Play War Thunder now with my link, and get a massive, free bonus pack including vehicles, boosters and more: playwt.link/theactman24 Video game Midnight Releases are a thing of the past, sadly. But why did they die out? And what was so AWESOME about them? Today, I'll be answering those very questions! Great timing since Black Ops 6 just came out too...
Um....hi. So I'm the person who worked at the Waynesville, NC GameStop who posted the "military operation" midnight release video. I'm happy to chat whenever and try to remember as many details of how we pulled this off as possible. Still getting over your reaction to my video, lmao.
The coolest thing my mom ever did was stay outside of a non-24 hour Walmart with me for the release of the Xbox 360. Our store only had 9 360s and so a bunch of guys and my 15 year old self stayed out in the freezing cold. My mom slept in the car and was absolutely amazing. She brought us hot cocoa until the store opened at 7am. Seriously brings me to tears how blessed with an awesome mom I am :)
This video made me very emotional, even teared up a little. Long story but I love this one. I remember back in 2006, the day before the Wii was released, me and neighbor were looking for a store, any store, to have preorders or midnight releases or anything for the Wii. Everyone knows at this point the Wii was one of the most sought-after videogame consoles in history; you could not find one the first months of release let alone that near holiday season. We were very young at the time so we depended on our parents to take us to stores to look for games because we couldn’t drive, so we weren’t very confident about finding any store to still have Wii’s available. We were close to giving up, and one of our last places to look was a Target store. We went in and asked the people in the videogame department if they still had Wii’s up to preorder. The clerk said no. We felt disappointed but after that the employee said that they weren’t taking up preorders, it was a first come first serve basis. We asked if this meant they were planning to have a midnight release and they said no; if I remember correctly, they told us that store didn’t do midnight releases, but they would be selling them as soon as the store opened, as any other store would. We thought we might as well ask them if it would be cool if we stayed outside the store, waiting for the store to open the next day (as a kind of first in the morning release) and they said that it was fine. We couldn’t believe it; this was our chance. We didn’t plan for this, so we went running looking for our moms (who were shopping for other things at the time) and explained to them the situation. My neighbor’s mom wasn’t convinced to let her kid stay up all night outside the store, but my mom persuaded her (thank you, mom). With our parents’ permission we went outside and stood beside the main entrance of the store. The thing was, it wasn’t even near closing hours; it was like, 4pm. So we just stood there, waiting. We didn’t bring anything: no chairs, no blankets, no entertainment. We simply were not prepared for this, but we waited, just talking with each other. Our moms went back home, hours later coming back with blankets, folding chairs and our Nintendo DS’. They stayed with us until nightfall, after that they returned home. During all this time, people would approach us and ask if, by any change, this was a line for the Nintendo Wii. We explained how things were and after going inside to confirm it for themselves, they would line up with us outside the store, eventually reaching a length that made it obvious to bystanders’ people were waiting for something. Some people even asked what the line was for and made the decision right there and then to also wait in line. Hours went by, more people started to arrive. Some people brought snacks, coolers, even tents. The place got lively. We had Mario Kart DS matched between strangers (everyone was trying to beat this guy named “Yunke”, that guy was amazing at the game), we didn’t who among the people were the players, but it didn’t matter, we all had the same objective. Later that night our mom’s came back and brought us food (thank you, mom); talked to us a bit, made sure we were covered from the cold and then left again. Around 8 or 9 pm, staff told us that for security reasons we couldn’t stay where we were waiting, and we all went to stay on the sidewalk. People would drive by and shout to ask the PS3 was better, and that Nintendo sucked. All good fun. Morning came, people were arriving to open the store at 7am. Most of us didn’t sleep. A manager came to us to explain the rules of how the selling would go. Each of us were handled a number. I will never forget the excitement, I was first in line, my ticked read: Wii No. 001. The store opened and we were giving access in groups of three. All the lights are off, the store empty, save for the cleaning personnel and the people of thew video game department, silence except for the sound of our breathing and our shoes against the tiles. I got there, got my Wii, picked up three games (I was saving for this), got a special Target Wii card that lighted up (blue, of course), paid and went back to the exit. After exiting, blinded by the sunlight, I was greeted by a tremendous cheer and applause from the people in line. By reflex, took the Wii box between my arms and held it high, triumphantly. My mom arrived earlier and was already waiting for us in the car in front of the store (thank you, mom) like we were celebrities. After entering the car, I felt relieved, the exhaustion getting to me, warmed by the morning sun after a long night outside. But I didn’t sleep, so I went directly to a friend’s house and gamed for hours. This is still one of my cherish and vivid memories as a gamer. Years after that, a little bit older, I continued to go to midnight releases, even for games I wasn’t going to buy, just to hang out with my friends who were actually buying them. I treasure those memories. Arriving late to game all night, going for late night fast food just before midnight. Those days aren’t coming back. The last midnight release I went for was for Smash Bros Ultimate and it was very packed all things considered. Thank you for reading. Hoping you all had amazing experiences in midnight releases.
Born too late to experience midnight releases, born just in time to see predatory microtransactions & gacha mechanics implemented in almost every games.
What a shame that we missed out on all midnight releases because we were born too late 😢 But making memories with friends playing bo3 zombies and other games is worth missing out on those releases.
I will never forget the moment i had showing up to destiny 1 midnight release cause it was labeled as the last game launch for the area and bungie devs gave me a signed poster. These moments were unmatched
@@heramaaroricon4738 That was the case for when I went to the "midnight" release for Halo Infinite, except it was just me and I had to wait until 10 a.m. to get my copy.
For my destiny 1 midnight release I remember walking several miles because I had nobody willing to give me a ride. I then walked home, and didn't get to play the game until 2-3am. Played it for like 2 hours and woke up and went to school. That day was miserable but everyone being hyped to play got us through the day and we played late that evening until we had to go to bed for the next day of school.
I quit my shitty construction job and went to the midnight release for Wrath of the Lich King. Had a great time hanging out with other players then went home and met my future wife in game that night. Been together since 09.
I remember I went to the midnight release of RDR2 at a game stop in my hometown once, was 4 hours early and no one else was there until a small line started to form outside, the employees took me to the front and said" this guys been here for 4 hours, he's going first" before ushering me infront of everyone. Never felt so special
Since I worked at GameStop for a few years, I knew the manager of one nearby. Whenever a big release worthy of a midnight launch came around, I’d show up 2+ hours early, bribe him with a Wendy’s chicken sandwich, hang out and chat until one day rolled into the next and then walk out with my shiny new game before anyone else. I got my fair share of death glares from people who realized I had essentially cut the entire line, especially when it was a Call of Duty launch 😅
Yeah man I went to the midnight release of black ops 1 and got the collectors edition which was sold out super early in our area at the time, I think it was the version with the remote control car or whatever and everyone was booing me and cussing me as I walked out with it I was so confused lol
I’m 36 going on 37. The day was Tuesday, November 9th, the year of our lord 2004. I was 16 at the time. My best friend, older brother (RIP), and I all walked a round trip of 6 miles to the nearest GameStop in freezing weather to wait hrs in the cold for Halo 2. What a time to be alive. We got the edition that came in a metal case and stayed up all night playing it. School was hell the next day but man what a memory. The lines were out the door and around the corner. There was a guy in a Master Chief costume and people showing off their phones that could play a shit version of Halo theme as a ring tone. We all raged when the clock struck 12. It’s one of the fondest gaming memories I have with my brother, sadly he passed way 9 years later at a very young age.
II was 10, my mom went to that midnight release and surprised me with the game the next moring. She went wth my older brother was in the miltary at the time and was the one that orginally started me on halo
I used to manage a GameStop and can honestly say that planning and decorating for the midnight releases was the best part. The excitement was so intoxicating even if I didn’t personally care about the game, and being surrounded by happy nerds was awesome.
As a customer…thank you badasses for making the most memorable nights for us. You guys were the heroes of those nights and I loved each and everyone of you employees. I always spoke with them, asked for input and thoughts and opinions. I never left disappointed. lol
The end of the video actually brought a few tears to my eyes. That's one of the feelings I'm talking about when I say something like "the good old days of video games". That feeling you had when you went to the store to buy a new game. Simply indescribable. Thank you for the video, it brought back some really nice memories that had been lost for far too long.
I’ll never forget the time I went to pick up Skyrim at GameStop. I showed up 6 hours early, I was second in line, the first guy was this big nerdy dude dressed up in full gear as a Viking, double axe in hand and everything. He was so happy to be getting Skyrim. He told me no matter what happens, he is going to play one character in the game and never make a new one. I always wonder if he stuck to that promise.
Skyrim came out when I was in the military, and I didn't know beforehand that they gave out Skyrim themed challenge coins at the midnight release on base. I still have it to this day as a cherished memory.
There is literally a newspaper photo of me and my best friend waiting at our local mall (where GameStop was) for the midnight release of Halo 3. They literally JUST kept the mall open for this event. Oh, and I got the Legendary edition with the helmet too. Those were the days.
My mom would later be diagnosed with BPD and NPD but on the launch night of PS2 we were still friends, and it was magical. There are few things from my past that I wish I could experience again but that night waiting all night with my mom to get Tekken Tag Tournament is a night I'll never forget. We were still friends. Rest in peace mom, and thanks for staying up for your kid even though you had to work the next day.
OK I have a midnight release story you guys might like. September 21st 2009, about an hour before Halo 3: ODST was released. I was hanging out with my buddies Mac and Jake. Mac wanted to to sell off his old Madden game and pick up the new one so we go to the mall. We arrive the mall is closed and there is a huge line outside. Dozens of people waiting to play ODST as soon as it comes out. We cut the line and go up to the mall cop guarding the door he says "Sorry can't let you in until midnight" we tell him we're not here for the midnight release we're here to trade a game. He let's us in. Mac trades the game in. They put it in a GameStop bag. We leave but as we're walking past the line to the parking lot Mac holds up the bag containing the Madden game and shouts... "FIRST COPY OF ODST RIGHT HERE!" The crowd cheers, some even begin asking the mall cop if they can come in now. (45 minutes from midnight) We go to Mac's place. We find that the GameStop employee accidentally put a Play Station copy in the case instead of a Xbox 360 one. We return to the mall and inform the mall cop of the mistake, he let's us in again. Mind you it's 30 minutes to midnight. GameStop employees fix the mistake and apologize for the inconvenience. Jake comes up with a genius idea on the spot and says "To make up for it could you let us buy Halo ODST now and save us the third trip here?" They let us. We walk out of the mall past the midnight release line again. Mac pulls out the copy of ODST and shouts "I BOUGHT IT AGAINNNNNN!" The crowd boos this time. They start grumbling to each other about how we bought it twice already while they're stuck out in the cold. They lay siege to the poor mall cop. (He still didn't let them in until midnight) And that's the story of how me and my friends got to play Halo 3: ODST a full 20 minutes before everyone else in the western United States. It was an awesome night.
