Activision arranged an unprecedented giveaway at this year's Eurogamer Expo: The first 500 people to play Call Of Duty: Ghosts would receive a free Prestige Edition of the game.
Every major video game comes in three flavours these days: The Standard Edition, which is just the game with no added extras. Decked out with a unique cover and/or extra in-game content is the Special Edition. And then there's the Collectors Edition or, as it's known to COD fans: the Prestige Edition. The Prestige Edition retails at £180 and includes everything in the Special Edition but with one lavish extra. For example, 2012's Black Ops 2 came with an RC Drone. This year's Prestige Edition is packaged with a 1080p HD camera.
I couldn't pass up this opportunity; I had to go. It didn't matter that I hardly play COD and have a negative K/D ratio, but they were giving away A FREE PRESTIGE EDITION.
Due to a bad sleeping pattern and paranoia, I arrived at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre at 6 am; doors weren't scheduled to be opened until 11 am. Despite being obscenely early, I wasn't alone. There were already 100 people in line; the guy at the front of the queue had been there since 8 pm the previous day. My friends arrived an hour later. The atmosphere was jovial with a hint of apprehension; no staff was present to maintain the queue. It became clear early on that I wasn't among hardcore COD fans; "I'm putting mine on eBay!" said one man.
At around 8 am, the crowd was ushered from the right side of the building to the left. An uppity security guard - with shoulder-length brown hair resembling a certain biblical figure - took the Call of Duty theme too seriously; "If you listen to me, we'll all get through this safely!" said Army Jesus.
A few minutes after the guard had finished preaching, the staff allowed us to enter the building. We collected our passes and headed for the turnstiles; the staff halted us and directed everyone to the stairs below. It was 9 am and only authorized personnel was allowed into the hall; we were stuck in the basement.
The queue had disintegrated; hundreds of men and scarcely few women were jammed into this tiny area. Press members and staff would walk by, bemused, disgusted, and intrigued by this mob. Some would snap photos, instructing us to wave and yelp for the camera. "You guys really love Call of Duty, eh?" asked an amused press member. The crowd collectively shrugged.
Thirty minutes before opening time, we emerged from the basement into the foyer. Loud, ominous stamping could be heard from the back. A few moments before the Expo was to open to the public; we were finally allowed to stand in the main hall. Only a steel barrier separated us. Army Jesus arose, "Okay, people! I want a nice and orderly entrance." The crowd chuckled. He outstretched his hands and motioned to the two entrance points. The salivating crowd drowned out Army Jesus's sermon. I was jostled by the ravenous mob behind me. The hours of waiting and endless queues had turned the playful bunch from earlier into freebie obsessed monsters.
A staff member let the first in line enter; it was then when all hell broke loose. The barriers slapped the floor; a storm descended onto the Exhibition Centre, an 50" TV was flung aside like a copy of Battlefield, rucksacks flew with wild abandonment. The staff pleaded for order in vain.
My eyes darted left and right; I had lost sight of my friends a few queues back. Bodies flew past while I tried to ascertain where the booth was. I spotted a familiar silhouette: A man with a gun. That must be the Call of Duty booth! I dashed straight to it. The queue formed fast. I quickly claimed my spot.
I lagged a couple of seconds; I couldn't be sure if there were 500 people ahead of me. A man in an official Ghosts T-shirt shuffled down the line handing a piece of card. He approached me with the card. I grabbed it. This was it. It confirmed that I was #Oneof500. All those hours, all those queues, the basement, Army Jesus. It was over...almost. I just had to queue for another hour to play the game.
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| The magic ticket |
It was 11 am. I had just finished a second game of COD Ghosts on an Xbox One (the controller felt unsatisfyingly light). I approached the redeem station, entered in my details; it was done. Finally, I had the rest of the convention to enjoy. Unfortunately, my sleep-deprived body couldn't handle a post office queue (although those are pretty brutal). I made a few rotations of the convention before heading home. Battered. Bruised. Alive.
I later sold my Prestige Edition on eBay.
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