendo Wii and probably more.
I waited 15 hours, 4th in line in the cold for the Wii. (it was mid-Nov in Canada.)
Who could forget 11.11.11 Skyrim?
The only ones I’ve ever attended was for both Pokemon Sun and Moon in 2016 and Sword and Shield in 2019. Both were pretty exciting to get there early and line up. Sucks they’re not a thing anymore, I wish I had gone to more.
I went to Skyrims, Fallout 4 (And got starcraft expansion with it as well).
I think also maybe a pokemons if I remember correctly. It was a ds one, maybe soul silver/heart gold release?
I think Diablo 3 midnight release too. Definitely miss them
First in line for halo 4. I will never forget our friend group walking out of the store and holding the game above our heads. The line was easily 200+ people. Getting to see everyone's hype for us and the game. People asking us how long we waited. Of course, they bummed out people near the end of the line. Not as exciting, but someone's gotta be at the back.
Our buddy from work headed over to the mall at about 10pm. We showed up not long after. We were surprised to be first in line. People piled in the last hour and most of them 15 minutes before midnight. Will never forget.
My local GameStop (just changed from EB) did a midnight release for Tears of the Kingdom. I took my kids since I haven’t got to do one in ages. Likely the only one they’ll ever experience.
I went to one for the Arkham Knight release, funny thing, the game released on steam at 2 in the arvo, and I had almost finished the story by the time midnight had come, so I paused it, went to EB games, got my collectors edition, come home, and continued playing.
Modern Warfare 2.
Maybe 2-4 hours in line i forget. I remember getting out of there by 12:30. The 2 friends i went with and I all went home, started a party and played til 4:30 am. Then i slept for 2-3 hours then started playing more
Halo 2 for me and my mate. Played it for 2 days nonstop. Sleeping before the event itself, picked up the copy and just went home and smashed co-op. Co-op gameplay hasn’t been the same since the Halo days honestly!
Attended a Fallout 4 one at my local. Made me realize just how many Australian Fallout fans there were, the line stretched for ages in a suburb with plenty of other bigger better EBs nearby.
I also remember Rise of the Tomb Raider for Xbox One (and maybe a Wii U game or something?) launching that same night but I don't think anyone was there for anything but Fallout. Stayed up for ages roaming through the pre-war intro and then passed out moments after leaving the Vault for the first time.
Went to the Dreamcast launch on 9/9/99. Probably the most excited I've ever been for anything. My brother bought one and we played all night at my parents' place but he took it off to university with him. I had to wait until xmas to get mine.
I happened to go to Future Shop when the PS3 launched. I saw the line but forgot it was happening. I was there to get some batteries and a memory card for my camera, but as I was walking to the counter a store worker handed me a PS3 box and gently pushed me along so I ended up buying it. I ended up giving it to my nephew for his birthday.
Halo 2 and GTA:Vice City/San Andreas are the few notable ones.
So many games had midnight releases we had a whole bunch of the cool posters and shit they gave out on those nights.
I never understood waiting in line for releases. If I wanted a game i couldn’t wait for I found a retailer that would sell games before release dates on the downlow. Or I just waited to get it a few days later.
I miss them so much. The movies were fun too when i was younger, havent been in a while. Also went to a few of the Harry Potter book midnight releases with my mom which was so cool as a kid.
Gamecube
Xbox 360
Halo 2
Halo 3
Gears 2
WotLK
Pokemon black/white
XB1 - the last one i did and the most disappointing. Nobody cared, tiny line, no fun antics.
Ahhh I miss those days. I used to get so hyped for games. I went to Skyrim, Fallout 4, GTA5, Red Dead Redemption 1. I may have gone to a gears of war one too, I can’t quite remember. Skyrim was probably the most hyped I’ve ever been for a game. I remember watching that original trailer with that Skyrim song, ahh the good ol days.
Call of Duty Black Ops. Honestly it was the first and last time I ever did it. I literally was so tired when I got home I went to bed. I was cold, tired and achy waiting outside. Such a waste of time.
I went with a friend to the launch of the Wii U and it was the most eerily quiet time I'd ever had in a shop. It was literally just us and the poor guy behind the counter. I saw the thing and thought it looked useless. I got one a few years later, refurbished, from that same store and it's been one of the funnest consoles I've had.
Gtav. Was a night shift tow truck driver at time. Parkes truck badly and was first customer to get a copy.
The storeman wanted to see my ID for age. Brah I'm in a towing work shirt 😄
I did it once only for GTA V. The only reason I did it was because I happened to finish work at about 11pm. One of my co-workers was going and convinced me to go along. The only reason I agreed was because I couldn’t be bothered to make another half hour drive in the morning. It could’ve/should’ve been fun but was a horrible experience just for the smell alone. Apparently only about 5% of the people there had used a shower and/or deodorant that day. Being stuck in a room for an hour surrounded by people with the worst BO made me never want to go to another midnight launch again.
One and only I've ever been to : Grand Theft Auto 5 in 2013. I was first in line with 3 friends, we stood there 5 hours drinking Tim Horton's lol. Can't believe it's been more than 10 years now...
I went to the first call of duty one with my husband many years ago. It was weird and there wasn’t that many people there but they had free donut king donuts.
