This is happening with deliveries too, soon everything will be delivered by Robots. We humans are sociable creatures, without friendships and relationships and general social interaction what happens? We become depressed. Our mental health takes a downturn.
I went to GameStop a few weeks ago to get lords of the fallen for PS5. They only had one copy and it was the deluxe edition for $80. I still bought it, but it was so sad they only had one copy in the whole store. Physical is just not gonna be around anymore.
Don't worry! You know what happens with technology? It eventually craps out, and at the rate they go... They'll run out of resources. "Robo extinction!" Fuck the A.I., and fuck the ones pushing this bullshit!
Last midnight release I did was for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. But as for physical games bringing back memories I will always remember original Xbox Halo LAN parties. 4 systems, copies of the game, and 4 TVs in the same house with lots of cat 5 cable connecting them and everyone brings a controller. Great way to get everyone together.
I'll never forget the midnight launch of Halo 2. That was an experience its safe to say will never be replicated. It really made gaming a lot more exciting back then.
I've done midnight releases for games, but my most memorable were for systems. I waited in line for just over 40hrs for the PS3, 25hrs for the 360, and overnight for the Wii. It was so much fun! I was military and took leave for each one, most of the other people at the front of the lines were military too. It was great!
I’m a huge Final Fantasy fan! I remember having my dad take me to EB games at the Rhode Island mall to get Final Fantasy 8 and being so hyped! my dad was never a big gamer but he could tell I was pumped and I just had enough to buy the game. I wanted the strategy guide so bad and couldn’t put it down. He bought me the guide the next dad on his way home from work and surprised me with it and I had a smile from ear to ear!!!!!!! I still have that guide too this day such and awesome memory and game!!!!
I've never gone to a midnight release in my life, so I doubt very much I'm going to miss it. But I will miss the physical media, as I am a game and movie collector
I remember when I made a line to get my PS2 back in 2000. I was 18 years old. It was great! I met so many people during the line. There were hundreds of people. Best Buy was putting a stamp on people making the line and I was number 8 haha. There were only 100 systems available. I got my system on that day with 2 games. One of them was TimeSplitters 😊 I had great conversations with people on that day. Nowadays it feels like society is becoming anti-social. Most just stay at home hell even work from home. With less and less human interaction and meaningful memories 😔
I will never forget hooking 4 TVs together and playing 16 player Halo for the first time with a large group of friends. The excitement, people yelling, so much fun as opposed to just playing online. We had a core group that played all the time via LAN and even challenged people from other nearby towns. Some of my best memories, we still talk about it to this day; recalling details from matches and how fun it was.
I agree waiting in line with like minded nerds is always fun. I loved the midnight releases. There are some things I got delivered I'll remember that exciting feeling but it is different
It's way different when it just gets delivered. Still can get really cool things, but it doesn't have the human element! Makes it a lot easier to forget.
I just watched “Insert Coin,” and it occurred to me that there is a parallel in the modern era of games to what the guys making arcade games for Midway/Bally/Williams went through. When it became apparent that coin-op gaming was dying, it was a sad moment. Console gaming was taking over at the dawn of the PlayStation/N64/Saturn era. Games were forced to evolve. We are faced with the same kind of thing, today. Digital gaming is rising and physical is dying. Will it die out completely? Who knows? Arcade games are still made, but it isn’t the same. Perhaps we are looking at the same sad moment here. *Side Note* Kansas City represent! As someone who lives in Kansas City, my ears perked up when you mentioned it. Thanks for the love!
The atmosphere of midnight release cannot be beat, its a shame most will never experience such an event. I remeber my first being Black Ops, and only 12 at the time, I was proper stoked! I cannot thank my mum enough for taking me to these midnight launches. The anticipation building up as you're getting closer to the till and everyone hyping each other up, the social element... it didnt matter how old you were, just that we all had the same passion and intrest. Damn gaming took a turn in the wrong direction...
I’m 42 years old I remember when the OG Modern Warfare 2 came out it was insane how fun it was to wait at GameStop after work with all the homies talking about the game and just enjoying the experience good times!!!!!
Midnight releases are something I truly miss as a gamer. I remember my going to the Halo 2 release with my sister and nephew or the countless Call Of Duty releases. It was pretty awesome that a couple weeks ago my Gamestop called me and said they were doing a midnight release for Spider-Man 2 and Mario Wonder. Now I had no business going out at midnight on a THUR knowing I had to work the next morning but I went just because I thought it was so cool. The feeling I had when I left with my games in hand definitely felt nostalgic and left a smile on my face.
