Nintendo held a big Pokemon Black and White launch event at the Nintendo World Store at Rockefeller Center on Saturday, and there was much nerding to be had. The Presidents of the United States were there to play a song about the new Pokemon in the game (and, thankfully, to play Peaches and Lump, too), there were big, inflated Pokemon, an opportunity to buy the game a day early, and tons and tons of Pokemon fans. Read on for a full account of the event and tons of photos, taken by both myself and Chris Gampat of The Phoblographer.

First, the crowd was huge. As in hundreds and hundreds of people lined up down 48th street, up 5th avenue, and back around 49th street. I haven’t seen a line that long since Shigeru Miyamoto was signing merch at the Nintendo World Store about four years ago. Here’s how long the line went:

The Presidents of the United States came out and reminded me of the mid-90′s, and successfully stuck “Peaches” in my head for a good two freaking days. Great performance, though. Besides the band, there were kiosks for playing the game, inflatable Pokemon (the three starters and the two legendary Pokemon in Black and White), and even a Wi-Fi hotspot set up to give out the Victini-granting Liberty Pass a day early. Check out the full gallery of photos below.