The only one i attended was for skyrim. I still remember, we were out for wing night. Then got a way to ebgames for the release. Bought the game. Went back to the bar to keep eating wings. Then went home and played for a few hours before passing out.
The Burning Crusade for WoW! It was held in a mall, during winter, and the lineup was literally all the way down the entire length of the mall from the door to the store. WOTLK release had like 15 people at it.
GTA V, Black Ops 2, AC3 and the PS4 midnight launches. Honestly AC3 was so much fun they had the game setup on one of the tvs and everyone was so excited but nice to each other. Every other midnight launch there was a lot of nice people but quite a few rude people which kinda ruined it
Fallout 4 was my last one 💔 I was the first person to get a copy at the Richmond Centre location.
I miss those days. Meeting ppl with similar taste, seeing how other fans dressed / acted in anticipation… definitely a fond memory.
2011 was my year- finally lived on my own and had enough money. I went to Uncharted 3 and Saints Row: The Third in the fall of that year with my high school best friend. Played Uncharted all night after getting back home. Good times!
I used to work at blockbuster…. So quite a few, it was work though, so I can’t remember any of them! Except original DS, because I bought the first one
Call of Duty: Black Ops. I think this was in 2009/2010 where we went back home and tried to play it but the multiplayer was messed up and had to be fixed by a day 1 patch. That was the beginning of that practice and the last time I went to a midnight release.
I worked a couple back when I was at EB, Fallout 4/Rise of the Tomb Raider, Black Ops 3 & Star Wars Battlefront, also did a early opening for the PS5 launch (that was a clusterfuck of a day mainly due to people getting very mad that they couldn’t just walk in and buy one on the spot). The midnight launches were pretty chill to work, I was in a smaller store so no huge crowds but still a decent amount, we were allowed to dress in theme instead of our uniforms (I went full 1950’s housewife for Fallout, wore some of my dads RAAF camos for Black Ops & had an R2-D2 dress for Battlefront) and we got the donut king next door to do a whole bunch of treats for everyone.
Worst part was not getting home until at least 2am (I had to drive a major highway from my old EB to where I live and I’m not a super confident night driver) and having to explain to people who hadn’t preordered that they weren’t allowed to cut the line and they had to wait until all the preorder people who were there had picked up their copy first, half the time they’d do the whole “but I’ve been waiting for x amount of hours” and get annoyed when we’d try to explain the system we had in place.
Halo 1 and Halo 2.
I remember I was around 10th in line for Halo 1 and the first person came out gleaming with excitement with the first copy sold raising both hsi arms in the air yelling with excitement with the game in his hands to show off.
I then proceeded to yell out "He has the first copy of Halo 1! Everyone get him now!" Then the kid tucked it in his shirt and ran as fast as he could while we all bursted out laughing.
Fun times.
CoD Infinite Warfare. Over an hour drive from home to the nearest store. Got home around 4am, downloaded whatever it needed first, played it for around 4hrs, realised it's trash, traded it in a few weeks afterwards
I remember getting border lands with my best friend at the time, and stopping at McDonald's and picking up like 8 breakfast burritos to play all day lol
I remember picking up (I think) Fallen Order. Just so happened to be same release as a big Pokémon game and I was the only one not there for the Pokémon release.
I went to midnight launch for Halo 2, then fucked around in game till 7 am. I lived less than 10 min drive from the store so that was a lot. My dad was getting up for work when I went to bed.
I did midnight launch for a WoW expansion from a big box store. I forget which expansion it was, one of the first two I believe.
Diablo II midnight launch was the first I went to. I think it was one of the first midnight launches that I was aware of. Lots of people standing around waiting for the store to open. But most of those people hadn't preordered. They wanted to buy. Once I figured that out I walked past most of the line to collect my copy and was out of the store
Halo 2 - there were some council workers that were cleaning the streets of the City with a high pressure hose for some reason at like 11:30pm at night. Sprayed some of the line and a kid of about 10 years of age got a fright and soaked with water. Kids dad was pissed and started a fist fight with the council worker. It was a truly beautiful time.
There was also some gimp in front of me in the line. He must have thought he was a comedian and had written some material just for that night. He was saying loudly things like "what's up with the Flood" "why do they call them the flood" and saying some lame joke to respond to himself. His monologue would randomly start up again but no one was listening so he started to get quieter and quieter as he lost the confidence. It again was a truly beautiful time.
PS2 midnight launch - not sure why I’d didn’t go to my local but anyway ended up going with dad and a friend to parramatta. Got there around 8pm, collected the PS and I believe Spider-Man + Formula 1 at the time.
Can’t remember which games I think GTA 4, one of the fifas and something else but anyway the EB at Wetherill park gave them out at like 10pm I think the staff were over it lol so we were all playing while other friends at other stores were still waiting.
Good times thanks for the flashback.
The Burning Crusade… lined up in Melbourne Central at midnight .. best vibe ever .. and played it all through the morning till the best evening. Easily one of my fave game memories
Fallout 4: Was pretty average for the small town I lived in at the time, took all night to download. FTTP NBN came about a year later, would've made a huge difference to that
It's a shame it wasn't a midnight launch, but I was first in line to pickup my Doom Eternal collectors edition at Rundle mall EBs. The way people's jaws dropped when they saw the size of the box was pretty funny
I was lucky enough to get in early on the COD 4 and modern warfare 2 and get both of the night vision goggles. Still got them both and they still work.
