Tales from Retail: The Decline of GameStop's Midnight Releases 

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the last great midnight i worked was black ops 3 if im not mistaken. we had snacks, ppl got to play bo2 and win prizes , we had a nerf gun shootout for people to also win prizes , it was great .

For the Skyrim midnight launch at my local Gamestop,I pre-ordered a copy and a few of my friends came with me for the free swag. Once midnight hit and they started to give out games to people who preordered. So I handed them my receipt they gave me the game and the receipt back, however, they never marked the receipt and claimed/used. As I walking out I noticed that on the receipt so I gave it to my friend and he got a free copy of Skyrim, and after that we used the same receipt two more times. We ended up leaving with 4 copies of Skyrim for the price of one. The next midnight launch they marked every receipt as used so nobody was walking away with free products anymore.

It's dying down cause digital release is more convenient

When I went to Red dead 2 "midnight" (more like 9pm) launch at my Gamestop the line was huge, there were at least 70+ people in line, thankfully I was 8th in. But as far as activities go nothing was going on, they had a free stuff box and that was it... Plus one thing that does bug me about these launches is that some of the people in line don't know what a shower is... Also physical>digital

During the Halo Reach launch, this one girl drove by & flashed the crowd! 😲 Violet Bra. 😑

I've always wanted to go to a midnight launch. Now I have a car so I can, and the new smash bros games is coming out and I would love to go. My local store said they still don't know if they will or not. I hope they do.

You can't get hype about potential microtransactions and trash. These days most people wait a few days for reviews and buy it digital.

I'm just glad I got to witness some of the peak midnight launches.. still remember being 12 at the dreamcast launch.. 9-9-1999.. that line went from EB games (which was in the center of the mall!) To outside the mall to the street!! Amazing sight and experience! My mom let me play it for 2 hours then wrap it up for christmas lmao!

They do 9 o clock releases but they certainly don’t feel excited

Perhaps you could do a segment on memories of a console's early days, for eg the N64 or the original Xbox.

These retail stores seem to have traumatized you

Don't worry fanta I'll still be here. I think I found you about a year ago and the midnight release video was one of the first videos I saw front you. I always get so excited when I see a video from you get uploaded. I even watch the futon episodes the day they come out. 😂 thanks for making great content though, I love you and Eric so much.

I live out in the middle of nowhere, but we do happen to have a Gamestop nearby. I went to the Midnight launch for Halo: Reach and it ended up being only myself and one other person. They had a raffle planned for the Legendary Edition of Reach and since there were only 2 of us, we did a coin flip and I won. Sad that it was such a small launch, but awesome at the same time.

The only midnight launch I got to experience was black ops 2. They were giving out goodie bags with a bunch of black ops 2 pins and stickers and stuff, they had a tournament, and they were grilling hot dogs and burgers. It was an amazing experience as a teen gamer

Fanta beer reviews Fanta stories: fantas take on retail stories summited by fans Fanta reacts: fantas reaction to outrageous customer compilations on RU-vid.

I tell myself am I intetested in the retail story videos....... 2 hours later subscribed and cant get enough. Keep it up @FANTAVISION

I miss the days of midnight releases, there was something really exciting about it. I remember the 11/11/11 midnight release of Skyrim and in the mall line I saw a lot of random people I recognized from around my town. It was cool seeing a lot of familiar faces and learning that they were fans.

Wont forget the Starcraft 2 launch. Called the next day off, got some frozen pizzas and a case of redbull. Cool times.

Might just be my local Gamestop but the midnight launch for Kingdom Hearts 3 was fun if not simple They were playing all the intro songs from the games on a speaker, the store owners were dressed in cosplays, and we even did a KH trivia game at one point it was the last time I ever did a midnight release and that was 2019

I like to play fantas videos and smoke some weed while it plays. Pretty relaxing, it’s like kicking back with a chill guy.

Hey Fanta, I found you while watching a bunch of gamestop rants, and I found your way of talking really entertaining. I subscribed shortly after, and i plan on staying for a while

I've been to a few midnight launches when i was younger and gamestop has never done anything close to what Fanta is describing

Back in the day when I worked at GameStop we had fun Midnight launches. I remember doing a Midnight launch for Red Dead Redemption back in 2010, FFX13, Halo Reach, etc.. We made events out of them and it was a fun time to work. It’s boring now. You ring out early then wait in a line get your game and walk out. It sucks.

