
Over 3000 People Lined Up For A Nintendo Switch In Japan Last Week
During the weekend before Splatoon 2’s launch, the Japanese have finally got to see and experience the worst lines to buy a Nintendo Switch.
In the past, Japanese retailer Bic Camera often conducted Nintendo Switch raffles to distribute whatever limited stock they have to customers. Customers will have to queue to get a number, wait for the winning numbers to be announced, and if they have won, they could buy a Switch. The longest lines for these raffles were said to nearly hit 1000 people at one single location.
Electronics giant Yodobashi, which is said to have the best stock in the country, has recently switched to the raffle format. The line at Yodobashi Umeda this weekend easily looks like a thousand over people queuing for only 200 sets of Nintendo Switch.
ヨドバシ梅田のスイッチ200台にコレ 無理だぞw pic.twitter.com/ybjaOC8wlL
— ONOMA@63.6 (@pachi_pansya) July 15, 2017
Over at Yodobashi Akiba, an estimated number of 2,600 raffle tickets have been taken at 8:27 in the morning, meaning 2,600 people were waiting in line.
ヨドバシ秋葉原へ来たけど、スイッチの抽選と思われる長蛇の列ができてた。8:27地点で2600番くらいだったから、総数の推定では、5000番は余裕で行き、最大で10000番超える可能性がある。これは梅田超え確実で、とてつもなく無理www#任天堂スイッチ pic.twitter.com/orGWlQYi0I
— マリパズくん (@no4yh) July 16, 2017
As the raffle ended, we got to see that the final count surpassed 3,000 people, something which hasn’t happened before. There were only 250 sets up for grabs.
「あー、抽選外れちやったよー」と嘆く親子の隣にいたおにーさん「これよかったらあげます」と整理券を渡す。親子立ち尽くす「え、これあたってる」息子くんめっちゃ笑顔。というシーンに立ち会ってしまった。なに、あの任天堂の神の使いみたいなひと pic.twitter.com/UqkSVRFCCg
— ツルミロボ (@kaztsu) July 17, 2017
An act of kindness was spotted after the raffle ended at Yodobashi Akiba. A middle age man gave his winning Switch ticket to a distraught kid who didn’t get a chance of buying a Nintendo Switch. As you could imagine, that boy’s face instantly brighten up. I’m so happy to see there are still many good people around!