Even more important is local coop games. We hardly have any local coop games come out anymore, and it's loss can't be understated... So many good memories in the past with couch coop gaming, we are missing out on so much now that they are hardly being made anymore
Went to the AM release of the snes classic as well. Met up with a buddy of mine, got to talk to a guy around our age who was also finishing up school and was recounting stories of when he managed a game store in the area. You can't recreate those cool memories chatting with people who share the same passions you do without these special releases in person.
The only thing that comforts me is that micro transactions and lootboxes have ruined much of modern gaming for me so I haven't even bothered with PS5 or XBox Series X.
@@GamingOffTheGrid In most gamer's defense a large portion aren't paying for it. The problem are what called the "whales." And I'm not making a fat joke. I'm talking about addicts who spend way too much money on one game and the make the companies not care what the rest of the consumers want. If 100 people bought the same game for the same price but only 1 person spent money on the microtransactions, that one person is going to be the only consumer companies care about. In fact most are counting on only that small amount to become addicted to their "games". I've even heard a "whale" spent over $30,000 on one single game. That's why even if more and more people speak out against these predatory schemes, most companies won't give a crap and ignore you. They also count on children not understanding how micro transactions work and children have spent hundreds to thousands of dollars of their parents' money not realizing this.
Great talk right here. I was literally just discussing this with my old GameStop peeps, reminiscing on the best old launches we had. Black Ops 2, Skyrim, GTA V, etc. And we all definitely miss it. It was a great come-together between the employees and all our loyal regulars and the community. Man, the stories and the memories!! Thumbs up dudes.
Midnight releases are one of my favorite parts of gaming. I remember going to the Halo 3 midnight release back in college and getting to play a bit of the game while I waited. Luckily, my local GameStop still does some midnight releases. The recent midnight releases for Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Bros. Wonder/Spider-Man 2 were great times.
I thank you again for hearting my comment about wanting to work with you once I get my new house in Norwalk, and give you a tour of my (eventual) game rooms. I took that as a "Yes", and I will reach out to you professionally sometime next year. You hit every nail on the head with this video. I love and miss Midnight releases so much (Dreamcast, PS2, Madden, Resident Evil, etc). In fact my last Midnight launch I was at was when the Orbis launced on November 15, 2013. Fuck I feel old, as 2013 was one of the best years of my life, and it was 10 years ago (I am 37). My life hasn't been very exciting since 2017 (personal matters), so when someone brings up something that happend in say, 2015, I say "Oh yeah, that was just a couple years ago", and then they remind me how long ago it was, I just get kind of sad. But hopefully that all changes in 2024 when I start living life again
The victory feeling walking out with the snes mini and nes mini was an amazing feeling. I’ll never forget that feeling like yes! I got it baby! Even got my lil bro a snes mini console later on at a different all nighter. It was special feeling getting him one too
Real dudes talking real shit. Waiting in lines and sore asses. Y'all are my people. Midwesterners unite (Chicago here). The memories. Can't tell you the last time I had a legitimate impactful game release memory with real people. Hit up Galloping Ghost a lot with my wife and friends. Really thankful it's so close to force everyone into collective in person gaming for multiple hours. If we didn't have that.......Who knows what state of mind Id be in from lack of in person human interaction related to gaming. Bring back boots on the ground! 🤘🤘🤘 Rock on brothers.
Hell ya! Dude Galloping Ghost is off the chain. We went there a couple years back. Was just in Chicago over the summer to see the Pixies and Modest Mouse one night and Beck and Phoenix the other. It was a blast. Cheers!
It's awesome you brought up golden eye. I met my wife for the first time in November of 2000. We were at a party where golden eye was the game, and our first interaction was going to get the pizza for the party, rocking to limp bizkit. Cheers boys, keep rocking. 🍻🤘
I miss these. I can remember going to a midnight release to get ncaa 06 fb. It was like a party at the GameStop with pizza. I meet so many people that night. I can remember people cheering the cashier on as he bought the games out. Good times.
Wes and Rob are such great people to listen to. They remind me of when I used to grow up watching Machinima, Red vs. Blue, classic IGN, and many more. It sucks that I can't list much of my nostalgia because as you get old you tend to forget, but these guys are here to save the day.
