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muusu
On the night of Monday, October 30, I had the opportunity to do some special observing down at the Electronics Boutique (EB games). The midnight launch of Final Fantasy XII, the lastest game in the popular Final Fantasy series of role-playing games, and the first solo, non-sequel continuation of the game since 2002, opened its doors at 11:00 p.m.
I had one single question as Cie and I drove down to the EB Games last night, "Who the heck goes to the midnight launch of the game?" While I did have the game on pre-order (had a copy reserved before the official release), if it were not for this project, I would not have thought attending a midnight launch would be worth it, especially since I could not actually play the game until Tuesday evening. So my informal hypothesis is that only the 'hardcore' gamers would attend. I wasn't even sure if there would be anyone attending a midnight launch.
Cie and I arrived on the campus around 10:40, and gathered around the door at about 10:55 at night. The original crowd was perhaps 10 people, mostly white males, as I believe I was the only female in the group when the doors opened. We waited outside on Green Street, and people who passed by turned their heads to the crowd and stared for a second before continuing on their way. The doors of the EB games opened at 11, and everyone stood in line to pay for and recieve the copy of their game although no one could actually leave until midnight because the game was not technically released until October 31.
I'm sure EB games had vested economic and practical reasons for holding this 'midnight launch'. According to one of the clerks working there, the available pre-orders (200 in all) had been sold out. And so a midnight launch would prevent crowding and long lines earlier in the day. Also, lined up in front of the counter were strategy guides for Final Fantasy XII, both regular and special edition that the clerks were promoting. The special, limited edition (complete with different covers and an artbook) was espeically promoted, with a 20% discount when purchased with the game. About 3 clerks, two at the counter and one mingling around with the customers were there to run the event/control the crowd. The store is decorated with posters of new releases, and there's a cardboard display of FFXII (without the games) in the corner. The clerks who are working the launch are wearing Final Fantasy XII t-shirts.
I made the assumption when I went in that most of the people who would arrive at the midnight launch would arrive when the doors opened. This was a mistake. I'd say about 20 people had arrived by 11:10, and by this point, Cie, who had been waiting until the line shortened, chose to join, seeing as the line of people only got longer. By 11:30 I'd say about 40 people had arrived between those who were waiting in line and those who had paid for and purchased a game and were now waiting until they could leave the store. Shortly after, the doors to the EB were propped open and the line of people pooled around the door. At that point, having the door open was as much a matter of comfort (over 50 people in the store causes a lot of body heat) as it was to relieve some of the crowding of the lines. The main set up of this event had a flow to it. The back was was filled with people in line, and this single line split into two at the center of the store. Then, when a person went to the counter, the clerk asked for their phone number to make sure that the person actually had the game ordered. The customer then paid the game (the clerk reminds them they can't leave the store until midnight), and then either went to the right or the left. The people who went to the left, would either involve themselves in playing the games on display, the demo version of Guitar Hero 2 (a game where the player 'performs' the musical number on screen with a guitar shaped controller) was on all three demo consoles, or they would simply crowd by the door, waiting to leave the store. Those who went to the right side of the store seemed to only be interested in the game, and the people here were more likely to find a less crowded part of the store and sit down either to chat with their friends, take a look at the merchandise. One person was looking at the game manual of FFXII, another group of people were looking at the strategy guide for the new Neverwinter Nights game (a computer game that emulates the popular tabletop role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons), and three people were sitting in the corner of the store, just talking. By midnight there was probably between 70-100 people who had either already paid for the game and were waiting to go, or were waiting in line to buy the game.
So, who the heck goes to a pre-order? Like I said the majority of the early crowd were white males, but shortly into the event, some white females showed up. Two black men came in to play around at the demo consoles before leaving. Some Asian/Asian-American males also showed up as well. One Asian girl even dressed up wearing a white cat ear headband and with a little red ball on top in order to resemble a Moogle, a creature that is a staple of the Final Fantasy franchise, although she and a late-comer (someone who was still outside the doors at midnight) were the only ones to dress up, something which disappointed some of the more experienced gamers, especially considering it was almost Halloween. People who passed by inevitably looked into the windows at the overflowing EB, and one man who might have been homeless wandered in and asked people what was happening. By midnight, most of the people there were white males, but there was a good amount of Asian men, one Asian woman, and about 10 or so white females.
I had hypothesized earlier that only the hardcore gamers and Final Fantasy fans would show up to get a copy at midnight, and I believe I was mistaken in that. While some people dressed in the 'gamer uniform' jeans, and a dark blue or black t-shirt or khaki's and cheap collared shirts, there were some pepole who wore more fashionable clothing, although these people arrived later and looked uncomfortable in the crowd. One person in a group of three even wore a jacket for the X-tension chords, one of the a capella singing groups on campus. So while 'hardcore gamers' or 'nerds' did make up a sizable portion of sales, they were definitely not the entirety of the crowd.
It's funny, since this was a launch of Final Fantasy XII, I would have expected more conversations in the crowd to revolve around the game, but there wasn't. Games were talked about, the recent release of the latest Xenosaga game (the last in a trilogy of RPG games) came under criticism (I was upset), and the group of people with the Neverwinter Nights 2 strategy guide discussed Dungeons and Dragons. Early in the night, Cie had a discussion about MMORPGs, particularly World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XI, which he has experience with, with one of the other people in line, who turned the conversation into a comparison of how endgame (high level activities) pretty much stank in all the MMORPGs, at one point some people talked about emulators (virtual game consoles that can be used on the PC). People also talked about their classes, and how they would not have time to actually play because of class. Overall, though, it was a very social and convivial atmosphere. Patrons talked with each other, and the store clerks all seemed to be on friendly terms with the patrons, with some of the patrons singling out a single clerk to interact with over another.
One of the things I saw here, especially talking with the early arrivals, is an awareness of the nerds. When I talked to one of the people about doing my Anthropology project on video gamers joked: "Don't include a section on hygiene."
I definitely had a blast, although at midnight, I was eager to get out of that store and cool down a bit.
Yes, I am doing my project for my ethnographic methods class on video gaming at the university. My particular focus right now is either going to be based on self perception of the gamer (whether or not they think they are gamers, whether they embrace or eschew certain parts of the gamer stereotypes) and the ways in which video games are used in socialization, and particularly in bringing people together.
Over and out.
muusuOn the night of Monday, October 30, I had the opportunity to do some special observing down at the Electronics Boutique (EB games). The midnight launch of Final Fantasy XII, the lastest game in the popular Final Fantasy series of role-playing games, and the first solo, non-sequel continuation of the game since 2002, opened its doors at 11:00 p.m.
I had one single question as Cie and I drove down to the EB Games last night, "Who the heck goes to the midnight launch of the game?" While I did have the game on pre-order (had a copy reserved before the official release), if it were not for this project, I would not have thought attending a midnight launch would be worth it, especially since I could not actually play the game until Tuesday evening. So my informal hypothesis is that only the 'hardcore' gamers would attend. I wasn't even sure if there would be anyone attending a midnight launch.
Cie and I arrived on the campus around 10:40, and gathered around the door at about 10:55 at night. The original crowd was perhaps 10 people, mostly white males, as I believe I was the only female in the group when the doors opened. We waited outside on Green Street, and people who passed by turned their heads to the crowd and stared for a second before continuing on their way. The doors of the EB games opened at 11, and everyone stood in line to pay for and recieve the copy of their game although no one could actually leave until midnight because the game was not technically released until October 31.
I'm sure EB games had vested economic and practical reasons for holding this 'midnight launch'. According to one of the clerks working there, the available pre-orders (200 in all) had been sold out. And so a midnight launch would prevent crowding and long lines earlier in the day. Also, lined up in front of the counter were strategy guides for Final Fantasy XII, both regular and special edition that the clerks were promoting. The special, limited edition (complete with different covers and an artbook) was espeically promoted, with a 20% discount when purchased with the game. About 3 clerks, two at the counter and one mingling around with the customers were there to run the event/control the crowd. The store is decorated with posters of new releases, and there's a cardboard display of FFXII (without the games) in the corner. The clerks who are working the launch are wearing Final Fantasy XII t-shirts.
