How can any self respecting gamer not partake in one of the biggest releases of the year by NOT lining up to get your copy of Grand Theft Auto 4?
I must say that my expectations have been pretty low for the game. After messing about with GTA 3, Vice City, & San Andres. I felt pretty full with the whole sandbox hooker killing games. Not until acutally footage of the game came out over the past weekend did I really get my hopes up. Let's check out what release night was all about in my area.

Future Shop on Yonge & Dundas was my destination of choice Monday night. They advertised there would be a PlayStation street team, game competitions, DJs. Basically a big party blowout for the game. Also you got a free hat with purchase of the game & that was more than everyone else was offering. Mind you any place that sold video games was having a midnight & that meant at least 3 locations with in a 3 block radius of me. I still decided to go downtown a bit more.

Starting off the night even my subway station was in the GTA4 spirit.


Got to Future Shop at about 10:30. Line was about 40-50 people deep. The promise of video game competitions was a lie. They had Gran Turismo 5 set up. No one even bother to step out of the line to play games even to just warm up a bit. Some local hip hop station was there pretty much just playing Kanye West on repeat.



Ironically some homeless lady gets nailed by the cops for loitering, as everyone standing in a line up across the street look on. Guess you just can't stand around anywhere in Toronto, unless you with a mob of people.


At 11:30 they made a new line for all those that pre-paid fully for the game.


11:45 & the line is now down the block. At least 100 people or so now. No one give a crap that HMV is also open at 12am for the game. Everyone is in line for Future Shop.


For some dumb reason I totally forgot to take picts while inside the store. Guess it was the excitement to finally fork over my nearly 70 bucks after taxes for the game. Funny thing though, there was an older guy behind me in line all night. Thought he might be grabbing the game for his kids. Apparently he thought the line up was for FREE COPIES of the game. Dude waited 2 & a half hours in a unusually cold spring night for absolutely nothing. We were about 10 people from checking out when he decided to give up & leave. Completely nuts.

I got the game. I choose PS3 because I don't have many games for it still & the 360 is super unreliable & could die any day now. I got a GTA4 hat & Liberty City Swingers foam "shocker" fingers.


Love the embossed cover they did. plus I get double manual & maps if I ever decide to learn French.


Shocker Fingers



GTA4 Hat


Also picked up a DualShock 3 controller over the weekend. Just for GTA4 & Metal Gear Online.