Often when I turn up for a midnight sale its seldom for the intended game. The games I really want tend to clash with what the mainstream gamer wants so something like Catherine or Shadows of the Damned never gets that midnight sale. Well, that and Nintendo games come out on Sundays

I guess this makes me a bit of a combobreaker. Last year for at the Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood launch, I just showed up to grab a copy of Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom. Several weeks ago, I wasn't there for Gears of War 3, it was all about getting Kirby Mass Attack (since it oddly didn't come out on a Sunday).



Monday night of last week was the Modern Warfare 3 launch, but I wasn't there because for modern warfare - I was there because war had changed and I have to rescue Migma from evil scientists. Yeah, I was more keen on getting MGS HD Collection and Cave Story 3D. They weren't even high on the priority to-play list, really, I guess you could say I was just there for the show.

Weeks before there was the Dark Souls/NBA2k12/Rage launch. I was actually there for Dark Souls, so that's a switch. That brought out an interesting crowd and there were people there old enough to remember Doom or had played Demon's Souls.

I gotta say, though, I liked all the launches save for MW3's because it brought out people that tend to see gaming in a larger scope than one shooter and, as such, you're able to have conversations with them. You'd think with the popularity of COD and Battlefield that there would be epic tales of things that happened in the players' clans, but most of the people there for the game weren't even too keen on talking about it.



This was a big line, too, half as long as the shopping complex, at least.

I found the subdued attitude strange for a game they absolutely had to have that night and it was sort of a bummer some of them didn't even know what Metal Gear Solid was. Cave Story I can forgive them on, but Metal Gear? Really? Granted I could have just come out for my games in the morning, but I was there for the spectacle and it really wasn't one at all. In fact, it seemed like people were there because other people were there because Modern Warfare was popular.

Just a lot of boring people in a line with a really bad DJ trying to entertain them. And by "DJ" I mean some twit that just fiddled with the bass constantly and not much else.

Contrast this to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim launch last Friday. The line was half as long, but that's a pretty damn impressive turnout for Elder Scrolls considering its rather brief history on consoles.

I was actually there for Skyrim this time, too. I mean, what else came out on 11/11/11?

The first guys in line were totally there for the game but already arguing about which was the best pokemon, some college kids playing Pokemon Black/White and talking about the time they got beat by a level 100 Metapod using Psybeam. We had some guy with his plywood Master Sword (wrong game, but it is a sword - that's what's important) and a dude in a centurion helmet and then there was this guy, that turned his hooded jacket into a makeshift Nord helmet:



The wonders of cardboard, a sharpie and tape, folks. This was the guy I was standing behind, but he was fun to talk to. He'd played all the Elder Scrolls games and I really only started with Morrowind myself. We talked Morrowind, Oblivion, our unique experiences with those; we talked other RPGs, Dark Souls, Metal Gear, Zelda and all kinds of stuff.

People talking, who would have thought? And one kid there, compared to the gaggles of them there for MW3 days prior.

There was no DJ and Gamestop did come up short on its promise of pizza and dragons, but it was a good time all the same. People pulled up the screaming Skyrim girl video from Youtube, someone pumped up the main theme and as the door unlocked one of my friends - who bought the 360 collectors edition - started cheering "huzzah" over and over.

Someone declared "Cheese, cheese for everyone!" as well, I think. Well, someone's girlfriend did buy a plastic jug of cheese balls from Target, after all.



This is what I come out for. That and I wanted to get to building a character right away, so after my friend got his collectors edition we got in the car, made a quick stop at a drive thru for cheese fries to satisfy our inner Sheagoraths and I rushed him home.

On the way he frantically looked through my guide looking for info on companions. He really wanted a dog for some reason. I just wanted to get home to make my sneaky, lockpicking Archer-Mage - a Breton now known as Irene Grogdrowner AKA "Dovakin." She has a mind for mead, murder and arson. After some time with the mage's college, she'll be persuing life as a member of the Dark Brotherhood and Thieves guild. All hail our Dread Mother!

Its just nice to have a nice, big nerdy game come out and see everyone so excited for it. It was a big contrast to MW3 and much more something I wanted to play right away, even if I had to wait out in to cold to do so.

Monday night its Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 and Shinobi for me at the Assassin's Creed: Revelations launch. Not really a combobreaker this time as there are plenty there for MAHVEL, BABY. I just hope my thumbs don't go numb for Super Mario 3D Land like they did for Cave Story as I waited in line. Its a bit cold for midnight sales this year and I do hope its the last one with games I want at it.