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First Person Shooters (Games) Games

GameStop To Honor Ancient Duke Nukem Pre-Orders 172

Posted by timothy from the but-shouldn't-they-anyhow? dept.
doug141 writes "GameStop encourages customers who pre-ordered more than a year ago to verify their reservation with their local store. 'Provided the customer has a receipt, we will honor even those pre-orders taken long ago. At this time, we expect that all pre-order customers will receive Duke's Big Package at time of purchase, regardless of when the reservation was made.'" If you have an especially old order, though, you might want to visit the store with your original punchcard, or a daguerreotype of it.
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GameStop To Honor Ancient Duke Nukem Pre-Orders More

GameStop To Honor Ancient Duke Nukem Pre-Orders

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  • So if the order was for Sega Saturn 20 years ago? (Score:4, Funny)

    by elucido ( 870205 ) * on Sunday May 29, 2011 @02:30PM (#36281108)

    What then? Most of us don't even have the Saturn anymore and probably misplaced the receipt.

    I'm surprised they didn't wait until 2012 to release this game. Maybe it should be called Duke Nukem Ancient.

  • Uhh, why wouldn't they? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Eric(b0mb)Dennis ( 629047 ) on Sunday May 29, 2011 @02:30PM (#36281114)

    Why is it news that they are honoring these pre-orders? To pre-order, don't you have to actually, uh, pay for the game? Whenever I've pre-ordered something at my local gamestop I usually pay full price and just pick up on release.

    Now, maybe they have some sort of 'down payment' thing, and then on release date you pay the remainder... but still.. why wouldn't they honor them? I can't see any reason why they wouldn't.

    Case in point, I ordered Team Fortress 2 a long, LONG time ago. I'm talking about when they were releasing the videos of the army guys and the turrets, looked 'realistic' (for tech back then) etc etc.. the game that never came out.

    I pre-ordered this game because it was on Game Stop's 'RELEASES' board. I was an avid player of Quakeworld TF and MegaTF.

    Know what? I only got one call, asking if I wanted to change my order to The Oranage Box because it was learned tf2 was being shipped with it. Of course, I did.. and TF2 was a totally different game at this point.. but at no time did I lose my pre-order.

    • Re:Uhh, why wouldn't they? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by gman003 ( 1693318 ) on Sunday May 29, 2011 @02:44PM (#36281224)
      It's news because some of these pre-orders are nearly a decade old [crunchgear.com]. TF2 was announced, un-announced, went through it's own epic development hell, was released, had over a hundred patches released, all in the time between some of these preorders being made and the game finally coming out.

      Not only that, but some of those pre-orders may be for ports that no longer exist - can you transfer a Saturn edition pre-order into an XBox360 preorder? A PS1 preorder into a PS3 preorder?

      • The real question is why would anyone pre-order any big title. They are going to have hundreds of them on launch day. The only time I've ever pre-ordered anything is if the bonus is particularly good, or if the game is particularly obscure, where they might not carry it all on launch day.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by jmauro ( 32523 )

          While this is true today (and there is even moreso since the advent of Steam), back in the late 90's and early 2000's launch titles tended to be a little more rare.

          • Indeed, in the 90's it was quite common for the entire stock to be sold out the same day it was released. The very reason pre-orders became common is because stores wouldn't get enough copies of the game to cover demand. I distinctly remember NES/SNES games like SMB3, Contra 3, Street Fighter II de-jour, Mortal Kombat, etc. being sold out within about 50 miles of where I lived. They weren't the games I played (except SMB3, which I pre-ordered) but my best friend at the time had a mother who wouldn't let

        • Re:Uhh, why wouldn't they? (Score:5, Insightful)

          by FSWKU ( 551325 ) on Sunday May 29, 2011 @09:03PM (#36283408)

          The real question is why would anyone pre-order any big title.

          Not necessarily. This IS GameStop we're talking about, here. A friend of mine in SF went in to pickup a copy of LA Noire on launch day. The salesdroid rather rudely stated, "We don't have any copies for non-preorders. If you wanted to play this game, then you should have preordered it." At which point he promptly went 5 minutes down the street to the pit of hell known as Best Buy and picked up one of the hundred or so copies on the shelf. He then returned to GameStop to give them a hearty "fuck you".

          The lesson here is that a LOT of GameStop managers will ONLY order enough stock to cover preorders. They do this in a misguided attempt to coerce people into preordering future titles so they can artificially inflate the metrics for their store. This is also the same company that likes to sell used copies on launch day, and shove strategy guides down your throat like a Geek Squad goon pitches dubious service plans.

          tl;dr - fuck GameStop.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by FSWKU ( 551325 )

            The real question is why would anyone pre-order any big title. They are going to have hundreds of them on launch day.

