A Zelda fanatic has pitched a tent outside the Nintendo store 72 hours before the midnight release of Tears of the Kingdom.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is on track to become Nintendo’s biggest video game release of 2023. Zelda fans have waited six years for a sequel to Breath of the Wild.
However, some people have leaked TOTK copies early on resell sites, which has caused some to stay offline ahead of release to avoid spoilers.
Despite being out in the wild, this has not stopped one gamer from waiting outside the NYC Nintendo store. This superfan camped 72 hours before the TOTK midnight launch to be the first in line for the anticipated game.
Nintendo fan camps patiently for Tears of the Kingdom midnight launch
Alex Pekala — also known as OfficialCND — has been documenting his Zelda camping trip on Twitter and his YouTube channel. Pekala claimed that around ten people were in line 48 hours before the release of the Breath of the Wild sequel.
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Pekala previously vented about Nintendo’s ‘Warp Pipe Pass’ system, allowing fans to reserve a time slot to prevent overcrowding. However, the Warp Pipe website crashed, and prospective attendees could not access the reservation page — including Pekala.
Made it through the first night! Was cold, but I survived! 💪 About 10 of us out here now.Let day 2 commence! (vlog from yesterday is coming very soon 👀) #TearsOfTheKingdom https://t.co/5H0bf3sgpr pic.twitter.com/V2EO1rlnwJ
— Alex CND (@OfficialCND) May 10, 2023
Amid the website’s technical issues, Pekala couldn’t score a midnight time slot and settled for 10 AM. This means he will be in the front watching all the lucky ticketholders walk in 10 hours before his reservation.
Pekala’s efforts for Zelda aren’t the first time he has gone the extra mile for Nintendo. The YouTuber began queueing outside Nintendo World a month before the Switch launched. Consequently, he earned the nickname of the dude with the ‘first Nintendo Switch.’
For those unable to attend the in-person Zelda festivities, Nintendo will live-stream a pre-launch celebration. Here’s how to watch the event on May 11, starting at 6:45 pm PT.