Had some good memories of going to a Halo 2 Midnight release, either a Rockband or Guitar Hero release, but the best was Wow Burning Crusade and Wow Lich King midnight releases... talking with everyone, getting the physical discs, running home, logging on, and seeing which friends were in game and ready to start questing.
Best memory for me is picking up Final Fantasy 7 pre-orders in '97 with my best friend. Next, would be taking my nephew to the midnight release of the original Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3. I wasn't much of a Call of Duty fan, but my nephew was back then, and I loved playing it with him. The human connection will 100 percent be missed. Closest I've come to the good old days in recent memory was lining up outside Target at 7:45 a.m. to grab a special edition copy of Tears of the Kingdom for my wife's birthday. There were about 30 people lined up, and it was a speed walk race to the electronics desk.
I definitely remember standing in line at Best Buy for a SNES mini more than my Genesis mini showing up in the mail. But honestly an even stronger memory is sitting on the couch while my wife plays Yoshi’s Island on the SNES mini and my 4 year old daughter holds the second controller trying to do what her mommy is doing. The world is definitely changing but strong social memories are still there to be had.
The year before opening our first game store with some friends, I worked at Walmart and ran the midnight sale of the PS2, then after opening up our first game store and up to over a dozen, over the years, I helped oversee midnight sales that had lines of 100 to 200 people! It would be massive events! We had cookouts, game tournaments and more for people in line. Now the first store is a former shell of itself and every other location is shut down but one other. There's a reason, I sold off my part of it in January 2023. It's just not the same anymore. So much that made the job fun is gone because no one really comes in looking for physical media.
My most memorable midnight releases were GTA 4&5, Call of Duty MW2, SNES Classic, Resident Evil 4, Mortal Kombat 9, Marvel vs Capcom 3, Street Fighter 4, etc. Those were the good old days of my midnight releases interactions.
I only did 2 midnight release’s during my lifetime. StarCraft 2, and StarCraft 2: expansion pack, and remembering having great time. Moreover, the manager only gave me the promotional poster.
I have to say I found this channel on a recommendation. People are going to love and hate the content you both put out. Any RU-vid channel is going to get hate if someone doesn’t like the genre/or input from the channel. You both show no glitz, no glamour, and not trying to influence on which way to go about things. Nostalgia, beer, and bring up topics in current events within the gaming hobby. Bias is there because we all have a bias on a topic, one way or another. But you both speak your view on the topic mapping out the why behind your reasoning, and giving other something to think about, that they may not have already. I appreciate the buyer guides, the unpodcasts you do about specific years (2001 and 2002) hit home for me. Keep the good content coming and I look forward to the next beer you show on camera.
Wes, as 6 years olds, my best friend at the time had DKC OG, and I had DKC 2 DKC. I remember I was obsessed with progressing and had no real scope at the time for the difficulty. I remember my friend always exclaiming that he really didn't like DKC and I think it was cause its so stinking hard!!!! I'm at a save point at 28 minutes in and just cannot beat tree top town!!!! What a challenge. The point I'm making is that the human interaction is key. What is anything if you can't share it with someone in the flesh!? God bless guys, never stop.
God that Halo 3 launch footage takes me back. I did the Halo 2 one at gamestation (rip) in Birmingham UK and got the metal version with the sleeve but I only remember the Halo 3 one for some reason. Was with my mate Rob and he bought the super duper shiny helmet version. Was a great experience chatting to everyone else while waiting. 360 was also the last console I remember getting at launch too. Great video guys and thanks for the nostalgia overload.
My last all nighter was release day for the Wii. I was 12th in line outside Circuit City in 28 degree weather all night. Store manager came in early with doughnuts for everyone in line. Lucked out since that store only had 15 units!
You guys really hit the nail on the head with the Human connection aspect. I'm always thinking about this and y'all are the only ones I've seen mention it. It seems like were headed towards a reality where we just click a button and everything comes to us. Conveniance is nice but losing the choice is a bummer. I love going to pick out my own clothes, going to Best Buy and picking out some blu-rays myself and interacting with people. Some of my fondest memories are living through the era when Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat II hit the arcades. The aracdes were insane! Anyways, I'm a little all over the place here, but thanks for the great commentary on this subject.
not just going to midnight releases but i worked the Gears Judgement, Call of Duty Black Ops 2, a few Maddens and other games midnight releases at best buy and those memories were just so much fun.
One of the best memories I had when me and my wife went to a Nintendo event at Best Buy and we were playing a new 3DS game that looked like fun playing with others. We had a blast, but of course there's not much talk about The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes these days which is a shame that it couldn't replicate the magic of The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures on the GameCube.
