During the holidays, we are republishing some selection feature from the past 12 months. A mix of talking points, interviews, opinions, etc. from NL staff and contributors, you’ll find our usual blend of thoughtfulness, expertise, caring frivolity, nostalgia and – of course – enthusiasm for all things Nintendo. Happy holidays!
Ah, the venerable midnight premiere. The once-anticipated tradition of camping out to launch the game at midnight — technically to stick to the game’s official dates on the street while still taking advantage of player obsession and enthusiasm — at least in New York City, which is on the brink of extinction thanks to a variety of factors such as public safety, liability concerns, pandemic precautions, and the overall welfare of consumers. use.
But on this day, September 9, 2022, at least this spirit lives on thanks to Nintendo NY’s formidable RSVP system, which demands hopeful buyers — in this case — Splatoon 3to log into their My Nintendo account and spend some time in the virtual queue buying games.
For example, I was late to the party and just checked Nintendo New York Twitter account to see if they had any launch events going on, and they did. However, by the time I checked the details, they only had 1am and intervals left, so I responded and arrived just before midnight to look through the queue.
The last time I covered a launch, for Pokémon ArceusEverything was going pretty smoothly. Maybe it’s because it takes place in the winter heart of NYC, or maybe it’s because it’s a Pokémon spinoff. Whatever the reason, it doesn’t require much effort to line up and purchase the game. The Mario Striker: League of Legends The launch was also without the same drama, which is to be expected. Nintendo or not, sports games don’t ignite the fervor usually reserved for a new game. Zelda or fit mario game.
But for Splatoon 3, it was interesting to see the queue stretching all the way from Nintendo’s door, almost all the way to 6th Avenue, a long block in NYC terms. There was a pretty big gap between the 12am queue and the 1am queue that I joined. After a period of waiting, the line will move forward periodically in significant numbers, so things are considered not that bad.
Whatever Nintendo NY is doing today, they’re doing it right, at least from the point of view of a father of two who would rather sleep at 2 a.m. than buy games. However, it was my son’s ninth birthday, and instead of simply ordering the game online and waiting for it to arrive in the mail, this gave me a good reason to go check it out. a good classic game and take home a shiny new game. copies of the game for my kids, along with any launch day gifts that Nintendo NY has released.
In this case, my reward for buying the game at Nintendo’s flagship store in North America is a promotional keychain of the new Splatoon 3 Tri-Stringer (bow) and a beautiful horizontal poster event-specific eyes. My kids and I have a long history of appreciating Splatoon, as you can see from the image below.
When original game first released for the Wii U in 2015, my kids are 5 and 2 years old, respectively, and I’m such a fan of character design that I dressed up my kids as Inklings and gave them chase each other across the South Street Seaport in NYC, with the help of some homemade costumes and an official hat Nintendo sent me. They have been hooked on the series ever since.
So, since it was my son’s birthday, I promised him that I would attend the midnight premiere and bring him a copy of the game. In fact, I won the trilogy because I know he, his sister, and myself will all enjoy playing the trilogy’s new local co-op modes. What better way to learn the ropes before joining an online community?
In any case, once inside the store, there’s really no one in line to buy the game. People inside either bought the game and were looking at the rest of the store (which surprised me was it’s open for business other than just selling Splatoon 3) or took pictures by the large Splatoon 3 backdrop on the first floor.
Either way, I’m glad to see everyone having a good time, as well as clearly lining up to get to the counter, where I not only bought the game but the elusive amiibo set featuring Callie and Marie, Game commentator, at normal price. I also choose the new one Steve & Alex Minecraft’s amiibo setwhich they have behind the counter at Nintendo NY.
All in all, this has been an enjoyable launch experience I’ve had. I’m too old and tired and have to work through camping three days in advance, live in tents on the sidewalk, just to be the first to buy a game, so I’m really excited about the progress technology has made midnight launches like this as convenient, smooth, and hassle-free as possible. This way we can all play the game a little earlier and no one has to put up with that fun.
All celebrate the new midnight launch. It can live a long time.
