GameStop Short PS3s For Launch Day 134
GameSpot reports that GameStop will have too few units for preorders on launch day. Employees are being "asked" to wait until the second shipment of consoles to purchase units, to ensure customers can receive what they paid (and waited in the cold) for. From the article: "For launch day, preorders will be filled in the order they were received, and those who had a preorder but are denied a system on day one will receive something for their troubles. GameStop will give those unfortunate customers (as well as unfortunate employees) a free used game or DVD valued at $19.99 or less when they eventually wind up purchasing the system. Those who reserved a system won't need to wait long to find out if they can expect a system on launch day. Starting tomorrow, customers who preordered a PS3 will be contacted personally by phone and updated on the status of their reservation, the rep said."
wow (Score:3, Insightful)
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Re:wow (Score:4, Insightful)
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It's worse than that (Score:2)
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You can't base the "fairness," "kindness" or "value" of this free game based on the wholesale price of the game. After all, Gamestop is a retail outlet. If I get a free game from Gamestop that would otherwise cost me $20 to buy, then the value to the customer is obvious, regardless of how much they paid the schlub who traded/sold it to the store.
Let's say Microsoft sent me
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If I get a free game from Gamestop that would otherwise cost me $20 to buy, then the value to the customer is obvious, regardless of how much they paid the schlub who traded/sold it to the store.
No, it is not obvious. If the customer had not intended to purchase it the value to them is zero. In theory they could on-sell it to recover the dollar equivalent but the overhead in time means it really could be valueless to that customer.
That's the problem with "intellectual property" in general. "Value" is
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When I called Gamestop to check on Gears of War on the day it was supposed to be released they confirmed that it was going to be one day late. They told me everyone who preordered was getting $5 off of Gears of War because of this. When I went in they charged me full price until I said something, so I imagine they were only doing it for people who actually mentioned it.
It would be nicer if you c
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I don't think most people who work for Gamestop give a shit about it. Hell, they even had to send a memo out to all the employees demanding their loyalty. Have you ever had the misfortune of working retail? Ever? I'm sure whoever was helping you was hating the company and FedEX so fucking much that he simply spaced the $5. It happens when you've been screamed at all day about something you had no God-damned control over. People mak
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We're talking about less than 1/4 the number of 360's that Microsoft brought to their launch party, and that was entirely too few for a system that had even less hype/demand built up than the PS3.
Ultimate phishing!!!! (Score:5, Interesting)
Hello sir or ma'am. My name is John Smith and I work for the EB in Silver Dollar City mall. We have received our first batch of PS3 and we are contacting the people who preordered early enough to get one from this batch. For verification reasons can I get your full name, mailing address, credit card number and security code?
-Rick
It could be worse (Score:3, Funny)
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Good day and compliments Mr. Coward. This letter will definitely come to you as a huge surprise, but I implore you to take the time to go through it carefully as the decision you make will go off a long way to determine the future and continued existence of the entire members of my family.
Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Dr Mohammed Abacha, son of the late oil minister of Lago
Wicked Lasers (Score:1)
Poor gamestop! (Score:2)
Of course sony isn't going to catch flack from the customers for this, because of the immediacy of gamestop being "at fault" in their eyes.
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Hell, Gamestop was selling 360 "bundles" on their website while preorders were left unfilled.
But hey, this isSslashdot, and you're talking about Microsoft. Reason and facts have nothing to do with what actually happened, right?
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Or as a 2nd job for some extra money because they have an interest in gaming and enjoy talk with others about games. Game discounts is just a perk, among other things (like lifetime WoW subscriptions for sale records being broken).
Sure, they could go flip burgers or become a sandwich artist and come home smelling like the garbage disposal.
Wow, I didn't think hourly pay was that good! In all seriousness. I wou
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Try painting, or working for a carpenter on light construction. Be a box jockey for UPS. Try selling shoes (probably the highest paying job on this list. I was making $500 a week part time selling shoes when I was in High School). There are plenty of non-fast-food entry level jobs that don't require you to be an asshole for a living.
Re:Poor gamestop! (Score:5, Interesting)
For example, every time I go into an EB/GS store around lunchtime on a Tuesday (release day for new games), the salesnerd has yet to open his shipment for the day. After he pauses his video game or stops gossiping with his friends, he recommends that I preorder next time.
Give them an interest-free loan on a readily-available item? No thanks!
I walk across the street to Toys R Us and buy it off the shelf, often for $5 less. It's sad when a crappy box store like TRU beats out a specialty shop in terms of service and early availability.
I understand that hardware is always scarce at launch, and the retailers don't make any profits from selling it, but if you're going to sell games, it seems to me you should take an interest in your customer's needs. If I were burned by EB/GS in this way after giving them a pre-order for PS3, I would resolve never to shop there again.
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Damnit, if you want better service stop calling yourself a damned "cosumer!" Retailers won't start treating you like a customer again until you yourself get out of the sheeplike "consumer" mentality!
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And changing your name to "customer" won't amount to a hill of ape snot as far as the conglomerates are concerned.
Refuse to go into a store that treats you like crap. I do. (Hence the original point of my post... I don't GO into Gamestops anymore....)
