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The State Of Wii Preorders 160

Posted by Zonk from the state-of-disorganization dept.
1up has a hilarious article up looking at the state of Wii Preorders across the U.S.. Despite the fact that preorders began (and likely ended) this morning at EBs and Gamestops across the country, the employees of the megalithic game store were less than fully prepared. From the article: "WEST VIRGINIA: GameStop #1330: 'We don't know. I mean, we're gonna be doing reserves. We're just waiting for them to tell us we can.' WISCONSIN: EB Games #4626: 'It looks more like we'll just sell that one. Because there will be 2 to 4 million units available on launch day, and EB/GameStop will be getting 70% of them that first come first serve would be doable. Even a smaller store like ours could be getting upwards of 50 units day one.' WYOMING: EB Games #4294: 'Any day now, man. Any day now.'" Despite my wife's best efforts, I missed out on a preorder by three people in line. Stupid cross-country trips.
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The State Of Wii Preorders More

The State Of Wii Preorders

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  • Pfft (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    It's not a next-gen launch unless you spend two days urban camping. Harassing "normal" customers, being hasseled by employees, and forts made from shopping carts: That's a launch!!!
  • I have considered getting the Wii, but I have not seen anything in the initial game list that was a "must have" for me.

    Can anyone name a game that will be a must have or should I just stick with my PS/2?

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Zelda: Twilight Princess. The gamecube version won't hit until a month later.

      Trauma Center.

      Others I'm more, or less, interested in seeing how they turn out: Red Steel. Elebits. Rayman.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by pembo13 ( 770295 )
      As someone who intends to get a Wii ASAP, I say stick with your current console until you feel comfortable with getting another. At the end of the day it's your money, and you're the one who will be playing with it.
    • "Can anyone name a game that will be a must have or should I just stick with my PS/2?"

      Versus the IBM Personal System/2? I hear there's this awesome game called Wii Sports: Tennis that knocks the socks off of Pong. :)

    • Re:Not certain about the Wii (Score:4, Insightful)

      by ElleyKitten ( 715519 ) <kittensunrise AT gmail DOT com> on Friday October 13, 2006 @12:49PM (#16425311) Journal
      If Zelda, WarioWare, Wii Sports, Excite Truck, etc, haven't gotten you excited yet, then stick with your current console(s). Different people like different games, and you'll just be disappointed if you buy a console become other people say it's cool.
      • Hey now! Don't feed him that old line. Every geek knows -- being cool is *way* more important than being true to yourself! //That only came from an image in my head of those cheesy movies where the geek tries so hard to fit in only to learn the value of being him/herself in the end

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by dstyle5 ( 702493 )
      When I get my Wii (at launch if I can) I'll definitely be getting the new Zelda game, Twilight Princess. It is a "must have" for me. From the previews I've seen it looks fanastic. It reminds me of Ocarina of Time for the N64 which was an amazing game.

      Perhaps the packed in game Wii Sports will keep you occupied until something you find interesting comes out ;), or maybe something on virual console you'll find some old school games to keep you interested.
      • Yea, I never understood why they don't up the price themselves on launch day instead of letting people resell them. I'm guessing its a combination of it would screw up with Advertising, cause a PR nightmare, and economically be not worth it for a company interested in selling millions of consoles. Making a few extra bucks off the first few thousand is just silly.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by hords ( 619030 )
          I heard Sony actually let the retailers set the price for the PS3 in Japan. Stores selling them for $1000, $1200, etc. If it's true that has to piss some people off. But it would help prevent the people from Ebaying them.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Jerf ( 17166 )
      If you've already read the game list, I doubt anybody will have anything to add. It's not as if anybody has played these games to speak of, or at least anybody allowed to talk about it. (A couple of hours of "hands-on preview" doesn't count.)

      I'm interested in the Wii, moreso than the XBox 360 or the PS3. But I'm going to be "sticking with the PS2" myself for a while. For one thing, there's still a good 10 games that I'm interested in, and I have a Real Job so it takes a while to get through them. Fortunatel
    • They'er going to have my favorite game: resell on eBay for double the price!

      The sequel is also good: Buy another a few weeks later.

    • Uh.. Zelda? (Score:4, Informative)

      by xenocide2 ( 231786 ) on Friday October 13, 2006 @01:12PM (#16425765) Homepage
      I guess some people have a fascination with serial input busses, but for the rest of us, Zelda on launch is like candy for breakfast.

