Pokemon X & Y launch draws hundreds in Singapore (PICS)

Pokemon fans in Singapore congregated as early as 9.15am in the fifth floor atrium of Funan Digitalife Mall this morning, all to celebrate the launch of Pokemon X & Y.

Organized by Maxsoft in recognition of the sixth generation of Pokemon games, the launch was more of an excuse for players to meet up and exchange Streetpasses and Pokemon than to collect their copies of the game.

The games were instead distributed by game retailers through the island, some of whom took the liberty of putting their personal touches on the momentous event. Gamescore, a shop with nine years of retail experience, baked Lava Cookies and handed out one piece each to customers who collected their pre orders.

Players who attended the launch event – or rather, made the fifth floor atrium their home base as they hunkered down to speed through Pokemon X & Y were rewarded with event-only stickers of Froakie, Chespin, and Fennekin, as well as a full sticker sheet of pocket monsters from Pokemon Black & White.

The crowd swelled later in the morning, hitting a peak of approximately 250 people at its fullest. Gamescore is located right beside the event area, and a store representative told us that they estimated an approximate 250 to 300 customers had already picked up their preorders by 11am. Even so, there were still around 100 preorder copies of X & Y behind their counter, still waiting to be collected.

There’s no doubt that the happy chaos will have continued late into the evening today, since a speed run tournament has been organised by Maxsoft. Players will be playing for a total of six hours, and will have to sit for three hours at a stretch before they are allowed a fifteen minutes break.

If you didn’t make it down for the event today, cheer up! You can live vicariously through us and check out our photos of the launch, taken between 9.30am and 1.30pm.