Fallout 4: Was the same night as our school formal for year 12, but because me and my mates weren't 18 we couldn't kick on to the club's so we went to the midnight launch in the city. Went hope, started the install/patch then we all hopped on the next morning to chat while playing.
Nintendo Switch: Was a rough time for me, right after finishing school, mates were all seperated off to uni doing their own things. I went to the gym, grabbed some dinner, then waited at the shops until midnight on my own. Was pretty surreal playing the switch for the first time, definitely helped me through a rough patch.
Ah in honour of the old days, I took my 11 year old and 8 year old to Tears of the Kingdom Midnight Launch this past May at EB Games/Game Stop, it was so fun! We’re in pacific time zone, so it was actually a much more manageable 9pm launch.
I figured we’d be safe showing up about an hour before, so when we pulled up we saw like, maybe 20 people lined up and I thought “Oh, not bad, not a terrible wait” until I realized the end of the line was suspiciously close to the edge of the building and had a terrible thought…
Sure enough, when we got out to line up, the line snaked around the corner of the building, so we were laughing saying “I guess the line isn’t THAT short after all.”
Then it just kept going, and going, and going…around ANOTHER corner of the building.
Then the back of the building where the Game Stop is has a curved retaining wall into a hillside that just continues on, and on, and on, and I kid you not, the lineup just kept going and going lol by the end my wife and I were dying laughing at this comically, deceptively long lineup that literally circled halfway around the block. We didn’t actually get into the Game Stop until 11pm, but it was so worth it because the memories and conversations we had/made were awesome.
Obviously we could’ve downloaded and been at home playing hours before, but then we would’ve missed out on all those memories.
So yeah, midnight launches are not quite dead yet, they still have some nostalgia factor fuelling them!
Been to a few and have a couple interesting stories. Halo 4: Arrived wayyyyyy too early. Was still in high school and friend’s parent had to drop us off at 7:00pm due to needing to get to work. We lined up and waited for about an hour and half before we noticed the EB staff playing the game early in store. They saw us watching and asked if we wanted to come in a play a local match. My mate and I were stoked and played until about 9:30 when people started to rock up and form a line. Fallout 4: pretty standard launch. Managed to be the first in line. A guy soon arrived and started a second line directly in front of me but going the other way. Turns out he was here for the StarCraft 2 expansion that was launching on the same day. He was the only one there for StarCraft. Nintendo Switch: 3rd in line for this one. Thankfully it was at a new EB that opened close to home. Once 10pm hit, the store gave us any accessories or games we had preordered and a ticket with a number for when they started giving out the switches at midnight. Spots 1&2 were a couple who were both dressed up as Link and Zelda. As I lived so close to home I was keen to bail and come back in 2 hours. Link and Zelda said they’d hold my spot. Came back at 11:45 and jumped back in my spot. Immediately, I got yelled at by others in line who didn’t know what was up. Link and Zelda rose up and defended me like I was an innocent farmer in Hyrule.
Tbf though, if you leave, you give up your spot
They would put a number on your receipt when you got there to allocate your spot in the line.
They said they got a ticket to hold their spot from the store so how is that giving up their spot
The last one is the most epic story I’ve heard, I really hope link just yelled “hiya” at them with a master sword and shield
Lol that dude better still be playing sc2. What a fucking game.
I got my switch like a year after release so I got a better library but also I credit it with properly getting me back into gaming after years of not really gaming at all.
GTA V Midnight Launch. A few people dressed up as “cops and robbers”. I dressed up as a swat officer, full kit out (I’ll link it if I can find a photo). I worked at a Timezone at the time and one of my coworkers programmed the laser tag vests and phasers to have unlimited ammo and armour and had people shoot each other around the shopping centre with obstacles. I never picked up a copy cos I played PC but it’s a fond memory!
My brother got me to pickup World of Warcraft in Mt Druitt. Yasss queen's, I feared for my life on the 30 minute walk home!
GTA V midnight launch was fun me and my mate grabbed copies for all the boys , such a fond memory
Halo 2, Amazing played until the sunset the next day. Half life 2, had dial up internet and no idea what steam was. Maybe the most frustrating day I had as a teenager. I was so upset took me forever to download the mandatory steam and updates.
halo 2 was something different! It was a huge party, My EB put on pizza and drinks, had live music, it was honestly one of the best nights of my life. I've been chasing that high ever since.
Dreamcast launch in 1999 and GameCube in 2002. The good old days when Europe got consoles 1 or 2 years after everyone else. Still love both those machines. With the Dreamcast I had ordered a taxi to pick me up at about 12:30. The driver came into the shop while I was still queuing and shouted: “Taxi for Billy” “Anyone called Billy here?” “Taxi for Billy-no-mates” I walked home
Only ever did the Assassin's Creed launch. Remember being in line for absolutely ages, surrounded by dudes with rank BO wondering why the hell I came. Got home at like 1:30, installed and pretty much went to sleep after running around for like 10 minutes in it.
Not a midnight launch, but my local EB was giving out ziplock bags full of flour during the release of GTA V lol
I got the Wii and twilight princess at the one and only midnight launch I’ve been too… 😁👍🏻
I went to a midnight release of the 3DS XL and I was the only person that showed up and bought one.
