Now that the U.S. and Japan have already had their taste of DS madness, it's Europe's turn and to celebrate the launch of the Nintendo DS, five Virgin Megastores throughout the UK will be opening their doors hours early to sell Nintendo DS consoles.
At precisely midnight the Oxford Street branch in London, the 235 Buchanan Street branch in Glasgow, the Pavillion Centre store in Birmingham, the Tops Plaza store in Liverpool and the Queens Street store in Cardiff will all open their doors to crowds of excited gamers, clamouring to be one of the first to touch the future of gaming.
The shopper who is lucky enough to be first through the door at each location will get one of five special Nintendo DS T-shirts indicating that they got a unit first. The next fifty people to purchase a Nintendo DS at each location will get an exclusive T-shirt with the somewhat questionable I was TOUCHED by Nintendo DS statement on it.
The first fifty customers at the Oxford Street branch will also receive a special Nintendo DS goody bag. Free games will also be given out at the Oxford Street Branch while stocks last.
One lucky attendee will also get to win a once in a lifetime, expenses paid trip to Nintendo's headquarters in Japan, where they will get to see where the magic happens and even meet the creator of Mario, Shigeru Miyamoto.
In both America and Japan the first 500,000 Nintendo DS units sold out in under a week, so can you afford to miss out on the hottest gadget of 2005?
If not put on a warm coat and head down to your nearest Virgin Megastore in time to collect your very own Nintendo DS.
The Nintendo DS, as U.S. and Japanese gamers already know, will feature dual screens, touch-screen, wireless gaming, voice recognition and advanced full colour 3D graphics similar to those seen on home consoles. It will launch in the UK on 11 March 2005 at the estimated retail price of around GBP99. Software will be available at selected retailers at the estimated retail price of around GBP29 and GBP19, depending on the specific title.
The midnight Store openings are at the following locations:
London 14-19 Oxford Street
Birmingham 41-43 The Pavillion Shopping Centre, 38 the Hight Street
Liverpool 8-9 Tops Plaza, Clayton Square Shopping Centre
Glasgow 235 Buchanan Street
Cardiff 7-9 Capital Arcade, The Capital, Queens Street
