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The release of the video game Halo 3 overnight caused long lines at stores across the country, including Tucson.
AP Photo/Microsoft Corp.

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Hourly Update

Halo 3 release produces long lines at Tucson stores

By Andrea Kelly
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 09.25.2007
The release of the Halo 3 video game brought out hundreds in anticipation late Monday night, standing outside game stores in Tucson for as many as four hours to get games they’d pre-purchased months ago.
At 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, staff unlocked the doors at the Game Stop near North Campbell Avenue and East Glenn Street, and were met with cheers and people running past them up to the counter to get a copy of the biggest game release yet for the Xbox360 console.
Several of those waiting said they’d never waited hours for game releases before, and couldn’t wait to get home to see the enhanced graphics, which are sharper than the other two games in the Halo series. Another new feature is the ability to participate in cooperative play with up to four players online. This allows online players to form teams and play together, instead of playing in a free-for-all everyone against each other game.
Many who purchased games Tuesday morning were walking out of stores with large cube-shaped boxes, the collector version of the game, which includes a replica of the helmet worn by Master Chief, the main character in the series.
By about 12:30 a.m. the line of more than 150 people was down to a dozen or so at Campbell and Glenn. Meanwhile, at least another 150 still waited outside the Game Stop store near North First Avenue and East Wetmore Road at 12:40 a.m.
Friends held spots in line while others walked across the parking lot to grab some fast-food fuel for the wait.
While the Campbell and Glenn store saw steady movement in the line of people walking in to get the game, the First and Wetmore store was strictly metering the number of people in the store. Five or so were allowed in at a time, then the door was locked. When some left, others were let in, but the door was locked in between each entrance and exit.
The lines caused doubt for at least one person waiting.
Milton Cardona said he purchased his copy of the game about six months ago, and was told to show up Tuesday morning to get his copy.
“It doesn’t look like it's going to happen,” said Cardona, 30, from the back of the line at about 12:45. He said he’d only seen lines as long as these for releases of consoles, not games.
“This is much more anticipated,” than other games, he said.
But he wasn’t too worried about getting a copy Tuesday night. With the next few days off from work, he knew he’d get one in time to experiment before he had to head back to work, he said.
“I’m not that crazy, I can wait a couple of days,” Cardona said.
Others weren’t so lucky, and planned to make the time they thought they’d need to play through the game at least once.
Blaine Wilson said Halo 3 was “the reason you got a 360.” He said he'd likely call in sick to work Tuesday morning after playing “until I pass out.”
James McGrew, 24, and Adriana Vazquez, 22, waited about four hours from the time they got in line until they got to their car in the parking lot with a copy.
McGrew got the game so he could finally finish the cliffhanger left at the end of the second game, while Vazquez said she’s a collector and wanted to get a special edition of the game.
Back at his house, he said, McGrew’s living room was ready and waiting for him to play through the game a few times with friends, who had set up multiple televisions so they could play in the same room.
The mass-marketing of the game, from a special Mountain Dew soda flavor to live-action television spots and several online ads, are what convinced McGrew he needed to get in on the first-night action. After getting off work from his munitions job for the Air National Guard, Joe Enriquez, 31, waited about an hour and a half, in uniform, to get his copy Tuesday morning.
“I like to be part of the hype,” he said, and especially couldn’t wait to play the game online. At 1:15 a.m. the line at First and Wetmore stayed at least 100 strong, while happy buyers streamed steadily out of the store every few minutes.
But back at Campbell and Glenn, at 1:25, it was nearly a ghost town. Game Stop remained open, but no one was purchasing inside. In the time it took to purchase one copy, a few cars drove by on Campbell Avenue, but no one else entered the store.
No one else, that is, until the bright “open” sign was turned off at 1:32 a.m. After that two more enthusiasts walked in to buy a copy of the game.
Trash littered the parking lot area where a line had formed earlier in the night, mostly fast-food containers, cans of energy drinks and caffeinated sodas.
The store was going to bed, in a sense, but for countless Halo 3 owners the night was just beginning.
Contact reporter Andrea Kelly at 573-4243 or akelly@azstarnet.com.
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