Xbox One Midnight Launch Party: Events, Locations, Details & More
Canada
Contrary to the PS4’s launch, only the Future Shop at Yonge & Dundas Square in Toronto, ON appears to have a supremely large stock of unreserved consoles. 250 will be available to those who did not pre-order. Best Buy has 250 unreserved consoles at their Cambie location in Vancouver, BC. Otherwise, it appears as though nationwide there are a minimum 20 Xbox One consoles for midnight launches at either store, with 15 unreserved available Friday morning at around 8 AM at each of their locations.
Xbox One Launch Canada – The team at Xbox Canada will be hosting an ultra-exclusive party at 99 Sudbury Street in Toronto. The Xbox Canada Twitter account has already given out some tickets to lucky fans on a scavenger hunt, but to make sure you get in you have to be one of the first 100 guests to show up when the doors open at 7 PM. You must also be 19 years or older, and can purchase the Day 1 edition of the Xbox One on site. Glamorous!
EB Games – The sheer number of franchises in Canada for the equivalent of GameStop means that you can bet a high percentage of EB Games locations will be open for midnight launch. Their website listing participating midnight launch locations doesn’t appear to suggest how many unreserved consoles are available at each location, so call up and ask to be 100% sure.
Future Shop – As previously mentioned, Future Shop is hosting a party at Dundas Square in Toronto starting at 9 PM for the Xbox One. Giveaways, demos and special presentations will mark the momentous occasion. From what I understand, the mayor Rob Ford will not be attending, meaning that the festivities will be kept strictly PG-13 and fairly straight-edge.
Best Buy – Beyond the Cambie location, it appears as though the majority of locations will be open at midnight, with Xbox One pre-orders hitting the limits and fewer consoles than the PS4 at launch will be available to those who simply waited in line and nothing more beyond that. The exceptions are locations in Québec and Sudbury, so you better react accordingly if you still plan on picking up the console at midnight instead of 8 AM the same day.
Walmart – Just as it is in the US, make sure your location is open for midnight. From anecdotal conversations across Toronto locations, many will be open, but be sure to check for yourself before you make plans that get ruined in the 11th hour.
We finish off by skipping across the pond…