Lightning will be in Shibuya early morning December 17. Will you?

Square Enix will be celebrating the launch of the latest Final Fantasy game at one of its favorite launch event spaces. The company announced today plans for an official Final Fantasy XIII countdown event to be held at the famous Tsutaya retailer in Shibuya.

The event will be held early morning on December 17. The first 100 people who arrive and purchase a copy of the long awaited PS3 RPG will be let into the shop's first floor starting at 6:15. Joining them for the countdown festivities will be Square Enix CEO Yoichi Wada, FFXIII producer Yoshinori Kitase, and talents Maomi Yuki, Ai Takahashi (of Morning Musume fame) and Kazuhiro Ozawa.

In addition to a countdown leading up to the start of sales, the event will also see a mini live session, with songstress Sayuri Sugawara performing the FFXIII theme song "Kimi ga Iru Kara."

While only 100 will be let into the shop for the festivities, the first 300 to purchase the game at this particular Tsutaya will get a free FFXIII-themed Elixir beverage.

Square Enix often uses the Shibuya Tsutaya outlet for official countdown events. Dragon Quest IX and past Final Fantasy games saw similar events, complete with major guest appearances.