The game was tested and played through it's entirety months before you touched it so not so much a flex as it is sad you stayed up to pick up a game that was the only boring one bungie made. 💪🏻🤡
That's definitely a reason why we don't have releases like these anymore. Games just aren't as good as they use to be. we still have great games that drop now but nothing like before. A lot of companies just don't give us any reason to be hyped
I have a story to share. A story very deep to me. It was Midnight Release of Halo Reach. Never have I been to a midnight release before however knowing this was Bungie's last Hoorah (which we all know was that now) , I convinced my mom to take me to the Midnight Release. She did not know what was going on, hell, she didn't even know what the hell Halo was, but she knew my excitement was through the roof. When we arrived to my surprise she was probably the only mom with me in line. That's right. She waited with me throughout the entire line...even though she had work at 5AM. I would see other kids excitingly holding their legendary editions while I stared in envy since I only got the standard edition disc. When I finally got my copy I came home, pulled an all nighter and played Reach until morning. The next morning I pretended to go to school, through my backpack right over my gate and snuck back inside my house to continue playing reach non stop. Looking back now my mom didn't have to do that but I'm glad she did. Because its a moment I surprisingly look back forever on. RIP mom. You truly were the best and did the best you ever could for a 15 year old Spartan
I still remember showing up to my local EB Games for the midnight release of Black Ops II and while I didn’t get anything cool like that awesome Master Chief helmet, the memories will never be forgotten
“You just had to be there.” I was. Last game release I went to was GTA V. I was with my friend, who has since passed away. I didn’t even buy the game. I was just there to be there and have fun. I was smoking devils lettuce behind the game stop while he went and bought the game haha. Then we came back to his house and we all hung out until 3 am that night.That will always be a fond memory of mine. I miss my friend…and I miss how it used to be..
Damn brother thats a such a bittersweet story you just shared. Just remember he’s always with you still in your heart and looking down. You two will meet again one day ❤️
@@Someone-sc2hk I know…I have to stop myself sometimes because I find myself stuck in the past, and think that everything is as it was back then and the honest truth is that it’s not.
Went to the Halo 5 midnight release in 2015. The plot twist is, me and the boys were there to actually pick up our copies of WWE 2K16 with Stone Cold Steve Austin on the cover, which was releasing the same day. We were first in line. Everyone behind us as we walked out screamed "They've got it! They've got it!" We then flashed our WWE games and they were incredibly confused. Great stuff. Miss the golden days of midnight releases.
The last ever midnight launch I went to was for Destiny 1. My sister took me and they gave out free bracelets and shirts and I also walked out with one of the only Ghost Editions that was pre ordered. Yes I still have all the free merch and I still have my ghost whom I named Opie lol A fun/interesting fact about the shirts is that, my sister and I tried to get a medium but the guy at the store looked at me funny and said “yeah dude, we only have large and up.” Neither of us ever forgot that and every so often we joke about it.
That’s amazing bro… destiny 1 shaped my teenage years. Despite all the bad press about the game it still to this day is my favorite game because of the thousands of hours I’ve dunked into it and the memories I’ve made/ ppl I’ve met because of it…
@@drdouchenozzle3556I really hope you reply to this because destiny was my entire middle school. I met people I still talk to today on it and I still talk about it to my finance. I love that game so much and I played a lot of destiny 2 but destiny 1 will always hold a special place in my heart
I went to the midnight release of "Watch dogs" here in Cardiff, Wales, UK. I remember they switched all the lights off suddenly, and all the watch dog symbols appeared on the TV's and a hackers voice came through saying the building was hacked. Was a nice touch.
September 13, 2010 - I was 11 years old. 5 days before my birthday. My father, the GOAT knew how badly I wanted halo reach. He told me I couldn't stay up, told me there was no way I was going to go to game stop at midnight. 2AM he walks into my room with a copy of Halo Reach. He let me play it all morning as long as I went to school (I totally slept through all my classes.) He told me how he stood in line with a bunch of nerds (jokingly cause while he didnt play many games he was in IT at the time). He told me how there were 4 dudes and a girl in large coloured armour talking to people and taking photos, and how they looked really cool with prop weapons. He felt bad because he wanted it to be a surprise for me for my birthday and had no idea how big of an event it was going to be, and had wished he took me. Needless to say, I live through that moment through his story of the midnight release. I was the only one of my friends that day at school that had played it and I told them little tid bits about how amazing it was. They all had a copy by 7pm that night LOL Good times.
I remember my 2 older brothers and I have saved up our allowances to buy the collectors edition and our dad took us to get it at the midnight release of reach…. Such a memorable time and memory I get to share with them
Oh man. You're just five days older than me. Wish I got to have such experiences like a lot of people in this comment section. Was never able to, though. Would've been cool, for sure.
I love my mom and dad (rest in peace dad). They took me to all midnight releases I wanted to go .. and they would let me skip school the next day. Halo 3 was definitely memorable. Getting that limited release helmet. Gears 3 statue. All of that lead me to get a job at Game Crazy one day. I miss being young.
My uncle recently passed away he took me alot of mid night releases 10 years ago we went to waw mw2 mw3 and bo3 midnight releases he has all the special additions they were sent too me 2 weeks ago so I get to put all those special additions up on my shelf and remember the good times
Midnight releases are interesting to go back and watch vlogs of. No one was glued to their cell phones everyone was socializing. We didnt know we were living in the best era of gaming and entertainment in general. Graphic progression and story progression went together beautifully.
Btw this guy means like 2011 for Skyrim when smart phones existed already, I had a friend who played 8 hours straight before coming back to school and passing out in 3 period Beforehand it was a given
@@hcook1023 My buddy and I were in college, we had mandatory kitchen duty the next day at 7am for getting caught drinking in the dorms. We got maybe an hour of sleep that night. Idk how we managed to get through the shift, it was an absolute fever dream. It was the absolute best of times.
before :Early 2000s Midnight Release: The hype, the anticipation, the lines around the block. Now :2024 Midnight Release: Wait 2 seconds for it to unlock on your phone and fall asleep halfway through
I feel G4 was also a big part It's one thing to experience it at your local GameStop but another to see on G4 the giant events going on that makes you a part of something epic
My uncle brought me (I was 8 at that time and he was babysitting me since my parents had to work overnight at their jobs) along to stand in line for hours to get Halo 3 Limited Edition, I remember how he and his friends were talking about how the campaign would playout and how they (my uncle's friends) will play the multiplayer all night long together at my uncle's place. I was hype even though I had nothing to gain, to experience something like that was awesome. . . This uncle of mine was also the reason why the started playing games, sadly he passed away in a terrible car accident. Rest In Peace Uncle David you really were a cool uncle.
MW3 I dressed as a blue crayon Halloween costume and was shocked when I wasn’t the only crayon in line. We had damn near a rainbow of colors. We all chatted and exchanged gamer tags. We later started a game battles team that was named after crayola colors. Man What a fucking time
Don't forget, you can make your own UA-cam video about your favorite release too, especially if you have footage. It doesn't just have to be in the comments section.
The Gamestop I used to shop at was having a Midnight Release for Halo 2. But, I was currently working a late shift at my job. No pre-orders were allowed, it was first come, first serve. I knew if I didn't get there early, the line would be WAY too long and all of the copies would be sold. So, my Mom stepped up. She grabbed her gameboy and Pokemon game and sat in front of the store (rather, the extra room rented out for this event at the mall). She saved me the 4 spot on line all afternoon and evening. Thanks to that, I was able to get my copy and I made sure to treat her to a nice dinner the next day.
I was 13 when GTA 5 came out. I hadn’t even really mentioned it to my mum that I wanted the game. She woke me up at 6am, handed me the game, and told me that she is going to call school and tell them I’m “ill”. 😎 thanks mum
Thats the sweetest thing ever, my parents never in a million years would do that. I had to go even when i was sick, never did anything nice. You better call her!
Dang! My mom would definitely surprise me like that. But idk about going out of her way to call the school for me to play a video game hahah. That's cool though bro.
11-11-11 I was a senior in high school doing some ROTC competition. We had the option to stay the night at the school in sleeping bags, but I had other plans. We finished around 9:30PM which gave me enough time to drive 30 mins to Gamestop and wait two hours with my friends and strangers just chatting about what we were going to do in the game. Finally after 2 1/2 hours, I was the proud owner of Elder Scrolls 5: Skryim. I rushed home and played from 1AM-3AM, barely making it to Whiterun. Then, begrudgingly, slept for 3 hours before heading back to the ROTC comp. An era gone but not forgotten. Thanks for the video, Act Man.
When I got Skyrim on release day I had a buddy wanting to come over but I told him Id be only gaming, not doing anything else. He watched me and got Skyrim himself the next week.
It's 11/11/11. Me and da boys pull up in my 2007 Ford focus to the game stop. My iPod classic is hooked up to those old radio station broadcasters blarring the Skyrim song on full blast. There were quizzes prizes a mini pot luck. Met a guy with a chainmail tie. Ran into like 5 buddies at Walmart after getting snacks. My folks were teachers and "borrowed" a projector for us to play it on.Good times
@@CheesyRatPan yeah but most people have the digital consoles instead of the disc drive ones, but GTA 6 has me considering buying a ps5 with a disc drive
Last night I was at work on my lunch break and I work right next to a GameStop, and I saw a huge line of gamers waiting for the release of black ops 6. Haven’t seen a line like that for a game in a while… made me really happy to see
When COD Ghosts was coming out a manager at my local GameStop asked me and my airsoft team to come to the midnight release in full costume to be "security". It was a blast.
The most memorable midnight launch I ever went too was Destiny 1. And this is a bittersweet story. After Bungie was done with Halo I was extremely excited to see their next project because c'mon it was Bungie. I met a dude there who also played on PS3 and we exchanged usernames and he only lived 20 minutes from me so we'd go to his house and hook up our ps3s for some multiplayer action. I was 15 at the time and he was 16. We sat in line for hours waiting to get our hands on our copies of the game and talked the entire time about our love of gaming and all the different games we played and the funny stories that go with them. We played all the way until the end of The Taken King... I got a phone call from his mother, I was now 17, she told me through the tears that he was dead... The night before he drank so much that he died from alcohol poisoning. They found him surrounded by moonshine bottles (the legal ones from East TN). This guy became my best friend, and he was gone before he could see Rise of Iron. The clan me and him formed in Destiny held an in game gathering to honor him. This year after The Final Shape wrapped up, I'm now 25 and married, and I went and got my tattoo of a Ghost. The artist asked me why I was getting a ghost since they where a jaded destiny fan, and I told her the story and she had to take a break to cry. Yeah, the games might not be great all the time, but the community, the passion, the love, that made it all worth it. Midnight releases are where I found many of my best friends, some of which I still talk to and see to this day. Those memories, good, or bad. Are what made midnight launches so special.
The Great Journey waits for no one. When we are called, we must answer. Your friend didn’t die. He had to answer another call to save another universe/galaxy/world. He is living our dreams.
I'll admit, at the end with all the archived footage...I got a little misty eyed. I miss those days, but maybe Act Man is right, some memories are better left untouched and you just had to be there. One of his best videos yet. Thank you for the reminder of the good ol' times Act Man. I think some of us needed this more than you know.
My favourite midnight launch memory was Smash bros ultimate. There mustve been about 300 people queuing outside the shop, when this 40 something year old woman in high heels and the shortest skirt ive ever seen walks past us calling us all virgins. I shouted out 'jesus christ can you imagine if that was your mum??' Almost everyone laughed and the look of defeat on this womans face i will never forget. Ahhh good times, the game was great as well...
Same here. 2006 baby and I missed out on those midnight releases. All I have left are the stories my older brother left me with. He and a couple of his friends went to the midnight releases for MW and Black Ops. He told me how they would all hang out in his and a friend’s car (there were 6 of them) because of the below zero temperatures.
