Entertainment retailing behemoth, HMV, is set to open a chain of multiplayer gaming centres across the UK. Saturday afternoons down the Arndale may never be the same again…

This is all thanks to the recent acquisition of an outfit called Gamerbase which, by a stunning coincidence, has been operating a concession out of HMV’s Trocadero store in London’s glittering West End since the back end of last year. And with such apparent success that their landlords decided to make them an offer they couldn’t refuse.

Anyway, the Gamerbase offering is a pretty straightforward one - plentiful demo pods running the latest games (plus a few forthcoming ones) and the opportunity for visitors to prove their worth in various tournaments or nip across the shop floor to buy games direct from HMV.

Yup, it’s the metaphorical one-stop shop and the first new outlet is opening in Manchester’s HMV before Xmas 08, with 50 game pods and a whopping 2000 square feet of floor space. More are planned further down the line too:

"Where we roll them out, we’ll be looking to locate the Gamerbase centres next to our games departments to bring the whole offer together for our customers - so if someone’s enjoyed playing a game online, they can pre-order or purchase it there and then," says Tim Ellis, Head of Games at HMV.

It all sounds tickety-boo to us - particularly the opportunity to sample forthcoming games. So does anyone still doubt that games really are bigger than movies and music?