      You're right though: a lot of the other titles are widely ported mass market games. But many of them seem to be somewhat modified -- the Wii version of Madden allows you to use the motion sensor to control the gameplay. Ubisoft is making a racing game using the remote. They put out a plastic steering wheel and you put the remote in it, at which point it can detect you turning it one way or the other. Tom Clany's double agent is well anticipated, but many people I think would rather get it now on another platform than wait a month for the Wii version. There's also Trauma Center, a Wii exclusive and definately not a game that surrounds itself with the familiar; it's a surgery simulation game.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Strolls ( 641018 )
      Red Steel [wikipedia.org]

  • Nursery rhymes (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 13, 2006 @12:36PM (#16425035)
    This little gamer went to Gamestop.
    This little gamer went to EB.
    This little gamer got a preorder.
    This little gamer got none.
    This little gamer cried "Wii Wii Wii" all the way home.

  • Monday for Canadian Wii preorders (Score:4, Informative)

    by Frag-A-Muffin ( 5490 ) on Friday October 13, 2006 @12:38PM (#16425083)
    I went into EB today (I live in Canada), and they said they're doing pre-orders for PS3 and Wiis on Monday morning. You can only get 1 system. Not one of each, they're making you chose!

    You need $50 in trade-in credit or $200 cash down.

    They're expecting a line up too.

    My question: WTF?! :) I don't remember having to line up for a pre-order. Isn't that what a pre-order is suppose to prevent?!? The need to line up on launch day!

    This is getting a little out of hand. What's next? The Wii2 launch will require you to line up to get a # so that you can line up to pre-order, and then line up again to pick up on launch day?!

    Problem is, I was going to maybe pre-order a PS3 to sell on ebay :) Use that money to buy a Wii! But now they're only letting me pre-order 1 of the systems! Grrr ... I might have to take a risk and get the PS3 anyways, in hopes that I'll be able to find a launch party line up the night before the Wii launch. Afterall, there's supposed to be a lot more Wiis right?!

    • While I agree that it's stupid that you can only get one system or the other you could

      a) Take a friend/your girlfriend along and have him/her order the other one.
      b) Pre-order from two different stores
      or even c) Come back later (won't work if the line-up thing happens) when there are different employees, and pre-order the remaining system under a different phone number.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by interiot ( 50685 )
      Lines, whether it be at gas pumps [wikipedia.org], or schools [timesdispatch.com], or at console retailers, is a sign of economic imbalance. The way you deal with supply/demand imbalance is to raise prices, not make people wait in line. When supply/demand/price get far enough out of line, people start getting in line not to purchase one for themselves, but to put it on Ebay, so they can get the profits that Sony should be getting.
      • ...so how does this theory explain the 3 week campout people did to see 'Revenge of the Sith' or other movie campouts? Plus it seems that more people are reserving a Wii to keep; it's the PS3 that's going on Ebay more often.

        Sometimes it's not economic imbalance, sometimes it's just emotional. I'm sure there's a thesis in here somewhere for some aspiring economist...

      • Re:Monday for Canadian Wii preorders (Score:4, Insightful)

        by alphaseven ( 540122 ) on Friday October 13, 2006 @01:56PM (#16426529)
        The way you deal with supply/demand imbalance is to raise prices, not make people wait in line.

        There is a very good reason for not raising prices, if the Wii or the PS3 was priced higher, then while those companies would make more money, some people would be turned off by the high price and buy an XBOX 360. And once someone already owns a 360 they are less likely to buy another console in the future because of the investment. By pricing the PS3 and Wii lower than demand, instead of buying a 360 people may wait for the other consoles to become available. Also, optimal pricing is hard to predict, like the 360 in Japan (which got a small fraction of consoles compared to North America) and the PSP didn't sell out at launch.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by interiot ( 50685 )
          People would know that prices are definitely going to drop rapidly after launch though, so their expectation of waiting for the console (eg. their motivation to buy a different console) would be no more than when they wait in line for a preorder and don't get one.

    • Re:Monday for Canadian Wii preorders (Score:4, Interesting)

      by HappySqurriel ( 1010623 ) on Friday October 13, 2006 @01:04PM (#16425649)
      I honestly don't know what EB Games is up to ...

      Back in 2001 I pre-ordered a Gamecube at Futureshop and when I walked in they must have had (at least) 50 Gamecubes in a pile and everyone who pre-ordered ended up with a system; today, the Wii is launching with (about) twice as many systems as the Gamecube did and EB Games are averaging 10 systems per store for to pre-order. It seems that something is off to me, either EB Games is getting screwed on the number of systems they're getting, or they're purposefully limiting pre-orders.

