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[TheJollyCorner]

So with the coming next gen launch days (X360 sooner than later), I was hoping to get some interesting launch day stories from some of you. Being a forum chock-full of more 'hardcore' gamers, I'm sure many (or some) of you have partaken in some form of launch day madness.

To be honest, the first real launch day I was involved with as even a semi-adult was the PlayStation 2 launch in late October 2000. Everything prior (from Atari, NES, SNES, Genesis, PlayStation) had usually been Christmas or birthday presents. Dreamcast I picked up in March 2000 spontaniously.

Not sure how many of you remember, but the weeks (even months) leading up to PS2's US launch was just insanity. Kind of like X360 seems to be (or was, before all of this 'multi-sku, high priced accessories' silliness), if you didn't have it preordered 5 months in advance, your chances of just walking into a store and getting one were slim to none... with slim having left town.
I came to grips with this. I was simply a college kid who used work and book money on beer... and being 21 and asking 'mom' for a video game system on my birthday just wasn't working for me. My inner geek simply did not shine enough to make that happen.

Midnight launch came... very suddenly, it seemed. Snuck up on me, it did. I was posting on another message forum at the time and a bunch of people were talking about 'trying to get a PS2' at midnight. It was a Thursday night... I didn't have any Friday classes... and as luck would have it, I actually had money. "What the hell... this is Knoxville, Tennessee. Surely these redneck shitheads won't be lined up for this new fandangled piece of technology." Fuck... was I ever wrong.

To make a long story filled with worthles details short, I drove over to my local Target around 9:30pm. I called prior to that. They expected maybe 20 PS2s... the most in that area, from my research. The PS2 bug had bitten me. From an attitude of "I'll get one maybe early next year or so" to "SHIT! I COULD HAVE THIS IN MERE HOURS!"... it was uncontrollable. My back-up plan? In case I failed, it would be Best Buy at the ass crack of dawn for me. My local Best Buy only expected something ridiculous like '5' PS2s... -_-

So I get to Target and there are two scraggly looking middle-aged rednecks waiting in the customer service area, where PS2 would launch at midnight.
"Hey, do we just wait here? Any kind of system to this?" I ask, forgetting that the majority of these East Tennessee folk only speak Whiskey.
"Ah guess. We just go'n sit here an' see..." was the response.
Well shit... ok... two and a half hours. I've been in worse situations.

Finally 11:30 arrives... and it's a goddamn MADHOUSE! I was the third person there, but somehow these fucking imbred assholes had brothers and cousins coming into the line. Not just that, but crowds of people were forming around the customer service area... waiting.
There was absolutely NO order to this. Being a manager now, I wish I could go back in time and either talk to whoever was running that Target or actually take control of the situation myself. It was ridiculous. I had people around me saying "why didn't they give the first 20 people numbers or something?" and "they should have a rope-off so people can't cut!"

11:45... and some Target stooge wearing a suit comes out. He looks like he's just done about 6 lines of coke.
"Ok, everyone form a single file line."
The mesh of people pile in and my attitude is "fuck them! I've been here for damn near 3 hours!" so I push up, but not nearly enough to feel comfortable. There must have been over 200 people there- drunk rednecks, stoned gangsta's, screaming babies, Highlander jacket wearing geeks... the works. The only thing missing from this godforsaken freakshow was someone dressed up like Darth Vader.

I can count the line. I'm past the 20 mark. "This is bullshit" I'm thinking...

Target Man says (once the line is formed) "We got 25 of the Sony PlayStation Two's in, some games, some controllers. There's plenty of these Nintendo's for 25 folks. We'll go down the line. After 25, that's it."
I'm trying to count myself but I can't. It's impossible to tell who's in line to get one and who's just with someone up front. In my mind I'm cursing the retarded lack of organization from the get-go that Target had. Behind me is some little old lady heartbroken that she was sure she wasn't gonna get one for her grandson.

So this woman goes down the line counting... she makes it to me. 23. I almost shit my pants. I was excited for PS2... but the event was more of a conquest than anything else. I waited in this godforsaken place for hours... had shithead cheaters try to skip line, and I STILL got one. What a victoly.

Ended up getting that beautiful blue PS2 box, Madden 2001, Tekken Tag, SSX, and Ridge Racer V. They were out of memory cards by the time I got up there (25 systems and only 18 memory cards @_@), but luckily I got one of the few that Best Buy got the next day.

Very memorable launch...and that very system still works to this day, never needing a replacement.
Would I ever cut it that close again? I'm willing to bet not. PS3 will be preordered well in advance.

For those that read the whole thing... I SALUTE YOU

 

[Sho Nuff]

I camped out in front of a Japanese Toys R Us for a PS2. It was cold and miserable, and I swore that I would never degrade myself so idiotically for a piece of consumer electronics ever again. I never have.

 

[TheJollyCorner]

I think I saw pictures of that (or a similar) Japanese launch. :lol

 

[radioheadrule83]

Gamecube was the only one of the three that I bought on its launch day. I was at college and had a part time job in an off-license, that wasnt really paying enough money.

I went into Dixons determined to walk out with a Gamecube, a game and one pad.
I walked out with a Gamecube, 5" LCD screen, 7 launch games and two extra control pads.... this included stuff like Dave Mirra, which I wouldn't buy normally, and I was still paying it off not too long ago. I used to be a sucker for salesmen-like tactics, and the launch hype definately had me. I'd been to the Manchester Cube Club event before it launched and gotten to play it before it released - and I couldn't wait to get my hands on one of my own. The guy who sold me it in Dixons musta really saw me comin'.