I was born in 99 but my area didn't really have much of a midnight launch scene, those times are still so nostalgic for me, hearing about it on the news and reading about it online. Almost felt like I was still there. Watching the clips that I watched back then brought a tear to my eye. Fuck man I miss those days.
This is gonna sound weird but I never really gamed for the community. I gamed to be immersed in a solo experience and playdates while keeping TF2 at an arms length. It went from meh to shit with LoL for me. We are now looking at the community in 2000s culture as scratch a socializing gamer, get a xenophobic bigot type thing 17:20. So it's hard for me to heap praise on this era because of something that in the end was technology-deep.
I remember when Halo 3 was coming out, people were so excited for it that they actually set up tents and camped outside the mall until it released. We'll never see that kind of hype again.
Didn't have a job at the time so I had to rent it from blockbuster multiple times until my birthday where my buddies got fed up and just all pitched in 10 bucks each so I could just buy it lol
Here from asmonbald channel. Friend of mine went to a couple midnight releases. But I'll say... I know a guy that uh... knew a guy... during this era that could mod a 360 to run bootleg burns. They didn't have to do a lot of them. The ones that were important to them, they went to. If the game was really good on the burned version, they bought it to support the dev. That was the golden era. They think about those times often and they really miss them. RIP that generation of real release hype gaming. They'll never forget you.
I work at GameStop and last night was the midnight release for Black Ops 6 and I gotta say, it made me kinda wanna cry because of how dead it was.. literally only two people came in and got their copy despite us having over 30+ pre-orders. All I can hope is that GTA VI has a massive release.
man….Honestly last night brought me to tears. I remember so vividly the release of black ops 2, i went with my cousin. And it was, it felt like a movie. And last night felt so empty, it felt desolate. I downloaded the game early, i booted it up, and the magic wasn’t there. I miss that tangible feeling, that physical disk.
GameStop needs to advertise it more! I legit have thought that GameStop stopped doing them years ago. I went to sooo many and it was always a bunch of fun
@@EndyTheArtist I wish they did too. They announce it far too late and don’t make it big. The last big one I’ve worked was Tears of the Kingdom and we had well over 100 people come in
@@Raz0r.0115 i think the last midnight release was for titanfall 2(?) because ever since then, my local GameStops just.. never said a damn thing to me or to virtually anyone about a midnight release.
This is what I missed the most about places like GameStop or even Best Buy was midnight launches, and the camaraderie you made friends with a lot of people you even exchange gamer tag a couple times that night
Today act man your video brought a tear to my eye. Just because it will never be the same. I was never at midnight release but I worked for my dad who was a private landscaper in Florida at the time. And I worked with him for a whole summer just so I could buy a Xbox one day one. I had a wrestling competition that day and received a concussion that day. Unbeknownst to me that my dad had picked up my pre order from Xbox and had it waiting for me at home. And I remember my mom and dad and my little brother in my room watching me set it up, boot it up, and launch killer instinct. I held on to that Xbox till the day it bricked. I continued to keep the controller till I ended up homeless. I miss that time in my life.
the greated era of video games. 2-3 of the best generations of consoles and their respective games. entire genres came to be and disappeared after. an era not likely to soon be repeated, where people that loved games and playing games, made games. where 5-7 guys in a basement defined a weekend of interconnected consoles and TVs that dominated a room. constant alagations of screen peaking and controller mods, or host privilege as to why the party should rotate around the room. Truely the good old days. here is looking in hope for some good new ones...
Bygone era. We’re now the crusty old guys reminiscing about how much fun we had suffering for something we loved, while these young whippersnappers bitch about waiting 10 minutes for CoD 69 to download. I’ve been to so many midnight releases. Used to love hanging out in line for hours with the boys. CoD was an annual staple. MW, MW2, World at War, and Black Ops are the ones I remember. I was there for Gears, Fallout 3, ODST, Reach, and Skyrim. They were all a good time. But man, that Halo 3 midnight release hit different. Everybody was pumped and the tension was palpable, but I don’t think there was a single asshole there that night. Nobody was trying to jump in line, strangers allowed their line neighbors to take a piss and come back without bitching about it, dude in front of me even took a few donations and hit the drive thru to bring everybody back 100 dollar menu cheeseburgers and handed them out to the first 100 people in line with us. Somebody there was parked next to the sidewalk and had the Halo 2 OST playing on repeat. A couple dudes were dressed as Chief, and one of them was with a chick cosplaying Cortana wearing a bikini and blue body paint. Core memory man.
Modern Warfare 2, I remember being in the pub with my dad by his house. Gamestation was on my walk home, so I got there at midnight drunk. By time I got home I was starting to get a hangover 🤣
Same. I wish a was born just a few years earlier. I was born in 2004 so by the time I was old enough to really start playing games I had already missed the Golden Age. My first real online experience was Halo 4, When I was like 5 - 9 I remember my dad hosting xbox nights for all the old Halo games. I was too young to play them but I remember how exciting it was just to watch when running between both rooms during the lan party. My first game I bought on launch day was Halo 5 and even though I had never experienced a release before like that, I knew it was just wrong. The excitement just wasn't there and just like Actman said, the game didn't even have split screen to enjoy with your friends in person.
man that sucks, lan parties and social gaming events were so fun, I remember drinking monster and being up all night with my friends with linked xboxes and a ps2. Screwing around on chatrooms and messing with wooden katanas lol
And this is why we as gamers need to reject AAA(A) and embrace indie, they will only understand one thing, money and when we vote with our wallets, they'd have to take notice, no amount of bitching will make a difference if the money rolls in.
@the Act Man ....... idk if you can hear me but... i didnt need this video..... the last 2 minutes broke and choked me up. Probably the best video youve ever made. thank you.
I went to the midnight release of modern warfare 2 at a Gamecrazy store. They had a game truck where we got to play the game a few hours before release. I’ll never forget that when our match started someone yelled out “NOOB TUBE”! and everyone laughed. I won 3rd place on a mini tournament and was given a $5 gift card which for the store. I used it to get $5 off the game. As soon as midnight arrived, the line was pretty long to buy but everyone left after buying to go home and play the game. I really do miss midnight releases. But life is very different now as I have a family to take care of. So even if they were still around I wouldn’t be able to go. I can’t remember the last time I stayed up past 10pm.
One of my favorite gaming memories was going to a midnight Halo 2 release at Best Buy, getting the game, and then four of us hanging out in my basement playing co-op all night. My Dad woke up for work and starts getting ready and sees us all in the basement playing the game and just laughed at us. There's a fun there that's kinda lost with modern game releases.
Loved this video by you bro. The nostalgia is beautiful and sad at the same time. Miss this so much. Will never forget going to the midnight releases for Halo 3 and Gears
I was the first person to buy the Legendary Edition of Halo 3 at my local Gamestop in the Silver City Galleria! Went with my childhood best friend and my dad. Splitscreen Halo 2 matches were going on, game fuel was a-plenty. Good times. I was only 11 at the time but it's still one of my most vivid memories.
Man... in Poland we had a boom on internet cafe's back in early 2000's. People had only dial-up at home back then - so a place where you could access high speed internet for pennies was a blessing. All the gamers were sitting there and playing StarCraft: Brood War, Quake 3 Arena, Unreal Tournament. They did something called 'night shift' - where you could go for entire night half price. I was like 14yo and I will never forget the vibe of hanging out with mostly older dudes entire night playing my favorite games. Then fast Internet connections become cheap... everyone could play at home so they did... and all of those places quickly died out.
You hit the nail on the head. My first midnight release was the same as yours, Skyrim. Me and 2 friends waited 6 hours outside of a mall, after hours. By the time we got into the mall it was near midnight, line was hundreds long. We walked out with our copies, while the entire lined cheered us as we walked out of the mall. "And then everybody clapped" but for real.
GTA 5 was without a doubt the most wild midnight release I ever experienced. The entire parking lot was filled with pot smoke. Some people brought their low riders to show as we waited. Finally, a man in a green morph suit slapped my friend and ran off into the night. I only hope GTA 6’s midnight release captures a fraction of that same insanity.
I waited 8 hours inside GameStop for the Nintendo Switch. Skipped school to get the the store. Then when I got there. And got in line, some guys saw me sitting inside the GameStop. And asked if I wanted a lawn chair, and if I would be down to play Smash Wii U till midnight hit. One of the best examples of the gaming community being the best community. And getting home and putting breath of the wild in my switch was an amazing experience
I'm sure this wasn't the intention of the video, but god damn im just sad now. I never hang out with my friends like this anymore. We're all too broke and busy and tired to meet up just to fuck around, at an event or otherwise. I can't remember the days very well when it was just a default assumption that part of my day would be spent hanging out with my friends, playing video games, watching movies, etc. Now it's just something that happens a couple time a year at most.
My GameStop for some reason did a midnight release for tears of the kingdom and surprisingly a good amount of people showed up. It really reminded how much fun those events were, I miss them.
Last midnight release I went to was BO3 and I went with my mom and dad. We all stood in line for hours and all 3 of us got a copy! We went home downloaded them, hoped on a party and played til the sun came up. Skipped school and they skipped work to play Cod. That was a core memory
Midnight release of Skyrim, 11/11/11. My Dad took me to the local GameStop, and it was a line all the way down the strip. There were all sorts of people and I was stoked. Doors opened at midnight and people were sprinting to their cars with their copies. I got my copy and opened it on the car ride back, the collectible map inside the game case filled me with wonder about what I was about to discover. I got home and went to bed, waited for everyone to fall asleep, and booted it up in the living room on the 360, as quiet as I could. Loading up the main menu, hearing the epic music and watching the opening sequence was a memory I will never forget. I escaped Helgen and explored Bleak Falls Barrow that night, and no video game has ever come close to the anticipation, excitement, and payoff that Skyrim gave me. I wish I could experience video games the same way I did when I was a kid.
Went to the midnight release of Halo 4 with my team. When we thought 343 saved Halo because of the ZB playlist they put into Reach, we had such high hopes. There was around 500 people waiting. My buddy Jared saw they had 1v1's going on in the Gamestop. He put up $20 and asked if anyone wanted to do any money matches. We were all cringy and wearing shirts with our gamertags on them so people thought we were a big deal. Some guy gave us a business card for his gaming hub, which to my knowledge shut down a few months later. They gave out a few posters to the first 20 people but we missed out on it. MCC midnight release had about 1000 people there. There was nothing handed out but this made the line move faster. We didn't know the game was unplayable because it was the first time we had to download a bunch of shit to play on a console. Thanks Xbone. Waited till 1 for it to install, then waited till 3 to get into a game, and it was 3v1v2v2. 343 did not get enough hate for what they did to Halo with this game's release. I had requested 2 weeks off of work to go down to LA for a Halo 2 tournament but it was cancelled due to the game being unplayable. Was awkward asking work to let me come back early lol. Halo 5 had a working playable 2 week Beta in MCC so it gave me hope to have fun again. This midnight release had less than 20 people, and they didn't even wait until midnight to let us have it. I miss going to get the game and walking out with the actual game. I loved flipping through the booklet that had random shit in it. I miss getting on Halo and talking to my friends, raging at the kid with the kinect bar that had a vacuum going off 10 feet away. Such fucking great times man. I originally made this channel when one dude I played SWAT with in Reach used Bungie tokens to upload his games onto UA-cam. Anytime I had a fun, or stat padded game, I uploaded it. I remember attempting to make monatages having no fucking idea what I was doing, but I didn't care, I was having fun. I'm 34 next week and am happier now than any other point in my life, but god damn do I miss the nights of playing Halo with the homies, especially the ones that I'd go to midnight releases with.
