Retailer GAME has had to cancel plans for a midnight launch upon release of
Halo 3 at its flagship Oxford Street shop next Wednesday morning.
Westminster Council has refused to allow the launch, fearing midnight debauchery from rabid
Halo fans. The council, it seems, thinks the launch will be bigger than that of the PS3, Wii and Xbox 360.
Stephen McGill, head of gaming and entertainment at Microsoft said, "
Halo 3 launches in the UK on Sept. 26, and although we are not going to be running any official midnight opening events along London's Oxford Street (due to from Westminster Council concerns of huge crowds) we are pleased to confirm that over 1,000 retailers around London and the rest of the UK will be opening up at midnight to ensure fans can get their copy of Halo 3 it as soon as humanly possible - including many Game, Gamestation, HMV and Virgin Megastores stores, and of those that can't open at midnight many will be opening early on the Wednesday 26th too."
So there you have it. You won't be able to get a midnight copy of
Halo 3 from GAME in London, but GAME in Wakefield might be able to help you out.
All is not lost, however!
Halo 3 will still get a bonanza launch, with Pharrell Williams (of N.E.R.D.) set to kick off the game's time on store shelves at the BFI IMAX. He will take on members of the public, as well as playing other celebs from around Europe over Xbox Live.
Stephen McGill added, "To celebrate the launch on Tuesday 25th, Halo 3 is taking over the BFI IMAX cinema in Waterloo (UK's biggest cinema screen) where lucky fans and a number of top celebrities will be going head to head playing Halo 3 on the giant screen. Tickets to the red carpet premiere event can be won at
www.xbox.com, along with giveaways in
The Daily Telegraph this Saturday and on Kiss FM next Tuesday."
Find out more about
Halo 3 over on SPOnG's
dedicated game page.Source: CVG