I was born in 2000, I remember I had some friends go to the midnight release for Modern Warfare 3 and Halo 4, and I thought that was so cool. My first midnight release was Pokémon X and Y at GameStop, and there was easily 150+ people waiting outside, and the line went around the building. After that I didn’t go to another midnight release until Super Mario Odyssey in 2017, and after that I went to Pokémon Let’s Go in 2018, and then Pokémon Sword in Shield in 2019. It was easier then because I was in college but still a blast. The last midnight release I went to was for the Animal Crossing New Horizons special edition switch at Walmart in March of 2020. It was me and my partner, and then 3 other people behind me in line. I still remember standing in line and then getting the notification that Michigan schools were closing because of covid, and everything changed after that… crazy times
Midnight releases, man takes me back. Once again a spot analysis by the GotG crew! Notable ones for me....I remember standing in line with my cousin for hours to get Majora's Mask on N64. Waited with a crisp Benjamin for Smash Bros. Melee and a used silver GC controller, and me and my college roommate waited forever at Target for COD Black Ops. He got the mega collectors bundle for 360 and I just got the game for PS3. Several others as well. Cheers
I still go to midnight releases if my local GameStop offers them for certain games.Tears of the kingdom was a fun one a HUGE showing. But all the other recent releases not too many people were in line.
Oh, hell yeah! My buddy and I did the SNES classic release at Walmart. We had been friends for years, but didn't plan on meeting there and really didn't know we both had a passion for collecting video games. Our friendship got better and we are now hunting for games together. We are in Kansas City. Our city is awesome and so are our record stores. Hope to see you at KC Retro Gaming Swap on Dec 2-3.
Rdr2 was the last I went to. Brought my 4 year old to game stop after school to pick up super Mario wonder to give her a memory even though it wasn't at midnight.
It's a good topic. I have so many vivid memories of trips to the arcade and what I was playing there 30 years ago, but can't remember what game I downloaded last week. Something very crucial gets lost when you experience something completely by yourself.
What's up guys? I was just talking about this on my last podcast episode. I went to Super Mario Bros Wonder release and it was cool to see people come out for the release as well as spiderman 2. Prior to that, the most memorable midninght release was for Nintendo Switch. I waited over 8 hours in line and it was just teenagers in line with me. Super memorable, hella cold! They made us wait outside although the store was open. But I remember this kid that was in front of me had his parents on shifts! lol! I met his mom, dad, and grandmother. I pulled my truck in front of the store and allowed the teenage kids to sit inside and get warm. Took turns holding places in line for each other. It was cool that we were able to bond and get that joy of going in and purchasing the switch. Awesome time! Great video as always guys! Would definitely love to have you guys on the pod for a great discussion. 🍻
My local new/used gamestore still does them. They have a sit down gaming room for card games etc. and invite people to come hang out bring their switch or their cards and play/mingle while they wait. having one tonight for Super Mario RPG for the switch. Two Dudes Gaming in Elizabethton TN.
Making it an event makes something stand out from the ordinary. When you have a shared experience with other people and there are multiple triggers to help bring back that memory. I went to the midnight release at a local store for twilight princess. I didn't pick up the game but I knew there wasn't going to be a lot of releases like this so I wanted to support it and have some fun.
Events are exactly the trigger. I can remember the arcades I played in. I remember the people I met. I can even tell you the years (if not the months) that games were released because I lived it. All of this is huge. With the modern/digital world, all this is sanitized. When every release and experience is the same, people have less to bond over. That's why you gotta host your own LAN parties if not retro parties. Get people together. This is what will build memories that last.
I miss midnight releases. A few of them were with friends that are no longer here, so I definitely hold them in a special place. GTA V was the last one we went too before my friend passed
I did a few midnight releases. I waited for Gran Turismo 4 and Mass Effect 2 at a local gamestop. I recall I was the ONLY one picking up the PC version. Future generations simply wont know better because they never experienced human interaction via video games like us in the 30s to early 50s. So far, the only company that is trying to keep the human interaction is Nintendo.
@@GamingOffTheGridNintendo Switch 2 should make 8 player local gaming standard. Would be cool if they said FU to this always online, internet gaming age.
