If you're tired of reading about midnight launches and what people would do to get a Collector's Edition, then move along. If instead you want to read about the trials and tribulations of a man who's closer to the arctic circle than is necessary, stay with me.

So, being in Saskatoon, we didn't get a midnight launch. Maybe it's because both of our EB Games locations are in malls and our Walmarts close at 10pm like everything else in the city, and that's it really is too dark and too cold for people to be out that late on a Monday night. Whatever the reason, a midnight launch was a no-go. I watched my guildies leap through the Dark Portal with the giddy giggles of four-year olds at Christmas. I kept saying "Grats" to every ding from a newly created Draenei. And then I went to bed, falling asleep in a puddle of tears.

No, not really. Earlier on Monday evening, five of us had piled into my car to hit every shop in town to see a) If they had any Collector's Editions in stock and b) If they could be bribed to sell them to us a little early. While a fun experience, it proved unfruitful. It seemed like hope was dwindling for me and my dashed dreams of a Collector's Edition.

Only hours before, I'd received the dreaded call saying that my CE had been gobbled up by an unruly manager at the shop where a friend had a friend of his stealthily hide it away from prying eyes. All prying eyes, that is, except for the manager.

And so it was that I found myself, sleepy and bleary eyed, standing at 6 in the morning in a line of 50 or more fellow WoW Enthusiasts, waiting to pick up my pre-ordered and pre-paid copy of The Burning Crusade at EB Games. The line moved slowly, but free posters were being given away - one of the blood elves, and one of the mighty and glorious squidfaced bearers of the light known as the Draenei (which I just happen to be rolling). So I made it home in time to pick up my ever-understanding roomie and drive him to work, before I drove off again in search of a Collector's Edition to call my own.

So I head to Walmart, near my office (yes, I have a day job), where I meet some more folks discussing the demerits of blood elves, who inform me that they'd talked on the phone to Walmart, and were assured that there were more Collector's Editions than normal editions. We're let in a little early only to find that "collector's edition" really means the green Burning Crusade box, rather than the brown World of Warcraft box. Yes, the regular editions. Pained, I leave the shop empty-handed, and decide to make a last-ditch effort at getting a copy from FutureShop, also opening early, but which had a fairly large line at my earlier drive-by inspection.

So I run into the shop, surely looking like a mad man in a jaunty cap, only to see that there are no more gloriously large green Collector's Edition boxes. I get in line, see a lady two spots in front of me, and ask hopefully, "Are there a pile of those somewhere?" She smiles back at me, a little sadly, and shakes her head.

"Here, you should have this one. My husband just needs the normal edition," the voice of this angelic woman cuts through the din.

"Are..are...are..you sure?" I stammer out.

"Yes, you look like you really want it. You should have it."

I take the large, heavy package from her, thank her profusely, and wait my turn in line. While doing so, a FutureShop staff member comes by and says "Hey, you don't have your free cards yet!" and dumps some free plastic case of a trading card game starter set "With 3 epic characters!" into my stunned paws.

So there it is. I was a couple of minutes late for work (sorry!), but I have a CE, a poster, and some epic character cards. It was a fun adventure, and a great way to kill those final hours leading up to the expansion going live.

To the husband of the wife who gave me her Collector's Edition, I can only say thanks, and that I'll gladly buy you a drink of choice down at the pub. Your wife is a kind and giving soul, who has robbed you of an in-game pet and a mousepad.

Tags: burning crusade, burning crusade launch, BurningCrusade, BurningCrusadeLaunch, eb games, EbGames, expansion, launch event, LaunchEvent, warcraft, world of warcraft, WorldOfWarcraft, wow

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends, Expansions, The Burning Crusade