Finance sucks on stuff this small... especially when they drop in price and you realise you're gonna end up having paid more than the launch price.

 

[Argyle]

I drove around the night before and saw the lines forming at Best Buy, Fry's, etc...it was a madhouse, lots of people clearly prepared to spend the night waiting for their machine...

I actually got to the Fry's in time to get a machine the next day from them, if I were so inclined. I called a friend to see if he was interested ("get over here, I'm not gonna stand in line overnight to get YOU a PS2, but I'll hold a place for you for an hour or so, until you get here") but he passed...

So I went home, went to bed, and the next day, I drove to work, where the PS2 I had preordered the day after they announced pricing/availability was waiting for me, courtesy of EBGames.com and FedEx.

 

[ManaByte]

Sat in front of the SF Metreon for 18 hours for a PS2 only to have fucktards cut in line right before midnight.

 

[jiggle]

PS2 launch.

Got out of school early with a friend and drove around an hour to the nearest and only K-mart. 10th or so in line. The plan was to get it at midnight. 2 hours of waiting later, we were told they'll only get 7 that night. So we had to drive all the back to town.

There weren't many places in Hawaii that was selling it. So Compusa was the only safe choice left. Started to wait there around 5 or 6pm (16th in line), the store will open the next day at 8(8:30??). Since we both expected to get it at midnight, we didn't prepare much for the long wait. The weather was very nice even deep into the night, but the cement floor was not comfortable at all.

The news crew was there, cause I think that was the biggest line on the island.

There were people coming in bright and early the next day, but the line was already 100+. Some of them were offering ppl at the front 500 or more to sell them their PS2. I refused, of course.


edit: oh ya, i went into compusa and bought a Gameboy Color (yellow) and Pokemon Silver to help me pass the time waiting outside. My one and only game for that system...

 

[AniHawk]

Mine was for Gamecube.

Well I had preordered the system at Funcoland right after E3 2001. The clerk wasn't very happy that I was preordering the system, but I was #15 or so and guaranteed to get the first shipment.

I check back a couple months later when I preorder Super Monkey Ball, Rogue Squadron II, and SSBM, and the guys say that I was #33 in line. I told them to correct it because it was a mistake of theirs (and I was talking to the manager). He made the correction while I was there.

Fast forward to November 17, 2001. I call Funcoland just to double-check if they'd have it. Nope. I'd have to wait two weeks because I was #33 on their list and was in their second shipment. So I called Wal-Mart and asked if there was anyone waiting outside yet (there were about 11 people). So at 2:00 PM, I take my Game Boy Color, and Oracle of Ages down to set up camp for the night. Actually, my dad had to drop me off because I didn't have a license (just the permit). Also, Wal-Mart needed a driver's license. So at around 7:00 my dad comes back again and this time he stays. He sat down in the chair to rest while I went to check out how long the line had gotten (there were maybe about 60-70 people with only 54 systems available). In the back was my friend, who had preordered his system at EB, but just wanted to make sure he could pick it up on launch night.

And so the numbers were passed out to us, and the crowd dispersed for a bit by 8:30. My dad and I put the chairs in the car and grabbed something to eat. We went into the store with another family we had been talking to for a bit, where a lot of the people who wanted a system were checking out the SSBM demo. I asked one of the sales associates if I could buy a controller (they had sold one early), and so I picked one up along with a memory card.

The family we went in with were denied either one of those, because apparently they weren't supposed to sell me that controller yet. Woops.

And so, the rest of the night was pretty uneventful. A man on a bike came by and said something pretty odd (though he seemed in a good mood) to the crowd when we were waiting for the system. Can't remember what it was. I got my Gamecube by 12:15 that night and played Rogue Squadron II first (until about 2:00, which was about an hour after everything got set up).

The next day we stopped by Funcoland to pick up Super Monkey Ball.

They had plenty of Gamecubes in stock.

 

[MightyHedgehog]

Been at most US launches, the earliest was the NES the day after it hit Albuquerque because every place in town was sold out of Action and Deluxe Sets (OH TEH NOES!!11...market splintering of R.O.B.).

The most memorable and irritating was most definitely the Japanese PS2 launch I went to while I was working in one of my old jobs. Akihabara's alleys were cold and slightly breezy enough to get my teeth chattering while I waited with others from 7pm to 8am to get my PS2, games, and miscellaneous shit at the Sofmap store. (got that stupid duet theme song stuck in my head the whole night, too) I was lucky to be in one of the lines that led to a store that opened that early...lots of other people who got in line before I did waited longer than 8am to get theirs...some as late as 11am. I wish I could get a hold of the pics that were taken during that particular trip...funny stuff, like some kids playing their PS1s upside down (because the shitty drives were going out) with an LCD monitor while waiting. After that long wait in the cold, to come back to the Radisson at Narita (a pretty long bus ride from Tokyo) only to find that, outside of RRV, it pretty much sucked donkey balls as far as launch software is concerned. Even RRV was disappointing with all of the stupid jaggies. Certainly, the US launch was FAR better, but that's not really saying much, IMO.

