October 26th marked the end of the Auckland Armageddon Expo, but the festivities for Xbox New Zealand did not stop there. Only a few hours after the Expo came to a close, Xbox New Zealand transformed the same event space into a completely Halo themed, Xbox decked out, party centre to welcome in the launch of the highly anticipated Halo 5: Guardians game.
Starting at 8.00pm, loyal fans of both Xbox and the Halo games, made their way into the club-like scene, filled with fantastic green lighting, a centre stage kitted out with a gigantic Halo 5: Guardians banner, a photo op area with two Spartans (Halo super soldiers) standing tall and proud beside the Ghost vehicle, and rows filled with TV screens and Xboxes for gamers to have a hands-on go on bits of the game prior to its midnight launch.
The event was filled with Halo hype, with an MC keeping fans alert with hourly countdowns, a cosplay competition (while there were many dressed in Halo-esque gear, there was a Joker and two Captain Jack Sparrows, which I found rather amusing) and a screening of Halo Nightfall, a digital video series created as a prelude to Halo 5: Guardians. To add to the anticipation, EB Games was present with stacks of Halo 5: Guardians available for purchase (or pickup for those who have pre-ordered the game) at exactly 12.00am to allow attendees to be the very first in the world to have the game in hand!
Once again, I can’t commend Xbox New Zealand enough on their activities to promote their products and games this year. As someone who is quite new to the gaming industry, Xbox as a whole, has certainly left an impression on me with their enthusiasm to generate publicity for their exclusive games and bring their fans together to create a tighter-knit gaming community. Xbox New Zealand certainly wins points in my book for their efforts in giving back to their fans.
In true gaming geek fashion, the crowd went wild at 12.00am, October 27, as Halo 5: Guardians officially launched in New Zealand. The queues to pick-up and purchase the game was long and I could see the immense amount of glee and excitement on many faces as they held their precious new game in their hands. I was very thankful that I had purchased my Halo 5 Xbox console, which came with a downloadable copy of Halo 5: Guardians. It saved me from potentially being trampled on.
All in all, Xbox New Zealand’s Halo 5: Guardians launch event was a success and a fantastic way to bring about an exciting weekend to a close. Well done Xbox New Zealand. Here’s to many more fantastic events.
For more on Halo 5: Guardians, look out for my review of the game, coming soon.