Waited in a three-hour-ish line for The Phantom Menace. 100 minutes of “I’m sure it will get better” followed by the Naboo duel tricking my fanboy brain into thinking it was a good movie.

Went to a midnight release of Halo 3. Then it was a 2.5 hour walk home because no buses. So much excitement on such a tedious walk. Cant be good for the nervous system.

Not for a game, but for Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Waiting outside in downtown Boston with a bunch of other Star Wars nerds who had waited their entire adult lives for this moment was a better experience than the film itself, by a longshot.

edit - there are a few of us in this thread with the same experience. If you weren’t there, you really can’t imagine what it was like growing up with the original trilogy and the hope that someday maybe there would be more. It’s hard to express how disappointing TPM was. In hindsight, it was probably impossible for the studio to satisfy us, but I wish they could have tried just a little bit harder.

I camped overnight for The Phantom Menace tickets. We were not allowed in theater property until 6am release day, but we were allowed on the sidewalk loading up to their property at 6pm the day before release.

When they let us move up to the door we figured someone would walk over to us and lead us to the door… nope the manager stood at the doors and yelled across the parking lot and beckoned us. It turned into a mad dash.

The sidewalk turned and went up a hill, those of us nearer the end of the line were closer to the entrance than the front of the line. We just ran down the steep hill and moved way up in the queue. I was wearing a kilt, I felt like Mel Gibson in Braveheart as I ran towards the door.

The people that had been near the front were complaining we cheated, but they were the ones that started running first. If they had walked up nice and orderly like we learned in kindergarten they would still have been first.

Anyways, I saw TPM 9 times in the first 48 hours.

The two longest and most memorable waits I’ve done were for the Wii and Wii U.

The Wii was great. Was a very social, collaborative experience.

Got to the store probably at 6 or 7 am. Two people were in front of me in line. The first would show up in my circle of friends years later, and I didn’t even realize until going back and looking at the pictures. The other was an older gentleman getting in line for his son, and when his son did show up later it turned out to be a friend of mine. I just hadn’t met his dad before.

At first we were in the lobby, then moved to the garden center, eventually to outside the front entrance before noon. Employees didn’t really know to expect us or what to do with us.

Everyone had their DSes and we spent most of the day playing something or other. Toward the end of the night, when the crowd got bigger, I remember doing 8-person Bomberman battles.

It was a cold November day. By the evening, I was freezing and hungry. My parents and some friends swung by at different times to bring blankets, snacks, etc, and those felt like such exciting moments.

Fast forward to the Wii U. I got a preorder, but they said there weren’t enough preorders to do a midnight launch. Stubbornly wanting to relive the great time I had waiting for the Wii, that was enough to make me drive over to the next big town and wait at a different store.

For a long time, I think I’m the only one in line? Or maybe someone was before me. Idk. But the line didn’t build up until like, an hour before midnight. I talked to people, but didn’t really connect with anyone strongly.

The cold was bitter this time. I was layered up way more, but felt as tho I was barely hanging in by the end of it. Folks in line kept asking if I was alright, offering to hold my place in line if I wanted to go take a break and warm up in the car.

I don’t know that we did any multiplayer sessions, but it was cool at least to get 3DS streetpass hits all day.

After all of it, I could just as easily have walked into a store the next weeks and bought one.

So yeah, the Wii was a moment for me, the U was a failed attempt to revisit that moment (a lot like the systems themsleves, kinda). Then there’s the difference between being in high school, hanging out with friends in your home town, and being in college keeping to yourself.

When I was a child my parents took me to a midnight release reading of probably the fourth Harry Potter book. After some woman read aloud the first chapter, at midnight, everyone was allowed to buy the book. It was very fun for little me back then.

These days it’s a complicated feeling, tainted by Rowling’s behaviour.

11/11/11

Went for the midnight release of Death Stranding. I wasn’t really interested in the game, but Hideo Kojima was there signing games, so I went and got his signature and a picture.

It’s not really my type of game and I never finished it, but I love Kojima and I’m happy I got the signature.

I worked the midnight release of the PSP. nobody came. like…nobody.

so I bought one after my shift ended. played it for a week and returned it.

it really was a trash system at first launch, though playing twisted metal online was pretty fun, until the Japanese players came on (if there be gaming gods, the Japanese are it).

last Sony system I ever bought.

edit: I just remembered staying in line for a Wii. I was the first person in line. then some other folks showed up and put up a tent since it was winter.

they were totally banging in that tent…it was fun 🤣

I waited in line for 3 hours to get tickets to The Phantom Menace. I’d like those 3 hours back.

Actually it was with a group of friends so it was actually kinda fun.

PS2 release day when I was 16 at best buy. I’m 42 and still have it, works great. Just tried it last month with some Twisted Metal, sat hiding as Spectre just doing my special like a bitch. Actually it’s under my TV, a bit dusty but all the og cords and controllers.

Just once, for GTAV.

They released just after midnight. There was a decent line as I recall, probably less than 50 people. People cracked jokes about the series, and quoted favorite dialogue. The first guy in line strode victoriously to his car, his copy held high, then burned rubber when he hit asphalt. Immediately a cop tore after him out of the darkness. The rest of us went “ooooooo”. Somebody said, “No that’s just one star. He can do this!”

Husband and I camped out for the Wii when it first came out, at Target, I think it was Black Friday? Somehow everyone in line caught wind of how many were being stocked. So we were like number 16 in line or something and they had something like 20-25. so once everyone knew pretty much where they were, we all just hung out, and occasionally went to our cars for warmth and back in line after a while without any drama. It was a bit hectic once the doors opened but they queued us in kind of separately if I remember right, so it was pretty orderly. Nothing too cutthroat.

Nah.

It’s always seemed really desperate. Very Cult of Capitalism. I can wait. Life is full of other things I can occupy my time with.

I can see doing it as like a social thing. Camp out with friends. Meet likeminded people. But it’s still supporting over-the-top capitalism.

I lined up to get the Wii on it’s release date. I went to Walmart at around 11 am to wait on the midnight launch. We were put in the garden center, and it was pretty chill. The guy at the front kept a list so people could go to the bathroom or to grab food without losing their spot. One guy brought a portable TV with a PlayStation and guitar hero, so we spent a lot of time playing that. I brought my DS, but not many people in line had one. It turned out to be a fun and memorable experience, but I’ve never waited in line like that again.