Anyway, I'm hoping for a great launch with the X360...PDZ, Condemned, and PGR3, oh yeah!

 

[Starfire]

Day after launch, went in to CompUSA (already checked BestBuy, they were out), bought a Ps2 off the shelf, got memcards and games, and left about $400 lighter. Went home, promptly played all day. That's pretty much the closest to launch I've ever bought a system.

Now trying to find an extra controller for my Saturn the day after Christmas, that was hard

I remember the Christmas rush for the first year of Genesis though, I used to live in Florida, and the line just to get into Software etc. was insane, same with Toys R' Us (wich was generally insane about that time of year anyways.)

 

[miyuru]

GameCube launch. So I had a preorder...walked in and out, done deal.

Fuck you people against preorders, you make ABSOLUTELY no sense :lol Even those against preorders on games. You bitch about preordering, then you bitch when the game is sold out.

HMM.

 

[TurtleSnatcher]

Gamecube here

I called around to tons of EBgames after the whole black friday fiasco and even into early december not finding a place, i found a KB Toys selling them for more then 199.99, and i went to the store.. asked them why it was more and they couldnt tell me yet they had a ton cause of there price.. I argued and demanded they changed the price to the other KB Toy Stores around the area and finally got me a Jet Black Gamecube In the next week I grabbed me SSBM


N64 Controller

During that horrible x-mas season during its first year.. all of colorado springs were out of n64's and out of controllers and every known accessory. I had actually gotten a N64 Nov 17th on my b-day but during x-mas times its always hard to find shit.. But the n64 was a complete suprise and i remember crying when my parents gave it to me. They said it was hard to find. Well I needed another controller and after searching in literally every known retail store that sells nintendo accessories of any type we found it at a (now bankrupt) service merchandise.. the LAST controller in the city.. it was banana yellow and hella ugly but i took it anyways. Literally 30+ stores searched.

 

[mrklaw]

not done a midnight launch, but have picked up a preorder on launch day - calmly and quietly. Bit dull really.

I think I'll pop my 'midnight launch' cherry next gen. I was thinking X360 but MS are annoying me at the moment, so I won't give them the benefit of my face in a long line for the press.

Leaning towards PS3. Guaranteed madhouse at launch. If Japan gets it way ahead of Europe, I'll fly over and camp out. Hopefully it'll coincide with easter holidays in the UK so we can all go over as a family (planning a spring trip anyway)

 

[neptunes]

while I've never purchased a console on it's respective launch day, I did happen to be at a local EB on the day of the Dreamcast launch, I think it may have been there to buy ff8 or I was just browsing the store.

I didn't notice many people buying it (when I was there anyway) I guess I was too busy playing power stone with other freeloaders at the store's demo kiosk.

 

[_Angelus_]

Its probably the surprise Saturn launch. I was between classes and decided to hit the mall because i had an hour to kill. I remember wanting to hit the sports shop to check on a jersey I had ordered when from the corner of my eye I had noticed a tv showing a flying dragon,followed by quick clips of a Daytona car speeding around an oval track. I had never seen actual footage of these games,just screen shots from magazines. When I entered the Software Etc. shop I saw 50 Saturn boxes stacked up high,followed by a sign that said the system would arrive at 4p.m. that afternoon. Man I freaked,these games I had followed religiously in GameFan and EGM in those days. To make a long story short,the damn shop never got their systems in,there was to be a 3 day delay.

But that there was another Software Etc. some 50 miles North that had all the goods in. The next thing I do is speed home,pick up my stashed cash thatI had been saving for a rainy day,hit the bank and with draw $300 in cash, go to a friend's house to pick up my Jaguar system and the 4 games I had for it,drive like a mad man to that Software Etc. and traded them all in for basicaly chump change. 30 minutes later I'm walking out with a new Sega Saturn,Daytona U.S.A.,Panzer Dragoon,ClockWork Knight,and Virtua Fighter. 3D gaming had arrived for me,the Sega games were and still are to this day classics. Sure they were a mess visually but still quite fun overall. The PSX and DreamCast launches were also pretty good,but the Saturn launch was really a surprise,caught me off guard and made owning the system even more a must back then. As a Sega nut it was worth going through all that running around at the last minute to get the system that day. I missed my last class ofcourse but it was easily made up that week so no real harm was done.

 

[mCACGj]

I've always wanted to camp out for a console. I just think it'd be a lot of fun with all those people. I'm sure you can make a few friends by waiting in those lines.

 

[Wafflecopter]

I've always wanted to camp out for a console. I just think it'd be a lot of fun with all those people. I'm sure you can make a few friends by waiting in those lines.

You'll also freeze your balls off. i had fun waiting in line for GTA:SA though. I couldn't wait in line for Xbox360, not that I would want to. It would be very.....counterproductive to carry it on the bus.

 

[Fongul]

It's funny that most of my experiences prior to the 32-bit era in purchasing systems on launch day involved calling Toys R Us almost every day just to find the exact day that they were getting the systems in. Sega did not set any hard release date for the Genesis and neither did NEC for the TG-16. I grabbed both early with launch games, Genesis being Last Battle & Tommy Lasorda Baseball, along with the Altered Beast pack in.