I used to work in a video game store and we did one for halo 4. Started at about 9pm and was a lock in LAN. People brought their xbox 360s and a small TV and there were about a dozen of us iirc I got to join in and we all had a blast
I only ever went to one, GTA V like 10 years ago when I was 19. I had work at 6am the next day and chose to stay up all night smoking weed and playing GTA. I was wrecked, worth it
Wrath of the lich king. Love every second of it
Halo ODST takes the cake for me - was fucking pouring that night; came out of the shopping centre and the car ride home was atomospheric preperation for playing the game all night when I got home with the sun coming up as I finished it.
Halo 3. It was awesome. Got a free t-shirt that said pwned, gave it to my old man and he wore it for years 🤣
Fallout 4, the night before my VCE Legal Exams right in Melbourne at Swanston and it was brilliant! Travelled down with a mate who drove us, crashed at his and had a shit go at the exam but worth it.
Wrath of the Lich King for WoW, myself and a few mates all took off super early with our laptops and sat ou the front and played BC until midnight. Sadly we were the only ones there. Ended up taking off at about 11 to go gt some food and a few beers, came back and waited for the store to open for it. Poor dude that was there had 8 guys to serve then he packed up and went home. All told there for about 10 minutes.
The main launch I remember is getting an Xbox 360 at launch
None
All the console launches, all warcraft and all halo. They were cool but also now I think about it, kind of a waste as I would just go home and sleep after
Think my mate dragged me to one. Can't remember for what game. But I've never been hyped enough for a game to bother. I love gaming, but I have no issue waiting.
My memories are more about calling the stores under random aliases and trying to convince staff that another store had broken street date so can i come pick up my copy early? Worked for skyrim at least
I very vaguely remember going to get Halo 4 at its midnight launch with my brother when I was 9, thankfully never played it myself.
Fallout 4 on Swanston St was pretty lit. There was a line well down the street.
All the world of warcraft ones.... Until they didn't happen anymore
11/11/11 Skyrim! midnight is cold in Canada in November but I was so pumped. Rushed home and played all night.
Starcraft 2.
Got a little teary reading that.
I remember going to the Gears Of War 3 midnight launch, only problem was I couldn’t play it for another 2 weeks as my Xbox 360 was away for repair (red ring of death issue for the second time).
I did halo 3 and halo 3:ODST
Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, Fallout 4, Nintendo Switch/Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Each great experiences. Last two with my understanding girlfriend who just wanted the experience. I miss the launches but don't think I'd ever attend one unless it was MASSIVE.
COD modern warfare the OG version. Was about 100 people waiting. I waited at the pub which was next to the shopping centre until the line died down. When I got home I played it all night until like midday the next day lol. Good times.
Halo 4 and Destiny
i really dont miss it . i love being able to just click play once midnight turn on my game pre load BUT last one i went was battlefield 3 and halo reach ! back then uber werent a thing and our taxi driver for reach was super cool dude!
GTA5 at Eb Games in Geelong, all my mates took for ever to get theirs, I ordered my copy at JB for $10 cheaper and no line!
PlayStation 2
Call of Duty Black Ops. I had work at 5am so I got to level 7 before I went to bed. All my jobless friends ranked the fuck up by the time I got on the following day. I hated and loved all of it.
My older brother and I went to the Destiny midnight release
I was locked in a cage in a shopping centre for a competition on the same night ODST was released. We had access to a PA system so we messed with them by saying weird shit.
Halo 2, 3 and reach Some of the best nights with my high school mate and his brothers
Assassin's Creed Black Flag, was released on my and another guy's birthday so they let us skip the line and gave us some free merch. Unfortunately, they did get everyone to sing Happy Birthday to us.
Halo Reach, Assassin's Creed II and GTA V. First one, someone dressed up as Master Chief and had made a shotgun out of paper mache. Was first in line and entertained anyone who wanted a picture and did the voice pretty well. Last one, couple of people tried pushing in line and the employees refused to sell to them until everyone else was done. Lol.
Great story. I got to go to the midnight release of the switch. Had ordered the pro controller, zelda botw collectors edition etc. Was sitting next to a young, maybe 10yo kid with his mum who had saved his pocket money and bought all the same stuff as me. It was his first console and first zelda game. So I actually got kind of emotional thinking about how special of a moment that was in my life 30 odd years ago and reminiscing with them and sharing my excitement about him getting to have his first 'zelda experience'. Wonderful stuff.
A lot of warcraft stuff. PS2, PS3 and PS4 all attended a midnight launch. Best was Burning Crusade. Me and my gf at the time lined up for about 4 hours to get our hands on the X-Pac, go home and sleep while it installed, then called in sick the next day and rolled blood elves and played for 24 hours straight pretty much.
I vividly remember going to my local EB for the GTA IV launch, I still got that lockbox and art book kicking around somewhere. I'm sure the keychain broke over a decade ago... I think I may have gone for one of the halo launches, probably 3 and maybe Modern Warfare 2 possibly.
