500 fans will be the first to play Legend of Zelda in Nintendo giveaway

Only New Yorkers need apply

I am reminded of these kinds of things from my childhood: "If you live in the New York City area and you're within the sound of my voice...", so I debated on whether or not I should say anything about this.

Then I decided, hey, if you do live near New York City and you are a Legend of Zelda fan, perhaps you should know about this. Now, of course, I don't suggest you should hitchhike from Ohio or anything like that, but you New Yorkers might be interested, so here goes.

Those willing to stand in line at the Nintendo Store in Manhattan at 10 Rockefeller Plaza on June 11 will be eligible to be among the first to play The Legend of Zelda for the Wii U console at a specific time on June 14-19. Tickets will be given only to the first 500 people in line, so treat this like waiting at Wal-Mart on Black Friday.

There are some caveats that go along with the offer. Fans can't start lining up until 7 a.m. Eastern time June 11, each person must have a photo ID and minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

If you get through all of that red tape, the six-day free event will begin at noon Eastern time on June 14, when fans will be invited to watch gameplay of The Legend of Zelda live-streamed from Nintendo’s booth at this year’s E3 video game trade show in Los Angeles on the 15-foot gaming screen inside Nintendo NY. Then at 3 p.m. Eastern time, the first of 500 fans will begin sampling the game for the first time.

Then through June 19, Nintendo experts will be giving guided game-play demonstrations on the big screen for everyone to watch and enjoy. Several fans may even get the chance to participate in guided demonstrations. There will also be The Legend of Zelda trivia for a chance for fans to win fun prizes.

So don't blame me if you try and then fail to get one of the Golden Tickets. We've all seen the Willy Wonka movie. Things turn out all sunshine and candy in the end.