The Saturn launch was unreal as well. I wasn't able to get into E3 that year (the only E3 that I've missed) but getting the mysterious phone call from Software Etc that my Saturn prebook was in just blew my freakin' mind. $400? Yikes, but well worth it for the summer of playing Virtua Fighter, Panzer Dragoon and Clockwork Knight, while my buddies pined wood for the PS1 launch. PS1 launch was a little underwhelming after the Saturn launch, with Rayman and Battle Arena Toshinden being purchased at launch (and returning Toshinden the next day as it could not even hold a candle to the flickered gameplay of VF on Saturn)

Dreamcast launch was a blast, simply because I made sure to get drunk beforehand at the Beninigans across the way at the mall with about 8 friends. We proceeded to get down to the line about an hour before midnight, eating Dreamcast shaped cookies that were being handed out by our local Software Etc. My friend Jonathan was along just for the ride and wound up getting kicked out by mall security for releasing 20 helium filled balloons up into the upper ceiling of the mall on purpose in a fit of drunken tomfoolery (which happens everytime he gets drunk...at E3 he is drunk always and leads to other stories...this year he scaled the fence at the Rockstar booth to get into the Warriors trailer but that's another story) I waited in line to pick up an extra DC controller for my Japanese DC (no US DC on launch for me) along with a copy of Final Fantasy VIII which came out on that day. Good times!

 

[Kobun Heat]

My friend Jonathan was along just for the ride and wound up getting kicked out by mall security for releasing 20 helium filled balloons up into the upper ceiling of the mall on purpose in a fit of drunken tomfoolery (which happens everytime he gets drunk...

Every time he gets drunk, he releases 20 helium balloons?

 

[_Angelus_]

Sat in front of the SF Metreon for 18 hours for a PS2 only to have fucktards cut in line right before midnight.

Holy shit I know how that feels dude. I camped out on a freakin' sidewalk for Van Halen tickets in 1993( I had never done anything like that before im my life) It was with a crazy pack of party goers, eating pizza and smoking weed till dawn. Talk about the friendliest bunch around-but then they were VH fans so.

Anyways it gotout of hand by the time the tickets went on sale thenext morning. It was a nightmare beause the folks infront of us had friends dropping by and were cutting infront in huge packs. It pretty much sucked because the tickets a friend and I received could have been much better,thanks to the folks who were able to draw good numbers and get the better seats. Hell atleast I go to see VH in Fresno,Ca. so it wasn't all bad,they even released their follow up CD,Live Right Here Right, that had a ton of footage based on both nights that they played here. Still I wish I I had better seats so as to be closer to the band that night. It sucks to have folks cutting inline. No more camping out for me.

 

[DCharlie]

"Every time he gets drunk, he releases 20 helium balloons?"

he sounds like a total clown....

 

[Red Scarlet]

Only console launch I've participated in was the Dreamcast.

Drove 2 hours to pick it up on 9/9, bought my DC and FF8. None of the games I wanted to get on the DC (Sonic Adventure, Soul Calibur, HotD2) had arrived, so I had to go home and play the demo disk.

Absolutely loved the first level of Sonic Adventure, then drove 2 hours the next day to get those games that finally came in, and hated the rest of Sonic Adventure, never got into Soul Calibur (traded it in a couple weeks later), but had a great time with HotD2.

Only other launch I was in was the GBA, and that thing pissed me off. Bad luck w/ launches.

 

[G-Fex]

amazing that someone besides me ate the dreamcast shaped cookies too.

That's the only launch I went to, at 11:30pm at the local mall, waiting more than half an hour for the dreamcast I spent over 400 dollars I accumilated. Though it was kinda cool to talk to the other people there and see them already having the bloody systems in their bags while I waited patiently as number 32 in line. Fuck man I was so happy that night, so much I missed school the next day.

only thing that sucked was I preordered so much (system, extra controller, like 4 or so games, mem card, light gun and etc.) and most of them weren't available then like HotD 2, some other game. The only two games I took home then were sonic adventure and Blue Stinger.

 

[ArcadeStickMonk]

9/9/99 was rather impromptu for me and a friend. We had agreed to get to the EB in the mall early the next morning, but the possiblilty of a line forming overnight worried us too much so we just went out and sat alone in the parking lot from 11pm until 6am or whenever they opened. Got the first unit sold at that location.

10/26/00 was an attempt to learn from our previous un-preparedness. SUV with a power inverter for a Dreamcast and 27" TV. Lawnchairs and Agetec arcade sticks. Street Fighter III Third Strike.
Set up shop in the parking lot around 11pm, and then played a few rounds of SF3 until the security gaurd showed up and kicked us out. We drove up to an overlooking parking lot and watched Adam Sandler movies on the TV's built in VCR. Got the third unit sold at that location (random ticket numbers? WTF?!). First disc in my system was the Fight Club DVD.

 

[DieNgamers]

Europe, Gamecube Launch Day (3rd may):

Some people (working in the market) tried to prevent me from buying a Cube, because "the Xbox is better". They still do this today with other people. :lol
I got my GC with Wave Race and Star Wars and was the happiest child in our town.^^

 

[totoro'd]

The only console I bought at launch was the Dreamcast. I skipped my courses for the day (think it was on a Friday) and drove to Nashville (about an hour away) to Toys R Us. The reason I wanted to go to that particular Toys R Us, instead of the one in my city, was because I'd also bought all my previous consoles there (yes i'm sentimental like that ).

