"I’m just going to sit in a dark room with a glass of wine and a controller and play games for the rest of the year."
She was one of hundreds of gamers who stood in a queue which stretched more than 50m from the store doors in the Golden Centre and down George St, all for a chance to get games and accessories at half price.
Ms Jackson said she had an entire wall in her house dedicated to storing gaming discs.
"Both my parents were gamers when I was a kid, so I grew up in a household where I had access to a lot of the old games, like Tekken, Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat on PlayStation 1 and the original Xbox.
"I still love that stuff and it makes me sad that a lot of games are now switching to digital because having the physical media [the discs] is such a pride to have.
"Everybody just buys the games online now."
Rather than just buying games in the sale, Joseph Hopkins, 26, of Dunedin, made the most of the sale prices to buy accessories, such as two Star Wars helmets, some gaming Funko Pops, a few T-shirts and a couple of Pokemon ramen bowls.
He was delighted with his "loot".
"One of the helmets is for Dad’s 60th birthday. He loves Star Wars, so I’m covered."
"I mean, it’s the end of an era.
"I spent a lot of my money at EB Games when I was a student, so it’s quite sad to see it go."
He too has a library of games in folders, drawers and cupboards around his house. Asked how many he had in his collection, he said: "No comment".
How much has he spent on them? "No comment".
Could you buy a new car for that amount of money? "Definitely no comment."
"I like gaming so much because it helps me just switch off. It’s an escape."
A statement from EB Games said after careful consideration and consultation, management had made "the difficult decision" to close all remaining 38 New Zealand stores by the end of this month.
"A heartfelt thank-you to everyone who has supported EB Games New Zealand over our 25 years."
