Oxford St bans midnight opening for Xbox game

Oxford Street stores were banned from opening at midnight for the launch of the most eagerly awaited computer game in history.

Around the rest of Britain, 1,000 stores opened especially to allow fans to buy the Xbox 360 game Halo 3.

But the only people in central London able to get their hands on a copy were celebrities at the VIP launch. American singer Pharrell Williams was guest of honour at the Imax cinema. Model Kimberly Stewart and Big Brother contestant Chanelle Hayes were among the other partygoers.

Westminster council refused permission for HMV, Virgin Megastores and Game in Oxford Street to extend their opening hours. Police have previously expressed concern about midnight openings, with fears over the safety of people travelling home.

"We don't want people walking around London with expensive pieces of equipment late at night. We want Oxford Street to be vibrant and successful, but we don't want victims of crime," a police spokesman said.

Simon Soffe, from Game, said: "We normally open at midnight and have a lot of fun. But after meeting the police, to ensure safety we decided not to open this time. We hope to do so again in the future."

Die-hard fans of the final instalment of the Halo trilogy - likened to the launch of the last book in the Harry Potter series - went to stores outside central London.

Queuing started outside Game in Harrow at 3pm yesterday. The store, which also opened its branches in Wimbledon, Uxbridge and Kingston, laid on demonstration games for fans as they waited.

Jasper Wyatt, 17, who was second in the 70-strong queue in Harrow, said: "It's not fair because people want to go into central London to get it. It would have been a much bigger event. But then you don't want people to get mugged like they did for PlayStation 3."

He added: "People walking past said, 'You're really weird' but it's a huge game for us. The hype has been massive and we're really excited. The last game ended on such a cliffhanger I just can't wait to find out how it ends." Owen Upcott, also 17 and from west Harrow, was first in the queue and was presented with a statuette of the game's hero, Master Chief, who has to save mankind from the brink of extinction.

"I got here at 3pm but it's completely worth it. I'm going straight to my mate's house to play it," he said.

Halo 3 is set to make £85 million in the first 24 hours on the shelves. That would beat the £83 million opening day takings of the last Harry Potter book and the £76 million of the film Spider-man 3.

Global pre-orders of the £45 game passed the 1.25 million mark, according to Microsoft.

The first two chapters of the trilogy, which is a key weapon for Microsoft in the console wars with Nintendo and Sony, have sold more than 14.5 million units worldwide.

A science kit was today named the top "smart toy" of 2007 by the Science Museum. The £29.99 Electro Mag set reinvents the tradition of Twenties science kits and helps teach children about magnetics and circuits.