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GameCube Launch in Dayton, Ohio!

by Max Lake - November 18, 2001, 6:44 am EST

Just like everywhere else, people can't wait for the Cube!

Believe it or not PGC readers, I’m not getting a GameCube today. I’m a day late and a dollar short or something, so I am going to have to bide my time and save up. I’m planning on getting my Cube on or before Dec. 3rd, provided I can find one! I’m not too worried, as Nintendo will be shipping more to retailers in coming weeks. But like the devoted PGC freak I am, I set out to cover this monumental launch. If the initial demand is any indication, Nintendo GameCube is already a smash hit!

Yes, just like other parts of the nation, people are camping out all over in Dayton, Ohio. Actually, it’s less of camping and more of showing up a few hours before stores opened or several hours before the Cube released.

I visited a handful of stores over the past 12 hours and got a few pictures of people standing in line. Many stores had lines of folks, though were small. Fortunately, it looks like the supply will fill the demand down here, at least for the first round of folks.

Here’s a rundown of local stores I checked out:

  • Meijer: This is a 24 hour all purpose super store, carrying just about everything. They were selling games and memory cards early, but would not sell Cubes until midnight. Some folks got in line in the early afternoon. Shortly after I arrived, a manager gave people numbers on black post-it notes and told them they could leave the line. The store had “just about” 60 systems. There were about 20 people in line at 10 PM. The only games were Luigi and Wave Race: Blue Storm. It didn’t look there was enough for 60 systems… Rogue Leader was nowhere to be found.

  • Target: A small line. People started showing up at 7 AM, just before the store opened. A manager was handing out coupons to people in line, which (I believe) entailed buying a game and getting $15 off a controller. The guy at the front of the line heard I was from PGC and said we were one of his favorite sites. Thanks! The target manager said there were only 24 systems available, split evenly between colors.

  • Toys R Us Toys R Us is next-door to the Target, wasn’t not open when I was out and about. There wasn’t a line either. However, one of the TRU employees wearing a GameCube t-shirt rode up to the Target line on a scooter. “Looking for GameCube? Toys R Us has 80 of them!” The Target manager promptly chased him off. Pretty funny.

  • Best Buy: 65 cubes. This is the only place I actually saw people camping. 4 guys in sleeping bags at the front of the line. They had been there since 10 PM. There was a small line behind these guys but they looked like they hadn’t been there long.

  • Wal-Mart: No longer an all-night store, my local Wal-Mart just broke out the Cubes this morning. There was one loyal fan ready to purchase one bright and early too. Plenty of Cubes and all launch titles seemed to be in stock. No sign of Memory Cards or controllers, but employees were just starting to unpack it all.

    Everyone is excited for Cube. Many cite Nintendo’s tradition of quality, “the best 1st party games” said one GameCube early bird. I met a few kids with their parents, who had come to get the GameCube as a Christmas present. However, these guys are going to have to wait till X-Mas to get to play. Kinda a bummer, but at least they know they’ll be all set!

    Word is that X-Boxes have sold out at many of these places, though initial shipments for many stores were in the low single digits.

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