Gamer who was Number 1 in Line 8 Times calls it Quits

Gamer who was Number 1 in Line 8 Times calls it Quits



If you've got some time and are hardcore enough, you might be the first in line to grab the latest video game release. However, Isaiah ''Triforce" Johnson has gone far above and beyond that, being the first in line an unprecedented 8 times running. This time, however, will be his last.

What was it that made Nintendo's launch of the Wii U that cold Sunday morning of Nov. 18, 2012, the one that made Nintendo's biggest fan (who actually had his name legally changed to Triforce) call it quits? Was it the lack of any killer app for the system, the format change from basic motion controller to handheld screen, or was it simply the waning interest in consoles in favor of tablets and iPhones?

The real reason, the 35-year-old says, is simple-it's just time to move on. Says Triforce, "I love videogames, but videogames do not complete my life. In order to get that back, I have to become a lot more stable. I have to be satisfied with this ... I just want to do regular business. My time is up. I'm 35 years old. I need to give what I used to do to the younger guys."

Triforce's whole life, seemingly up to this point, has been gaming. Even the closest thing he's had to a full-time career has involved him playing games competitively through a group called Empire Arcadia. All along the walls of his home in Crown Heights, there are trophies and certificates of all the competitions the world over that Triforce has won.

That kind of dedication comes at a price, though. After eight years of marriage, Triforce's wife divorced him. Johnson explained, "I thought me loving her and me having dedication to her was something different than me having a dedication to my own individual passion. But it doesn't work that way."

But despite that, and despite Hurricane Sandy and a snowy noreaster, Triforce spent nearly an entire month outside of Nintendo's flagship American store in New York City, his trusty Power Glove on his hand, wearing Nintendo swag like armor against the elements. After weeks of blogging and making videos, building a community around his passion, Triforce's moment finally came. When asked what he was going to do now that he finally had the very first Wii U, he replied simply, "I'm going to play it."