by marino
I've been to a lot of gaming conventions. Ten E3's. Thirteen PAX's. That's a lot of waiting in line. I'm generally against waiting in line for extended periods of time, but sometimes it can't be avoided. Typically, I'll pick out two or three things that I must see or play at a show and target one per day right when the doors open. This usually eliminates at least some of the normal waiting period. When I had this idea, I started looking back at the shows I've been to and I realized that this whole waiting in line for hours thing didn't become prevalent until more recently. The 90's were a simpler time, kids.
I remember being at the E3's in Atlanta and being able to walk right up without a line to play things like Star Fox 64, Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy VIII, and countless others. That just wouldn't be possible at a show today. Anyway, here's some stuff I can remember definitely waiting more than an hour to see or play. There may be others, which I'll add if and when I remember.
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E3 2000 - THQ had Mick Foley at their booth and his first book had recently come out if I remember correctly. My friend from NYC that had met me in LA for the show was dead set on getting it signed. I was/am a wrestling fan, so I waited with him to get an autograph too. THQ seriously fucked up though and had Mick Foley signing at the same time as Bruce Campbell. It was a clusterfuck of epic proportions in the West Hall.
E3 2001 - I didn't wait to play the system. I waited in line over an hour for a chance to win one. And that was exactly what happened. Nintendo had this big, spinning table set up which would seat about 14 people at a time. They would spin the table and whatever landed in front of you, you got to keep. There were foam GameCubes, foam GBA's, and other trinkets. But one person per spin would win a GBA, and I got it. Problem was, it was about three weeks before they came out in America, so I couldn't even go buy anything for it. Was still awesome to win, especially since Charles Martinet made fun of me for wearing a PlayStation shirt.
E3 2002 - I was deep into my EQ addiction at the time, and the chance to see the next expansion was a big deal. Guild mates were counting on it. Plus, they were showing early stuff on EQ2 and the character creator for Star Wars Galaxies.
See above.
E3 2004 - I actually waited in line twice for this. After the line, you were brought into a small room with about 50 people at a time. Charles Martinet spoke to everyone about the new tech and then showed a video with developers talking about how excited they were about the DS's features. Then, about 20 people were randomly selected for a "guided tour" of the DS. The rest got to play some tech demos. Unfortunately, I didn't get into the select few that got to play Metroid and the other stuff behind the curtain.
E3 2004 - It was the third day and I was dead tired. I had pretty much done everything I'd wanted to at that point, so I camped out at Ubisoft's booth for a while to get Gabe & Tycho to sign a copy of the Splinter Cell comic they made. I told them I hoped to make it to the first PAX later that year, but I wouldn't actually get to do that til 2008.
E3 2005 - My friend and I ran when the doors open and got in line for this. There were so many other exhibitors that had already got in line before the doors opened to the regular attendees that it was still over two hours before we got to play. You could stay in there almost as long as you wanted though, so I made sure to play through the whole dungeon.
E3 2005 - We didn't even get to play it, but when new hardware is announced, and you're at E3, you're basically required to go see it. After the presentation, we were able to get up close and personal with that crazy batarang controller.
E3 2006 - This is the longest line I've ever waited in. For anything. Ever. It was close to three hours if not a little more. Once again, a friend and I hauled ass to Nintendo right when the doors opened. The line wrapped clear around the football field-sized booth. Once inside though, there about 25 different games you could play and no one forced you to leave. So we stayed in there for well over an hour, met Charles Martinet, and even spotted Miyamoto observing everyone.
E3 2006 - RVD had just won the Money in the Bank ladder match and was going to be at THQ's booth signing autographs in promotion of the latest WWE game. I asked him if he was going to cash it in at ECW One Night Stand, which hadn't been officially announced yet, and he said "You fuckin' know it, dude."
