Lich King midnight launch plans revealed

By Oli Welsh Published 11 November, 2008

Capital cities under siege (in Azeroth).

Blizzard has helpfully supplied a comprehensive list of every single shop in Europe that will sell you a copy of second World of Warcraft expansion Wrath of the Lich King at midnight tomorrow night.

The UK in particular is set to go Scourge crazy, with dozens of branches of Gamestation, Tesco and HMV joining in with the flagship launch event at HMV's flagship store on Oxford Street in London.

Actually, maybe it's just because those are all 24-hour branches of Tesco. Anyway, the Germans also seem pretty keen. France isn't so bothered, with just six city-centre stores opening.

Last year's midnight launch of first expansion The Burning Crusade saw bigger crowds descend on Oxford Street than the launch events for Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360.

Much as we'd love to camp outside Gamestation in Pontypridd, Eurogamer MMO will be kicking off our Lich King launch coverage with a report from the capital.

Meanwhile, WOW's in-game launch events are reachling a climax, with the Scourge besieging the Horde and Alliance capitals of Orgrimmar and Stormwind every 20 minutes.

If you can't get online to check it out, you can watch video of undead dragons running amok over at WOW Insider.

You'll find exhaustive coverage on the Wrath of the Lich King gamepage. Expect our review soon.

Picture of Oli.

About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (16) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • bdc #1 3 years ago

    Doesn't seem to be happening on Aggramar.

  • DFawkes #2 3 years ago

    As long as my good old home Darnassus is safe :)

    None even remotely close to me, though I wouldn't bother. I'm still only a part time WoW player, I switch between MMOs more than I switch underwear.

  • Benno #3 3 years ago

    Org is under attack now.

  • locus2k1 #4 3 years ago

    not sure how accurate the listings is... as it says my local tescos is a 24 hour store... i can assure blizzard it isnt :s

    oh well, mine is in the post :D

  • coojam #5 3 years ago

    Seems a bit much for the poor sods who did the Gears 2 midnight launch last week to follow it up with this. Seriously, they have to find a more "red carpet" style for new releases rather than week after week of midnight launches.

  • hula hoops #6 3 years ago

    Midnight opening such as this is just plain crazy for us normal people.

    Why can't they just sell the bleeding game 1 minute past 5.30pm on 12th. That way, the shops are technically closed for the day and open the door a little later to sell "tomorrow's" game.

  • CannonAnBall #7 3 years ago

    Yesterday it sounded like Darnassus was under attack. I thought it was a load of bull but now this is mentioned then i'm not sure it was bull.

    I'm still trying to find a decent guild.

  • shamblemonkee #8 3 years ago

    what about the 24hr Asdawls!?

  • Lionheart #9 3 years ago

    FOR THE HORDE!

  • RedSparrows #10 3 years ago

    The trouble is, the scourge'd get inside Darnassus, and find it so empty that all that effort was for nothing. Not enough braiiiiins.

  • Gurgeh #11 3 years ago

    "Yesterday it sounded like Darnassus was under attack. I thought it was a load of bull but now this is mentioned then i'm not sure it was bull. "

    Only Stormwind and Orgrimmar for the moment. The Thrall vs Garrosh fight is cool, as is watching Saurfang do his whirlwind of death all round the Valley of Honour.

  • Apologie #12 3 years ago

    One game... Warhammer On-line, nothing more.

  • Benno #13 3 years ago

    What?

    Warhammer is awesome, but WoW does so many things it doesn't. WotLK would be stupid to miss.

  • iokthemonkey #14 3 years ago

    What?

    Warhammer is awesome, but WoW does so many things it doesn't. WotLK would be stupid to miss.

    ----

    And LOTRO does even more ;)

  • Sir_TimAlot #15 3 years ago

    Would be nice if all the Tesco stores it lists as 24hrs were actually 24hr stores, mini epic fail

  • AOFanboi #16 3 years ago

    Unlike the American 7-11 stores which sold GoW2 too early, the 7-11 at Oslo Central Station is launching it after midnight. Of course, that particular store would have been open at that time anyway... :p

    GameStop, Game and EB in Oslo also will have midnight launches. Dunno about any costumed dudes or dudettes though.

    Personally I am in no hurry. Finding new stuff in LBP is far more interesting at the moment.
    Edited by 1 at 11/11/08 @ 16:53