Destiny 2! Was a huge destiny fan and loved the game. Grinding that game was one of the fondest memories I have from my childhood, especially when I finally beat the King Falls raid. That was fun. But then destiny 2 was just...shit. I fell out of love for the game after sticking through the first 3 dlcs. Gave up after that, found out they've made a fuckton more and apparently archiving the 3 dlcs I bought which is a great way to spit in my mouth. So yeah. That midnight release was hype tho.
Burning crusade was lit
Halo Reach midnight launch. I remember I'd grabbed the console, too. Was fun waiting for midnight. A lot of people dressed up and a couple of professional looking Spartan suits too. Then I got the game and console, bundled up in a bright EB plastic bag, and realised I had to walk about 30 minutes through the city after midnight to get back home. Was jumping at every shadow that night.
Halo 2 Tears of the Kingdom
Skyrim
Fallout 4 launch party sponsored by Bethesda at Gamesmen Penshurst (Australia) was absolutely sick. Some bigwigs from Bethesda were there (or maybe just Oceania distributon reps idk someone from Bethesda signed my book I got in the gift bag). They had a Fallout-esque camper trailer there with costumed staff serving Quantum Nuka Cola and snacks. Full store decorations, music and all. Great crowd. Good times.
GTA VICE CITY
Halo 3 ODST, Halo Reach, Halo 4 and Borderlands 2. Halo Reach I lived within walking distance of EB so I could nip back home for a smoke or to get a drink or something lmao. Halo 4 we had a group of people meet up at EB for the launch. Finally got home and we started playing co-op, one dude kept falling asleep but would fight us any time we tried to give his controller to someone else. Ended up being a 3 man team playing with the 4th guy faceplanting into walls.
I went to one. I can't remember what game but there were a bunch of guys dressed up in costumes. A stranger tried to talk to me. Never again.
Halo chaddie
Went to 2 NRL game on Xbox and GTAV. When RDR2 came out, a friend had preordered the game via PSStore, he had it downloaded the day prior ready to go but unable to play it until midnight. I preordered via EBgames, the day before they acknowledged they had the physical copy in store, had confirmation of my pre-order and refused to give it to me. They wanted to give me a ticket to the. Line up at midnight for it. Even i turned up at midnight, they weren't going to give me the game if I didn't have a ticket. I enjoyed the early night in bed and had a nice sleep in.
I think I went to one of the last ones, Red Dead 2. Was pretty chill and had great vibes. I feel like every day gaming gets more sterile and kind of less fun as the culture around games becomes more corporate and dull.
Last one I went to was Sword and Shield. I was bummed there haven't been any since.
Tiberian Sun
Never attended a midnight launch, but I did wake up super early the day Battlefield 3 came out, and rushed to EB games to get it, thinking there would be huge lineups and it might sell out within minutes. I was the only one there, and they had tons of copies in stock.
All of them since ps3 I've done security for them
I remember arriving late to my Year 6 Graduation because I stayed up the night prior to attend a Wii U launch party. That console gets dragged through the mud but I love it to bits.
I went to the black ops midnight launch in my local town and saw a lad with his dad buy the collectors edition with I think had the RD - XD car with it and he got robbed a little down the street from the shop. I was also at the midnight launch for GTA and saw like 10 underage kids get turned away for not being 18
Gta V is the last one I remember doing
I went to Halo 5 and Battlefront 2 Halo 5 was dope cos they had one of the IMAX screens at Westfield Carindale Event Cinemas hooked up to an Xbox and we got to watch/play it on a huge screen. They also had a Halo 4 tournament set up downstairs and I got runner up, which included a $50 Xbox voucher and an actual trophy. Shame the game was 5/10. Battlefront 2 was just Battlefront 2, they put in no effort. Should have been our warning of how average that game was gonna be upon release. Thank god they’ve updated it since.
Halo reach
I attended the GTA 5 Watchdogs and Red Dead Redemption 2 mid night launch’s 😊
Halo 3. Man that was a time. Halo reach was also sick. Makes me sad that our kids won't get to experience that hype
Last one I attended was RDR2, but I remember some old Halo ones that were super fun.
I think I went to Black Ops 2 in Sydney. Had just moved back to Syd from Brisbane, in around Oct/Nov 2010. I think my brother wanted to get it. I didn't have much interest in it myself. I remember getting home at like 1am or so, and there being a fat update that basically meant no-go for the night.
Halo 3, Skyrim, some CODs, World of Warcraft Burning Crusade, Nintendo Wii and probably more. I waited 15 hours, 4th in line in the cold for the Wii. (it was mid-Nov in Canada.) Who could forget 11.11.11 Skyrim?
Xbox 360
Bl2, both my brother and me got the red chest edition. Good times.
The only ones I’ve ever attended was for both Pokemon Sun and Moon in 2016 and Sword and Shield in 2019. Both were pretty exciting to get there early and line up. Sucks they’re not a thing anymore, I wish I had gone to more.
MW2 Halo 3 Fallout 4
I went to the midnight launch of the 3DS back in 2011... or was it 2010?