I remember my grandmother, who was an avid Halo: CE player, decided to go into the trenches of the Halo 3 Midnight Release to get me the Halo 3 Legendary Edition and told me some kids looked at her funny, wondering why someone at her age was getting Halo, but in the end, I got Halo 3 LE, managed to skip School to play it all day, and still have it to this day. I've participated in 2-midnight releases with Call of Duty BO2, Halo Reach, and Halo 4. Halo 4's release was rough because some kid stole my iPod (And his friends sold him out to the administrator) in High School earlier that day. Halo Reach was my most insane one. I got Halo Reach's Ultimate Edition with the Noble Team Statue and spent the WHOLE day playing until 8 PM from Midnight.
The Halo music at the end makes me so emotional man. It truly signifies those late nights you spent playing Halo custom games with your friends that you didn't know you were going to grow apart from. The Andy clip really hits hard, especially for those times.
Man. Thank you for this incredible trip down memory lane. I used to be a manager of a local game store franchise and I've been through many midnight launches (Halo 3, GTA 4, Rock Band, and others). So many things changed in the past 25 years for gamer culture and this part was one of the best happening in our time. And yes, sadly, we will never live these incredible gatherings in all their mighty cringeness ever again. Thanks again!
During the MW3 midnight release at about 10:30 some guy ran into the GameStop took one of the full size cardboard cut outs of sandman and ran out of the store. The casher at the time looked at me and said I would have let him have it if he asked. At midnight the same casher gave me the first copy of MW3 and I walked out of the store with it above my head to a sea of people just started screaming in excitement and I swear about 4 people deep into the crowd the guy who stole the cutout was back to get his copy of MW3.
I used to work at target and they “had to” throw the cutouts away so a co worker used to get off at 11 and I’d help him get into the dumpster to get them out. He was a shorter dude lol
When i was younger my grandmother waited 4 1/2 hours in a blizzard to get me the guitar hero wii bundle to make sure i got it for Christmas. I struck gold having the grandmother i have, she'll never see this but I'm forever grateful for her
Forget call of duty midnight release, my mom used to take me and my sister to Barnes and Noble for the midnight release of the Harry Potter books. Then me and my sister would lay in bed and read as much as we could that first night. Mum would even let us stay home the next day. Such good memories.
My mum used to take me to those midnight HP releases and she was as excited as I was, maybe even more. She made costumes for us, and I hand-carved wands for us (we re-used these for each subsequent event). We would stay up that first night taking turns reading the book out loud to each-other, because we didn't want to fight over who got to read it first.
I remember going to a midnight release for Halo 3 in ‘07. It was just a few months after I had finished Chemotherapy and it was the first time I had been in public in a long time. Had to wear a mask , wash my hands when I got home, all that since I was still immunocompromised. Gotta hand it to mom and dad for that and more importantly taking care of me while I was sick. Sadly, the GameStop I went to for that midnight release and a bunch of others (all the halos after 3, Smash Bros Wii U and Ultimate, the Gears games, etc.) went the way of the dodo two years ago.
Something I just realized watching these old school vids was that people weren’t afraid to be themselves back then. Social media wasn’t as big so when your friend recorded you, you weren’t worried about the “cringe” being posted, it was just a vid in your friends camera gallery.
The only way if midnight releases could return is , companies should announce the physical release date first then 2 days later the digital release date so gamers would have a wonderful midnight enjoyment.
Honnnestly, thats the best idea. Allow the physical release to be you "Special Edition" stuff, golden copies, bonus editions special content blah blah, with special DLC. It would make more sense to charge 80 bucks for a special edition physical copy, with artwork, maybe music CD, and a poster. AND you get a hype media launch, they get to play 2 days early and do a pre-liminary stress test on the game. Physical Game locations see a good boost in sales where you can also get periferals like keyboards, controllers, mice, or even PC upgrades. THEN you partner up with a place like Doritoes, Gamer Fuel, or Taco bell to give a bonus to people who buy the game to go to taco bell. THATS a well rounded release, and then you drop the storefront 1 month after the game launches to build hype for cosmetics.
I remember going to the midnight release of Guitar Hero 2 with my friends. Someone else there brought a big van with the seats down and 2 tvs and consoles setup inside. They started playing the game in the parking lot as soon as they got their copy while everyone in line watched. They even let a few people come over and try a song sometimes while the line slowly moved forward
I remember midnight releases for books! Specifically Harry Potter as they were coming out, me and my friends weren’t too into HP but we were into the free snacks and late night shenanigans
Book release parties still exist, although they are much more rare. They usually happen when an author is moderately popular and is into it enough to set one up themselves. Brandon Sanderson is probably the best modern author when it comes to this. He does signings as well as Q&A and all the things you'd expect from back then were also there like merch, food, trivia, costume contests, etc.
That outro made me tear up because I definitely have some good memories with me and my friends at the midnight release of the OG Modern Warfare 2. I was 22yrs old and called out of work just to play the campaign, mutilplayer and spec ops.
I remember the going to my local gamestop for Black Ops 1 midnight release as a kid meeting a bunch of older dudes and then it became ritual to see them for every Black Ops midnight release. Even cooler when BO3 came out and I got the Juggernog Edition with the mini fridge they were like "Thats my boy look how they grow up." Brings a tear to my eye thinking about those times.
Getting in line for a midnight release 4hrs before launch, while playing your 3DS and getting home and getting nonstop people on street pass .... I miss those days, glad we were privileged enough to live during those times.
Play War Thunder now with my link, and get a massive, free bonus pack including vehicles, boosters and more: playwt.link/theactman24
Video game Midnight Releases are a thing of the past, sadly. But why did they die out? And what was so AWESOME about them? Today, I'll be answering those very questions! Great timing since Black Ops 6 just came out too...
Nice
Are you ever going to review Jedi Survivor?
first on the pin!
We know you are here, overseeing us like ants on a hill
No thanks
50,000 players used to line up here...now its a ghost town.
Bruh gamestop brought back midnight releases for bo6
People used to play Xbox in those days...those days are long gone.
i'm not from the US so those thing i don't know if it's just the us who did that
@@thesmoof4588mmmh did it really? Did it?
@@thesmoof4588Too bad GameStop has lost it after the company went to shitstorm. They all have lot respect after the skyrocketing.
Um....hi. So I'm the person who worked at the Waynesville, NC GameStop who posted the "military operation" midnight release video. I'm happy to chat whenever and try to remember as many details of how we pulled this off as possible.
Still getting over your reaction to my video, lmao.
Holy shit get this to the top people, the mans gotta see this
That's awesome! Do you remember how you organized this?
Yooooooooo
You guys are legends man
@@new1080 I'll save the parts of the story I remember for Act Man!
The coolest thing my mom ever did was stay outside of a non-24 hour Walmart with me for the release of the Xbox 360. Our store only had 9 360s and so a bunch of guys and my 15 year old self stayed out in the freezing cold. My mom slept in the car and was absolutely amazing. She brought us hot cocoa until the store opened at 7am. Seriously brings me to tears how blessed with an awesome mom I am :)
Thats incredible dude. You better tell your mom you love her every day man
This comment brought me tremendous joy bro. God bless you and your mom🙏🏾🗣️
Those are the moments which even as a kid you realize that will stay with you forever. And getting older those memories just age like fine wine
What a great story to cherish, and she sounds like a wonderful mother.
Based mom.
This video made me very emotional, even teared up a little. Long story but I love this one.
I remember back in 2006, the day before the Wii was released, me and neighbor were looking for a store, any store, to have preorders or midnight releases or anything for the Wii. Everyone knows at this point the Wii was one of the most sought-after videogame consoles in history; you could not find one the first months of release let alone that near holiday season.
We were very young at the time so we depended on our parents to take us to stores to look for games because we couldn’t drive, so we weren’t very confident about finding any store to still have Wii’s available. We were close to giving up, and one of our last places to look was a Target store.
We went in and asked the people in the videogame department if they still had Wii’s up to preorder. The clerk said no. We felt disappointed but after that the employee said that they weren’t taking up preorders, it was a first come first serve basis. We asked if this meant they were planning to have a midnight release and they said no; if I remember correctly, they told us that store didn’t do midnight releases, but they would be selling them as soon as the store opened, as any other store would. We thought we might as well ask them if it would be cool if we stayed outside the store, waiting for the store to open the next day (as a kind of first in the morning release) and they said that it was fine.
We couldn’t believe it; this was our chance. We didn’t plan for this, so we went running looking for our moms (who were shopping for other things at the time) and explained to them the situation. My neighbor’s mom wasn’t convinced to let her kid stay up all night outside the store, but my mom persuaded her (thank you, mom). With our parents’ permission we went outside and stood beside the main entrance of the store. The thing was, it wasn’t even near closing hours; it was like, 4pm. So we just stood there, waiting. We didn’t bring anything: no chairs, no blankets, no entertainment. We simply were not prepared for this, but we waited, just talking with each other. Our moms went back home, hours later coming back with blankets, folding chairs and our Nintendo DS’. They stayed with us until nightfall, after that they returned home.
During all this time, people would approach us and ask if, by any change, this was a line for the Nintendo Wii. We explained how things were and after going inside to confirm it for themselves, they would line up with us outside the store, eventually reaching a length that made it obvious to bystanders’ people were waiting for something. Some people even asked what the line was for and made the decision right there and then to also wait in line.
Hours went by, more people started to arrive. Some people brought snacks, coolers, even tents. The place got lively. We had Mario Kart DS matched between strangers (everyone was trying to beat this guy named “Yunke”, that guy was amazing at the game), we didn’t who among the people were the players, but it didn’t matter, we all had the same objective. Later that night our mom’s came back and brought us food (thank you, mom); talked to us a bit, made sure we were covered from the cold and then left again. Around 8 or 9 pm, staff told us that for security reasons we couldn’t stay where we were waiting, and we all went to stay on the sidewalk. People would drive by and shout to ask the PS3 was better, and that Nintendo sucked. All good fun.
Morning came, people were arriving to open the store at 7am. Most of us didn’t sleep. A manager came to us to explain the rules of how the selling would go. Each of us were handled a number. I will never forget the excitement, I was first in line, my ticked read: Wii No. 001.
The store opened and we were giving access in groups of three. All the lights are off, the store empty, save for the cleaning personnel and the people of thew video game department, silence except for the sound of our breathing and our shoes against the tiles. I got there, got my Wii, picked up three games (I was saving for this), got a special Target Wii card that lighted up (blue, of course), paid and went back to the exit. After exiting, blinded by the sunlight, I was greeted by a tremendous cheer and applause from the people in line. By reflex, took the Wii box between my arms and held it high, triumphantly. My mom arrived earlier and was already waiting for us in the car in front of the store (thank you, mom) like we were celebrities. After entering the car, I felt relieved, the exhaustion getting to me, warmed by the morning sun after a long night outside. But I didn’t sleep, so I went directly to a friend’s house and gamed for hours. This is still one of my cherish and vivid memories as a gamer.
Years after that, a little bit older, I continued to go to midnight releases, even for games I wasn’t going to buy, just to hang out with my friends who were actually buying them. I treasure those memories. Arriving late to game all night, going for late night fast food just before midnight.
Those days aren’t coming back. The last midnight release I went for was for Smash Bros Ultimate and it was very packed all things considered.
