UK high street retailer Argos has responded to claims that a gamer has been able to buy a copy of Halo 3 six days earlier than the 26 September official release date (25 September in US) from one of their stores.
The reason, according to an Argos spokesperson isapparently down toa 'genuine administrative error'.
Their full response is as follows:
"Argos would like to make it clear that it does not endorse breaking street dates and continues to be committed to preventing pre-release sales through its stores and web site.
"However, we are aware that a genuine administrative error has resulted in a small number of cases where Halo 3 has already been sold. We are currently ensuring that there are no further sales of this product in-store until the official release date, Wednesday 26 September. We have already taken steps to ensure that Halo 3 is unavailable on the Argos web site for reservation or purchase until the correct date.
"We accept that this incident falls short of the usual high standards we aim to achieve and operate within and we will be taking steps to ensure this doesn't happen in the future."
So might as well cancel that trip down to Argos, then...
Halo 3 is easily 360's biggest launch this year, but it seems Microsoft isn't about to whore out its leading series for just any range of branded tat. But while we're on board with ditching the plainly idiotic idea of Halo-themed lotto tickets, we're slightly let down to hear that Microsoft won't be taking up the opportunity to release Cortana-branded lingerie.
After all, if Bungie's Halo 3 is the Star Wars for 'generation Xbox', then surely Cortana's flourescent form is the new millenium's Princess Leia in the gold bikini? And which hot blooded male wouldn't raise an appreciative eyebrow if their loved one dressed up like Leia, or her modern equivalent? And, yes, we probably have thought about this too much...
Anyway. Microsoft's decisions aren't confined to axing holographic brassieres. Master Chief pyjamas and Covenant cups are out, but McFarlane models, Actionclix miniatures and laser-tag blasters are in.
"It's a balancing effort to be very, very careful that we don't over saturate and piss off our 15 million fans," Bungie's franchise bigwig Brain Jarrard told Reutersrecently. "We are obviously looking to broaden 'Halo' and make it accessible ... while at the same time, we want to keep feeding our core audience."
Come on, Brian. We're certain any Halo fan lucky enough to see a lady taking off her clothes would go bananas if said strumpet was clad in Cortana-esque skimpies. What? We've got to stop thinking about this stuff now? Jees...