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Well, I can argue against calling Toys R'Us crappy. They do what they mean to do. I almost never go to TRU, however, I stopped there on a whim the other day and ended up getting an amazing deal. I bought 2 new DDR games, and got 2 free dance pads with it ($40 value total), it also happened that if I bought 2 new games, I would get a third free. I picked up the Devil May Cry 5th Anniv. collec
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Not exactly sure who to blame here ... (Score:4, Insightful)
Would MS and Sony love to know exactly how many consoles will be available at ship? Of course! Shafting retailers because they weren't able to produce as many as they thought they would, is just bad business. But it's obviously not intentional. You could argue that they shouldn't make any estimates whatsoever, until much closer to release (or until they actually have the units created). That I can understand, although I'm sure retailers don't like that approach either. (Legions of gamers want to pre-order well in advance, and not wait till the last few days)
That said, the retailers must have known that console shipment estimates are just swags at best. You could also argue that the responsible thing would be to not allow pre-orders at all. After all, that's what Best Buy, Target, Walmart, and a slew of other retail stores do. The problem is that game stores want to have a way to distinguish themselves apart from the big-box stores, and cater to a user-base that wants and are used to pre-orders (for games at least).
So basically, I think everyone should share a bit in the blame. Manufacturers, when they know an estimate is really difficult to nail down, need to stop making promises to retailers. Retailers, when they know the same thing is shaky, need to stop making promises to consumers. And arguably, we the consumer, need the calm the heck down and live with the fact that some things (guaranteed pre-orders of low supply consoles) may not be possible.
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yeah, poor gamestop (Score:3, Insightful)
It's not like the PS3 is the first system this has happened with.
Poor Gamestop? (Score:3, Insightful)
Nobody is forcing them to take pre-orders for anything, much less systems. They do it out of their own self interests. If they take more orders than they con fulfill they have nobody to blame but themselves. Other stores didn't take pre-orders and are operating on first come/first serve... For all we know Gamestop did this on purpose to prevent custom
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That's -exactly- why they do it. Don't believe me? Try getting your money back for the preorder that they couldn't fill.
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Ebay (Score:3, Insightful)
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Clearly Sony is the mastermind behind this clever scheme. Clearly.
No, really, we lied . . . it' (Score:5, Funny)
Enjoy your Eurotrip DVD!
Wii preorderers getting any love? (Score:1, Insightful)
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Could be worse ... (Score:4, Funny)
hmmm, so much for preorder sales on ebay (Score:3, Insightful)
I can't believe people are actually buying these preorders. I thought everyone knew that none of this preorder stuff was ever guaranteed. Ask the stores yourself, they'll tell you "that's how much we think we're getting".
sheesh, some people never learn.
The shortages grab headlines, but... (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm beginning to wonder if it's even worth coming to games.slashdot.org between now and 2007.
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http://www.nintendowiifanboy.com/ [nintendowiifanboy.com] rocks.
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This is all hype, there is nothing we're seeing that will be able to tell us whether we're looking at the next SNES or the next Dreamcast, for any of these new consoles. Nothing but marketing masturbation, and I real
A+++++ WILL BUY FROM AGAIN! (Score:5, Funny)
Karmic Justice on touts, Gamestop's the good guy (Score:3, Insightful)
Now if there could be some regulation that would effectively ban this kind of thing like how it has worked well with tickets? Heck, you could even give Sony an incentive of some sort to catch these flippers and create more units.
If anything, Gamestop should have announced it later so that flippers would be caught blindsided and having to deal with the buyers that end up putting a few bad actors in the red.
In short, Gamestop did a service to consumers knowing full well that the consoles will be flipped since nothing barred the action. They also at least gave the appearance of at least delaying employee purchases as well, so dont fault them.
Re:Karmic Justice on touts, Gamestop's the good gu (Score:2)
There are really only two solutions to the "flipper" problem. You can allow prices to rise to market-clearing levels or find a way to produce enough units to match demand. The former option will pis
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They've updated their pre-order page as well. (Score:2, Informative)
I for one, don't really care too much. I'm not actually getting a ps3 (not till the price drops by half), but as for the wii... I'd rather just be able to get into a line so that when my numb
What? (Score:1, Redundant)
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A used game/DVD up to $19.99 means they lose less.
There are some other considerations too - margin is much higher on used items, so they're losing potential profit rather than taking a true loss. They also get to move some older stock they might not have been able to otherwise.
What? (Score:3, Insightful)
"But won't that turn into some sort of brawl on release day?" you ask?
Yes, yes it will. And Sony will put it on pay-per-view and make enough so that the next system will only cost $99 at launch. God bless capitalism.
Duh. (Score:1)
I mean, I talked to a Game Stop guy in my area and he recommended strongly against anywhere preordering, whether it was GS/EB or anywhere else. That, along with recollection of the 360 fiasco, was more than enough for me. Curiously, I haven't found anywhere else in my area who is doing the preordering thing. I suppose they're just a glutton for punishment.
And now I am going to be camping in front of Circuit City from Tuesday until Sunday. In a tent. Woo!