Digital Games with the ability to pre-load ruined it. Just like party chat ruined talking in online games

The last midnight release I went to was for Hyrule Warriors for Switch. It was honestly kind of sad. Only one other person was there, and they were picking up a different game. I'm going to another early release next week for Spyro Reignited Trilogy on PS4. I'm not expecting much, but hopefully it will be big. I miss when I was a kid, and GameStop was my favorite place on Earth. It felt magical going into the store every time. Now it's borderline depressing. I know it's never going to happen, but I want them to do well again. I want to feel the same excitement I felt as a kid.

You should do new hires. People that got hired at gamestop that have no gaming experience or knowledge

I went to the midnight release of Skyrim and that gamestop is in a plaza in front of a Wal Mart. There is a hair salon to the left and then a Quiznos sandwitch shop and the line wrapped all the way around behind Quiznos, it was really cold. People were making cheesy puns. Someone got pulled over in the parking lot and someone in line said look a dragon and hes shouting red and blue lights. Another guy said the first thing he is going to do is find a copy of the lusty argonian maid. I went to the Assassins creed 3 midnight release and that was my last.

Since 1,000 other people have already said it, I’ll say it too. All the Gamestops in my area (Illinois) do 9pm releases

My gamestop would have tournaments for a free copy. I used to love going to the midnight launches especially because my house was literally 1000 feet away from the gamestop so I could always get home first to play. I also used to wear my ghillie suit and just entertain and troll people. So many pictures taken. so many friends made so many memories.

It's not random. You have a unique show. I like hearing about the wild stuff happening in retail. We just need that grit level. If you run out of stories, you should ask people to send in their stories for review.

I know what you mean about the random RU-vid tides. I got 200 subs in one month from my gaming livestreams, and 40,000 minutes of watch time. Then, the growth just stopped, and I struggled to get any viewers/subs at all.

I think retrospective videos of some of your favorite/least favorite games would be pretty cool

These videos always make my Tuesdays better.

im on the east coast, we do 9pm to combat the digital sales. nothin special tho. no fun or anything . last midnight i think was either destiny or destiny 2 and the turnout was absolute trash .

Well, tbh... I think a lot more people just order the games online and have them shipped directly to them. Or they are going towards more digital downloads of large games so they can play right at midnight without having to stand in line or going to another store. Like you said, the gaming industry is vastly different today than it was a few years ago and who knows? Midnight launches might make a comeback one day in the far future.

My first ever midnight release was Halo 2. I remember like half of us there was standing in line, calling off work the next day.

Your channel is one of the most entertaining and I thank you for that. Keep up the great work.

I remember the hype for all the midnight releases I was like 13 game stop for black ops 1 and mw3 had GameStop girls dressed as soldiers and prop guns with a army jeep now you just go to GameStop at midnight and there's like 10 people their

There is a variety of factors that made midnight releases less of a thing. 1.) digital downloads 2.) Best Buy reward program and amazon prime. 3.) people now viewing pre orders as gimmicks. If GameStop don’t get enough preorders for a game, they can’t do a midnight release. The last midnight release I went to, the store was packed with people, we had snacks and standing around chatting it was fun. Sadly tho, with less and less preorders and more digital sales, midnight releases will soon be completely dead.

I agree. I miss the old times. Unfortunately I don't think things would ever go back like that. It sucks.

Opinion video are good👍 I would totally watch it and keep supporting the channel

i do agree that digital sales and gamestop not doing well play a part in it, but its a store by store judgment. My store for red dead set up a switch and did a 1-2- switches shooting drawl game tournament, a scavenger hunt/trivia thing. they had a nerf gun shooting gallery ect. gave away strategy guides for the game and a gift cards its really the passion of the employ behind it more than anything.

That is true. I really miss the days of hype for the games and waiting to get it. Everyone now pre orders online.

When I went to the midnight release of halo 4 at my best buy. The line was long asf but i was lucky enough to be the 6th person in line and it was pretty boring. I just started talking to random people and out of no where a cop used his patrol vehicle and put the halo theme song through his speakers to hype us up for the game. I think that was my memorable midnight release.

