Gamers trash shopping plaza

BRANFORD -- "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3" hit stores at the stroke of midnight Monday night, but long before that, gamers were lining up at one Branford plaza to be the first in line.

From puke to pieces of clothing, the Branhaven parking lot was trashed Tuesday morning. The reason: gamers were waiting outside Game Stop for the release of the latest "Call of Duty" game.

A filthy few hours outside the stores at the plaza was more than enough to infuriate customers and business owners.

Carol Cornachini, the owner of Shoetique, said, "Out patrons had to walk over all kinds of broken glass, food containers, just to get into out store. It was a deterrent for business this morning."

GNC's manager, Dina Dunn, said she watched the crowd form Monday.

"It just kept growing and growing," she said. "When I got here this morning, I thought I'm going to have a heart attack. It was like, I was shocked. Tons of garbage all the way through the plaza."

Cornachini went over to Game Stop to ask how they planned on handling the mess.

"I asked the manager to come out and clean. He said he said it was too busy," she said.

So, she took matters into her own hands and called the property owner. About two hours later, the job was done.

The area businesses say they hope Game Stop learned a lesson and is already preparing for the next hot game to be released.