Gamestop Not Taking Wii/PS3 PreOrders Yet 82
Next Generation is reporting that Gamestop has declined to take preorders for the Wii and PS3, on the grounds that they don't know how many units will be available at launch. They're apparently trying to avoid a repeat of last year's problems with the 360's launch. From the article: "Analysts also inquired what would happen if PS3 launch quantities fell short of expectations. '[Last year,] the 360 in short supply had an effect of freezing the market,' said DeMatteo. 'But if you look at it, there wasn't anything new. I mean, there weren't any new platforms out there, so the 360 was the newest thing in the last four or five years. This year, there will be a Wii and there will be a 360, so I can't believe that it will have the same kind of impact that the 360 [shortages] had.'"
In other news (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Re:In other news or why EBX is too slow (Score:1)
Must have Wii!
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Wait.... (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Con artist training program (Score:1)
How do you know they don't train their nerds to behave this way? After all, I'm sure it makes them money. They may lose all their smart customers, but today it seems companies just want stupid customers who are easy to screw over...
Re: (Score:2)
GameStupid (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:GameStupid (Score:4, Informative)
For the Xbox 360 I Went to Sam's Club, they opened at 7, I hopped in line around 5 and even when they opened their doors they only had about 15 people in line when they had 20 consoles...
I know where I'll be buying my Wii, Fsk Pre-orders.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
Re:GameStupid or Costco, decisions decisions (Score:1)
less problem, cheaper price.
Re: (Score:2)
Amazon.de [amazon.de] takes preorders for the Playstation3.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
I just wanted to let you know (Score:2, Funny)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Sure, Wii will be a much better bet, but if you still have an xbox lying around, you might as well get some good games until Wii launches.
Re: (Score:2)
Same here. And they'll have Spore on the Wii. Until then, I'll just learn how to fish and hop from star to star.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Thank you in advance - and I believe I speak for all of Slashdot when we say - we look forward to your next share.
Re: (Score:2)
Does this make any sense to anyone? (Score:1)
For those who missed that:
1) They're not taking pre-orders
2) because they don't know how many units will be available at launch
3) probably because Nintendo has difficulty making an estimate
4) because they don't know how many people they can count on to buy
5) because they aren't accepting pre-orders, which would tell them how many they c
Re: (Score:1)
This is news? (Score:4, Informative)
I talked to a GameStop employee about it one day and got some info. I don't think this guy was a manager, but he seemed to know his stuff, so you can take this with a grain of sale if you like.
First, according to the guy I talked to, they will start taking pre-orders, at soonest, after their next "manager meeting", which is taking place around the time of the Leipzig (sp?) thing where Nintendo will announce final pricing and release dates.
Second, they will be raising the reservation price. Instead of just chunking down $25 or $50, you will now put down a good portion of the price. (The guy said "something like $300", and was probably referring to the PS3. Wii will probably be about $100.) This is to discourage people who aren't going to pick up the thing on release to shy away.
One of the GameStops I visit normally had a "Registration Notification" thing you could fill out with your name and phone number, and they would call you once the systems go on reservation. Headquarters apparently put the kabash on that, stating that people might think they are actually reserving the system when they're just signing up for a notice when it's reservable.
Re: (Score:1)
you will now put down a good portion of the price
I think this is more likely to combat the "Ebay effect" that we saw with the PS2 and the 360. I don't know what percentage of the launch-time units were resold, but I'm sure that retailers don't like the fact that people are doing it.
By raising th
Re: (Score:2)
That doesn't seem to make a lot of sense, since many of those slimey stores are just as likely to sell your unit to whomever walks in the door flashing enough cash, or the manager takes a few home himself to plaster up on eBay.
Pre-orders used to be a guage for interest in a few high-visibility products. The
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
They will try to push bundles, no doubt, but I don't think that's their tactic this round. IIRC, Best Buy forced bundles with the 360 launch, but GameStop/EBGames didn't.
Re: (Score:1)
Wii s
Preorder list to preorders (Score:1)
The idea was that they will call us when starting to take preorders. Will this be maintained in the view of the news? Who knows!
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Don't forget these stores are franchises and thus policy will vary slightly between stores. You can also have one store where they are jerks and another where they will do everything to give the best service.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Sorry, I didn't mean to indicate that he was a jerk. I should have just said 'you mileage might vary', since what I meant is that you aren't always going to get the same service in each store. Sometimes the initiative, or lack, of one person can make a big difference
I wouldn't preorder from them anyway (Score:1)
I'm taking orders (Score:2)
Screw Gamestop's "Reservations Only" policy (Score:2)
----
I just wanted to let Gamestop know how grateful I am
about their store policies for not selling new-release
games without a preorder. I was in Store #1049 on
Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, NY yesterday to purchase a
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
And the guy who's job it is to read these letters added a check mark to "positive comment on preorder policy" and then chuck it into the trash. You may have even got a form letter with a coupon for your next preorder (if the minimum wage employee enjoyed your irony).
It's fun to act witty but, if you really want to do something, make your letters short and serious. "Due to your preorder policy I will no longer purchase software from your store. I will instead take my business to one of your competitors wh
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
I guess they want to be cockteases.
Re: (Score:2)
no it's still gamestops fault because they only order enough copies to fill pre orders so they can get people to see the 'need' to preorder.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Pricing (Score:3, Insightful)
Slow News Day? (Score:2, Funny)
Maybe next we'll hear that the sky is still blue, except when there are clouds.
Re: (Score:1)
Is it still blue?, since I moved to UK I havent been able to corroborate that
Not entirely true... (Score:1)
Not quite that easy for Sony (Score:2)
Okay, it certainly won't have the same effect on the market as a whole as the 360 shortages (might have) had. However if not having enough of a product to sell people is bad, not having enough when there are two competing products is _really_ bad. Convincing people to buy a $500-$600 console is
Re: (Score:1)
Yes there is that possible temptation but its not likely nor a very strong temptation. For the people that are unsure as to which one to buy that walk into a store and see three displays they will go with the one that has sold the most. The thinking is that "well if everyone else is buying that one then I need too also". Obviously this is not always th
meh why preorder (Score:1, Offtopic)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Here's the skinny for those interested (Score:2, Interesting)
Chances of getting PS3 without questionable ethics: slim Chances of getting Wii: 5.5 times slim (stout?)
Bah! No playable Wii at Leipzig GC :( (Score:3, Interesting)
I didn't know that. (Score:2)
If you like these two systems you already have tried to get a pre-order, and the store employees have told you the score. If you don't like these two systems you don't car