Simple Solution. (Score:1)
It's called bleeding-edge because you may have to bleed during the process. If there's no guarantee and you donate your funds to them in the hopes that you'll acquire this new piece of tech, then there's a chance you may get screwed and have to wait without that ca
Less than Ten Per Store (Score:1, Informative)
- Grapevine, TX Employee who will get straight fired if this gets back to me.
This is getting ridiculous! (Score:2)
I sorta want a Wii. I'm not even thinking in terms of preorders; I figure if I happen to be near a game store, I'll walk in and see what they have.
I'm not sure I get it. (Score:2)
Now, the second point comes moot when you have problems like the above, and only a retard wouldn't have expected it. And the first point falls totally flat, since they'll sell out -no matter what-.
So who had the bright idea of allowing preorders for these consoles again?
Sony should sell direct via ebay during launch (Score:2)
Better than nothing...? (Score:2)
While a $20 used game or movie isn't much, I guess it's better than nothing, and more than one would normally get when they place a preorder and don't get their system on the first delivery...
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2. Get $20 game for lack of supply.
3. Refund your pre-order deposit.
4. Profit $$
This will not affect me (Score:1)
EB Games getting half as many units on launch day (Score:1)
My only question (Score:2)
Re:If You Thought PS2 Insanity Was Crazy... (Score:5, Insightful)
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Thank you Nintendo and (dare I say it) thank you Sony.
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For the Sony Fanboys' sake, I hope I'm wrong. I suppose well find out at the end of the week.
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Online multiplayer gaming should be free (aside from MMORPGs like FF XI and WoW, I suppose), that's what I hate about Microsoft's offer - basic online stuff like multiplayer is only for paying members. Enough monthly fees already!
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You can get free dialup, but I'll bet you pay for broadband dont you? Its the same internet, why shoudlnt it all be free?
Live is very affordably priced, and I'm happy to pay it for the quality of service I get.
Sometimes you get what you pay for. If Sony can pull off an Xbox Live level service and offer it for free, I'll applaud not only their ingenuity but their altruism. But I'll believe it when I see it.
Re:If You Thought PS2 Insanity Was Crazy... (Score:4, Insightful)
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Yes, I'm sure you love you little Microsoft-branded sandbox, since it would surely be impossible for games to offer multiplayer over, you know, a plain Internet connection!
Don't you realize that you sound exactly like an AOL user extolling the virtues of the restricted selection of information available on that service, as opposed to using the real Internet?
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By leaving multiplayer features the sole responsibility of each developer you get a very hit or miss result. Some games will have a good multiplayer experience, because the developer thinks its important. Some devs will try to get by with minimal effort. Having a network where MS can dictate the basic required features ensures a consistent experience. For example: every game has voice chat because MS makes it easy to implement.
It also ensures that all the various game
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"Having a network" and enabling a "consistent experience" are two different thin
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Live has these problems and its not a perfect system. But they do try to address these issues.
I'm not sure why youre so invested in this. You dont like Live. Good for you, theres always X
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Re:If You Thought PS2 Insanity Was Crazy... (Score:5, Insightful)
Because they know how limited the supply is
The PS2 launch was absolutely crazy, but nothing like the PS3 launch is turning out to be.
Because of how limited the supply is
The Wii hype seems to have fallen off a bit but appears to be still pretty strong. Good thing Nintendo fucked over GameCube owners wanting to play the new Zelda or the Wii launch lineup would be pretty pathetic. Lack of online play for almost all games until next year and many of the big games other than Zelda aren't appearing until March or so.
How are Gamecube owners fucked over by having to wait 2 weeks for a game? And how is the Wii launch lineup pretty pathetic without Zelda? And what big games other than Zelda aren't appearing until March or so?
Wii hype has "died down" only so far as people are a little hyped out
Most people have spent the past 6-12 months talking about "When the Revolution/Wii will be released" that they're mostly conserned with going out and buying one now
Seems like the gaming press has forgotten the 360 is still around.
That could be because everyone who owns an XBox 360 is playing the videogame that is currently ranked #1 among games released in 2006 by gamerankings.com
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Found the quote! (Score:2)
"A delayed game is eventually good, a bad game is bad forever." -Shigeru Miyamoto
To cut off protest, that's obviously not always true (Diakatana being the obvious example) but there is some truth to it.
-Trillian
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And Wind Waker wasn't pushed back enough, something like a half-dozen dungeons were cut, and the last 25% of the game turned into a scavenger hunt...
Yeah, I don't think I mind the wait.
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Heh. Yeah, I'm playing through Wind Waker right now for the first time (needed a Zelda fix before this weekend...) I just got to the scavenger hunt (stupid Triforce pieces...) and yeah, even with the warp song (whatever the hell it's called) it's friggin obnoxious. Wind Waker isn't a bad game (hell, I'd even say it's a pretty good game) but it sure as hell is
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That indeed does make the Wii launch lineup pretty pathetic!
Talk about shooting themselves in the foot.
Wii launch titles, Zelda... (Score:2)
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Granted, the Wii launch is still pretty strong without them, but you did ask.
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