First off, I love the show. We are seeing a generation shift. I am 40. I recall standing in line at E.B. Games or popping into Toys’R’Us the next day to get my power scope (which sucked lol) or standing in line waiting to get my Xbox 360. We are getting old and time is going by. Enjoy the ride and share them with your family. They will remember them, just like we are doing now. Cheers and tight controllers.
One of the midnight releases that sticks out in my head is Halo 2. I was in college and standing in line at the GameStop in the mall with other people also excited for the release is something I will never forget. All the worlds problems seem to disappear in that moment. I’m really going to miss that aspect of gaming! Keep up the content gents! Always enjoy your videos!
Buying a physical game as a kid and sitting in the backseat, reading the manual on the way home anticipating the best game experience ever. Then you put the game in at home and it’s terrible 10 out of 10 best experience.
I was there for the midnight release of the PS2 at Software Etc.. I had mine fully pre-paid off from my first part time job in high school, so I was guaranteed a console, but I still had to wait in line to get it and to buy accessories and games. The guy in front of me had a Matrix-style trench coat on and was there with his mom. He took so long to check out (two lines there) that I ended up getting the very last memory card along with my PS2 and Smuggler's Run. I had to go to class the next day, so I just played for an hour or so when I got home that night.
A lot of great points as always. I've never gone to a midnight release, but I wait in line with a lot of people at my thrift store every Tuesday. I've actually made some great friends and memories that way. And I love just looking through my collection and remembering the day I got things and conversations I had that day. Sure I can buy something on eBay and share a picture of it on Facebook, but it's just not as memorable as it would be if I found something cool while out with friends. Awesome video as always guys!
I remember in 2011, in fact 11/11/11 when Skyrim was released at Gamestop at midnight me and my buddy Freddy lived about a mile and a half from the local Gamestop(which was so nice by the way) and it was a nice cold November night, and we walked to Gamestop to get our copy and it was an extremely memorable moment, it was like we were going on this grand adventure to pick up this relic that would bring grand adventure, and the excitement was through the roof!!! Once we got to Gamestop there were hundreds of people inside the store in about 50 to 100 waiting in line outside to get in the store and so we had to wait for about 30 to 45 minutes just to make it into the store to wait another 15 to 30… but it was so cool, people were talking about what they were going to do first and who is going to be highest level, etc. and I’ll never forget it. I remember this guy picking up his copy and as he was walking out the door he said “you’ll be doing what? Oh that’s right I’ll already be way higher level by the time you get home-“ and he said that to one of his friends that he knew that was in the back of the line, and he had just got his copy and raised it in the air, as if he had just won some grand victory, and then made his statement and everybody laughed! Part of the reason, I think that the future sucks so bad, and is going to suck, even worse, is due to the fact of who is in charge of making important decisions, and who is running things … This is what happens when evil and immoral people get into places of power and influence, everything sucks as a result-
Midnight releases are a blast. The last one we did was for Zelda TotK; our GameStop had raffles and gave out promo pieces for the game. There were cosplayers on hand. It's just great being with your peeps vibing about what you all love together. Absolutely agree that it's all about the human element. It's like with conventions; that's what we love so much about them, the chance to hang out with people...when they're not too busy trying to make money and head back home. 😉🤭😆
GREAT VIDEO!!!! As an old school gamer (since the 1970's), corporate is trying to turn humans into robots!! All digital is like dipping an onion in carmel, selling it as a candy apple!!
Never forget a midnight release of GTAIV. It was a party, everyone talking about the games. Some partied at the bar across the street, waiting for the line go down. Good times!!!
I use to work at a Walmart electronics department. I usually worked until 11, so I would prep everything for midnight releases, go to my girlfriends house (now my wife), then we'd come back and get in line. I remember the Guitar Hero 3 release. I probably played until 3 am.
spot on. i have tons of memories tied to a trip to the game store with friends to browse and buy ps1+2 games, going to the music shop buying new cd's. have no memories at all tied to buying a digital game.
I do miss the atmosphere of those gaming stores in the 90s and early 2000s. Last game I went to the midnight release for was Madden 08. My friends and I all met at Walmart. Which was 2007. Just 2 years out of High school.
