LogFAQs > #972303223

I went to plenty of midnight releases at Nintendo World Store/Nintendo NY. I think the worst one was Pokemon XY release. I got in line at 5:30 pm for an event in Rockefeller Plaza that was supposed to go from 8 pm to midnight. The waiting line was featured in one of the anime specials, but it snaked down from 48th Street, around the corner up 6th, and around the corner going up 49th to circle the store. I didn't get to participate in the activities until nearly 11 pm (got my game by that point), but since I was dorming in a college in Newark at the time I wasn't going to get back home and walk back to my room past midnight so I was only able to stay for a few minutes.

I've done midnight releases at the store for Smash 3DS, Pokemon SM, USUM, SwSh, BDSP, PLA, SV and probably others and I love going to them. We get free cool prizes like tote bags, posters, pens and notebooks, pins, etc. For the later launches Nintendo NY makes you sign up for a timeslot (only 2 times available, usually midnight and 1 am but if it's a morning launch then 9 am and 10 am) and you use your Nintendo account to prevent scalping reservations. The most popular time slots (midnight and 9 am) sell out in an instant. For SV I camped the reservation page and refreshed every second until it appeared and I was able to get the popular midnight timeslot, and somehow it sold out in less than 2 minutes.

I have other local friends I would meet up with and talk to sometimes at these midnight releases, the hard part is staying out in the cold weather so you have to bundle up. Most Pokemon games are in November, PLA was in January. I remember during E3 2018, Nintendo NY hosted a special demo for Smash Ultimate at 9 am but at that time I think it was still first come, first serve line, so I had to take a 7 am bus to get on line by 8 am. Luckily you usually don't need to camp in front of the store, especially since Nintendo NY doesn't allow you to line up until 1 hour before your time.