StarCraft II Midnight Launch Preview

StarCraft II, the biggest PC/Mac game of the year is all set to launch in the UAE on 26th July at Emax, Mirdif City Centre. We talk to Nitin Mathew, Marketing Manager at RED Entertainment Distribution about the game and what we can expect at the launch.

Register for priority access to the game at www.megamers.com/starcraft2.

MEGamers.com: What made you decide to hold a midnight launch for StarCraft II?
StarCraft is one of the most celebrated gaming franchises around and since its launch in 1998, it’s turned into quite a phenomenon. It’s been critically acclaimed for its near perfect blend of story, gameplay and graphics (at the time) and regularly features in lists of the best games of all time.
Given the strength of the franchise and as a tribute to the fans and the game, we wanted to celebrate the franchise by launching it at midnight making the game available to local fans at the same time as their counterparts around the world.

MEGamers.com: What price will the game be sold for?
The standard edition will retail for AED 239.

MEGamers.com: Will the Collector’s Edition be available during the launch? If yes, at what price and what’s included?
Yes. The Collector’s Edition will be available at launch and retail for AED 499, will include the following bonus items in addition to the game disc:

• The Art of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, a 176-page book featuring artwork from the game
• An exclusive 2GB USB flash drive replica of Jim Raynor’s dog tag, which comes preloaded with the original StarCraft and the StarCraft: Brood War® expansion set
• A behind-the-scenes DVD containing over an hour of developer interviews, cinematics with director’s commentary, and more
• The official StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty soundtrack CD, containing 14 epic tracks from the game along with exclusive bonus tracks
• StarCraft comic book issue #0, a prequel to the comic series
• A World of Warcraft® mini Thor in-game pet that can be applied to all World of Warcraft characters on a single Battle.net account
• Exclusive Battle.net downloadable content, including special portraits for your Battle.net profile, decals to customize your units in-game, and a visually unique version of the terran Thor unit

MEGamers.com: What time should people queue up by?
I would suggest getting there by about 10pm and don’t forget to bring your email confirmation of registration. Due to the massive demand, we will have limited stock available and preference will be for those who pre-register on MEGAMERS. Don’t forget to bring your cameras and friends!
We’re also hoping to give away a few surprises and I’m going to personally give away a Collector’s Edition to the best costume on the night!

MEGamers.com: Why was Emax chosen as the venue for the midnight launch?
To begin with, the team at Emax is extremely enthusiastic about StarCraft II and coupled with their stature as a leading electronics retailer in the UAE, we felt that an Emax Mirdif City Centre outlet would be a great place to hold the launch.