UK crime spree at GTA IV midnight launch

Midnight launches aren't always the gaming industry's proudest moments. The PlayStation 3 release in particular was riddled with launch-related crimes, including a mugging, a store robbery, a launch line hold-up, and a shooting.

Grand Theft Auto IV went on sale in stores around the world at 12:01am yesterday morning, and criminal midnight launch madness in the UK has been reported. BBC News is reporting on a pair of incidents, with news of a stabbing outside a Gamestation in Croydon and a mugging near another game store in Lancashire.

According to the BBC, a 23-year-old man was attacked by a knife-wielding assailant as he passed a queue outside the Gamestation. The victim was treated for several stab wounds and has since been released. The attacker, who police said appeared to be waiting in the line of about 50 to 100 people, was not apprehended.

In the mugging, an 18-year-old was robbed of his copy of the game and beaten as he walked home from the store with a friend. The victim was taken to the hospital with a broken jaw and a broken nose.

Police are asking for witnesses in both cases to step forward.