HMV will open its first game centre this Friday, in Edinburgh.

The centre, with full Xbox Live connectivity is being opened on trial basis in the flagship store and the opening of any subsequent gaming zones will depend on the pilot’s success.

The HMV gaming zone allows customers try games before buying them or join in organised tournaments. Only registered members who have a HMV play card can use the centre and members must pay for the game time before they enter the zone with a one hour and three hour sessions setting you back £3 and £5 respectively.

Users registering for a Play card must fill out an application form and may be asked for identification or parental consent. The store will also offer an over-18s area so that younger gamers are not scarred by any unsuitable content.

The 2000sq foot gaming centre will be an extension of the stores game department and is equipped with 27 Xbox 360s with HD Samsung TV screens. With organised tournaments for Guitar Hero III, Halo 3 and Project Gotham 4 the announcement of the game zone is already causing quite a stir among gamers and could see the start of a whole new chain of HMV game centres.