I got a Dreamcast, Sonic Adventure (for me) and NFL2k (for my fiancee), and a white VMU. Don't remember the cost, but I know I used school money to buy it all :lol
A fun memory. Oh great, now i'm all verklempt

 

[FINALFANTASYDOG]

Oh ffd has one!

PS2 Launch In Akihabara, lots of people wanting their 400 dollar system to play Ridge Racer and Street Figther Ex 2, ffd was one of them. There was one store that due to its location, police kindly told them not to let anybody line up in front of until 12:00 at night.

Intelligently, the store failed to do any type of system for people waiting around and by this time other stores already had lines 200+ long in the same area. At 12:00 after telling everyone they might not have enough PS2s, they picked some random spot with a good 250+ people packed into this tiny area and shouted "THE LINE STARTS HERE”, screams of pain ensued.

People just bumrushed to get to that spot and rather jampacked and tossed each other around, it was good fun. Then we had a nice camp type atmosphere as tv crew people came by interviewed people, we watched coverage of the launch on peoples portable tvs and played some wonderswan... ahh good times, by 8:00 a.m home with the system.

___

Psp Launch, where ffd found a store breaking release date and calmy then went around to other lines like an good old fashioned jerk playing it at the back of them.

Thoese were the fun launchs, ffd is also reminded of a few where he forgot that it was winter out and was just a tad bit cold thourgh the morning

 

[madara]

I did alot launches in my time.

I remember getting the call from ToyRus when Genesis launched on that wednesday way back when. I brought it home after getting a ride from my mother. My brother was freaking out the second I loaded up Altered Beast. We played that and Last Battle all night.

Did Turbographx16 launch timeframe. Keith courage and legendary axe, gaming bliss! Cant remember when cdrom and Ys hit but I think I grabbed it in first few days and was floored.

The snes launch ruled. I went to my ToyRus source( same guy that got me into Summer Ces few months before for unveiling of snes) and he told me he expected snes today, I totally freaked out. My ATM would not let me take out enough for it so I had to drive all way back home(45min drive) to my bank and back out there praying they still had them. Luckily it was very early in day and they were still taking them off the trucks. By the time I got back I still had to wait hour before they could sell me a system and f-zero. They would not sell me second one for my brother and sister that lived with another parent so I drove another 30mins to Babbages and got last one. My brother and sister loved the impromtu gift and we were all in mario heaven for next few weeks. This system so ruled, had to be best one I ever had, so many memories. Not really launch memory but one of my strongest memories nontheless was ditching my last hour class to drive 25 mins to Babbages to pick up Final Fantasy 2(as it was called back then) that came out that day. I had drove so fast on way home that i still had 2mins to spare to walk into the school library, pretend I was there in back whole time and ask for pass and excuse back to my regular 7th hour class. Shockingly it worked and I didnt even get a detention.




Did supergraphx launch if you could call it that! Played Battle Ace for like a year, though my friends loved that game its the only game that existed for system for very long time as far as I could tell. The system was so funky looking I was constantly getting asked what in blazes it was.

Did Japanese Saturn and PSX launches. Virtual Fighter, Clockwork(think month later), Ridge Racer, Toshiden(think month later). Brought them in to work(Software Etc) for months and really helped pre-orders, bosses loved it.

Saturn usa launch didnt mean anything to me but shock. I already had the japanese unit and the only reason at all it was interesting was fact I was being told it was out during a sega press conference at E3.


USA PS1 launch was insane, we had that trade in did with 16bit consoles during that time. We were told by sony that our little wisconsin shop was one that sold most playstations and I got free usa unit and 3 games because I alone had over 98% preorders/sales for the store.

N64 was abit of mess, I had to camp out at Babbages and keep begging the guys to sell it as quite a few other shops started to sell it. Thankfully they did not wait till Sunday and few hours later I was in Mario 64 heaven.

What was timeframe for Jaguar launch? Gah I cant even said I was there on day one, I had no idea. I would just guess within week of its limited release I seen it at Babbages and bought it. Cyberspace game was okay but when AvsP game months down the road from Die Hard Gamefan I was again in gaming heaven.

Was basicly homeless during Dreamcast launch, sadly I was not part that fun but did get one year and half later with 20k in backpay I was awarded.

PS2 experience as every said was insane, long ass lines and worries about theft. Luckily I was in good with manage and preordered 10 months before most others, still had wait in long ass line though. Cube and Xbox launches were less insane but still fun, I did end up selling them since I got crazy offer and only bought back Cube when Mario launched.

 

[GitarooMan]

I remember a couple of launches before all this preorder madness.

September 1991: SNES. I remember the official release date was 9/9/91 but I was walking into this old department store (which doesn't exist anymore) earlier in September and saw it sitting there on the floor. My birthday was a couple of weeks away (this was pre-adult hood), and I got my dad to get my present early. I went home and booted up Super Mario World and was blown away. Didn't get another game until much later (SimCity)

September 1995: PlayStation. Got lucky here. Wasn't aware of the whole preorder thing at this point and was having trouble finding one on launch day. Went all the way to a different state and found this place that had one preorder that had been cancelled. Picked it up with no games and played the demo disc for a while. Finally picked up ridge racer a few days later

 

[Kai]

I remember.... 3 Days before the N64 launched I walked into Service Merchandise in my small town..... they were going out of business.... my friend and I walked to the back where they were stocking electronics and slashing things to sale prices... then one of the stocking guys was walking out and he had a huge Sonic the Hedgehog tatoo on his arm....

