Nintendo Power crossed the 20-year mark in June, a milestone that most bundles of dead trees never reach. To celebrate the occasion, Nintendo and GamesRadar baby daddy Future held a super special party benefiting the Starlight Children’s Foundation.

Ubi, Konami and several other contributors jumped aboard too, courting many a guest to the swanky Nintendo World Store in New York City. I was lucky enough to attend the evening party as well as the Saturday event which was open to the public. Problem is, 8,000 people showed up to a store that can only house 400 at a time. Guess that means people will be...

 
Above: ...waiting in line overnight despite the horrendous weather!

 
Above: Finely dressed individuals enjoy drinky drinks and yet-to-be-released Wii and DS titles like Castlevania Judgment and Rock Revolution

 
Above: The red carpet drew Nintendo staples Mario and Luigi, but before long attendees also got to mingle with...

 
Above: ... Mark-Paul Gosselaar of Saved by the Bell/NYPD Blue/Raising the Bar fame. Seen here posing with GR production editor Carolyn Gudmundson

 
Above: Heading up the stairs leads to even more Nintendo goodness, from Rabbids kiosks to a mini museum.

 
Above: Did you know the NES almost looked like this? It was cassette-based, called the Advanced Video System and only shown once in public

 
Above: Here it is in all its glory – keyboard, infrared controllers and something vaguely resembling the Zapper

 
Above: Longtime Nintendo Power readers should remember this Game Boy damaged during Desert Storm

 
Above: If three or four DS Lites aren’t enough, you could choose one of the 19 seen here under glass

 
Above: It’s Pikachu barely cramming into an elevator. So what?

Next page – Day two draws thousands, and cosplayers abound!