Thank you for reading. Hoping you all had amazing experiences in midnight releases.
This was a very touching and cool story
this was beautiful!
@8r4u1i0 yooo I remember that holiday season! Some resale store in NYC was selling the Wii for like 3x retail.
Your mom is a saint bro
ua-cam.com/play/PLIgaHgIpn2Hc2HQDgGzkPVqQ3_-g0A02w.html&si=jOLxqM4nBRWGhAEK
Born too late to experience midnight releases, born just in time to see predatory microtransactions & gacha mechanics implemented in almost every games.
Real
Our generation was just a little too late
Gen Z life
What a shame that we missed out on all midnight releases because we were born too late 😢 But making memories with friends playing bo3 zombies and other games is worth missing out on those releases.
@@ThatDooDGino Ik that personal moments is irreplaceable, but imma be real that halo 3 midnight release looks monumental.
I will never forget the moment i had showing up to destiny 1 midnight release cause it was labeled as the last game launch for the area and bungie devs gave me a signed poster. These moments were unmatched
My "Midnight" relase for Destiny 1 actually persisted of just someone else and me. And it wasn't at midnight. It was at 9 AM in the morning.
@@heramaaroricon4738 That was the case for when I went to the "midnight" release for Halo Infinite, except it was just me and I had to wait until 10 a.m. to get my copy.
Bro we probably met now am 32 😅i use to go with my ones of my friends and his older brother and his father cause then leave in their car bro
For my destiny 1 midnight release I remember walking several miles because I had nobody willing to give me a ride. I then walked home, and didn't get to play the game until 2-3am. Played it for like 2 hours and woke up and went to school. That day was miserable but everyone being hyped to play got us through the day and we played late that evening until we had to go to bed for the next day of school.
That's fucking legendary man good shit. That game brings me to tears thinking about all the memories made
I quit my shitty construction job and went to the midnight release for Wrath of the Lich King. Had a great time hanging out with other players then went home and met my future wife in game that night. Been together since 09.
what a legend congrats man.
The chad here
Chad gamer
i wish i could meet my partner that way
noe way that's awesome.
I remember I went to the midnight release of RDR2 at a game stop in my hometown once, was 4 hours early and no one else was there until a small line started to form outside, the employees took me to the front and said" this guys been here for 4 hours, he's going first" before ushering me infront of everyone. Never felt so special
Since I worked at GameStop for a few years, I knew the manager of one nearby. Whenever a big release worthy of a midnight launch came around, I’d show up 2+ hours early, bribe him with a Wendy’s chicken sandwich, hang out and chat until one day rolled into the next and then walk out with my shiny new game before anyone else.
I got my fair share of death glares from people who realized I had essentially cut the entire line, especially when it was a Call of Duty launch 😅
Bit incriminating😂
@@skinnytoadd1820 Who doesn’t love chicken sandwiches? 😏
Yeah man I went to the midnight release of black ops 1 and got the collectors edition which was sold out super early in our area at the time, I think it was the version with the remote control car or whatever and everyone was booing me and cussing me as I walked out with it I was so confused lol
I too would give anything for a chicken sandwich 🤗
My guy had the homie hookup
I’m 36 going on 37. The day was Tuesday, November 9th, the year of our lord 2004. I was 16 at the time. My best friend, older brother (RIP), and I all walked a round trip of 6 miles to the nearest GameStop in freezing weather to wait hrs in the cold for Halo 2. What a time to be alive. We got the edition that came in a metal case and stayed up all night playing it. School was hell the next day but man what a memory. The lines were out the door and around the corner. There was a guy in a Master Chief costume and people showing off their phones that could play a shit version of Halo theme as a ring tone. We all raged when the clock struck 12. It’s one of the fondest gaming memories I have with my brother, sadly he passed way 9 years later at a very young age.
Thanks for sharing!
II was 10, my mom went to that midnight release and surprised me with the game the next moring. She went wth my older brother was in the miltary at the time and was the one that orginally started me on halo
I had the metal case too. 💪🏾
Best game ever
Sorry about your brother man. What a great memory to share with him.
I used to manage a GameStop and can honestly say that planning and decorating for the midnight releases was the best part. The excitement was so intoxicating even if I didn’t personally care about the game, and being surrounded by happy nerds was awesome.
Embrace da nerd
Hello, fellow gamestop employee alumni , I miss those midnight releases, they were my most enjoyable shifts
As a customer…thank you badasses for making the most memorable nights for us. You guys were the heroes of those nights and I loved each and everyone of you employees. I always spoke with them, asked for input and thoughts and opinions. I never left disappointed. lol
nerds together strong
ua-cam.com/play/PLIgaHgIpn2Hc2HQDgGzkPVqQ3_-g0A02w.html&si=jOLxqM4nBRWGhAEK
The end of the video actually brought a few tears to my eyes. That's one of the feelings I'm talking about when I say something like "the good old days of video games". That feeling you had when you went to the store to buy a new game. Simply indescribable. Thank you for the video, it brought back some really nice memories that had been lost for far too long.
Fuck, Act Man. What an ending. Perfect use of that Office clip. You got me in the feels, guy.
I do my best out here
Literally came to say this, I actually got emotional at the end. Those really were the good ol days.
@@TheActMan master of your craft hit me in the feels too.
Agreed. That quote makes me tear up everytime. Well done Acting Male.
Dude i thought it was the wine... that shit got me too lol
I’ll never forget the time I went to pick up Skyrim at GameStop. I showed up 6 hours early, I was second in line, the first guy was this big nerdy dude dressed up in full gear as a Viking, double axe in hand and everything. He was so happy to be getting Skyrim. He told me no matter what happens, he is going to play one character in the game and never make a new one. I always wonder if he stuck to that promise.
I mean, the Nords are literally based off the vikings, so yeah....
The only build you ever need is stealth archer
The actual main quest of skyrim is boring whatever the choice so I would believe him
Skyrim came out when I was in the military, and I didn't know beforehand that they gave out Skyrim themed challenge coins at the midnight release on base. I still have it to this day as a cherished memory.
@@Pokomonsss It’s me. I want you to know I kept the promise. Hardruger Slayerkin is going strong to this day.
There is literally a newspaper photo of me and my best friend waiting at our local mall (where GameStop was) for the midnight release of Halo 3. They literally JUST kept the mall open for this event. Oh, and I got the Legendary edition with the helmet too. Those were the days.
That is such a cool memory to have!
I'm not a huge gamer and never had a midnight release experience as I grew up in Iran but watching this video made me tear up for real thanks
Nice, Kelly. I just Tweeted my home movie about Xbox/Halo Midnight Launch 2001.
Good ol’ days for sure.
Marty do you have any meetups in Florida coming up? Would love to grab a signature for the H3 Helmet also
Marty you are the GOAT thank you for your service.
I will never forget the childhood memories your music gave us, i will cherish those memories till the day i die, thank you
@@TheMartyODonnell thanks for sharing that! Always love taking trips down memory lane
Marty’s Back Thanck God
My mom would later be diagnosed with BPD and NPD but on the launch night of PS2 we were still friends, and it was magical. There are few things from my past that I wish I could experience again but that night waiting all night with my mom to get Tekken Tag Tournament is a night I'll never forget. We were still friends.
Rest in peace mom, and thanks for staying up for your kid even though you had to work the next day.
❤
It's stories like this that really get me right in my feelings. It's so sweet and wholesome, I simply can't help but feel moved by your story.
TTT u have great taste homie👌🏾
RIP to your mom
Rip, my condolences. ❤
OK I have a midnight release story you guys might like.
September 21st 2009, about an hour before Halo 3: ODST was released. I was hanging out with my buddies Mac and Jake. Mac wanted to to sell off his old Madden game and pick up the new one so we go to the mall.
We arrive the mall is closed and there is a huge line outside. Dozens of people waiting to play ODST as soon as it comes out.
We cut the line and go up to the mall cop guarding the door he says "Sorry can't let you in until midnight" we tell him we're not here for the midnight release we're here to trade a game. He let's us in.
Mac trades the game in. They put it in a GameStop bag. We leave but as we're walking past the line to the parking lot Mac holds up the bag containing the Madden game and shouts...
"FIRST COPY OF ODST RIGHT HERE!"
The crowd cheers, some even begin asking the mall cop if they can come in now. (45 minutes from midnight)
We go to Mac's place. We find that the GameStop employee accidentally put a Play Station copy in the case instead of a Xbox 360 one.
We return to the mall and inform the mall cop of the mistake, he let's us in again.
Mind you it's 30 minutes to midnight.
GameStop employees fix the mistake and apologize for the inconvenience. Jake comes up with a genius idea on the spot and says "To make up for it could you let us buy Halo ODST now and save us the third trip here?"
They let us.
We walk out of the mall past the midnight release line again. Mac pulls out the copy of ODST and shouts
"I BOUGHT IT AGAINNNNNN!"
The crowd boos this time. They start grumbling to each other about how we bought it twice already while they're stuck out in the cold.
They lay siege to the poor mall cop. (He still didn't let them in until midnight)
And that's the story of how me and my friends got to play Halo 3: ODST a full 20 minutes before everyone else in the western United States.
It was an awesome night.
Savage
this was fun to read😆
The game was tested and played through it's entirety months before you touched it so not so much a flex as it is sad you stayed up to pick up a game that was the only boring one bungie made. 💪🏻🤡
@@kicksandswords why must you frown in the face of joy?
@@eel9272 he's jealous he didnt get a cool experience regardless of game.
Back when a purchase never came with the thought “man I hope this game’s finished.”
That's definitely a reason why we don't have releases like these anymore. Games just aren't as good as they use to be. we still have great games that drop now but nothing like before. A lot of companies just don't give us any reason to be hyped
Maybe you should play something other than AAA games made by EA.
Never played those games
Therefore, never had that thought
@ Maybe I will do that.
I have a story to share. A story very deep to me. It was Midnight Release of Halo Reach. Never have I been to a midnight release before however knowing this was Bungie's last Hoorah (which we all know was that now) , I convinced my mom to take me to the Midnight Release. She did not know what was going on, hell, she didn't even know what the hell Halo was, but she knew my excitement was through the roof. When we arrived to my surprise she was probably the only mom with me in line. That's right. She waited with me throughout the entire line...even though she had work at 5AM. I would see other kids excitingly holding their legendary editions while I stared in envy since I only got the standard edition disc. When I finally got my copy I came home, pulled an all nighter and played Reach until morning. The next morning I pretended to go to school, through my backpack right over my gate and snuck back inside my house to continue playing reach non stop. Looking back now my mom didn't have to do that but I'm glad she did. Because its a moment I surprisingly look back forever on. RIP mom. You truly were the best and did the best you ever could for a 15 year old Spartan
Thanks for sharing, man
That's so sweet. Thank you for sharing. Your mum sounded like a marvellous person
Your mom sounds cool thanks for sharing
You sir had a great mother. Thanks for sharing
ua-cam.com/play/PLIgaHgIpn2Hc2HQDgGzkPVqQ3_-g0A02w.html&si=jOLxqM4nBRWGhAEK
I still remember showing up to my local EB Games for the midnight release of Black Ops II and while I didn’t get anything cool like that awesome Master Chief helmet, the memories will never be forgotten
THAT JUST SENT ME BACK LIKE 7 YEARS EB GAMES IS WHERE I USED TO ALWAYS GO
EB games was the best
Good ole EB Games
They had military recruiters at the release I was at. If you let them shave your head, they gave you a ticket that moved you to the front of the line
@@lesterscrugs2272 This is legendary holy shit
“You just had to be there.” I was. Last game release I went to was GTA V. I was with my friend, who has since passed away. I didn’t even buy the game. I was just there to be there and have fun. I was smoking devils lettuce behind the game stop while he went and bought the game haha. Then we came back to his house and we all hung out until 3 am that night.That will always be a fond memory of mine. I miss my friend…and I miss how it used to be..
