Times Square Virgin Megastore Plans To Go Out With A Plastic Guitar-Created Bang

The Times Square outpost of the Virgin Megastore is slated to close early next year, thanks to the chain being sold to real estate developers for pretty much the sole purpose of getting the valuable real estate currently occupied by its two New York locations. (Of course, given the cratering economy, the exact value of said space is probably a lot less than it was when the deal was originally brokered back in June.) Perhaps in anticipation of the closure of said store and the almost-full retreat of any mainstream music retailers from the 212, Harmonix and Virgin have announced that they’ll be opening a Rock Band 2-themed ministore within Virgin’s soon-to-be-corpse, complete with displays that can be described with that old lazy PR buzzword “interactive.”

Virgin Megastore Times Square has teamed with MTV Games to help celebrate the special edition release of the popular game Rock Band 2 by creating a pop-up store within a store. The cafe inside the Times Square Virgin Megastore has been transformed into a Rock Band 2 pop-up store, creating 550 feet of space housing a full selection of Rock Band merchandise, interactive kiosks and customized displays. This one of a kind pop-up shop carries a comprehensive selection of Rock Band 2 software, hardware, accessories and Rock Band fashion items. The store includes a mini-performance area where customers can try the game out for themselves.

“The idea was for Virgin Megastores to create something special that would garner attention and showcase the special release of Rock Band 2 in a fun and interactive environment,” explains Kevin Milligan, Vice President of Product, Virgin Entertainment Group. “We’ve been looking for ways to produce extraordinary displays for our partners and that’s exactly what we’ve done here. We have utilized a huge part of our Times Square Megastore to help MTV promote the launch of a very popular game.”

And just think, if Vornado doesn’t find a tenant to take over the Virgin space–hey, just look at how long Bar Code has been vacant!–the Rock Band 2 area can live on, even in the face of people ceasing to buy albums come Jan. 1, 2009!

Virgin Megastore Times Square Creates ‘Pop-Up’ Rock Band 2 Store [Music Industry News Network] Earlier: Virgin Megastore Times Square Closing: Really Big Clearance Sale Set For Early ’09 [Photo: minimoniotaku]