Scores of people queued for hours to be the first to get a copy of the latest FIFA football video game.

Fans desperate to buy FIFA 13 waited outside Game stores in Western Road and Churchill Square from 9.30pm until the doors opened at midnight Thursday.

The Western Road store was the busier of the two, with the queue stretching almost out of the door by midnight.Van driver Darren James, 31, said he could not wait to play the latest instalment in the football franchise.

He said: “Well it’s FIFA isn’t it? You want to get a bit practise in – you need get a headstart on everyone.”

Queuing outside a shop on a cold Thursday evening might be a world away from the glamour of the Premier League but for mum Donna Rose it did not need a second thought.

She said: “I’ve got two little boys at home who are going to be over the moon when they wake up. It’ll be worth it to see the look on their faces. They’re going to get up early to play it before school.”

Chris Tanner, 38, was preparing to pull an “all-nighter” once he got the new game home.

He said: “The graphics are sharper and it’s more realistic.

“I’ll be doing an all-nighter I think. I’ll put the rechargeable batteries in the controller.”

Dan Marshall, a senior sales assistant at the Churchill Square store, was more than happy to be working into the early morning.

“It’s always fun when stuff comes out and we do this, especially in the run-up to Christmas.

It’s a good laugh and people really do seem to enjoy it.”

The game launched in America on September 25, selling 353,000 copies on the first day.

There have been more than one million pre-orders worldwide, with hundreds of those being taken at the two Brighton Game stores.

FIFA 13 execuitve producer David Rutter said: “We are perfecting the best sports game in the world with innovations that capture all the drama and unpredictability of real-world football.”