Breaks my heart reading this. Bless
Damn brother thats a such a bittersweet story you just shared. Just remember he’s always with you still in your heart and looking down. You two will meet again one day ❤️
RIP, but for the second part, remember that nostalgia can be addicting to the point of depression
@@connerSphotography thank you man
@@Someone-sc2hk I know…I have to stop myself sometimes because I find myself stuck in the past, and think that everything is as it was back then and the honest truth is that it’s not.
Went to the Halo 5 midnight release in 2015. The plot twist is, me and the boys were there to actually pick up our copies of WWE 2K16 with Stone Cold Steve Austin on the cover, which was releasing the same day. We were first in line. Everyone behind us as we walked out screamed "They've got it! They've got it!" We then flashed our WWE games and they were incredibly confused. Great stuff. Miss the golden days of midnight releases.
The last ever midnight launch I went to was for Destiny 1. My sister took me and they gave out free bracelets and shirts and I also walked out with one of the only Ghost Editions that was pre ordered. Yes I still have all the free merch and I still have my ghost whom I named Opie lol A fun/interesting fact about the shirts is that, my sister and I tried to get a medium but the guy at the store looked at me funny and said “yeah dude, we only have large and up.” Neither of us ever forgot that and every so often we joke about it.
That’s amazing bro… destiny 1 shaped my teenage years. Despite all the bad press about the game it still to this day is my favorite game because of the thousands of hours I’ve dunked into it and the memories I’ve made/ ppl I’ve met because of it…
God I still have they gray shirt
@@drdouchenozzle3556I really hope you reply to this because destiny was my entire middle school. I met people I still talk to today on it and I still talk about it to my finance. I love that game so much and I played a lot of destiny 2 but destiny 1 will always hold a special place in my heart
I went to the midnight release of "Watch dogs" here in Cardiff, Wales, UK. I remember they switched all the lights off suddenly, and all the watch dog symbols appeared on the TV's and a hackers voice came through saying the building was hacked. Was a nice touch.
September 13, 2010 - I was 11 years old. 5 days before my birthday. My father, the GOAT knew how badly I wanted halo reach. He told me I couldn't stay up, told me there was no way I was going to go to game stop at midnight.
2AM he walks into my room with a copy of Halo Reach. He let me play it all morning as long as I went to school (I totally slept through all my classes.)
He told me how he stood in line with a bunch of nerds (jokingly cause while he didnt play many games he was in IT at the time). He told me how there were 4 dudes and a girl in large coloured armour talking to people and taking photos, and how they looked really cool with prop weapons. He felt bad because he wanted it to be a surprise for me for my birthday and had no idea how big of an event it was going to be, and had wished he took me. Needless to say, I live through that moment through his story of the midnight release.
I was the only one of my friends that day at school that had played it and I told them little tid bits about how amazing it was. They all had a copy by 7pm that night LOL
Good times.
I remember my 2 older brothers and I have saved up our allowances to buy the collectors edition and our dad took us to get it at the midnight release of reach….
Such a memorable time and memory I get to share with them
Oh man. You're just five days older than me.
Wish I got to have such experiences like a lot of people in this comment section. Was never able to, though. Would've been cool, for sure.
"I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days... before you've actually left them."
That's as real as it gets.
I love my mom and dad (rest in peace dad). They took me to all midnight releases I wanted to go .. and they would let me skip school the next day. Halo 3 was definitely memorable. Getting that limited release helmet. Gears 3 statue. All of that lead me to get a job at Game Crazy one day. I miss being young.
Rest in piece to your dad homie. Never forget those memories. We took them for granted growing up
My uncle recently passed away he took me alot of mid night releases 10 years ago we went to waw mw2 mw3 and bo3 midnight releases he has all the special additions they were sent too me 2 weeks ago so I get to put all those special additions up on my shelf and remember the good times
RIP to your dad. Hopefully he is resting well.
@@Rodriguez5450 Thank you! We definitely did. All those little moments just hit different now.
@@ProjectionProjects2.7182 Thank you!
Midnight releases are interesting to go back and watch vlogs of. No one was glued to their cell phones everyone was socializing. We didnt know we were living in the best era of gaming and entertainment in general. Graphic progression and story progression went together beautifully.
Btw this guy means like 2011 for Skyrim when smart phones existed already, I had a friend who played 8 hours straight before coming back to school and passing out in 3 period
Beforehand it was a given
All stories, characters & locations were handmade and there was way less corpo pressure than today.
bro this comment legit made me tear up. we didnt know 😢
@@hcook1023 My buddy and I were in college, we had mandatory kitchen duty the next day at 7am for getting caught drinking in the dorms. We got maybe an hour of sleep that night. Idk how we managed to get through the shift, it was an absolute fever dream. It was the absolute best of times.
Man,the early 2000s were something else.
before :Early 2000s Midnight Release: The hype, the anticipation, the lines around the block.
Now :2024 Midnight Release: Wait 2 seconds for it to unlock on your phone and fall asleep halfway through
Now: Download the game 4 days before release, change your timezone, get the game 14 hours early, and still not be able to find a server.
@@dubdubbersonbought it on a platform that you can’t do that trick on, so you have to watch other people enjoy it a day ahead of you
Atleast we can skip the line now
@@dubdubberson and still have a day one patch to download even though you pre-installed to prevent this exact thing.
I feel G4 was also a big part
It's one thing to experience it at your local GameStop but another to see on G4 the giant events going on that makes you a part of something epic
My uncle brought me (I was 8 at that time and he was babysitting me since my parents had to work overnight at their jobs) along to stand in line for hours to get Halo 3 Limited Edition, I remember how he and his friends were talking about how the campaign would playout and how they (my uncle's friends) will play the multiplayer all night long together at my uncle's place. I was hype even though I had nothing to gain, to experience something like that was awesome.
.
.
This uncle of mine was also the reason why the started playing games, sadly he passed away in a terrible car accident. Rest In Peace Uncle David you really were a cool uncle.
MW3 I dressed as a blue crayon Halloween costume and was shocked when I wasn’t the only crayon in line. We had damn near a rainbow of colors. We all chatted and exchanged gamer tags. We later started a game battles team that was named after crayola colors. Man What a fucking time
that sounds AWESOME. What colors were missing if you remember?
Never forget Skyrim releasing on 11/11/11. One of the most legendary releases.
Don't forget, you can make your own UA-cam video about your favorite release too, especially if you have footage. It doesn't just have to be in the comments section.
It'll release on 33/33/33 too, I guarantee it
@@JacobBite And I will love every second of it. Praise Lord Todd Howard.
@@JacobBitewhy did you almost get me….
Right on my birthday, lol.
The Gamestop I used to shop at was having a Midnight Release for Halo 2. But, I was currently working a late shift at my job. No pre-orders were allowed, it was first come, first serve. I knew if I didn't get there early, the line would be WAY too long and all of the copies would be sold. So, my Mom stepped up. She grabbed her gameboy and Pokemon game and sat in front of the store (rather, the extra room rented out for this event at the mall). She saved me the 4 spot on line all afternoon and evening. Thanks to that, I was able to get my copy and I made sure to treat her to a nice dinner the next day.
What a great mother my man
both you and your mom are based af
I don't know why but it's so cool that you're mom had a GameBoy and played Pokemon.
One of the best Act Man videos ever. This was an emotional rollercoaster ride.
It's crazy how op games were back then. When you could pre order something and know it's gonna be a banger.
we need make about these stories on documentary friend.
I was 13 when GTA 5 came out. I hadn’t even really mentioned it to my mum that I wanted the game.
She woke me up at 6am, handed me the game, and told me that she is going to call school and tell them I’m “ill”.
😎 thanks mum
Thats the sweetest thing ever, my parents never in a million years would do that. I had to go even when i was sick, never did anything nice. You better call her!
Dang! My mom would definitely surprise me like that. But idk about going out of her way to call the school for me to play a video game hahah. That's cool though bro.
@@TheShadowFox1awe.. I'm sorry. I hate hearing that. Ugh. ❤
GTA 5? ... brother...
Yo wtf? Your Mom is a savage
11-11-11 I was a senior in high school doing some ROTC competition. We had the option to stay the night at the school in sleeping bags, but I had other plans. We finished around 9:30PM which gave me enough time to drive 30 mins to Gamestop and wait two hours with my friends and strangers just chatting about what we were going to do in the game. Finally after 2 1/2 hours, I was the proud owner of Elder Scrolls 5: Skryim. I rushed home and played from 1AM-3AM, barely making it to Whiterun. Then, begrudgingly, slept for 3 hours before heading back to the ROTC comp. An era gone but not forgotten. Thanks for the video, Act Man.
Damn man. Fun times, glad you got to experience them
When I got Skyrim on release day I had a buddy wanting to come over but I told him Id be only gaming, not doing anything else. He watched me and got Skyrim himself the next week.
JROTC*
It's 11/11/11. Me and da boys pull up in my 2007 Ford focus to the game stop. My iPod classic is hooked up to those old radio station broadcasters blarring the Skyrim song on full blast. There were quizzes prizes a mini pot luck. Met a guy with a chainmail tie. Ran into like 5 buddies at Walmart after getting snacks. My folks were teachers and "borrowed" a projector for us to play it on.Good times
Sadly I’m 20 and missed out on these releases, but my brother would tell me about them and I always wished I got to experience something so golden
Same age but I at least got to experience something like this with MW 2019.
same bro
Just turned 20 in August and maaaaan would I have loved to do this shit with friends, not only to experience the hype but also the satisfaction
@@ThatDooDGino There is GTA 6
@@CheesyRatPan yeah but most people have the digital consoles instead of the disc drive ones, but GTA 6 has me considering buying a ps5 with a disc drive
Last night I was at work on my lunch break and I work right next to a GameStop, and I saw a huge line of gamers waiting for the release of black ops 6. Haven’t seen a line like that for a game in a while… made me really happy to see
A one with the force knows true coincidences are rare….
Idk I think that’s how the line is 😂
4:03 i love that you shout out good moms. I have a good mom.
Gotta love your mom buddy
I had a good mom, RIP.
"BUT MAAAAAM!!!!!" LOL!! 🤣
@@danieldiaz5542Contradictory hipocrisy there bub
I HAVE A GOOD MOM 🗣🗣🗣🔥🔥🔥
When COD Ghosts was coming out a manager at my local GameStop asked me and my airsoft team to come to the midnight release in full costume to be "security". It was a blast.
The most memorable midnight launch I ever went too was Destiny 1. And this is a bittersweet story. After Bungie was done with Halo I was extremely excited to see their next project because c'mon it was Bungie. I met a dude there who also played on PS3 and we exchanged usernames and he only lived 20 minutes from me so we'd go to his house and hook up our ps3s for some multiplayer action. I was 15 at the time and he was 16. We sat in line for hours waiting to get our hands on our copies of the game and talked the entire time about our love of gaming and all the different games we played and the funny stories that go with them. We played all the way until the end of The Taken King...
