8:08 - Here's the EB Games at Universal City Walk where the big launch will be taking place at midnight. The black and white "Nintendo DS" wall is the backdrop for the emcee when they project her announcements on the big screen.

Our first glipse at a DS kiosk. This one features Spider-Man 2 on one side and Super Mario 64DS on the other. It's still early, so we have dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe before returning to The Walk.

9:18 - There were two Nintendo vans outside EB Games headed up by the Nintendo Street Team. In each van, three GameCubes, each with Donkey Konga and four bongo controllers are set up in the back.

Hardrock Cafe's big neon guitar.

9:20 - Nintendo DS commercials and promotional videos play on the big screen all night leading up to the launch.

9:21 - King Kong at The Walk.

9:23 - This is the stage where the band is to perform. Which band? We don't know, and we'll never find out because the stage isn't covered and it's beginning to rain.

The emcee appears on the jumbotron.

9:25 - We are repeatedly reminded of the slightly suggestive DS marketing line: Touching is good.

9:26 - At EB Games, people wait in line not for their DSes, but for orange wristbands, which will allow them to purchase a Nintendo DS at midnight. 300 DSes were allocated, so it's a long line, probably the longest in the country.

9:27 - Others mill about around the store.

9:28 - People get to try out the DS. One guy here has a shirt with the original E3 DS design. We hope to have our turn at the kiosks soon.

Donkey Konga in the rain. This can't end well.

9:29 - Poor Shaq. His days of missing free throws in LA are over.

9:33 - A kid is interviewed as the first one in line for the DS launch. He had been there since 8:30am. Unfortunately for him, you were assigned a preorder number and could only get your unit when your number was called.

9:35 - Aaron, Dan, and Angelina, the GolinHarris representative who handled our trip. We also meet Planet GameCube's LA representative, Daniel Bloodworth, who isn't shown here, but who towers over even Dan Wasielewski.

9:41 - Aaron plays DS for the first time. The game: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005.

9:46 - Soaked by the rain, Dan tries Pictochat. Amazingly, the Nintendo DSes continued working after being drenched in water.

10:01 - We decide to seek shelter inside of the EB Games.

The 300-strong wall of DSes allocated to EB Games.

10:05 - We head to the back of the store where the Nintendo games are kept.

10:07 - Dan battles somebody in Metroid Prime: Hunters.

10:33 - Aaron's first Pictochat image was a "Nintendoods" logo, a spoof of the Nintendo DS double-screen logo.

10:36 - Aaron followed that up with a TMK logo. TMK stands for The Mushroom Kingdom, the Mario fansite that Dan and Aaron run. Someone posted back, "someone from TMK is here?" which was very cool to see. "Two people," Aaron replied, but then the person asked if there was anyone from N-sider forums around, and that was the end of the conversation.

10:39 - Aaron hopes for Donkey Konga DS as he shows off his double-stylus skills.

10:51 - The DS launch sign. Unfortunately, the music portion of the event was canceled due to the rain.

10:52 - After hours in the rain, they finally decide to cover the DSes.

10:58 - We headed back out to the Nintendo vans to play some Donkey Konga. Here's Aaron trying to slap and clap to "Pokémon Theme" and Dan to "Mario Bros. Theme." Unfortunately, the bongos did not fare as well in the rain as the DSes and began to short circuit.

11:17 - The Walk in The Rain.

Touching is still good. Inside EB Games, people receive their order numbers.

11:37 - EB closes down to gear up for the launch now about 20 minutes away, and people with wristbands wait in a "holding area" on the other side of the walkway. The main area is vacated and the final wait begins. A reporter and her cameraman interview people waiting, including the one young man who has been hanging around EB games since 8:30am.

11:50 - Aaron is interviewed for a report that will air on the local news. On the left in the Zelda T-shirt stands the guy who was there since 8:30am.

11:57 - The emcee announces the countdown and footage is shown on the jumbotron while everybody counts down.

The pyrotechnics go off as the count reaches zero.

11:58 - Happy DS Launch! (Yep, two minutes early.)

A creepy hand again reminds us that touching is good.

Streamers come down after the pyrotechnics.

12:00 - The 300 pre-orderers.  A kid is accosted by security while another man sings in the rain. Without the magical Nintendo DS wristband, you could not get into EB Games at launch.

12:03 - Sent to the EB entrance in groups of ten, the people with wristbands enter the store one at a time to buy their Nintendo DSes. The Nintendo Street Team was also on the scene.

12:04 - The first DS receiver leaves through the security gate (he's behind the pole). Sadly, though Aaron won a Nintendo DS as part of the contest, Nintendo failed to allocate one for him at the launch event, so would have to wait for them to ship him one. With nothing to play, we left shortly after.