Nintendo Power’s 20th Anniversary Party
…or, the thoughts and ramblings of a hungry, sleep-deprived nerd who spent a day and a half on a New York City sidewalk.
Fans from all over flocked to New York City this weekend for a special event. Some came in groups, others traveled alone. They took buses, cars, trains, or planes, and brought tents and chairs to wait outside on the busy, rain-drenched streets for the chance to spend a few fun hours with people they had never met before. And all for one reason.
Michael Phelps was hosting Saturday Night Live.
But just one block south of the NBC Studios, another line was forming, outside Nintendo World. I got there Friday afternoon and met some folks who had been there since Thursday evening, waiting in line for another, cooler event (at least as far as we gamers are concerned) – the Nintendo Power 20th Anniversary Party.
With sponsors EA Games, cdv Software Entertainment, Konami, and Gamecock Media, the celebration included game demos, a costume contest judged by Disney television celebs, and freebies to the first 400 fans in the store Saturday morning. Oh, and Zack Morris was there, too.
That’s right, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, who many of you know from Saved By the Bell, came out to lend his support to the event. A self-proclaimed big gamer, Gosselaar jumped on the invite and the chance to help out Starlight. “It’s a good foundation and a great cause,” he said, telling me that the event also gave his 4-year-old son, who is just getting into gaming, a chance to check out some of the upcoming Wii titles. The kid was rocking at Gamecock’s Mushroom Men for quite a while. Gosselaar said he likes that Nintendo’s games and systems “skew towards families, which brings everyone together to play.”
Mushroom Men was playable on the Wii and DS, giving gamers a chance to try out the funky fungi action a few months before retail release. The Wii version definitely saw more action, and looks like a simple, fun action-platformer. cdv Software had DS titles My Little Baby, a simulator in the vein of some of Ubisoft’s titles, and I Heart Geeks, an impressive looking puzzle game that’s being produced in part by Mark Ecko Entertainment. The two titles were available for attendees to try out at the store’s DS bar downstairs. EA brought along their new SimCity Creator and MySims: Kingdom for the Wii, giving the younger crowd more opportunity to join in the fun (as well as some older gamers reminiscing about classic SimCity games). Rounding out the demos were the new Elebits adventure for the DS, and Wii games DDR Hottest Party 2, Rock Revolution, and Castlevania: Judgment, all published by Konami. Rock Revolution looks like a cross between Wii Music and Rock Band, allowing players to earn points and challenge themselves with a particular rhythm, but without the need of expensive peripherals. Castlevania got plenty of attention also, as gamers saw for themselves how the renowned classic action-adventure series lent itself to a 3-D fighting game. Most seemed pleased with the action, and the character and background graphics were definitely impressive. You can check out some video here.
Ubisoft even brought along a few of the Frag Dolls to help gamers try out the new Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party game.
Since this was a Nintendo Power event, the day couldn’t be complete without appearances from some of the NP staff. Editor in Chief Chris Slate was on hand signing copies of the magazine for fans, as were fellow editors Steve Thomason, Chris Hoffman, and Justin Cheng. Each was happy to oblige the waiting fans and chat about the magazine and games with the costumed constituents of the celebration.
Prior to the store’s opening on Saturday morning, the anticipation was built with several more low-key happenings. In a pseudo-viral marketing attempt by Gamecock, a gentleman holding a double-sided billboard across his body made his way up and down the line proclaiming that the Mushroom Men were real, not just images in a game. He warned all who would listen of the impending doom, while handing out business cards referring fans to his blog. Also, die-hard fans who had camped out since Thursday evening revealed themselves to be part of a gamer group known as Empire Arcadia, and they were hosting a charity Nintendo history quiz, with correct answers leading to the donation of canned goods to homeless shelters. Those near the front of the line dug deep into their memories to answer the questions, and the charity drive ended with a Tetris DS challenge, in which I participated. I thought I did pretty well, beating out many of the other competitors, until a young lady in a very well-designed Zero Suit Samus outfit came around and put the rest of us to shame.
On Friday night, Nintendo World played host to an invite-only, corporate party, which saw the celebs and business partners coming together to raise money for the Starlight foundation, with which Nintendo has a great relationship that allows for Wii console stations to be brought into the rooms of sick children in hospitals nationwide (similar to the Lion’s Den program which we’ve previously reported on). Those in line were forced to remain in line while the invitees got into the red carpet event, but the good people at Nintendo World were nice enough to provide pizza for the people outside in their makeshift shelters, providing some warmth on the otherwise cold and rainy night. Even after all the attendees of the private party had left and the store was locked up for the night, many of the fans were not able to sleep, whiling away the late night hours with wi-fi Mario Kart races and Pictochatting, or sharing past gaming memories and issues of Nintendo Power.
The weekend’s celebration provided some great memories and was definitely a valid display of Nintendo’s commitment to its fans.