I got a phone call from his mother, I was now 17, she told me through the tears that he was dead... The night before he drank so much that he died from alcohol poisoning. They found him surrounded by moonshine bottles (the legal ones from East TN). This guy became my best friend, and he was gone before he could see Rise of Iron. The clan me and him formed in Destiny held an in game gathering to honor him.
This year after The Final Shape wrapped up, I'm now 25 and married, and I went and got my tattoo of a Ghost. The artist asked me why I was getting a ghost since they where a jaded destiny fan, and I told her the story and she had to take a break to cry.
Yeah, the games might not be great all the time, but the community, the passion, the love, that made it all worth it. Midnight releases are where I found many of my best friends, some of which I still talk to and see to this day.
Those memories, good, or bad. Are what made midnight launches so special.
god bless him, may the traveller guide him on his next adventure 🫡
The Great Journey waits for no one. When we are called, we must answer. Your friend didn’t die. He had to answer another call to save another universe/galaxy/world. He is living our dreams.
I'll admit, at the end with all the archived footage...I got a little misty eyed. I miss those days, but maybe Act Man is right, some memories are better left untouched and you just had to be there. One of his best videos yet. Thank you for the reminder of the good ol' times Act Man. I think some of us needed this more than you know.
My favourite midnight launch memory was Smash bros ultimate. There mustve been about 300 people queuing outside the shop, when this 40 something year old woman in high heels and the shortest skirt ive ever seen walks past us calling us all virgins. I shouted out 'jesus christ can you imagine if that was your mum??' Almost everyone laughed and the look of defeat on this womans face i will never forget. Ahhh good times, the game was great as well...
Shots fired
Yea fr only nice moms can also be hot 🤣
What the hell was that women's problem? 😂
@ProjectionProjects2.7182 it was midnight in a busy city, she was hammered from what I could tell 😂
A midnight release for a Nintendo game, that wasn't leaked 2 weeks before release? What a time.
Man, the ending of the video really got me..
That ending with Andy and the Halo 2/3 epilogue playing in the background - tugging on those heart strings brother
"We lost touch as a community" real stuff I am a mid gen z baby 2006 so i missed the midnight release peak year's. I wish I could have been their.
Same here. 2006 baby and I missed out on those midnight releases. All I have left are the stories my older brother left me with.
He and a couple of his friends went to the midnight releases for MW and Black Ops. He told me how they would all hang out in his and a friend’s car (there were 6 of them) because of the below zero temperatures.
I was born in 99 but my area didn't really have much of a midnight launch scene, those times are still so nostalgic for me, hearing about it on the news and reading about it online. Almost felt like I was still there. Watching the clips that I watched back then brought a tear to my eye. Fuck man I miss those days.
Early Gen Z (1998 birth year) and the eldest child. I had no experience of a midnight release party.
Sadly, communities have become far more toxic over time, so I don't even want to deal with it anymore.
This is gonna sound weird but I never really gamed for the community. I gamed to be immersed in a solo experience and playdates while keeping TF2 at an arms length. It went from meh to shit with LoL for me. We are now looking at the community in 2000s culture as scratch a socializing gamer, get a xenophobic bigot type thing 17:20. So it's hard for me to heap praise on this era because of something that in the end was technology-deep.
I remember when Halo 3 was coming out, people were so excited for it that they actually set up tents and camped outside the mall until it released. We'll never see that kind of hype again.
Didn't have a job at the time so I had to rent it from blockbuster multiple times until my birthday where my buddies got fed up and just all pitched in 10 bucks each so I could just buy it lol
Here from asmonbald channel. Friend of mine went to a couple midnight releases. But I'll say... I know a guy that uh... knew a guy... during this era that could mod a 360 to run bootleg burns. They didn't have to do a lot of them. The ones that were important to them, they went to. If the game was really good on the burned version, they bought it to support the dev. That was the golden era. They think about those times often and they really miss them. RIP that generation of real release hype gaming. They'll never forget you.
I work at GameStop and last night was the midnight release for Black Ops 6 and I gotta say, it made me kinda wanna cry because of how dead it was.. literally only two people came in and got their copy despite us having over 30+ pre-orders. All I can hope is that GTA VI has a massive release.
Sadness :( Everyone pretty much be digital now.
man….Honestly last night brought me to tears. I remember so vividly the release of black ops 2, i went with my cousin. And it was, it felt like a movie.
And last night felt so empty, it felt desolate. I downloaded the game early, i booted it up, and the magic wasn’t there.
I miss that tangible feeling, that physical disk.
GameStop needs to advertise it more! I legit have thought that GameStop stopped doing them years ago. I went to sooo many and it was always a bunch of fun
@@EndyTheArtist I wish they did too. They announce it far too late and don’t make it big. The last big one I’ve worked was Tears of the Kingdom and we had well over 100 people come in
@@Raz0r.0115 i think the last midnight release was for titanfall 2(?) because ever since then, my local GameStops just.. never said a damn thing to me or to virtually anyone about a midnight release.
This is what I missed the most about places like GameStop or even Best Buy was midnight launches, and the camaraderie you made friends with a lot of people you even exchange gamer tag a couple times that night
Today act man your video brought a tear to my eye. Just because it will never be the same. I was never at midnight release but I worked for my dad who was a private landscaper in Florida at the time. And I worked with him for a whole summer just so I could buy a Xbox one day one. I had a wrestling competition that day and received a concussion that day. Unbeknownst to me that my dad had picked up my pre order from Xbox and had it waiting for me at home. And I remember my mom and dad and my little brother in my room watching me set it up, boot it up, and launch killer instinct. I held on to that Xbox till the day it bricked. I continued to keep the controller till I ended up homeless. I miss that time in my life.
the greated era of video games. 2-3 of the best generations of consoles and their respective games. entire genres came to be and disappeared after. an era not likely to soon be repeated, where people that loved games and playing games, made games. where 5-7 guys in a basement defined a weekend of interconnected consoles and TVs that dominated a room. constant alagations of screen peaking and controller mods, or host privilege as to why the party should rotate around the room.
Truely the good old days. here is looking in hope for some good new ones...
My favorite midnight release was also my last, it was for MW2 in 2009. Hard to believe that was 14 years ago
People call me “Unc” every time I say “I remember when I stood up all night to buy a game when it released in GameStop”.
Unc
Unc
OK unc
Unc certificate
Is that a reference to something? What does UNC stand for?
they will definitely be back temporarily when gta 6 releases
one final effort?
@@TheActMan one final push
@@TheActMan exactly
@@TheActMan It's all that remains.
Not without a disc drive there won't
Bygone era. We’re now the crusty old guys reminiscing about how much fun we had suffering for something we loved, while these young whippersnappers bitch about waiting 10 minutes for CoD 69 to download.
I’ve been to so many midnight releases. Used to love hanging out in line for hours with the boys. CoD was an annual staple. MW, MW2, World at War, and Black Ops are the ones I remember. I was there for Gears, Fallout 3, ODST, Reach, and Skyrim. They were all a good time.
But man, that Halo 3 midnight release hit different. Everybody was pumped and the tension was palpable, but I don’t think there was a single asshole there that night. Nobody was trying to jump in line, strangers allowed their line neighbors to take a piss and come back without bitching about it, dude in front of me even took a few donations and hit the drive thru to bring everybody back 100 dollar menu cheeseburgers and handed them out to the first 100 people in line with us. Somebody there was parked next to the sidewalk and had the Halo 2 OST playing on repeat. A couple dudes were dressed as Chief, and one of them was with a chick cosplaying Cortana wearing a bikini and blue body paint. Core memory man.
Modern Warfare 2, I remember being in the pub with my dad by his house. Gamestation was on my walk home, so I got there at midnight drunk. By time I got home I was starting to get a hangover 🤣
😂 hell of a way to have a midnight release
27:10 Problem is I never had the chance. Midnight releases were fading out right when I was old enough to go to them. Wish I could have been there.
Same. I wish a was born just a few years earlier. I was born in 2004 so by the time I was old enough to really start playing games I had already missed the Golden Age.
My first real online experience was Halo 4, When I was like 5 - 9 I remember my dad hosting xbox nights for all the old Halo games. I was too young to play them but I remember how exciting it was just to watch when running between both rooms during the lan party.
My first game I bought on launch day was Halo 5 and even though I had never experienced a release before like that, I knew it was just wrong. The excitement just wasn't there and just like Actman said, the game didn't even have split screen to enjoy with your friends in person.
man that sucks, lan parties and social gaming events were so fun, I remember drinking monster and being up all night with my friends with linked xboxes and a ps2. Screwing around on chatrooms and messing with wooden katanas lol
Well, I hope something equally cool happens for you guys in the future
@@TheActMan me to man.. me to. I'm just glad we had cameras to document it
@@TheActMan yes sir
10:38 Perfect example of "You weren't bullied because you were nerdy, you were bullied because you Naruto ran down the hallways at school"
If video game companies understood more fun = more long term money as opposed to the quick quarterly earnings report the industry would be better
And this is why we as gamers need to reject AAA(A) and embrace indie, they will only understand one thing, money and when we vote with our wallets, they'd have to take notice, no amount of bitching will make a difference if the money rolls in.
The suits only understand data points and numbers on a chart 😔
Great video. The outro made me cry. And I’m 50.😔
That Halo music gets you evertime when paired with nostalgia 😢
@the Act Man ....... idk if you can hear me but... i didnt need this video..... the last 2 minutes broke and choked me up.
Probably the best video youve ever made.
thank you.
I went to the midnight release of modern warfare 2 at a Gamecrazy store. They had a game truck where we got to play the game a few hours before release. I’ll never forget that when our match started someone yelled out “NOOB TUBE”! and everyone laughed. I won 3rd place on a mini tournament and was given a $5 gift card which for the store. I used it to get $5 off the game. As soon as midnight arrived, the line was pretty long to buy but everyone left after buying to go home and play the game.
I really do miss midnight releases. But life is very different now as I have a family to take care of. So even if they were still around I wouldn’t be able to go. I can’t remember the last time I stayed up past 10pm.
One of my favorite gaming memories was going to a midnight Halo 2 release at Best Buy, getting the game, and then four of us hanging out in my basement playing co-op all night. My Dad woke up for work and starts getting ready and sees us all in the basement playing the game and just laughed at us. There's a fun there that's kinda lost with modern game releases.
So many great fun memories for sure. But as most good things, didnt last forever
10:57 no second hand cringe here mate. Just smiles at the days gone by
Same here, brother.
we probably would cringe back then, but now we kinda miss those days.
Back then, we just embraced the cringe. And no one was constantly in our ears whining about pronouns or whatever the hell they're upset about today
Once I saw the arms flapping I knew it was Skyrim 😂
same thing is gonna happen with tiktok let me tell you, history repeats itself
Loved this video by you bro. The nostalgia is beautiful and sad at the same time. Miss this so much. Will never forget going to the midnight releases for Halo 3 and Gears
I was the first person to buy the Legendary Edition of Halo 3 at my local Gamestop in the Silver City Galleria! Went with my childhood best friend and my dad. Splitscreen Halo 2 matches were going on, game fuel was a-plenty. Good times. I was only 11 at the time but it's still one of my most vivid memories.