I will never forget the Skyrim Launch. I bought it for PC and my best friend and I sat outside in the cold for an entire hour waiting. There were people in costumes people screaming. It was an experience. I really miss how hype people use to get, but now that you can just download everything online. Especially with the fact even if I go and buy the game in person you still have to wait to download basically the entire game it really makes physical copies pointless now.

I went to my local GS for Red Dead Redemption 2. They weren't open, it was the GS at Barclay Center in NY.

I think a major reason the midnight release thing isn't such a big deal is because of digital distribution where you can preload the game and play a few hours early, and Amazon and a couple other services can deliver the game to you on release day, so no need to go stand outside for hours anymore. And as for the tournament things and extra events, the company a) won't spring for that and b) are too corporate to give a damn about making customers feel special, they just want your pre-order money.

As a new Gamestop Manager your giving me a lot of ideas about new upcoming releases I’m going to do snacks, tournaments, pops, and stuff for releases

I know there’s a GameStop about a half hour from me that’s having a smash tournament in-store for people who preordered, but aside from that everything’s just died down

Call of Duty Black Ops 1 had one of the craziest and longest lines I've been to & its the last COD game I purchased besides infinite warfare for COD 4 remastered

I remember when Gears of War 2 launched in 2008, I showed up at 11 to "beat the crowds" and the line was already wrapped around the building and out to the parking lot entrance. I am glad they have streamlined the process somewhat now. At that midnight launch, there were people in line with their trade ins which made the line move SO SLOW.

Last midnight I went to that was fun was the burning crusade expansion for WoW when I was in middle school, they had trivia and there was a lot of people

It’s released these days at 8 or 9 mainly 9 pm the day before whichever game is released on a Monday or Thursday . We had a few groups for Red Dead Redemption 2 and I got there right as my group was called into get mine . I don’t think releases are the same anymore with no special stuff going on to the side while attending . I remember they would do something extra for the two I’ve been to .

video from Fanta!!!! Love the channel

Halo 2 was the biggest launch I've been to. It was at an eb games inside of a mall and there had to been 500 people in line.

I'm in NYC, we do 9pm launches.

The last time that i went to a midnight release event that was fun and hyped was Modern Warfare 3. GameStop had pizza giving out free mw3 items like hats posters. They even let us play mw3 1vs1 before 12am.

Here in Iowa they do 9PMs they don't do Midnights anymore. Great vid Fanta

I pick up the grand majority of my games digitally and I can start playing at 12 thanks to preloading.

You speak of midnight releases with a passion. I remember they were fun. I remember a midnight launch for Aliens Colonial Marines which was actually a midnight launch of a sports game like NBA 2k or Madden (i can't remember which) . But my Gamestop let me in at midnight so I could get Aliens Colonial Marines( I was the only one there for that game ). Even thou the game turned out to be less then spectacular the experience was one to remember.

I'd personally really like to see more videos of you (and Eric where applicable, of course) talking about individual specific game titles. Things like, say, the two of you giving your thoughts on Animal Crossing 2019 when it comes out because you both like Animal Crossing or doing a video on a platformer or shooter you enjoyed growing up and your extensive thoughts on it, for example. Not really asking for reviews per say or for new or popular games to be the ones covered as much as I think pieces on your thoughts towards different games you personally might have a lot to say about would be cool.

Going to a midnight launch now and days is lame they're not like they used to be. I remember I convince a group of my friends to wait for Black Ops 2 with me outside and they convince their parents to give them the day off before hand bro we had two coolers filled with Mountain Dews (including Dark Berry), 3 extra large pizzas delivered to us, 5 bags of Doritos, a 22 inch TV, a Xbox 360, the whole Squad got black custom hoodies with the Black Ops 2 logo on the front and our gamertags and KD ratio & stats on the back, and a generator with a hotspot. Bro the line was at least three blocks long and we were the first people to get online play zombies and multiplayer and flying are drones in the parking lot while people are still picking up the game! Best Day Ever better than my prom night💯

i was surprised to see so many people at call of duty modern warfare 2 launch. it was my first time back on the FPS scene, since the medal of honor series on the original PS1. i've heard of call of duty back then, but i stayed true to the medal of honor franchise. yes, i skipped modern warfare 1 and all the call of duty preceding it, but eventually, one day, i'll go back to it.

