This was kind of a last minute plan today. I wasn’t really that interested because it’s Pokemon and i’m not really into it – more my kids than me. I really didn’t expect much, but boy we were in for a huge surprise.
We got there almost 3pm right when they were about to start the event. And while driving around looking for parking, we saw the line that snaked all the way past Christies (around the corner basically almost coming back around the store). At this time, there must have been at least 1,000 people waiting to get the game a day early. At the end of the event, there were still people waiting to get the game (this was about 6pm). I thought that Nintendo was getting a bit cheap recently. You have people waiting in line for hours just to get the game and all they get was a nifty bag that says Pokemon Black and White.
But I guess the big treat is the actual event itself. Big games like Pokemon and Mario usually gets the outside treatment. All there ever was on the outside was a demo of the 2 games, poke-trivia where hardcore fans of the series could practice their nerd on, and the giveaway t-shirt. After you sign a release form before entering the event, you a get a bracelet which give you an opportunity to get a passport in which you use to get the t-shirt and poster swag later on after you’ve completed all the stamps required. There were a total of 5 stamps, 3 outside and 2 on the inside. Since the line was extremely long outside and it takes just about 10-15 minutes for 5-10 people to get in the store, it took forever for most people to actually get the remaining 2 stamps. At the end, they ended up giving away the shirts to those who couldn’t get in the store and we were one of the many. We couldn’t even get pass the guards – there were that many people even at the end of the event.
The best part of the event was the live performance of The Presidents of the United States of America (PUSA). We actually did not know these guys were performing at all until my wife had decided to find out what the big stage was all about. They did a little sound test around 3pm and played 3 songs. One of which was a debut song dedicated to Pokemon. They came back around 5:30pm, played 6 songs and I recorded the whole performance on my iPhone (20 minutes long) which i’ll probably upload on YouTube later on so if you’re interested, please check back on this post.
..if you receive your game by April 10th you will qualify for a special Liberty Pass via Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection (broadband Internet access required), which will enable you to catch the never-before-seen Mythical Pokémon Victini the Victory Pokémon–the first Pokémon that’s Psychic- and Fire-type and cannot be obtained through normal game play.
Nintendo is also releasing 2 limited edition Nintendo DSi in Black and White to celebrate the release of the game. Both bundles do come with either Pokemon Black or White depending on which color you choose.