      Which brings me up to my other question ... Why could I pre-order a Gamecube in July in 2001 at Futureshop, and a month before the system launches I still can't pre-order at Futureshop or Best Buy?

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Anonymous Coward

        today, the Wii is launching with (about) twice as many systems as the Gamecube did

        This is unconfirmed. A Nintendo executive did give a number, but then another (presumably more important) executive said he was wrong.

        That's the answer to all of your questions, actually: Nintendo won't tell EB (or anyone) how many consoles they're getting. EB really wants to avoid a situation where they oversell preorders, so they're being very conservative with their preorder allotment. If rumours are accurate, most EB store

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Phisbut ( 761268 )
        Back in 2001 I pre-ordered a Gamecube at Futureshop and when I walked in they must have had (at least) 50 Gamecubes in a pile and everyone who pre-ordered ended up with a system; today, the Wii is launching with (about) twice as many systems as the Gamecube did and EB Games are averaging 10 systems per store for to pre-order. It seems that something is off to me, either EB Games is getting screwed on the number of systems they're getting, or they're purposefully limiting pre-orders.

        I'm not sure how things

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by poot_rootbeer ( 188613 )
        Why could I pre-order a Gamecube in July in 2001 at Futureshop, and a month before the system launches I still can't pre-order at Futureshop or Best Buy?

        Back in July 2001, Futureshop hadn't yet been screwed by the demand for the Xbox 360 far outstripping the available supply. The more preorders the store takes and is unable to fulfill, the more disgruntled customers there are. Better to avoid taking preorders, and thus disappointing many people.
      • I used to purchase games from EB Canada all the time, since it was pretty much the only decent game shop in town. Well I got sick of them a few years ago because of the way they would package/sell you the games.

        When I would go in to buy a brand new game, I would get an empty box at the front counter, and then one of the sales people go out back and get you the game media and game manual, which they store in a ziplock bag. Why the hell can't they keep the game content inside the box unopened? I don't trust t

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by AcidLacedPenguiN ( 835552 )
      Well you see, this is all just EB/GameStop's elaborate plan for the next-next-gen console launches: The Pre-pre-order. The idea is to avoid standing in line for your pre-order, so you can put money down in January 2007 for the opportunity to be first in line to put money down on putting money down on the PS4, Xbox 720, or Nintendo's WiiWii.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by MrJynxx ( 902913 )
      Here's a tip for Canadian's pre-ordering the Wii.

      GOTO ZELLERS!!!

      Believe it or not Zellers has been quietly doing Wii pre-orders. I ordered mine on the 6th and just recieved a call from Zellers headoffice asking for the date of purchase because the person forgot to put the date of purchase in their book (they could of checked the receipt but i'm sure a call was easier).. But anyways, that followup call confirms I'll have it on the 19th..

      Cout your local Zellers and they may have some avail, I think it was 1

    • You need $50 in trade-in credit or $200 cash down.

      That's what I heard too, which pissed me right off. I no longer shop at EB because I hate their policies. They want you to trade in $50 worth of games, so that they can turn around and sell those games for $100+. $50 in used games or $200 for a pre-order? I told EB to go fuck themselves, I went to toys'r'us, they said they stopped doing preorders, so now I'm just hoping that I can get a Wii on release from somewhere in Canada, no pre-order for me =(

    • Wait a few weeks and get one from batch 2 with none of the hassle.

      -Rick
  • I posted in the other preorder thread, but wanted to mention again that it really depends on where you are. I was 19th in line for 31 consoles at my local EB and was only there about 45 minutes before the store opened. Likewise, the staff knew exactly what was going on and had a list of games with release dates to make decisions easier.

    Couldn't be happier about it.
    -Trillian
    • Agreed. I was 2nd in line staked out for two hours for what turned out to be 8 units, but I think the 8th person showed up only about 20 min before opening. The line was handled in a courteous organized manner.

  • BS (Score:1)

    by say__10 ( 768448 )
    I was there 25 minutes prior to opening, there were probably 10 people ahead of me, guy opens up, registers 7 people, as he is working on the 8th lets us know that is it, as opposed to just saying up front that there were 8. No one else was there waiting in 35* weather just for fun, jackass.
  • "Even a smaller store like ours could be getting upwards of 50 units day one."

    Nuff said.

    This isn't going to be like the Xbox360 debacle.

    Besides, stores will have plenty a week or two later. Is it really worth lining up just to get a spot in a line-up?