Faquin love this channel!

When assassin creed 3 came out, they had a professional cake it was fucking awesome, were having a smash tournament for ultimate. When world of warcraft came out, we had a line from the mall to the parking lot. Damn times have changed

The last great midnight release i experienced was MW3 at best buy. Popcorn, random movie in one corner and a tournament in Black ops 1. The winner got a copy of MW3 for free.

It has been years since I have been to a midnight release. I no longer have the patience for taking time off work just to attend the midnight launch, waiting in line, and driving back home only to be too tired to play the game. Now I just pre-order my games online and have them shipped to my home.

"Why don't midnight launches do as well anymore?" You answered your own question when you brought up the two hour install with Red Dead. I'd peg it on digital 's Lea and those ridiculous installs. If you're REALLY hyped for a game, why not buy it digitally and have it pre-installed and ready to go *at* midnight? Fuck, I bought and pre-installed Smash yesterday. That game is a month out, but I am READY.

Great vid , makes me want to watch the first midnight release video again .

Gameplay commentary, but instead of in a "lets play" fashion, more of a "this is what's wrong with this game/i love this about this game"

I feel what your saying. I was working at bestbuy for the launch of the ps4 and xbox one system. Wish i can post a picture. We had a table out for can soda. For each person to have when hanging out inside. I made the PS4 system with the soda..we had movies playing so time went buy and we had cornhole in the store. Def a fun event to be. Now they dont do that anymore at the store i worked at only 1 store does our of 5 in a 30 mile radius. Sure do miss those times to hang out.

My local GameStop Gad a great midnight launch for super smash bros but was kinda of disappointed that wasn’t informed about it when I preorder my game.

East coast btw my gamestop stopped midnight launches maybe a year ago and so now we do the early release thing at 9pm. I didn't go to the one for rdr2 (don't wanna give gamestop money) but from what I heard the turnout was great. The line apparently wrapped around the buildings and everything.

I love gamestop Launch events as an Costumer. However the last midnight launch event that my gamestop did have was Halo 3. And it was epic! Gamestop(,Ebgames back then) put so much effort into it. 1.Halo 1 local matches 2.Costplay 3.Free Gamestop junk( Bag with Halo sticker, Shirt, and one lucky guy would get Crackdown) 4.pingis 5.Free mountain dew and dorito 6.Playing ds outside with other ds owner, until Gamestop open. 7.Halo stuff all around the store to see (Most likely an staff Halo collection on display) 8.Halo tunes 9.And just hanging around with Halo fans. 10.They even changed the lightning so it was Green. I just wish i hade an video recorder.

I remember going to Madden midnight launches and I think Halo Reach. Maybe a Battlefield as well. The novelty has worn off and honestly even back then I would go get the game, get home at about 12:30 and play for about an hour and go to sleep. It wasn't really worth it. That fact combined with the invention of digital releases really make midnight launches irrelevant. To be honest, even when I got my Switch, I waited until the next day instead of dealing with the crowd at midnight. Just a bit more practical now. I do look back at the midnight launches as being fun, but would never do it now.

I ougha go to my local gamestop for the midnight release of Smash Bros Ultimate.

midnight launch for wow burning crusade was awesome

I went to one midnight launch in early college with a friend... I honestly cant remember which game it was for. But we went and stayed all night and there were raffles and contests and stuff, it was a pretty big deal, whatever game it was. That had to be like 5 years ago. This year, I preordered Spider-Man because I wanted to play it early. 9PM launch, just a line outside that let you walk to the back, give them your receipt, and walk out with your stuff. Pretty wild how different it is now.

I agree with you, Fanta. I miss those midnight launches when they were very creative and exciting to go to. I remember first attending the Smash Bros. Brawl midnight launch at GameStop and seeing a huge line of people waiting for the game. It was cool because some of us brought our DSs and played Mario Kart to pass the time, and later, inside the store, they had a Brawl tournament already set up for people trying out the game for the first time. It was pretty neat. Nowadays, places like GameStop have nothing special to offer to hype up midnight launches anymore. Now that games can be bought digitally, there seems to be no point. A fun and memorable midnight launch is kind of difficult to explain to someone who hasn’t attended one. Sometimes, you just had to be there.