My friend and I were laughing so hard and yet still intrigued. We went to talk to him and we found out he was a huge gamer and we asked him about the N64 and SM64... which we were playing for hours at Toys R' Us at thier display for the launch.... and he promptly responded "Oh you mean this?" and pulled out a boxed N64!

My friend and I rushed home and I begged my father to buy it for me (I was like 15).... He finally caved in and we went back and got the N64 3 days early with SM64...... Service Merchandise didn't seem to care because they were shutting down the next week. It was awesome and the best part was taking the controller to school the next day to squash all the misbelievers haha....

Awesome.....

 

[Ramirez]

I waited for the NGC launch,I'd just gotten back from Knoxville(I live in Ky) from getting an Xbox,so I stopped at the local WM,noticed they had a line for it,I was in sit number 2,all 50 seats filled up which surprised me for a small area...met some really cool people,nothing bad to say about it other than I really don't think I would do it again,waiting for so many hours blows.

 

[fse]

and the best part was taking the controller to school the next day to squash all the misbelievers haha....

cool.

 

[truffleshuffle83]

ive only camped out at launch for dreamcast, but there was nothing too exciting. the best launching of a game though ive ever attended had to be the famous "mortal monday". the mall was so crazy that day

 

[PhatSaqs]

Waited 2 hours for Halo 2.

Thats it. Was pretty fun to talk shit with other peeps and exchange XBL tags but it was cold as hell and I definitely would not do it again.

 

[sprsk]

Do you go to UTknox?

 

[bill0527]

Launch day for the PS2 was the worst I've ever experienced. I almost didn't walk away with a system. This was back in the day before the rise of the specialty stores doing pre-orders so your only option was to just walk in and hope to get it.

I decided to head my local Wal-Mart at around 11pm because I knew they would be selling it at midnight. I got to the store and there were already 20 people in line and they only had 10 systems. Why the extra 10 people hung around... I have no clue. Maybe they thought the manager would start shitting systems when they ran out.

I set my alarm and got up at 5am and decided to try all the other retail stores. I called in sick to work and went on my scavenger hunt.

First stop - K-mart because nobody shops there. There were 8 people in line and only 4 systems.

Second stop - A different Wal-Mart. Sold Out.

Third stop - Toys R Us. About 30 people in line and only 15 systems.

Fourth stop - Target. A huge fucking line and at this point I'm getting pissed. I rolled down my window and asked the manager in the parking lot if I got in line would I have a shot at getting a system. He pointed at me and laughed so I kept on driving.

Fifth stop - Best Buy. It was getting close to 7am and I was getting worried that I had no shot of getting one. Shocker. Only 10 or so people in line. I got out and walked up to the line and the manager came out and said they had 80 systems. Jackpot. I couldn't figure out why they didn't have very many people in line and the only thing I could come up with is that Best Buy opens at 10am while every other retail store in town opens at 8am and I guess all the people who were on their way to work stopped at the other stores hoping to get one.

Standing in that line for 3 hours was quite an experience. There was a fat lady in front me eating cheetos and dropping them all over the damn sidewalk and there was a meth head standing behind me who would go into spastic rages every 20 minutes. He was even picking up the cheetos off the sidewalk and eating them.

So I'm standing in line getting comfortable and around 9am a fucking news crew shows up and starts filming all the people standing in line. I just knew I was busted knowing that my boss would be watching the 6 o'clock news and seeing me standing in line instead laying in bed with the flu. I hugged the backside of that fat-ass cheeto eating woman and tried to stay behind her while the news crew was walking down the line. Luckily, I don't think they caught me on camera. Dumbass reporter was asking random people in line questions and I just knew she was gonna grab me, shove the camera in my face, and I would then be looking for a job tomorrow and no way to pay off my new PS2 that I was about to purchase with my Best Buy card. Somehow I avoided all that shit and didn't get noticed.

That's pretty much it. The only other interesting thing was that I got offered $600 cash for my PS2 from some guy standing outside in the parking lot. I didn't take him up on it, but I was tempted.

 

[Tarazet]

I have never bought any console on launch day. I got my PSP on March 25 (the day after launch) at a Toys 'R' Us that had about five units left when I got to it. I picked up Ridge Racer, Wipeout Pure and Ape Escape, all of which I would eventually sell off (I need to get RR again, but I'm probably going to get the JP version with the vastly superior cover art).

I did get Gran Turismo 4 on launch date at a Gamestop. I plunked down $54.11 at 11 am, then came back two hours later when they said it would be in. They created two separate lines - people who had pre-ordered in part, and people who had pre-ordered in full. I was the first one to get my copy. Don't know about the rest of those hosers. The game sucked though, so I consider that a waste of time now.

 

[Diseased Yak]

From SNES on I've always pre-ordered my systems and never once had a problem with picking up any of them on launch day.

My harrowing launch day story actually involves Final Fantasy VII. I can remember it like it was yesterday... dozens of us crammed into the small confines of the local Software Etc., the mall having just now opened. Dozens of early morning geriatric mall joggers crusing by shooting glances at the gaggle of geeks gathering so early. What were we doing? They didn't know, and we probably didn't either.

