XY launched on October 12, 2013, but at Nintendo World Store in New York there was a large celebration for its midnight launch. In Rockefeller Center, there was a stage set up with activities you could watch or participate in. But in order to participate, you needed to get to the front of the line and access Rockefeller Center.
This was my first year of college, and I went to college very close by to Manhattan, where I could just take a quick train ride from Newark Penn Station to New York Penn Station. The festivities started at 8 pm IIRC, so I wanted to get there earlier to get a good spot in line. This was my first time lining up for something so I didn't really know what to expect. I had classes on that day, but luckily my classes ended at 4 pm, so I rushed to Penn Station to take the train and walk to Rockefeller Center. I made it to 48th Street at 5:20 pm, and by that time the line was already massive. The line stretched from Nintendo World Store down 48th Street, turned on 6th Ave, and turned again on 49th Street. My place in line was already at 49th Street, very far back in line. No choice but to wait.
As the hours passed, I was hearing talk that the line was already wrapping around the entire block and over itself. That's when I knew this was a huge deal. While I was in line, two things happened. There was a camera crew running up and down the line. I might not have noticed it in person, but when I watched a special Japanese recap episode for the New Year, I noticed that the camera crew was filming for segments of the line for this New Year's Special program. Unfortunately I didn't see myself in the line but it was very cool to see that experience in an anime episode!
The second thing that happened was on my 3DS. Since everyone brought their 3DS in line, everyone was Streepassing each other. I received plenty of Streetpasses and there was one specific Streetpass that was special. I don't really watch Poketubers, but I recognized the name of the person I Streetpassed.
Apparently I Streetpassed TheJWittz during this waiting line! It was nice to see a special Streetpass.
The line didn't feel like it took forever but I ended up waiting in line for 6 hours. In the line, they gave everyone a paper hat based on the Kalos starters, so I took one with Fennekin on it. Even though festivities started at 8 pm, the line moved slow as people were having fun taking their time at Rockefeller Center. By the time I got to the front of the line, it was 11:15 pm. I had already bought both of my games and it was finally my turn to have fun at Rockefeller Center. The issue is, I was dorming at college and Newark is said to be a dangerous place at night. Although I have no issues walking the streets of Manhattan at 1-2 am, I didn't want to be out in Newark as late, and I didn't want to miss the last trains back home. So I didn't spend too much time watching the pre-release activities at Rockefeller Center and didn't take any pictures in favor of going home at a reasonable time.
I went home happy that I was finally able to experience a midnight launch for something I like. I ended up going to other midnight launches at Nintendo World Store (now Nintendo NY), but the later games never had the all-out festivities that the XY launch had.
