Lines, lines, everywhere are lines.

Good morning and welcome to Grand Theft Auto IV's official launch day. The game is, as Rockstar just emailed us to say, now available worldwide. So far, from what we've seen, had tipped to us and read elsewhere, it looks like the game's various overnight launches were mostly problem free. Sure there was the occasional bit of shoving, and boredom, but nothing serious.

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What makes a great game launch? Some would say simply getting a highly coveted game like Grand Theft Auto IV into the hands of hungry gamers is enough, but to some of us a launch night means more than that. To some, big-name game launches are like mini gaming conventions, where we can swap stories, bitch about the way the store is handling things, and speculate on how much sleep we'll be losing over the next couple of days. Or, it can just be a line of people waiting. I attended two different midnight launches at GameStop tonight and got a healthy dose of both sorts of events, just 10 miles apart.

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The country's second largest videogame chain is getting isn't content with merely having all of their stores opening up at midnight for the launch of Grand Theft Auto IV. Game Crazy is also hosting the Extreme GTA IV Experience at 10 locations scattered across the U.S., featuring prizes, limited-edition merchandise, and an exclusive GTA IV faceplate for the Xbox 360. Gamers attending the 'Experience' will also get a special text to win number that enters them in a drawing for two plane tickets to anywhere in the U.S. and $US 1,000 in mad money.

"New Grand Theft Auto games are always a huge event in the gaming community and this one is sure to be no exception," said Wes Sand, senior vice president at Game Crazy. "Rockstar has outdone itself again by making GTA IV completely immersive and interactive. Our customers have been eagerly anticipating this game's arrival. This is a launch they won't forget."

Hit the jump for a full list of the stores hosting the 8PM events on the 28th, as well as a picture of the faceplate!

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Looks like warehouse club chain Sam's Club had so much fun at their Super Smash Bros. Brawl midnight launch, they've decided to do another one, only this time for another game, because otherwise it would just be silly. Mario Kart Wii shall be the focus of this midnight launch, the second in Sam's Club history, with players and parents of players able to line up at stores across the country on April 26th to await the stroke of midnight and assuage their driving ambition.

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Tomorrow (Wed.) will see the Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword launch party at the Nintendo World Store in New York City from 2pm - 6pm. The game's producer and director Yosuke Hayashi will be on hand to sign autographs and met and greet the crowd. If you purchase the game there you will be granted one of those nifty Dragon Sword Ninja styli. There will also be demo stations set up around the store so you can try before you buy.

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Rock Band has long been touted by Harmonix as a platform, not simply a video game. With a retail price greater than the PlayStation 2, plus a batch of downloadable songs that could cost as much as a respectable gaming library, not to mention retail scarcity normally reserved for console hardware, they may have been right.

Now, with mega retailer pushing a midnight launch of the Harmonix and MTV Games developed rhythm game, it's going to lead to more comparisons. Midnight launches for games are rare, typically only for massive marquee releases like Halo 3. Best Buy, however, is opening dozens of its nationwide stores at midnight next week to get Rock Band into people's hands early.

For a full list of stores that will play home to line campers next Monday, hit the link below, courtesy of our friends at MEGATONik.

Rock Band Midnight Store Openings [Best Buy via Megatonik]

Nintendo is throwing open the doors to it's Nintendo World Store in New York City this Sunday at midnight for the star-studded launch of Super Mario Galaxy. Of course the stars are just the ones in the game, but there'll be plenty of other things to see as you hang out with irresponsible parents and their children in Rockefeller Plaza in the middle of the night. Kiosks will be set up with the game running in it, a DJ will be on hand complete with dancers, and I'm sure cosplay will likely be involved to some extent. They've got a velcro wall people. I don't have to write about this anymore.

You all started ordering plane tickets as soon as you heard about the wall covered with velcro. Good thing I didn't mention the bungie run, or they'd have to call out the riot police. Festivities start at 8PM, though Nintendo cautions that fans will probably start lining up much earlier. Good luck, and godspeed.

If you live in the New York area you may want to head to the Nintendo World Store at Rockefeller Plaza on Sunday. Nintendo will be throwing a launch celebration for Super Mario Galaxy. The festivities start at 8 pm and they are promising a DJ with dancers, a velcro wall, and get this: Lasers! Even Halo 3 didn't have fancy lasers! Of course Mario himself will be in attendance to greet fans, and the store will open at midnight to sell the first copies. Oh and they will have 250 Wii systems available for purchase.

If you happened to miss the excitement of the Halo 3 launch in Sydney, perhaps because you weren't there, don't live in NSW, or are a piece of sandstone, the fellas over at Unseen TV have put together a little clip post-humorously. I think it serves as a nice end cap to the whole Halo 3 extravaganza. Well, until we hear more about Bungie's reported split with Microsoft...

Halo 3 Sydney Launch [Unseen TV, thanks James!]

September 24th. One company gears up for the biggest game launch in the history of video gaming. A party of thousands is expected to celebrate this momentous occasion. The greatest FPS ever created was about to be released, and then Bungie had to go and screw the whole thing up. Sorry Cabela. We feel your pain.