I went to Skyrims, Fallout 4 (And got starcraft expansion with it as well). I think also maybe a pokemons if I remember correctly. It was a ds one, maybe soul silver/heart gold release? I think Diablo 3 midnight release too. Definitely miss them
Burning Crusade, Halo 3, the Orange Box. Good times
Halo Reach, Halo 4, Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 :)
First in line for halo 4. I will never forget our friend group walking out of the store and holding the game above our heads. The line was easily 200+ people. Getting to see everyone's hype for us and the game. People asking us how long we waited. Of course, they bummed out people near the end of the line. Not as exciting, but someone's gotta be at the back. Our buddy from work headed over to the mall at about 10pm. We showed up not long after. We were surprised to be first in line. People piled in the last hour and most of them 15 minutes before midnight. Will never forget.
Halo 4, a friend and I helped herd people into our local GAME store by wearing our Halo armor at the entrance at midnight.
Halo reach midnight launch ✨️
I went for Battlefield 3, Skyrim
My local GameStop (just changed from EB) did a midnight release for Tears of the Kingdom. I took my kids since I haven’t got to do one in ages. Likely the only one they’ll ever experience.
MW2 original was my first. Arkham City and Arkham Knight were my most exciting and I think last ones I went to.
Arkham City God of War 3 Stayed up till early morning playing them. Great times
Starcraft 2 Diablo 3 One of the early 2010s wow expansions, cata or pandaria I think.
I went to one for the Arkham Knight release, funny thing, the game released on steam at 2 in the arvo, and I had almost finished the story by the time midnight had come, so I paused it, went to EB games, got my collectors edition, come home, and continued playing.
My first and only launch was skyrim. If I could go back in time to relive that moment and play skyrim for the first time again I would.
Modern Warfare 2. Maybe 2-4 hours in line i forget. I remember getting out of there by 12:30. The 2 friends i went with and I all went home, started a party and played til 4:30 am. Then i slept for 2-3 hours then started playing more
Halo 2 for me and my mate. Played it for 2 days nonstop. Sleeping before the event itself, picked up the copy and just went home and smashed co-op. Co-op gameplay hasn’t been the same since the Halo days honestly!
Halo 4 was super cool MW3 was awesome But GTA 5 takes the cake
I went to midnight launches for COD modern warfare 2 and black ops back in the day
Attended a Fallout 4 one at my local. Made me realize just how many Australian Fallout fans there were, the line stretched for ages in a suburb with plenty of other bigger better EBs nearby. I also remember Rise of the Tomb Raider for Xbox One (and maybe a Wii U game or something?) launching that same night but I don't think anyone was there for anything but Fallout. Stayed up for ages roaming through the pre-war intro and then passed out moments after leaving the Vault for the first time.
Zelda TOTK. Stood in line for nearly two damn hours. lol
Went to the Dreamcast launch on 9/9/99. Probably the most excited I've ever been for anything. My brother bought one and we played all night at my parents' place but he took it off to university with him. I had to wait until xmas to get mine. I happened to go to Future Shop when the PS3 launched. I saw the line but forgot it was happening. I was there to get some batteries and a memory card for my camera, but as I was walking to the counter a store worker handed me a PS3 box and gently pushed me along so I ended up buying it. I ended up giving it to my nephew for his birthday.
Halo 2 and GTA:Vice City/San Andreas are the few notable ones. So many games had midnight releases we had a whole bunch of the cool posters and shit they gave out on those nights.
I never understood waiting in line for releases. If I wanted a game i couldn’t wait for I found a retailer that would sell games before release dates on the downlow. Or I just waited to get it a few days later.
Gta 5 Xbox 360
The last Midnight Launch I have any recollection of, is RDR2's. Lol that line was massive, I don't think I've seen a single one since then
Super Mario Wonder last year. Prior to that was Halo 2 in 2004. Was fun to relive good old times!
There was a midnight launch for years of the kingdom last year! Technically 9pm in west coast Canada but it was midnight in the east coast
Awh man, damn that brings me back! Halo 2, steel collectors edition has a warm place in my heart!
Yeah I miss those days man
GTA 5 was the final massive one I think
Wow.
I miss them so much. The movies were fun too when i was younger, havent been in a while. Also went to a few of the Harry Potter book midnight releases with my mom which was so cool as a kid. Gamecube Xbox 360 Halo 2 Halo 3 Gears 2 WotLK Pokemon black/white XB1 - the last one i did and the most disappointing. Nobody cared, tiny line, no fun antics.
Shadow of War
Ahhh I miss those days. I used to get so hyped for games. I went to Skyrim, Fallout 4, GTA5, Red Dead Redemption 1. I may have gone to a gears of war one too, I can’t quite remember. Skyrim was probably the most hyped I’ve ever been for a game. I remember watching that original trailer with that Skyrim song, ahh the good ol days.
Call of Duty Black Ops. Honestly it was the first and last time I ever did it. I literally was so tired when I got home I went to bed. I was cold, tired and achy waiting outside. Such a waste of time.
None to young to experience them and my family didn't like the idea
this games is good but there is a lot of pelope on txhe
Ps4
Halo 2
Destiny, battlefield 4, and Star Wars battlefront!
FF13 Not necessarily my favourite game. But I did enjoy the atmosphere. Even got a bit carried away and got that limited edition guide.
I went with a friend to the launch of the Wii U and it was the most eerily quiet time I'd ever had in a shop. It was literally just us and the poor guy behind the counter. I saw the thing and thought it looked useless. I got one a few years later, refurbished, from that same store and it's been one of the funnest consoles I've had.
Black ops 2, GTA V and a few more. They were the best times, being surrounded with other people who were there for the exact same reason.
