“2.5 hours of waiting”: Major lineups in Vancouver to buy new Zelda game

Josh Hodding | Nintendo

Thousands of video game lovers formed lineups Thursday night to get their hands on the new Nintendo game — The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

In Burnaby, dozens of people were spotted outside the Lougheed Mall as early as 9 pm ahead of the release. Seeing so many people waiting outside the mall led to some confusion from neighbours who clearly didn’t know about the big release.

Josh Hodding

“Anyone know why there’s people lined up? It’s almost 11 PM,” one person wrote on Reddit.

In Vancouver, folks waited outside the GameStop on Cambie Street for hours, luckily on an unusually warm May evening. Of course, not everyone was pleased to see so many other people had the same idea.

“Line at the Vancouver GameStop for the new Zelda game would’ve taken at least 2.5 hours of waiting… I gave up after 30 minutes this is so humiliating,” one person wrote on Twitter.

Line at the Vancouver GameStop for the new Zelda game would’ve taken at least 2.5 hours of waiting… I gave up after 30 minutes this is so humiliating pic.twitter.com/b8wmtfoT2D

— Fraser (@frazham) May 12, 2023

Lots of other malls were packed with fans last night, including those in Richmond and Metrotown.

Some suggested they opted to skip the big opening night event and order the video game online instead.

@ezramuri Important notice to everybody, I won’t be avalible for anybody during the following two weeks, thanks for understanding #Zelda #zeldatearsofthekingdom #vancouver #games #nintendo #zeldatok ♬ Tears of the Kingdom Main Theme – Celestial Aeon Project

The scene was no different in Toronto, where folks patiently lined up outside of GameStop until the wee hours of Friday morning.

There is an 11:00 pm to 3:00 am sale as per security outside @GameStop for the release of #Zelda.

Also, I get busted. #Toronto pic.twitter.com/V2OvEEMoF7

— Caryma Sa’d – Lawyer + Political Satirist (@CarymaRules) May 12, 2023

And for those who got their hands on the game, they are already posting on social media to say that Link cannot pet the dogs in the new game, a feature they are upset about.

You cannot pet the dog in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
1/10 https://t.co/kWfh68iqei pic.twitter.com/MSjjj2eQhE

— Guilherme Bermeo ♪ (@GM_Bermeo) May 12, 2023

Tragically, you can not pet the dogs in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom as dogs function exactly the same way they did in Breath of the Wild. https://t.co/rNx5PIa6J6 pic.twitter.com/wBipT7TXVu

— IGN (@IGN) May 12, 2023

“You cannot pet the dog in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom” pic.twitter.com/6VWDhkMeqO

— Nin (@_Nindy__) May 12, 2023

Are you ready to take on Demon King Ganondorf? Let us know in the comments below.

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With files from Amir Ali