    Reminds me of concert tickets. Come line up for your chance to be in a lineup for your chance to buy some concert tickets. Wow, could I?
    • Agreed, there. I'm not bothering to pre-order. I'll probably stop by one of the stores on the day it's out, and if they don't have any, I'll try a week later, or so. If they don't have it, it's not the end of the world. I still play with my SNES, so given that I'll probably be keeping the Wii for years, who cares if I don't get it for another week? I'm not trying to impress anyone by getting it first.
    • Agreed. The $50 down on it would be the dealbreaker for me. It was understandable for the PS3, which will be near-impossible to buy, but the Wii is going to have so many units available at launch, I'd be surprised if you couldn't walk into your average walmart a few minutes before midnight on the 18th and walk back out with a shiny new Wii in hand without fighting off a huge mob in the process. (In fact, this is exactly what I'm planning to do.)

      Anyone spending money to pre-order the Wii is a fool.
  • Called the two local stores and at 9AM there were long lines outside. Much longer than the supply they had. No preorder for me.
  • So, it appears that the chances of pre-ordering are Wii-mote?

    I don't understand why these game systems are shortaged at launch. 80 or a 100 XBox360s for a town of 130k people? One or two PS3s or Wiis per game store? Are they trying to funnel them through the big box stores? Are they under-estimating demand or trying to create artificial scarcity?

    If a car company could only supply one new car of each type per dealer per town, they would look foolish. Why is the same kind of behavior normal when applied to ga
    • Hell car deals dont even have the anticipation of the new vehicle coming out.

      People generally dont get their that day it arrived to buy one asap.

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by The MAZZTer ( 911996 )

      So, it appears that the chances of pre-ordering are Wii-mote?

      Someone should put you in jail for that pun. And then send you to hell. And then put you in some sort of jail they have set up in hell. (Paraphrased from a friend of mine.)

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by xenocide2 ( 231786 )
      These things are "shortaged" at launch primarily because they're afraid of matching supply and demand principles. A shortage is what happens when demand outstrips supply but prices don't rise. The nature of manufacturing a new product is that you can't make a million of them instantly. You build say 100k a day. I guarentee you two weeks ago there were finished Wiis sitting there waiting for enough friends to make launch numbers. In a perfectly free world market, that first lonely Wii would have been sold im

  • EBgamesStop not the only game vendor (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Avacar ( 911548 ) on Friday October 13, 2006 @12:48PM (#16425301) Homepage

    While the EBGames/Gamestop pre-order is making news, they can't be the only store doing pre-orders. At some point stores like Walmart, Target, BestBuy, FutureShop, etc. will start pre-ordering. The question is, has anyone heard news on when? Where? How many?

    The 'state of Wii Pre-orders' shouldn't be limited to one chain. It should count all chains. The 1up article is a bit limited in scope (however, still an interesting/funny read).

    • I was working at a local Target when the PS2 was launched. Our store got 2 (two) total for the first two weeks and those got kidnapped by management. Somehow I doubt they'll have pre-orders, but I could be wrong.
    • Why isn't it making news that your pre-order at gamestop or EB doesn't guarantee you a console, even if you are sufficiently to the front of the line.

      What are people paying $50 for? If they want money, I'd better get a guarantee, or at least more that $50 back when they're telling me they aren't actually going to sell me the machine I pre-ordered.
      • You aren't guaranteed a console "at launch." You'll get a call saying you can pick one up eventually, but yeah, you can "pick one up eventually" at any other retailer too.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by ivan256 ( 17499 )
          That's not what the terms on the EBgames website say. They say you aren't guaranteed a console. Period. That means they can just keep your $50 until you ask for it back, or until they decide they've had it long enough, even if they have other machines available to be sold to the general public.
          • You may want to read that again

            http://www.ebgames.com/gs/wii/wiipre_ebgs.asp [ebgames.com]

            "...a reservation deposit does not guarantee receipt of a system available to purchase at launch."

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by ivan256 ( 17499 )
              Legalese is as much about what it doesn't say as it is about what it does say. They are not bound to do anything by your pre-order other than mail you a check (I haven't gone to the store, but I'll be money that the reciept you sign at the store says 'within 7-10 weeks') when you ask for your money back.

      • Why isn't it making news that your pre-order at gamestop or EB doesn't guarantee you a console, even if you are sufficiently to the front of the line.

        What are people paying $50 for? If they want money, I'd better get a guarantee, or at least more that $50 back when they're telling me they aren't actually going to sell me the machine I pre-ordered.