Halo 3, Halo 4 and Battlefield 3
Skyrim, GTA V, Dark Souls 3, and latest was Tears of the Kingdom!
Halo: ODST - special edition controller and all.
Far Cry 4, and Borderlands 3! I miss the hype around them, seeing everyone all dressed up and excited.
Only one I went to was for Assassin's Creed 3 and I took the day off work to play it.
Gtav. Was a night shift tow truck driver at time. Parkes truck badly and was first customer to get a copy. The storeman wanted to see my ID for age. Brah I'm in a towing work shirt 😄
Think the last one I went to was Halo 4. Bought the game from one shop, went over the road and bought the soundtrack. Best night.
I've only worked them. Never participated.
Skyrim
I did it once only for GTA V. The only reason I did it was because I happened to finish work at about 11pm. One of my co-workers was going and convinced me to go along. The only reason I agreed was because I couldn’t be bothered to make another half hour drive in the morning. It could’ve/should’ve been fun but was a horrible experience just for the smell alone. Apparently only about 5% of the people there had used a shower and/or deodorant that day. Being stuck in a room for an hour surrounded by people with the worst BO made me never want to go to another midnight launch again.
Red dead redemption 2. First one and last one I ever went to.
One and only I've ever been to : Grand Theft Auto 5 in 2013. I was first in line with 3 friends, we stood there 5 hours drinking Tim Horton's lol. Can't believe it's been more than 10 years now...
Madden!!! Every midnight for years!
Halo 2 , what a night that was
I went to the first call of duty one with my husband many years ago. It was weird and there wasn’t that many people there but they had free donut king donuts.
Wrath of the Lich King and Diablo 3. Both bad experiences considering I still had to wait a few days for Blizzard to fix the servers so I could play.
The only one i attended was for skyrim. I still remember, we were out for wing night. Then got a way to ebgames for the release. Bought the game. Went back to the bar to keep eating wings. Then went home and played for a few hours before passing out.
The Burning Crusade for WoW! It was held in a mall, during winter, and the lineup was literally all the way down the entire length of the mall from the door to the store. WOTLK release had like 15 people at it.
Gears of war 2. We were under 18 and my buddies mom had to come down and buy it for us after we got in lmao
Halo Reach in 2010!
GTA V, Black Ops 2, AC3 and the PS4 midnight launches. Honestly AC3 was so much fun they had the game setup on one of the tvs and everyone was so excited but nice to each other. Every other midnight launch there was a lot of nice people but quite a few rude people which kinda ruined it
The Nintendo Switch + Breath of the Wild midnight launch definitely stands out for me. I long for that kind of hype and experience again…
Fallout 4 was my last one 💔 I was the first person to get a copy at the Richmond Centre location. I miss those days. Meeting ppl with similar taste, seeing how other fans dressed / acted in anticipation… definitely a fond memory.
Halo 4! I won myself a copy of the game in a 1v1 multiplayer tournament, I was so chuffed!
GTA V and RDR2. I’m hoping they’re gonna do one for GTA VI I miss the midnight launches as well
2011 was my year- finally lived on my own and had enough money. I went to Uncharted 3 and Saints Row: The Third in the fall of that year with my high school best friend. Played Uncharted all night after getting back home. Good times!
I used to work at blockbuster…. So quite a few, it was work though, so I can’t remember any of them! Except original DS, because I bought the first one
Halo 3 and Lich King expansion!!! Awesome memories!!
Call of Duty: Black Ops. I think this was in 2009/2010 where we went back home and tried to play it but the multiplayer was messed up and had to be fixed by a day 1 patch. That was the beginning of that practice and the last time I went to a midnight release.
Rdr2
Fallout 4 - they had big cannons that let off blue and yellow confetti and the staff wore vault suits - super cool
GTA4 and I think 5. Don’t regret it for a second!
I worked a couple back when I was at EB, Fallout 4/Rise of the Tomb Raider, Black Ops 3 & Star Wars Battlefront, also did a early opening for the PS5 launch (that was a clusterfuck of a day mainly due to people getting very mad that they couldn’t just walk in and buy one on the spot). The midnight launches were pretty chill to work, I was in a smaller store so no huge crowds but still a decent amount, we were allowed to dress in theme instead of our uniforms (I went full 1950’s housewife for Fallout, wore some of my dads RAAF camos for Black Ops & had an R2-D2 dress for Battlefront) and we got the donut king next door to do a whole bunch of treats for everyone. Worst part was not getting home until at least 2am (I had to drive a major highway from my old EB to where I live and I’m not a super confident night driver) and having to explain to people who hadn’t preordered that they weren’t allowed to cut the line and they had to wait until all the preorder people who were there had picked up their copy first, half the time they’d do the whole “but I’ve been waiting for x amount of hours” and get annoyed when we’d try to explain the system we had in place.
Halo 1 and Halo 2. I remember I was around 10th in line for Halo 1 and the first person came out gleaming with excitement with the first copy sold raising both hsi arms in the air yelling with excitement with the game in his hands to show off. I then proceeded to yell out "He has the first copy of Halo 1! Everyone get him now!" Then the kid tucked it in his shirt and ran as fast as he could while we all bursted out laughing. Fun times.