Only Time The GS I Frequent Did Anything For Early Release Was When EAs Battlefront 1 Came Out They Had A Buffalo Wild Wings Next Door Catering A Projector Playing Clips From The Original 6 Movies And Force Awakens Trailers Even Had Some Storm Troopers Show Up Haha Never Seen That GS Do Anything Like That Since Then And It Was A Pretty Good Turn Out I Thought

Damn, bro. Didn't realize you blew up so much. I think u had like 4 videos up when I was like what the hell I'll subscribe to this kids channel.

They should release the physical copy a few days before the digital version; maybe that would shore up the early release crowd and get GameStop more business.

I remember those nights where I’d sneak out of home just to go to a midnight release on a school night and just spending time gaming and calling in from school, shit was so cash miss the midnight events

Ideas for another GameStop Video: Perhaps digital sales profit margins vs new physical copies. I wonder If Gamestop makes more, less or the same with digital "pre orders vs physical pre-orders. Also I talked to a GameStop employee recently and asked how much profit do they make off a 1 year xbox live subscription , and he stated they make a certain percentage( with hesitation). I know it is very random, but if you have any insight that would be a cool video.

The last midnight release I went to was for black ops two. Amazing.

I can only remember attending 2 midnight releases. WoW: The Burning Crusade, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For WoW, it was a crazy line, but no actual event. Brawl on the other hand, had a tournament, and I was so hyped for it.

The only midnight release I've ever been to was dark souls 3 and there were only like 6 people there and the game stop just shoved our games in our hands and everyone left, and I never went to a midnight release again

You should do an opinion piece on Net-Neutrality - thing that is great about you & Eric is you guys keep it Real!

I was there for the Halo 5 midnight launch at BestBuy

Midnight launches became irrelevant when digital preordering lets you play the game right at midnight, you're right midnight launches were so much fun and you would meet alot of cool people with the same interests as you, but now i dont even go to them anymore, right at 12:01 i had RDR 2 already installed and fired it up and played it for 4 hours in the comfort of my own home, not having to worry about lines or nothing.

Last time I went to a midnight release I went first to the wrong store because I guess I didn't know how it worked didn't know that I had to return to the same store I pre-ordered it in thought GameStop is all connected but that first store had a live band in a bunch of people outside and all kinds of craziness

I don't much bother with video games anymore as I'm from the generation where you buy a game, put the game in the console and play the game. Now, it's do all the steps but insert one - a 2hr install time and most times if you don't have Wi-Fi you can't even play the game on your system. This is why I will never game on a PS4 or XBOX one - ever again. I'll just stick with a PS3. I'm happy with that. Now, you want my help - you got it. Keep doing what you're doing. I remember watching you in front of a green screen looking like you were drinking outside of a Wal-Mart or inside of a GameStop. It was hilarious. Keep doing the Tales From Retail and maybe start taking User Submitted stories about other stores. I'd love to see you do more opinionated pieces and vlogs as well. Look. I'm in it for the long haul here. You're entertaining and awesome and I definitely love Eric. He's a stand up guy and hilarious. I'll never stop watching FantaVision. Literal and visual gold, your channel is kid. You're a hit! Now, I need a strong medicinal cannabis cigarette to moderate the sufferings of a dying body. Stay healthy and stay away from vaccines with Squaline as the adjunct booster. Squaline is killing me. Crippling me. Stick with your aluminum or mercury adjunct booster based vaccines!

One thing that keeps me from clicking on videos, even ones - especially ones- that I'm interested in, is the run-time. Sometimes I don't want to invest the 20+minutes.

Best Buy near me does midnight releases for big games. I went to the Super Mario Odyssey launch last year and it had a pretty huge turnout.

My first and last midnight launch was years ago. There was only about six people there. I was expecting more excitement.

The greatest midnight release I have been to was for grand theft auto V. There was over 150 people lined up. Most people I have seen at a midnight release

Gamers now have been let down so much that most of us wait now. 👎👎👎👎👎👎👎 no digital over here

I just had my game stop do a dragon ball fighters tournament before the release

You should make a video on times you screwed over a customer, like for example maybe just sold a customer the old call of duty because you weren't having a good day or something