Games Toaster

Xbox 360: Low impact on GameStop chart

- Nintendo DS appears the most on retail's chart
- Follows Xbox low ranking on Chart-Track game chart

Microsoft's Xbox 360 console only appears once across two weeks of top-10 charts from retailer GameStop Ireland.

GameStop expands with news shops in Finglas, Gorey, Castlebar, and Limerick

Games retailer GameStop is continuing to expand on its Irish locations with new stores recently opened in Finglas, Gorey, and Castlebar, while Limerick is to get a third store.

GameStop Ireland will have 50 shops under its control by the end of the month, including two in the UK.

The retailer has massively expanded since the US games giant bought up and re-branded independent Irish retailer GamesWorld in 2003. In the last two years alone, it has nearly doubled the number of locations in the Republic and the North.

Its parent company runs 5,000 stores across Europe, the US, and South America.

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.

Halo 3 demand high says Irish retailer

Microsoft Ireland are reporting "Huge demand" for pre-orders of Halo 3, what it is calling the fastest pre-sales in video game history, while Gamestop are say the demand has been "nothing short of phenomenal".

Worldwide pre-orders of Halo 3 have exceeded the 1 million according to Microsoft, the publisher of the game and maker of the Xbox 360 games console. No Irish sales numbers were released.

It's set to be released in standard, limited, and "legendary edition" - according to the publisher, the 'legendary' version is expected to sell out before its September 26 launch.

Midnight openings are expected across Ireland for the launch of the latest Halo game.

"What we’ve experienced is nothing short of phenomenal, Halo 3 has eclipsed the previous record set by Halo 2" said Michael Finucane, commercial director at Gamestop.

"It set a benchmark for others to follow and is a real indication of how video games has now come to the forefront of the entertainment industry... The excitement for Halo 3 is incredible".