I vividly remember standing in line for the midnight release of the PlayStation 2. It was raining and had to wait in the rain 🌧️ for my system. I thankfully got one. I didn't have time to grab any games that night though. They were pushing people in and out of the store to keep the line moving. But happy memories 😊😊
I’ll never forget waiting all day in a Walmart garden center with my dad and ten other people waiting for the Wii. I was looking forward to doing something like that with my kids, but here we are. I’ll never get a chance
I love midnight released due to the conversations and funny moments that always happens. Also there tends to be a wholesome event moments like we all sharing food and drinks talking about stuff and waiting for the fun. I remember many midnight events like the PlayStation4, Nintendo Switch, Super Nintendo Mini I missed out on the PlayStation 3 one but was surprised when my brother came home after with a PlayStation 3. Also from my experience me and the other gamers always protected each others stuff and we were there to call out any issues for the safety of each other and call out scammers or people there to do some weird stuff. Even though many times we meet each other the first time right then and there we all had fun and connected and those mid night events are some I hope many gamers new and old continue to have going forward. Cool video. ^_^
New 3ds xl release was the last big physical release for me. My buddies and I all all took off a Friday and had beers and played majoras mask and monster hunter 4. I miss the days of physical releases being events worth gathering for.
I use to do them when I was younger and they were so much fun. The last one I did was the original psvr at a wal mart and there was 3 other guys there. Not the same
Surprisingly, my local GameStop stores have started doing midnight releases again and more people than I expected have turned out to the ones I've attended. It's not the same as before, but I am glad to see it happening for even releases not quite as big as things like Call of Duty.
Great vlog guys. I think the pandemic has also changed the way in how we interact in more recent times. You mentioned going to the theatre/cinema to catch a movie, the experience now is much different than say 5 years ago. I find cinemas are no longer full to capacity on new releases. Going to the cinema in the 80s/90s was v exciting, maybe because i was much younger, but i don't think kids today talk about going to watch a new film release like we did. Back then, you had to wait months before that film at the cinema was rentable on VHS, and then maybe a year or two before it was aired on terrestrial TV. Paying for the convenience and for instant gratification is deemed preferable than the anticipation of waiting in line with friends...while being whacked by a food bag :)
one other thing about a bad thing about physical media going away which people dont really talk about is dvd menus man they could be awesome i remember ones like finding nemo the toy story series snow white over the hedge Pinocchio i will never forget about those even the Disney sneak peeks menu was awesome i know it was not the thing you guys were talking about but i feel like thats something people should talk about more
I totally agree with you guys. Midnight launches were a special event that I miss. I remember when street fighter 4 had a Midnight launch and everyone was there and we had a blast just talking about how much we love street fighter since 2 and the memories we had it was awesome connecting with people who had the same passion as I did. I'll never forget that They even had tournaments that day. And fun fact when resident evil 5 came out on the 360 I picked up my daughter from the babysitter and gamestop had an early launch so I had her with me on that day. It was rainy a bit but I had her covered while I held her but she was happy with me getting the game. Damn I miss that. Cheers bros 🍻🍻
I was old enough to remember midnight console launches and I always wanted to go, but never purchased on day one. I did want to go to the midnight launch of Halo 2 and play all night, but just had it delivered on day 1, which I regret not just going out the night before. Good memories of that time.
I remember when I was growing up I was at my friends house and me him and another friend were playing Super Mario bros on the NES. That was a long time ago. After that my mom got us a NES and the family would come together and play different games on it. You are right we are losing the connection with people we care about and that's sad. I miss hanging out with my friends playing video games. Those were good times.
I remember rushing to the mall during my lunch break. Waiting on line to get the snes classic at GameStop when they opened at 10 am. Literally made it to work with a minute to spare. But I got the console. My boss was stoked for me. It was my only purchase b4 Black Friday that year.
Yes, we will miss the human connection in a major way. I grew up in the arcade, and I just can't get excited about new fighting games anymore, because that arcade aspect is missing. There was something special about playing a new Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, or Killer Instinct in the arcade, MONTHS before the home release, and that anticipation the console release date. The hours spent in the arcade, playing fighting games with teens from other high schools, just hanging out playing games, chatting about games, making friendships... it's sorely missing. I used to love fighting games, but now... I can barely get excited about them. Digital delivery is nice, don't get me wrong, but I will miss midnight releases. There was something special about them, for many of the reasons I miss the arcade scene. (I will forever remember the midnight Halo 2 release.)
Midnight Release of Black Ops 1 will be forever legendary Fun Fact: Midnight Releases used to have so many giveaways and when you actually got the 'midnight' launch edition you could've gotten extra content in your game
*I'm all for physical 1,000%* *However, I don't ever want to experience waiting in line at midnight for a release, the older I get the less I want to be around humans, let alone in line/a crowd lol.*
