‘You were among your people’: Nintendo Switch 2 launch revives the midnight release

Once rivalling film premieres for theatrics, could Smyths' revival of the midnight launch tap into a desire for shared real-world experience?

There was a time when certain shops would resemble nightclubs at about midnight: a long queue of excitable people, some of them perhaps too young to be out that late, discussing the excitement that awaits inside.

The sight of throngs of gamers looking to get their hands on the latest hardware when the clock strikes 12 is growing increasingly rare. But if you happen to walk by a Smyths toy shop at midnight on 4 June, you may encounter a blast from the past: excitable people, most in their teens or 20s, possibly discussing Mario Kart.