io9 Parties at The Fete Unleashed

It finally hit stores this morning, but for true fans of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, there was only one place to be last night – San Francisco’s “The Fete Unleashed,” a launch party for the game that counted down to a midnight release, and featured cosplaying fans, confused Best Buy staff – and a guest appearance from George Lucas himself. We were there, and we’ve got the photo gallery to prove it.The event, held at a Best Buy in San Francisco, gave fans the chance to meet the people behind the game, see exclusive footage, get a chance to test-drive the game pre-release and, most importantly, dress up in impressively-made outfits to show off their devotion for the franchise. During the five-hour countdown to the game going on sale, project lead Hayden Blackman and Star Wars head honcho George Lucas both spoke to the crowd, explaining the ways in which the game marked the start not only of a new era of Star Wars games, but also of a new way of telling Star Wars stories. Not that anyone really cared about that – They just wanted to play with the awesome Wii Remote plug-ins that give you your own lightsaber. We’ll have a review of the game later this week. For now, enjoy a glimpse at what you missed. And, yes, even when you were there, it still looked kind of like a crossover between Star Wars and Chuck.