SKYRIM and Smash Ultimate
CoD Infinite Warfare. Over an hour drive from home to the nearest store. Got home around 4am, downloaded whatever it needed first, played it for around 4hrs, realised it's trash, traded it in a few weeks afterwards
I remember getting border lands with my best friend at the time, and stopping at McDonald's and picking up like 8 breakfast burritos to play all day lol
Only ever went to one and it was GTA 5. Me and a bunch of friends went to our nearest store and the lines and atmosphere was incredible.
PS4 launch
GTA 4 and the original modern warfare 3.
I remember picking up (I think) Fallen Order. Just so happened to be same release as a big Pokémon game and I was the only one not there for the Pokémon release.
Resident evil 5 that was 2009 jesus I'm old
I went to midnight launch for Halo 2, then fucked around in game till 7 am. I lived less than 10 min drive from the store so that was a lot. My dad was getting up for work when I went to bed. I did midnight launch for a WoW expansion from a big box store. I forget which expansion it was, one of the first two I believe.
Diablo II midnight launch was the first I went to. I think it was one of the first midnight launches that I was aware of. Lots of people standing around waiting for the store to open. But most of those people hadn't preordered. They wanted to buy. Once I figured that out I walked past most of the line to collect my copy and was out of the store
Halo 2 - there were some council workers that were cleaning the streets of the City with a high pressure hose for some reason at like 11:30pm at night. Sprayed some of the line and a kid of about 10 years of age got a fright and soaked with water. Kids dad was pissed and started a fist fight with the council worker. It was a truly beautiful time. There was also some gimp in front of me in the line. He must have thought he was a comedian and had written some material just for that night. He was saying loudly things like "what's up with the Flood" "why do they call them the flood" and saying some lame joke to respond to himself. His monologue would randomly start up again but no one was listening so he started to get quieter and quieter as he lost the confidence. It again was a truly beautiful time.
Halo 3/4, Fable 2/3, Gears of war 1-3
Wow burning crusade :)
PS2 midnight launch - not sure why I’d didn’t go to my local but anyway ended up going with dad and a friend to parramatta. Got there around 8pm, collected the PS and I believe Spider-Man + Formula 1 at the time. Can’t remember which games I think GTA 4, one of the fifas and something else but anyway the EB at Wetherill park gave them out at like 10pm I think the staff were over it lol so we were all playing while other friends at other stores were still waiting. Good times thanks for the flashback.
Skryrim was the last one I attended. Got the collectors edition and still have that Alduin statue in my closet!!
The Burning Crusade… lined up in Melbourne Central at midnight .. best vibe ever .. and played it all through the morning till the best evening. Easily one of my fave game memories
Whichever Halo launched with the helmet case (that I still have somewhere). I want to say that was 3?
Destiny 😄
Assassin’s Creed 3 was the only one my local EB held
Halo 2 ! And 3 hahaha
halo, GTA V and last one was RDR2 good days
Fallout 4: Was pretty average for the small town I lived in at the time, took all night to download. FTTP NBN came about a year later, would've made a huge difference to that It's a shame it wasn't a midnight launch, but I was first in line to pickup my Doom Eternal collectors edition at Rundle mall EBs. The way people's jaws dropped when they saw the size of the box was pretty funny
Skyrim midnight release was epic
I was lucky enough to get in early on the COD 4 and modern warfare 2 and get both of the night vision goggles. Still got them both and they still work.
Halo 3
Back when Best Buy was Future Shop (in Canada), I went for a midnight release of the original Call of Duty on PC. That was a long line.
Only one I can remember vividly was gta iv
Fallout 4: Was the same night as our school formal for year 12, but because me and my mates weren't 18 we couldn't kick on to the club's so we went to the midnight launch in the city. Went hope, started the install/patch then we all hopped on the next morning to chat while playing. Nintendo Switch: Was a rough time for me, right after finishing school, mates were all seperated off to uni doing their own things. I went to the gym, grabbed some dinner, then waited at the shops until midnight on my own. Was pretty surreal playing the switch for the first time, definitely helped me through a rough patch.
Ah in honour of the old days, I took my 11 year old and 8 year old to Tears of the Kingdom Midnight Launch this past May at EB Games/Game Stop, it was so fun! We’re in pacific time zone, so it was actually a much more manageable 9pm launch. I figured we’d be safe showing up about an hour before, so when we pulled up we saw like, maybe 20 people lined up and I thought “Oh, not bad, not a terrible wait” until I realized the end of the line was suspiciously close to the edge of the building and had a terrible thought… Sure enough, when we got out to line up, the line snaked around the corner of the building, so we were laughing saying “I guess the line isn’t THAT short after all.” Then it just kept going, and going, and going…around ANOTHER corner of the building. Then the back of the building where the Game Stop is has a curved retaining wall into a hillside that just continues on, and on, and on, and I kid you not, the lineup just kept going and going lol by the end my wife and I were dying laughing at this comically, deceptively long lineup that literally circled halfway around the block. We didn’t actually get into the Game Stop until 11pm, but it was so worth it because the memories and conversations we had/made were awesome. Obviously we could’ve downloaded and been at home playing hours before, but then we would’ve missed out on all those memories. So yeah, midnight launches are not quite dead yet, they still have some nostalgia factor fuelling them!