        Yes but keep in mind that while thinking like that you can't also desire allowing pre-orders more than a month in advance.
        EBStop had to know how many units each st

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by ivan256 ( 17499 )
          Yes, yes. You've drunk the cool-aid. Congratulations.

          keep in mind that while thinking like that you can't also desire allowing pre-orders more than a month in advance

          Explain to me the difference between standing in line for a pre-order and standing in line for an actual console.... Now, tell me what the hell *we* need pre-orders for.

          Pre-orders benefit only the retailer at the expense of the customer. Nobody should 'desire' pre-orders.

          I do know a number of people who work there and [...]

          I also know a number

          • Yes, yes. You've drunk the cool-aid. Congratulations.

            I'm not sure whether that is supposed to be some sort of insult but if it is, I think it's spelled Kool-aid. Thank's for drinking that cool-aid ;)

            Pre-orders benefit only the retailer at the expense of the customer. Nobody should 'desire' pre-orders.

            I don't desire a pre-order, i desire a Wii. If I didn't have family at that store I wouldn't have bothered with it, standing in line for stuff is dumb.

            I'm not saying that your story about paying into the pre-

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by j0nb0y ( 107699 )
      EBGameStop isn't the only chain to sell the Wii/PS3, but they are the only chain that does preorders, so that's why preorder stories are limited to that chain.

      Wal-mart, Circuit City, Best Buy, etc don't do preorders.

  • Pretty organized (Score:4, Informative)

    by ShadowsHawk ( 916454 ) on Friday October 13, 2006 @12:55PM (#16425461)
    I opted for the mall since there was an EB and a Gamestop (and it's indoors). Despite getting there at 9:15, there were lines of over 30 people for each. While I was walking up to the first shop, the manager came out and announced that they would only have 14 units. I hopped back in car and decided to stop by a Gamestop that is on the way back to my house. There was ten people in line already. A few minutes later, the manager came out with donuts and told everyone that they would have 14 units. Very organized over all. They were pressing hard on the pre-ordering of accessories, but that was to be expected. The only confusion was from parents waiting in line. The gentleman behind me knew that his son wanted a Wii, but he had no idea on what it was or what to purchase with it.

    Wii: $50
    Remote: $10
    Zelda TP: $5
    Classic controller: $10

    • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

      by tsalaroth ( 798327 )
      Waiting in line to purchase something that doesn't exist yet? Priceless.

  • Wii will rock! (Score:2, Insightful)

    by i_am_the_r00t ( 762212 )

    There is nothing revolutionary about the horsepower, graphical abilities or capabilities.

    There is not even anything special about the controller. That's not the point. (Sony and MS will make competing controllers that will probaly be better. i.e more sensitive, better range, more buttons, etc)

    The point is (and this is the MAJOR point of every Console in the history of consoles)...

    the Wii controller comes in the box!

    why is this so important?
    people don't buy add-on hardware for their consoles. that's the whol
  • I showed up at the local ebgames at 9:50 (store opens at 10) I was extremely lucky because there is lack of interest in my neighorhood. I'm black and live in a black neighborhood on the south side of chicago guess the wii aint' gansta enough you know? Two other white guys were there we the only guys in line. So went in and all reserved one wii and zelda. I called back around 11:30 to ask the manager how the preoders were going she only had two left. (she was alloted 12 for the store) Apparently people came
  • This is a GameStop in Sugarland, TX.

    The first guy in line was an employee of the store. Behind him was a doting mother of 3, behind her, was me. I got there two hours before the store opened. The employee had already printed out preorder game and accessory lists, and was extremely well-informed.

    The guys I were in line with were the sweaty fat gamer nerd type - one wouldn't shut up about how he got 120 stars in Mario 64.. *yawn*

    Anyway, I put down full price on a Wii, two classic controllers, an extra nunc

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by Kenshin ( 43036 )
      Thanksgiving is going to be awesome this year, having a nice shiny Wii to tote to the in-law's house to show to the kids. :)

      Should we notify the authorities ahead of time?

      (No, the jokes won't stop.)
  • I really don't understand why game stores want people to pre-order these consoles. For regular games it makes a lot of sense because it prevents them from buying too many copies of a promising game that turns out to be a dud at launch, or not having enough copies of a surprise smash hit. Many game stores (especially in mall locations) basically buy N+1 copies of a game when it comes out, where N is the number of preorders they have for it. If you want something, they come right out and tell you to preord

    • Three reasons (Score:5, Insightful)

      by ivan256 ( 17499 ) on Friday October 13, 2006 @01:10PM (#16425737)
      Three reasons.