Man... in Poland we had a boom on internet cafe's back in early 2000's. People had only dial-up at home back then - so a place where you could access high speed internet for pennies was a blessing. All the gamers were sitting there and playing StarCraft: Brood War, Quake 3 Arena, Unreal Tournament. They did something called 'night shift' - where you could go for entire night half price. I was like 14yo and I will never forget the vibe of hanging out with mostly older dudes entire night playing my favorite games.
Then fast Internet connections become cheap... everyone could play at home so they did... and all of those places quickly died out.
You hit the nail on the head.
My first midnight release was the same as yours, Skyrim.
Me and 2 friends waited 6 hours outside of a mall, after hours. By the time we got into the mall it was near midnight, line was hundreds long.
We walked out with our copies, while the entire lined cheered us as we walked out of the mall. "And then everybody clapped" but for real.
GTA 5 was without a doubt the most wild midnight release I ever experienced. The entire parking lot was filled with pot smoke. Some people brought their low riders to show as we waited. Finally, a man in a green morph suit slapped my friend and ran off into the night. I only hope GTA 6’s midnight release captures a fraction of that same insanity.
lol what midnight release you mean the pre download time?
@@derekschommer1465 lord i HOPE this isnt the case, but im sure it will be
I doubt if there will be a GTA 6 disc
GTA 6 will most likely be digital only at first to prevent leaks
Dude that was green man from it's always sunny in Philadelphia
I waited 8 hours inside GameStop for the Nintendo Switch. Skipped school to get the the store. Then when I got there. And got in line, some guys saw me sitting inside the GameStop. And asked if I wanted a lawn chair, and if I would be down to play Smash Wii U till midnight hit. One of the best examples of the gaming community being the best community. And getting home and putting breath of the wild in my switch was an amazing experience
That was one of the best videos you've made, man.
I'm sure this wasn't the intention of the video, but god damn im just sad now. I never hang out with my friends like this anymore. We're all too broke and busy and tired to meet up just to fuck around, at an event or otherwise. I can't remember the days very well when it was just a default assumption that part of my day would be spent hanging out with my friends, playing video games, watching movies, etc. Now it's just something that happens a couple time a year at most.
real
My GameStop for some reason did a midnight release for tears of the kingdom and surprisingly a good amount of people showed up. It really reminded how much fun those events were, I miss them.
Last midnight release I went to was BO3 and I went with my mom and dad. We all stood in line for hours and all 3 of us got a copy! We went home downloaded them, hoped on a party and played til the sun came up. Skipped school and they skipped work to play Cod. That was a core memory
Your parents sound like they're cool people to be around. I can't imagine playing COD with my parents LMAO
Midnight release of Skyrim, 11/11/11. My Dad took me to the local GameStop, and it was a line all the way down the strip. There were all sorts of people and I was stoked. Doors opened at midnight and people were sprinting to their cars with their copies. I got my copy and opened it on the car ride back, the collectible map inside the game case filled me with wonder about what I was about to discover. I got home and went to bed, waited for everyone to fall asleep, and booted it up in the living room on the 360, as quiet as I could. Loading up the main menu, hearing the epic music and watching the opening sequence was a memory I will never forget. I escaped Helgen and explored Bleak Falls Barrow that night, and no video game has ever come close to the anticipation, excitement, and payoff that Skyrim gave me. I wish I could experience video games the same way I did when I was a kid.
It’s still my favorite. We were blessed.
Went to the midnight release of Halo 4 with my team. When we thought 343 saved Halo because of the ZB playlist they put into Reach, we had such high hopes. There was around 500 people waiting. My buddy Jared saw they had 1v1's going on in the Gamestop. He put up $20 and asked if anyone wanted to do any money matches. We were all cringy and wearing shirts with our gamertags on them so people thought we were a big deal. Some guy gave us a business card for his gaming hub, which to my knowledge shut down a few months later. They gave out a few posters to the first 20 people but we missed out on it.
MCC midnight release had about 1000 people there. There was nothing handed out but this made the line move faster. We didn't know the game was unplayable because it was the first time we had to download a bunch of shit to play on a console. Thanks Xbone. Waited till 1 for it to install, then waited till 3 to get into a game, and it was 3v1v2v2. 343 did not get enough hate for what they did to Halo with this game's release. I had requested 2 weeks off of work to go down to LA for a Halo 2 tournament but it was cancelled due to the game being unplayable. Was awkward asking work to let me come back early lol.
Halo 5 had a working playable 2 week Beta in MCC so it gave me hope to have fun again. This midnight release had less than 20 people, and they didn't even wait until midnight to let us have it.
I miss going to get the game and walking out with the actual game. I loved flipping through the booklet that had random shit in it. I miss getting on Halo and talking to my friends, raging at the kid with the kinect bar that had a vacuum going off 10 feet away. Such fucking great times man.
I originally made this channel when one dude I played SWAT with in Reach used Bungie tokens to upload his games onto UA-cam. Anytime I had a fun, or stat padded game, I uploaded it. I remember attempting to make monatages having no fucking idea what I was doing, but I didn't care, I was having fun. I'm 34 next week and am happier now than any other point in my life, but god damn do I miss the nights of playing Halo with the homies, especially the ones that I'd go to midnight releases with.
Well cheers to the memories that you made and the amazing journey that you’ve had.
I remember my grandmother, who was an avid Halo: CE player, decided to go into the trenches of the Halo 3 Midnight Release to get me the Halo 3 Legendary Edition and told me some kids looked at her funny, wondering why someone at her age was getting Halo, but in the end, I got Halo 3 LE, managed to skip School to play it all day, and still have it to this day. I've participated in 2-midnight releases with Call of Duty BO2, Halo Reach, and Halo 4. Halo 4's release was rough because some kid stole my iPod (And his friends sold him out to the administrator) in High School earlier that day. Halo Reach was my most insane one. I got Halo Reach's Ultimate Edition with the Noble Team Statue and spent the WHOLE day playing until 8 PM from Midnight.
The Halo music at the end makes me so emotional man. It truly signifies those late nights you spent playing Halo custom games with your friends that you didn't know you were going to grow apart from. The Andy clip really hits hard, especially for those times.
Man. Thank you for this incredible trip down memory lane. I used to be a manager of a local game store franchise and I've been through many midnight launches (Halo 3, GTA 4, Rock Band, and others). So many things changed in the past 25 years for gamer culture and this part was one of the best happening in our time. And yes, sadly, we will never live these incredible gatherings in all their mighty cringeness ever again. Thanks again!
*Can you imagine after Modern Wafare 2 (2009) Released after that day: Peak 100.000.000+ Players.*
*Now is totaly ghost town.*
During the MW3 midnight release at about 10:30 some guy ran into the GameStop took one of the full size cardboard cut outs of sandman and ran out of the store. The casher at the time looked at me and said I would have let him have it if he asked. At midnight the same casher gave me the first copy of MW3 and I walked out of the store with it above my head to a sea of people just started screaming in excitement and I swear about 4 people deep into the crowd the guy who stole the cutout was back to get his copy of MW3.
HAHAHAHHAHA LMAO
I used to work at target and they “had to” throw the cutouts away so a co worker used to get off at 11 and I’d help him get into the dumpster to get them out. He was a shorter dude lol
I tried claiming cut out mutiple yimes but most were reserved by employees. I should ran out with My cutout. Like that dude 😭
When i was younger my grandmother waited 4 1/2 hours in a blizzard to get me the guitar hero wii bundle to make sure i got it for Christmas. I struck gold having the grandmother i have, she'll never see this but I'm forever grateful for her
Your grandma sounded Peak af
Forget call of duty midnight release, my mom used to take me and my sister to Barnes and Noble for the midnight release of the Harry Potter books. Then me and my sister would lay in bed and read as much as we could that first night. Mum would even let us stay home the next day. Such good memories.
My mum used to take me to those midnight HP releases and she was as excited as I was, maybe even more. She made costumes for us, and I hand-carved wands for us (we re-used these for each subsequent event). We would stay up that first night taking turns reading the book out loud to each-other, because we didn't want to fight over who got to read it first.
@@shigeminotoge4514 that’s so awesome, thanks for sharing that with me! I’m glad act man got me to remember such good memories.
Oh man, thanks for dredging up memories from the void of my long term storage. That was a great time.
I remember going to a midnight release for Halo 3 in ‘07. It was just a few months after I had finished Chemotherapy and it was the first time I had been in public in a long time. Had to wear a mask , wash my hands when I got home, all that since I was still immunocompromised. Gotta hand it to mom and dad for that and more importantly taking care of me while I was sick.
Sadly, the GameStop I went to for that midnight release and a bunch of others (all the halos after 3, Smash Bros Wii U and Ultimate, the Gears games, etc.) went the way of the dodo two years ago.
The last midnight release I went to was The Taken King expansion for Destiny 1 and I went with all my raid buddies. Miss those days 😢
Something I just realized watching these old school vids was that people weren’t afraid to be themselves back then. Social media wasn’t as big so when your friend recorded you, you weren’t worried about the “cringe” being posted, it was just a vid in your friends camera gallery.
That "good old days" line will forever live in my head AND heart rent free. I felt that.
The only way if midnight releases could return is , companies should announce the physical release date first then 2 days later the digital release date so gamers would have a wonderful midnight enjoyment.
That would just lead to the game being leaked onto the internet 2 weeks before release.
Honnnestly, thats the best idea. Allow the physical release to be you "Special Edition" stuff, golden copies, bonus editions special content blah blah, with special DLC. It would make more sense to charge 80 bucks for a special edition physical copy, with artwork, maybe music CD, and a poster. AND you get a hype media launch, they get to play 2 days early and do a pre-liminary stress test on the game. Physical Game locations see a good boost in sales where you can also get periferals like keyboards, controllers, mice, or even PC upgrades. THEN you partner up with a place like Doritoes, Gamer Fuel, or Taco bell to give a bonus to people who buy the game to go to taco bell. THATS a well rounded release, and then you drop the storefront 1 month after the game launches to build hype for cosmetics.
That’s dumb
I remember going to the midnight release of Guitar Hero 2 with my friends. Someone else there brought a big van with the seats down and 2 tvs and consoles setup inside. They started playing the game in the parking lot as soon as they got their copy while everyone in line watched. They even let a few people come over and try a song sometimes while the line slowly moved forward
Man that sounds wild
I remember midnight releases for books! Specifically Harry Potter as they were coming out, me and my friends weren’t too into HP but we were into the free snacks and late night shenanigans
Book release parties still exist, although they are much more rare. They usually happen when an author is moderately popular and is into it enough to set one up themselves. Brandon Sanderson is probably the best modern author when it comes to this. He does signings as well as Q&A and all the things you'd expect from back then were also there like merch, food, trivia, costume contests, etc.
That outro made me tear up because I definitely have some good memories with me and my friends at the midnight release of the OG Modern Warfare 2. I was 22yrs old and called out of work just to play the campaign, mutilplayer and spec ops.
Damn dude, you're pushing 50?! That was a minute ago 😭😭😭
The ending made me cry like that Remember Halo video.
I remember the going to my local gamestop for Black Ops 1 midnight release as a kid meeting a bunch of older dudes and then it became ritual to see them for every Black Ops midnight release. Even cooler when BO3 came out and I got the Juggernog Edition with the mini fridge they were like "Thats my boy look how they grow up." Brings a tear to my eye thinking about those times.
Getting in line for a midnight release 4hrs before launch, while playing your 3DS and getting home and getting nonstop people on street pass .... I miss those days, glad we were privileged enough to live during those times.