I made the assumption when I went in that most of the people who would arrive at the midnight launch would arrive when the doors opened. This was a mistake. I'd say about 20 people had arrived by 11:10, and by this point, Cie, who had been waiting until the line shortened, chose to join, seeing as the line of people only got longer. By 11:30 I'd say about 40 people had arrived between those who were waiting in line and those who had paid for and purchased a game and were now waiting until they could leave the store. Shortly after, the doors to the EB were propped open and the line of people pooled around the door. At that point, having the door open was as much a matter of comfort (over 50 people in the store causes a lot of body heat) as it was to relieve some of the crowding of the lines. The main set up of this event had a flow to it. The back was was filled with people in line, and this single line split into two at the center of the store. Then, when a person went to the counter, the clerk asked for their phone number to make sure that the person actually had the game ordered. The customer then paid the game (the clerk reminds them they can't leave the store until midnight), and then either went to the right or the left. The people who went to the left, would either involve themselves in playing the games on display, the demo version of Guitar Hero 2 (a game where the player 'performs' the musical number on screen with a guitar shaped controller) was on all three demo consoles, or they would simply crowd by the door, waiting to leave the store. Those who went to the right side of the store seemed to only be interested in the game, and the people here were more likely to find a less crowded part of the store and sit down either to chat with their friends, take a look at the merchandise. One person was looking at the game manual of FFXII, another group of people were looking at the strategy guide for the new Neverwinter Nights game (a computer game that emulates the popular tabletop role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons), and three people were sitting in the corner of the store, just talking. By midnight there was probably between 70-100 people who had either already paid for the game and were waiting to go, or were waiting in line to buy the game.
So, who the heck goes to a pre-order? Like I said the majority of the early crowd were white males, but shortly into the event, some white females showed up. Two black men came in to play around at the demo consoles before leaving. Some Asian/Asian-American males also showed up as well. One Asian girl even dressed up wearing a white cat ear headband and with a little red ball on top in order to resemble a Moogle, a creature that is a staple of the Final Fantasy franchise, although she and a late-comer (someone who was still outside the doors at midnight) were the only ones to dress up, something which disappointed some of the more experienced gamers, especially considering it was almost Halloween. People who passed by inevitably looked into the windows at the overflowing EB, and one man who might have been homeless wandered in and asked people what was happening. By midnight, most of the people there were white males, but there was a good amount of Asian men, one Asian woman, and about 10 or so white females.
I had hypothesized earlier that only the hardcore gamers and Final Fantasy fans would show up to get a copy at midnight, and I believe I was mistaken in that. While some people dressed in the 'gamer uniform' jeans, and a dark blue or black t-shirt or khaki's and cheap collared shirts, there were some pepole who wore more fashionable clothing, although these people arrived later and looked uncomfortable in the crowd. One person in a group of three even wore a jacket for the X-tension chords, one of the a capella singing groups on campus. So while 'hardcore gamers' or 'nerds' did make up a sizable portion of sales, they were definitely not the entirety of the crowd.
It's funny, since this was a launch of Final Fantasy XII, I would have expected more conversations in the crowd to revolve around the game, but there wasn't. Games were talked about, the recent release of the latest Xenosaga game (the last in a trilogy of RPG games) came under criticism (I was upset), and the group of people with the Neverwinter Nights 2 strategy guide discussed Dungeons and Dragons. Early in the night, Cie had a discussion about MMORPGs, particularly World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XI, which he has experience with, with one of the other people in line, who turned the conversation into a comparison of how endgame (high level activities) pretty much stank in all the MMORPGs, at one point some people talked about emulators (virtual game consoles that can be used on the PC). People also talked about their classes, and how they would not have time to actually play because of class. Overall, though, it was a very social and convivial atmosphere. Patrons talked with each other, and the store clerks all seemed to be on friendly terms with the patrons, with some of the patrons singling out a single clerk to interact with over another.
One of the things I saw here, especially talking with the early arrivals, is an awareness of the nerds. When I talked to one of the people about doing my Anthropology project on video gamers joked: "Don't include a section on hygiene."
I definitely had a blast, although at midnight, I was eager to get out of that store and cool down a bit.
Yes, I am doing my project for my ethnographic methods class on video gaming at the university. My particular focus right now is either going to be based on self perception of the gamer (whether or not they think they are gamers, whether they embrace or eschew certain parts of the gamer stereotypes) and the ways in which video games are used in socialization, and particularly in bringing people together.
Over and out.
