World of Warcraft : Cataclysm, the expansion to the evergreen MMO that keeps agoraphobes in their chairs was released to retail at midnight. We were on hand at Greenstone Mall where there was not one, or even two – but three midnight launches for the game.
The stores in question; BT Games, Exclus1ve books and Look & Listen were open to give gamers the digital fix they craved…once the clock had struck midnight, of course.
National gaming retailer BT Games unsurprisingly had the largest turn-out, proving that World of Warcraft players do occasionally brave the outdoors. No pomp or ceremony, just eager gamers queued up, patiently awaiting their pre-ordered copies. Standard fare for most midnight launches, really.
Exclus1ve books tried to do it a little differently; they tried keeping patrons entertained throughout. Consoles were set up for patient punters to while away their boredom, including a Guitar Hero competition. Snacks were available, spot prizes were handed out – and those that came through had a good time. The fine folk at Exclus1ve assured me that this, their first midnight launch would pave the way to bigger, better ones in future.
GH competition winner Wesley Boone, who nabbed a Warriors of Rock Bundle
And though the turnout wasn’t as great as expected, it was infinitely larger than the crowd outside the Look & Listen.
Unfortunately (for me, at least) I failed to see a single pointy-eared, scantily-dressed blood elf. Where were the cosplayers? If you’re nerd enough to wait out midnight for a game, you should be willing to drape on a bit of red cloth and faux pointy ears!
According to BTGames, they collectively sold over 2000 copies of the game at their midnight launches – which means about 2000 skipped work or school today. Are you one of them?
Last Updated: December 7, 2010
koldFU5iON
December 7, 2010 at 12:27
If one of them did skip I doubt they’d be here to read it 😛
NiteFenix
December 7, 2010 at 17:33
Thanks for the Verbal Nod there Geoff.
Eddie
December 7, 2010 at 17:44
2000 is nothing, since most of us never leave our homes, so 2000 are only the ones who want something tangible. I bet the number of people “skipping” are in the tens of thousands.