The shady workers in the store tried to tell everyone that the game save file for FF7 was so big that it took up a whole memory card. I didn't fall for it, but there were several guys standing around holding memory cards. That is until they cracked open the first box of games and everyone could see on the back that not only did it not take up a whole memory card, the save file was actually rather small.

Nate

 

[Birbo]

Bought a Saturn the week of the surprise launch. Remember being at the mall and seeing Virtua Fighter running on a TV in the front window and thought it was just a promo video. Hard just justify the $400 right away but later that week my obsession with Virtua Fighter got the best of me. Probably saved me money buying a $400 Saturn then going to the arcade every day and blowing $5-$10 on VF2.

Dreamcast - Had me DC, extra controller, 2 VMUs and 2 rumble packs paid off well before 9-9-99. Got off the train from school and drove to my local EB to stand in line for 20 minutes or so. Didn't care about the wait one bit...there was this great electricity in the air. Everyone was smiling and anxious. Got my loot along with Ready 2 Rumble (which I had to exchange later due to the first-run glitches) and Sonic. Went home and played all night, only stoping to switch on MTV to see the Dreamcast segments they were airing during their music awards.

This experience was almost ruined for me since I decided to buy a buncha games through an online site for cheap that turned out to be bogus.

Xbox - Hadn't pre-ordered one and didn't really plan on getting one until a week or two prior to its release. Worked late the night prior to launch and, on a whim, stopped by Meijer's, a mid-west 24-hour chain store. Got there about 11 p.m. or so and there was a huge crowd in the game department. They were doing a lottery at midnight so I put my name in the hat. Remember two guys bitching that they'd been there for hours and would be pissed if someone who'd just shown up walk away with a system. Midnight came and they started reading off names. About 10 names go by when they call me AND even pronounce my name right! Got the system, an extra Duke, DOA3 and Halo. Got home sometime around 1 a.m. and sat up another 2+ hours being blown away by Halo.

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

PS2 Launch:

I went to Best Buy about 3AM to find the line around the store already. Did a quick guess at how many people were there and decided it woudl be worth it to stay. My understanding is that they are opening at 8AM to give tickets to pick up your system. SO I hang ouit, talk with some cool guys (on eof whom is openign a sushi restaraunt--weird thing to remember). Dwan breaks, and eventrually the they start working the line-- but I find out that while they are giving some sort of ticket, you have to stick around until 10 to get your system, or you forfeit. I have to be at work by 9:30 or so for a meeting, so I bail. If I had had forsight, I would have taken the day off. End of story-- I buy a PS2 from ebay scaplers a few weeks later for around $550 (worth it, to me. Bad launch my ass).

Dreamcast launch: I am haunting the shops the day befoer launch and see that K-Mart is selling a day early. I get one, refund my pre-order from Funco next door-- but can't get any games until actual launch day.

PSP: Fearing a repeat of my (expensive) PS2 purchase, I preoreder early-ish and get to EB a while before midnight to pick it up. I get mine about 12:20. A little disappointed to find out the next day that I could have just strolled into a Target and gotten one-- although my the weekend they are sold out around here. Stayed up late for nothing (but some peace of mind, I guess).

Playstation: I decide a few days after launch I want one after all. I trade in my CDX for two used Geneses which I trade in, in turn for PS credit. I score a few games and the system for about $250. I scam a demo disc, which was supposed to be for pre-orderers.

X-box: Decided I didn't want, that it would surely flop. When it sold out instantly (and for a while) I would occasionally look around to see if anybody had one, but didn't get one for a year.

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

So I'm standing in line getting comfortable and around 9am a fucking news crew shows up and starts filming all the people standing in line. I just knew I was busted knowing that my boss would be watching the 6 o'clock news and seeing me standing in line instead laying in bed with the flu. I hugged the backside of that fat-ass cheeto eating woman and tried to stay behind her while the news crew was walking down the line.

Post of the thread!



Oh, forgot N64, which was the lest eventful. I worked next to a mall, and when word got out that the street date had been broken, I tooled over on my lunch break and picked up a system and Mario 64. When I had had enough of Mario, I traded it it for the same price I paid for it-- the resellers selling used systems for more than they cost new. Crazy. Free rental for me, and I got to play Mario while it was exciting-- which didn't last very long. (I re-bought one later when Wipeout and Goldenye were out, but ditched it again when done with those.)

 

[DCharlie]

the PSP launch will live with me for a while.

it was like being with family once we were all there, member after member of the crew turning up to experience tech shock x 10000000.

easily the best launch i've attended.

 

[Jeff-DSA]

Heh, I have been a part of many launches, but my GBA SP had to be the best.

I called around EVERYWHERE trying to find one with no luck. Finally I found a Gamestop that was about 30 miles that had 2 left. They told me that they wouldn't hold it, so that I had better hurry. I jumped in my cobalt blue Jetta (coincidence?) and sped off at full speed. About 5 minutes later I noticed a car that was weaving like crazy behind me to get ahead of traffic, and as they got closer I realized it was my next-door neighbor (same age). I kind of laughed at him as he passed me because I had no idea why he was driving like such an idiot. About 20 minutes later I saw him pulled over on the side of the road by a cop.

