Drawing close to 9:30pm last night, I approached the Swanston Street EB Games store in Melbourne not quite knowing what to expect. I'd been to midnight launches for consoles before, but this was the first one I'd been to that was advertised as a "launch party".

And what a party it was! From outside the store, I gazed up at the window to the second floor - a partitioned demo area known as The Nintendo Experience - and saw balloons and streamers dancing about in the air. This looked promising. People were beginning to amass, and some said they had been hanging around the store since 4pm.

People started arriving well in advance

The music was pumping and the lower level of the store buzzed with adrenaline-infused gamers eager to get their hands on Nintendo's latest handheld. Customers who had finalized their pre-orders were given numbered lanyards with which to collect their consoles and all visitors were given tickets for a door prize raffle. The store was holding a sale on a lot of items, most notably Nintendo 3DS accessories, all discounted in preparation for the system launch at midnight. It was announced that those who wished to pre-order Ocarina of Time were given a free Zelda poster. Pretty cool.

At about 10 p.m., guests were welcomed to the store and invited upstairs to pass the time with an assortment of games and entertainment. Players flocked to rows of past-model DS systems and TVs featuring New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Mario Kart Wii, and Donkey Kong Country Returns while caterers passed out a delectable array of sashimi, meat pies, donuts and cakes of various shapes and sizes. Nintendo representatives wandered the floor giving the inexperienced a last-minute chance to try out the 3DS demos before the clock struck midnight, and latecomers hurriedly paid off their remaining dues, snapping up merchandise and games.

Exciting!

Throughout the night, prizes in the form of coffee mugs and t-shirts were given to skilled gamers who bested the opposition on the Wii games. A lovely lass garbed as Link and sporting various weapons from the games, was tested on her ability to "shout like Link" and scored herself a mug. Spirits were high, music was loud, strobe lights flashed, and the collective level of anticipation was through the roof. 

Finally, it was time head back downstairs and line up to collect consoles. Consoles were stacked up at the ready, and customers were lined up in order of their lanyard number. The countdown to midnight was at hand! The guy in first place was one of the most amusingly animated people I've ever met, and the title of "first 3DS owner" couldn't have gone to a more deserving person.

Wayne "The Atlas", Australia's first 3DS owner

After a few minutes, they announced the door prize winner, and the resident Link had won a free 3DS to go with her earlier prize! After the excitement died down, new 3DS owners went back upstairs to try out SpotPass and make a few new friends. An EB staff member told me that almost all the 3DS units had sold out, though they still had "a few left" for last-minute purchases. Damn online ordering, I wish mine would hurry up and arrive! Of the launch titles, Street Fighter was the first to sell out.

We all know the prize was really because of her awesome costume

All in all, it was an exciting night and quite the shindig. If all events are like this, I certainly look forward to the next one. Many more pictures from the event are below.