Nvidia 3070 launch: Did camping overnight outside Scan Computers pay off for this man hoping to get the new graphics card?

Queueing up outside a shop waiting for the latest tech or game release might seem like the stuff of years gone by, but there are those that will go the extra mile to be first.

With the rise of internet shopping, and the covid pandemic not showing signs of going away any time soon, it’s more convenient than ever to sit behind a screen smashing the F5 button in the hopes of getting a hot new product at the time of release.

And the Nvidia GeForce RTX 30 series graphics cards are among this year’s hottest new PC and gaming products. But stock issues have pained gamers across the world trying to get their hands on them – refreshing the pages of online retail websites hasn’t worked for everyone.

For Matt Hunter, he decided to try a different technique. He wanted the new Nvidia 3070 graphics card so much, he decided to camp overnight outside UK-based retailer Scan Computers.

Shailendra Shelley Raja, founder and MD at Scan, said: “Yes it still happens! And yes he WILL get his 3070! I’ll be buying this guy a free breaky.”

After Matt was let in, Scan had a surprised for him. A lot of their partners came forward to give Matt some extra goodies, and they all pitched in to help upgrade his 3070 to the more powerful 3080.

Shelley said on Facebook:

It’s been difficult for gamers to get their hands on the recently released 3080 and 3090 – and it looks like the 3070 is causing similar problems.

But for Matt, queueing up and putting in that extra effort has paid off!

Dom Sacco

Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.

As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.