Anyway, about 10 minutes later I was in the Gamestop asking if they still had an SP available, and he said that they had one left, but that they were going to hold it for some guy who called on his cell phone. I told them they told me they couldn't hold it for me, so I should be able to buy this one. They said that the guy called in and was only 5 minutes away, so that they'd hold it that long. I was upset, but they said if he wasn't there in 5 minutes I could buy it.

5 minutes pass, and I buy the SP. I decided to play the demo kiosks for a bit before leaving, and lo and behold, my neighbor comes in after a few more minutes all out of breath. He asks if they still have his SP and they tell him no while pointing to me and explaining that I got it. My neighbor comes up to me, tells me it's his, and that I should do the right thing and let him have it. I basically tell him to get lost and walk out of the store with him practically begging until I get to my car to give it to him, he said he'd even pay me an extra 20 bucks.

I think I laughed all the way home.

 

[TheJollyCorner]

Do you go to UTknox?

I did.
Media Art Major- 1998 to 2003.

 

[WolfgangK]

the N64 launch will always be my favorite, and fondly remembered launch. I was in college, about a half-hour away from Eau Claire Wis. I had been going down to Toys R Us every other week to play Super Mario 64. Had it, and an N64 on preorder.

A couple days before launch, I read online that someone, somewhere, at a KB Toys got their N64 early, I hoped on the phone to Toys R Us and told them about KB breaking the launch date, after a few minutes on hold the manager said I could come pick it up.

I raced to Eau Claire, picked up my baby and headed back to school. I was careful to get back up to my room without anyone seeing me, I locked the door and spent the next 6 hours with one of the greatest games and experiences I've played in all my years of gaming. Very fun, very personal and unforgettable.

I finally unlocked the door, and played well into the morning with about 5-6 onlookers who were happy to just sit and watch.

I also remember getting the stunning(at the time, and to this day in many respects) WaveRace64 next, which on top of SM64, provided endless hours of yelling and fun.

At that time, for only having 3 games available on the whole system, I can't imagine having more fun with a new console. We'll never see that again.

edit----------
the other launch that brings a smile to my face, is the GBA SP-not because I was even there to pick it up, but because my wife had the day off that day, and was willing to go down to GameStop and stand in line in the morning to get me a silver one. Makes me laugh when I think about her standing in line with a bunch of boys half her age, and I still hear about it till this day. She doesn't play games herself, but God bless her for understanding my gaming obsession.

 

[Speevy]

NES launch: Ran around the floor, probably searching for my pacifier (because I was 2).
SNES launch: I got one for Christmas in 1991 or 1992, I can't remember. Was that when the system launched?
N64 launch - Skipped this system until 1998
Gamecube launch - December 2001, Christmas present.
Xbox launch - Just watched insane forumers rave about new games.

 

[soma27]

PS2 launch - senior year of college

Part 1 - Me and 3 buddies drive to Wal-Mart around 4 pm to wait. We get there only to be told to come back at 11pm, that they would not allow a line to 11. So we leave and return around 10:30pm, with a line of over 200 people waiting. We see the manager who said "no line to 11" and he said that the 200 people were not in an official line - so we stand right at the front. 11pm rolls around and they announce "We only have 17 systems, please form a single line". As you can imagine it was total caos, people getting puched everywhere. I managed to score a system as #13 in line, my 2 buddies did not. Got escorted out of the building after the purchase for "security reasons".

Part 2 - The guy in front of me worked at CC, and said they would be opening at 8am and had 16 systems. CC was right down the road from Wal-Mart, so we stop by. There are only 5 people on line (its 1am). We decide to call the rest of our housemates and tell them to come down. Our house was proudly #s 6-12 in line. We got a bunch of cases, turned all our headlights on, drank and played football for 7 hours with strangers. good times.

So when the reports of shortages were on the news, we had a stack of 7 systems sitting in my room. I think 3 guys sold on ebay, 3 kept them , and 1 gave it away as an x-mas gift.

 

[TheJollyCorner]

I think a lot of kids ended up getting SNES during Christmas '91 (I know I did), but the system actually launched in September prior.

I remember a kid in my neighborhood lost his mom in August to cancer... very sad... but his dad got him a SNES @ launch and pretty much every fucking game that came out between launch and spring 1992. The kid was like a free Blockbuster- wanted to borrow something? Just go over and ask. Poor kid, though... that had to be rough. No amount of video games can make up for that, especially when you're only 10.

 

[Oni Jazar]

I remember for the GBA SP launch I raced to a store 30 miles away and called to hold the last SP they had. I got pulled over by a damn cop which held me up for too long and when I finally got to the store my F(*&%ign neighbor took the last copy! He had the nerve to laugh at my misfortune. Ah well the next week I took a shit in his pool.

 

[Kabuki Waq]

N64 launch was awesome toys R Us called me 3 days early to pick up the system. I went home and played mario 64 all night. I was totally amazed at the graphics NEVER has that feeling of complete shock ever duplicated.

DC Launch was easy i just went in and picked up the system and NFL 2k.

PS2 lauch was a bitch. camped out over night in the cold with a bunch of hard core Psyborgs who just made fun of Nintendo and sega. At the end tho it felt like we had all been through war and became friends.


XBox launch was great all my friends were making fun of me cause i traded in my ps2...I actually got bored of gaming in general and didnt care. Anyways soon as i took the xbox home my friends saw Halo and DOA3 ...they bought the xbox the next day. Halo co-op rocked.