      1: Interest on $50,000,000 for a month (You really think the costs of running the pre-order operation for a day are going to exceed $4 million?)
      2: Gets the customer into the store two times, increasing the opportunity for additional sales
      3: Requires the customer to provide personal information that they can sell

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by ivan256 ( 17499 )
        Er... That should have said "$400,000", not "$4 million". Point still stands dispite the thinko.
    • 1) You're only partially right on why Gamestop and EB do preorders on games. While it's true that they want to limit new-game inventory, the reason they do so is because their real business is selling used games. The company as a whole couldn't care less if anyone ever bought a new game at their stores again, as long as people kept bringing in their old games to sell/trade.
      2) The reason they want people to preorder consoles is nearly the same. It gives them a read on the demand for the console, so that t
  • At 10am I swung by my local gamestop. They said they had 6 units for preorder and they were all gone by 6:30 AM, as there were already 6 people in line. Strange, as the PS3s at the same gamestop had sold out at 7 PM the day the ps3 preorders launched, plus they were issuing 12 preorders. Why are they only issuing 6 preorders for the Wii when there are going to be 2.5x the amount of units? That didn't make sense to me.

  • Skunked (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Doomstalk ( 629173 ) on Friday October 13, 2006 @01:31PM (#16426045)
    I got to my local GameStop (Squirrel Hill location in Pittsburgh, PA) at 8:45 AM, about an hour before they opened. There were about a dozen people in line. Then the EB employee came by, and handed tickets to the first bunch of people in line (not me).

    From what I've gathered, they had a lot fewer units allocated than they did for the PS3. When I asked on Wednesday, the clerk said those had sold out in about 15 minutes. It's kinda odd, considering that the Wii's going to have about 10x the availability. My guess is that Nintendo is purposefully avoiding selling the majority of their hardware as preorders. They want to get the hardware into the hands of the general public, not the sorts of people who read gaming sites or get email notifications from EB. It makes sense, though, when you consider how vital Nintendo's market expansion plan is to the system's success.

    • Re:Skunked (Score:4, Interesting)

      by xenocide2 ( 231786 ) on Friday October 13, 2006 @01:48PM (#16426361) Homepage
      See, I figure they deliberately undersupplied pre-orders to either encourage retailers to bundle, or to drive up news stories of pre-order sell outs. That, or Gamestop got the short end of the Wii allocation stick somehow.
      • That, or Gamestop got the short end of the Wii allocation stick somehow.

        That's exactly what I meant. I think Nintendo is trying to emphsize more mainstream stores (Best Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA, Sears, etc.) over the gaming specialist shops. Places like EB, Babbages, and Gamestop don't cater to the new demographic they're trying to cultivate, so it would make sense for them to focus the majority of their push elsewhere.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by hords ( 619030 )
      That's odd. They had more than twice as many Wii's (32) than PS3's (14) available at my gamestop for pre-order. Although my EB Games had 14 for each. Both these stores are in the same mall.
  • Do you get any free extras for pre-ordering?
    Are there any giveaways that stores are doing if you buy from them instead of someone else?

    For the DS Lite launch, Circuit City gave away DS Lite kits and Best Buy gave away copies of Brain Age!

    What are the sellers doing this year?
    Other than "getting it first", what's the incentive for pre-ordering?
    • Nintendo gave away Brain Age, not a specific retailer. I got my Lite + Brain Age at Circuit City (they wouldn't let me get the kit as well, but it wasn't that great anyway).
  • I'd just like to relate my preorder experience. I saw /.'s posting of the story at about 11:30 (Central). Wasn't really planning on preordering but figure WTH and started calling. The third closest EB/Gamestop to me (still within 5-10 minutes) had two left. Futzed around a bit and then went over there. Got there at about 12:30 and there was still one left.

    So, all in all pretty easy for me.
  • Call me when I can play Guitar Hero II on the Wii, with a guitar control that has a place to attach the controller, so that as I swing the guitar (and my body) around, my on-screen avatar dances along with me, and if I strum with a particularly excessive body movement, I get added points.
  • I was able to place my preorder back just after E3, though apparently they were offering preorders before then - apparently Australia is different.

    However, I pretty much went against the crowd this weekend: I went and canceled my order. I refuse to play silly-buggers with Nintendo's retarded regioning policy for yet another console generation, and I certainly don't want my Virtual Console game selection to be limited to what was available in PAL back in the 8/16-bit era (which is what they're apparently doi

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