Japan Lines Up for Smash

Hundreds brave clear skies and unseasonable warmth.

 

Nintendo may just have a hit on its hands with this "Smash Brothers" game. Released in Japan earlier today, Smash Bros. X (probably known as Smash Bros. Brawl where you live) got masses of consumers to line up outside of retailers prior to opening time -- a rare site for a game that isn't Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy.

Your IGN Japan headquarters near Tokyo's Shibuya train station has walkable access to two large Bic Camera outlets. While both managed lines of maybe a dozen or so for Wii Fit late last year, the scene for Smash Bros. today was far more hectic. At opening time, the larger of the two shops had at least one hundred people lined up to purchase the game from a special register that had been set up in the store front. Going up to the game section on the fourth floor, we found another 50 lined up there, most with Smash Bros. in hand.

For the look at the rest of the Tokyo launch day scene, we turn to Famitsu.com, which sent its reporters to retailers throughout the city. The usual suspects had major lines prior to opening time.

In Shinjuku, a ten minute train ride to the north of Shibuya, over 300 people had gathered outside the famous Yodobashi Camera shop by 9:00. While the first person in line had been waiting since midnight, most had arrived following the start of train service at around 6:00am.

Speaking with a few people who'd lined up, Famitsu learned that many had been unable to reserve the game at their local game shops. Some said their shops weren't taking pre-orders at all, while others said pre-order allotments had disappeared quickly.

Outside of Smash Bros., a number of high profile games were released today, including Devil May Cry 4 and Disgaea 3. At this Yodobashi, and at our local Bic in Shibuya, only Smash Bros. got the treatment of special checkout registers. Yodobashi actually made the game available for purchase on all floors of its Game and Hobby building, rather than limiting it to the first floor game section.

Famitsu's correspondents noticed a number of people at this Yodobashi shop purchasing the game with GameCube controllers. In one shot at the bottom of this story, you'll see a strange site -- someone buying a couple of GameCube controllers with a Wii system!

Long lines were a common site throughout Tokyo today. In Akihabara, over 200 people had lined up outside the large Yodobashi Camera shop prior to the 9:30 opening time. The store opened up at 9:20 just for Smash Bros. sales, but the line kept on growing and reached 500 by 10:00!

Staff at this particular Yodobashi told Famitsu that they're not too concerned about running out of stock for either Smash Bros. or the Wii system. However, they are expecting a rush of school kids and office workers picking up the game in the evening as they make their way home, so the stock situation may turn bad tomorrow.

Making some observations about the type of people that had lined up for the game at the large Bic Camera in Ikebukuro, further to the north of Shibuya, Famitsu noted that 80% were males in their late teens or twenties. The rest of the group was split between couples and more elderly people who were presumably asked by their children to pick up the game.

We noticed a similar mix at the Bic Camera shops in Shibuya, although perhaps leaning more towards the elderly and parent crowd. As we waited in line to purchase our copy of the game, a middle aged lady stood behind us holding a copy for herself and a Wii Fit unit. Beside her was an elderly lady whom we presume was her mother. To our great surprise, the elderly lady reached over to the DS section shelf and pulled out Nintendo's cooking software, adding it to the stack.

Nintendo wins.

 

Famitsu pics: