Games Toaster

Richard Dean Anderson to launch Halo 3 in Dublin; Record breaking attempt planned

Actor Richard Dean Anderson is to launch Halo 3 in Dublin on Tuesday, forming one of the main elements of Microsoft's Irish high-profile release of the highly anticipated  Xbox 360 game.

News that the actor, most famous for playing MacGyver and more recently Jack O'Neill on Stargate SG-1, will launch the game was confirmed this evening to Games Toaster by a Microsoft spokesperson.

However, his visit to Dublin is still somewhat shrouded in mystery as there is still little detail of Anderson's visit.

Record breaking attempt

Meanwhile, tomorrow - in the build up to the European release on Wednesday September 26 - Irish gamers will attempt to set record breaking times completing Halo 2.

GameStop opens midnight for Halo 3

Gamestop say they will open 14 of its 46 in the Republic and Northern Ireland at at midnight on Tuesday for the European release of Halo 3.

The retailer are to have midnight openings at Henry St, Stephens Green, and Clare Hall in Dublin, along with their outlets in Belfast, Derry, Limerick, Drogheda, Wexford, Tralee, Letterkenny, Mallow, Midleton, Killarney, and Bangor.

Other retailers, such as HMV, GAME, and Smyths, are also likely to have midnight openings in at least the main cities.

A Microsoft spokesperson told us this evening that, in Ireland, "Michael Finucane from Game stop says that pre-orders are running at twice the rate of Halo 2", while a statement released this afternoon says the company worldwide is "running off 81 games per second to ensure that they meet global demand for this title".

"It is fantastic to see the level of interest shown by Irish gamers, all of whom are eager to be one of the first people in the country to get their hands on what is set to be the must have game this Christmas," said Orla Sheridan, country manager at the entertainment and devices division of Microsoft Ireland.

Blizzard to open call centre in Cork

Games developer Blizzard Entertainment, owned by publisher Vivendi Games, is to set  up its European call centre in Cork, the move is designed to offer European gamers with a higher level of support.

The company's investment in Cork is backed by the Irish Government's IDA (Industrial Development Agency). As is standard, no details of what the company was offered to chose Cork were reviled.

Blizzard will created 50 jobs at first, with the total numbers employed growing to over 100 in the the next three year the IDA said on Wednesday, it was on the day Intel said they would look for 200 voluntary job cuts at their Irish plant.

Both Vivendi and Blizzard are headquartered in the United States, but are owned by France media company Vivendi SA. Blizzard is best known for developing the online game World of Warcraft (pictured above), which has 9 million subscribers worldwide.

Vivendi Games Ireland have run computer games localisation operations - including game testing - in Dublin since 1995. They are among a number of companies to do such in Ireland, including Microsoft and Activision, also in Dublin, and Lionbridge in Ballina Co Mayo.

“Blizzard Entertainment is a global leader in the entertainment software industry, setting the standard for online gaming on the personal computer,” said Micheál Martin, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

“This decision by Blizzard to establish a new European customer support centre in Cork is further evidence of how Ireland is viewed internationally as a leading location for cutting edge investment in the exciting world of digital content,” the Minister added.

GameStop for Tullamore, Midleton, Mullingar

GameStop Ireland continues to expand their network of computer games stores across the country.

The Irish division of the multinational retail giant plans to open outlets in Tullamore, Co Offaly; Midleton, Co Cork; and Mullingar, Co Westmeath.

After the openings, the Dublin operation will control 42 stores, including nine in Co Dublin, five in Co Cork, four in Northern Ireland, and shops in Birmingham and Stockport in England.

Set up in 1994 by Kevin Neary and Michael Finucane the company started in the back of a Dublin bookstore and first traded as GamesWorld before GameStop Inc bought a controlling share in 2003. At that point, the retailer re-branded its 11 outlets, and started the current expansion.

The parent company owns shops across Europe, North America, Australia, and Puerto Rico - it reported $1.7 billion in sales for the last nine weeks of 2006, a 29% jump on the same period the year before.

Cork’s RedFM set for Gears of War special

Thursday night’s ‘Cork Talks Back’ on RedFM, a Gears of War special, will include an interviewer with the game’s lead designer.

Epic Games’s Cliff Bleszinski (or Cliff B) will feature in an interview on the show hosted by Victor Barry. The show will also be giving away copies of the game.

Cork Talks Back broadcasts at 9pm from 104-106FM in Cork and online vie www.redfm.ie. After the show goes out the interview will be available for download on the station’s website.

The European “Emergence Day” – Epic’s and Microsoft’s marketing name given to the release date of the game – is Friday. The game is one of Microsoft’s triple-A titles on the Christmas line up.

Victor Barry will be playing over Xbox Live in a public session on Saturday between 3pm and 5pm. Barry (gamertag: vicbarry) will follow in the footsteps celebrities worldwide, and Today FM DJ Ray Foley (gamertag: Ray Foley).

Foley says on his blog that Gears of War “has changed my life”. After introducing himself in a YouTube video “getting my ass kicked” (in the game), he says he’s “shit at games”…

Barry has also been blogging about Gears of War – here, here, here, and here.