At close to 4 p.m. yesterday, I made my way over to New York City where Nintendo held a 3DS Launch event at the Union Square Best Buy. They set up a fenced-off line on the side of the road where people could wait for the midnight launch.

There were a number 3DS demo stations set up where people could try out many of the launch games. Free food was offered in the form of hot dogs, tacos, and pretzels. A DJ played popular tunes and I was impressed by a mix of a Lady Gaga song with music from Sonic & Knuckles. As it got later and extremely cold, friendly Nintendo staff handed out some t-shirts, hats, and hand warmers.

When there was about an hour left to wait, Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime showed up and shook hands and spoke with the excited masses that were waiting in line.

Finally at midnight, the crowd threw their 3D glasses into the air (glasses they received about five minutes beforehand) and ushered in an era of glasses-free 3D gaming. It was a pretty fun event other than the extreme cold. Check out videos of the launch event below.

Thanks to Dustin Sherman for helping film the video and to everyone we interviewed.