VIDEO: Local video game personality encounters trouble with the law while waiting in line for the 3DS

Matt Hawkins Contributing Writer, Video Games

He’s not exactly a household name, but a decent number of New Yorkers are perhaps familiar with Triforce, whom many (including himself) have dubbed the most dedicated and hardcore gamer in the Big Apple.

Waiting in line for many days in a row for the launch of some new Nintendo hardware is simply part of his shtick, though all has not been smooth sailing this time around…

The one question I have is simply “Best Buy, really?” You’d think he’d be camping out in front of the Nintendo World Store, the 2 story tall dedicated Nintendo shopping center near the heart of Times Square, and not just a random Best Buy in NYU country. Though I know most are perhaps completely clueless about this fellow. Well, if you have time for yet another 10-minute video…

If you zoned out after the three minute mark, no worries. Here’s the real deal: this guy has been a staple for every Nintendo launch as far as I can remember. The last time he made “headlines” was as the first one in line for the US launch of the Wii. In fact, here’s a picture that I took myself…

t2 VIDEO: Local video game personality encounters trouble with the law while waiting in line for the 3DS

It’s an accomplishment that he’s very proud of, even to this day. Though it needs to be noted that his week long stretch in front of the Toys R Us was somewhat made more comfortable by frequent rest stops at MTV HQ, conveniently located across the street; he was the central figure of a True Life documentary they were filming at the time, so one has to wonder how orchestrated that whole endeavor was in the first place.

I first met the guy back when he was still building Empire Arcadia, the collective of players that he’s the figurehead leader of. This was around 2004-05, where he was an employee at the biggest and best independent game store in the city at the time, Games Express. I still remember him going on and on about how much gaming was better back in the day, because, unlike Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo and Sega “respected each other, like samurai warriors.” Okay.

The whole Empire Arcadia scene is also rather curious. They were definitely the first local entity that tried to capitalize on the whole pro gaming movement during its infancy; initially they offered their expert game playing skills to clients who wanted to either demonstrate a game of their own or simply have an event in which games would be a key drawing point, with the assumption gamers would then flock towards said alcoholic sponsored event. Not sure how that turned out in the end, but they eventually moved onto the fighting game scene, which has proven to be quite lucrative to some.

I’ve had few personal interactions with Triforce and therefore really don’t know him all that well ultimately, but despite his somewhat goofy antics (which has seems a bit toned down as of late, which might be due to age more than anything else), he still seems like a totally nice guy. I’ll also admit that I’m relieved to hear that he doesn’t wear that Power Glove all the damn time.

Man lining up for 3DS gets moved on by cops, comes back
 [Destructoid]

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