            What I MEANT to quote above. Only time I've ever really wished for an edit feature...

          • Re:Uhh, why wouldn't they? (Score:4, Insightful)

            by Bacon Bits ( 926911 ) on Monday May 30, 2011 @02:05AM (#36284628)

            And people wonder why brick & mortar stores are struggling so much.

            If I go to Best Buy, I expect the store to be poorly laid out, I expect the cashier to harass me to buy some extra I don't want ($30 "insurance" on a $50 item? WTF is the point of that?), and I expect the asshole at the door to ask to see my receipt. I don't expect informed salespersons. I don't expect competitive prices.

            I expect the same thing at GameStop, except I don't expect the level of politeness that I get at Best Buy (which is passable) and I expect GameStop to actively try to sucker me out of my money at every opportunity while simultaneously trying to not get me what I actually want.

            Or I can go to Amazon or Newegg, where I can get a better price, better product reviews, more convenience, and far less irritation.

            I don't shop at Best Buy except under duress, and I haven't walked into a GameStop voluntarily or otherwise since about 2004.

          • This is also the same company that likes to sell used copies on launch day,

            Yours too? Bought a game for the NintendoDS of my niece. It was strange that it was open, but I thougt it was a cheap anti-theft measure. When I put it in my nieces DS, I saw two profiles already loaded. Thanksfully my niece didn't notice it and I could erase them before being embarrassed in front of my family. Never gonna buy anything from those assholes, neither at shop or online.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by mtmra70 ( 964928 )

            GameStop managers do not order stock, it is sent to them by corporate. For big hit releases corp will guarantee pre-orders and anything extra is well, extra.

        • The real question is why would anyone pre-order any big title.

          In my experience working there, it takes a really, really huge game -franchise- to make gamestop make sure they order enough for release. Halo, madden, modern warfare, those games are sure to be there on launch day. Since this isn't an annual sequel, it might not fit their "must have stocked" criteria.

          Nearly every other game, gamestop goes cheap, figuring if they sell out, they can try to punish the customer into reserving games. Even games that any idiot could tell were going to sell out, they give e

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by ildon ( 413912 )

        That oft-pasted receipt is from 2000. TF2 was shown at E3 in 2000 with a predicted launch date of Jan. 2001. You could definitely have gone to Gamestop and pre-ordered both DNF and TF2 on the same day. Just because one of the two games actually got released four years ago doesn't really enter into the fact that if this guy's TF2 pre-order was honored back then, there's no reason to think a DNF pre-order wouldn't be honored now.

        Plus a pre-order is just $10 to Gamestop and nothing more. They'd be dicks to try

      • "It's news because some of these pre-orders are nearly a decade old... "

        If a customer comes in with a readable receipt printed on thermal paper, that they claim is from 10 years ago, or even 5 -- it's a scam. Those things fade after about a year.

        So I think GameStop won't be honoring very many of these at all. It's really just a bunch of good free publicity without any risk for the franchisees. Also, depending on their accounting practices, they may not be allowed to recognize the revenue from those ancient

    • Until the past few years, most pre-orders were either free or a $5.00 down payment toward the game.

      • Until the past few years, most pre-orders were either free or a $5.00 down payment toward the game.

        But why would that change anything? Their choice would be between either refunding the down payment (if any) or selling these people the game. Why would they even consider not selling them the game?

        • Why would they even consider not selling them the game?

          There is no game. The game is a lie. And even if it wasn't, the only way to win would be to not play.

      • Until the last few years? Preorders at game stop STILL are $5 down payments on the game.

    • I also wondered why this was news. Why wouldnt they honor it.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Zerth ( 26112 )

      What is hidden in the subtext is a public announcement that "if you don't have your receipt, we're keeping any money you put down, even though we have our own records showing we owe you money or a game"

      • the problem is they may not have a DECADE OLD RESERVE.

        i think for tax purposes they only have to keep like 5 or 7 years worth of records.

        • the problem is they may not have a DECADE OLD RESERVE.

          i think for tax purposes they only have to keep like 5 or 7 years worth of records.

          The thing is that they don't need a decade of reserve. If they make $20 profit on it, and someone plucks out a ten year old receipt with a $5 deposit, they still come out ahead. It is a pretty cheap way to get good publicity and maybe drag in a few tonfoil hat wearers who keep dockets for ten years.

          • If someone gave them $5 13 years ago, and they sell them the game at cost today, then they've still made a profit. 13 years compound interest on all of those $5 payments probably adds up to quite a lot...

      • How are they going to know it's actually your pre-order, even if they do have the record in their system? Unless pre-ordering required signing up with your name and address information, the receipt is the only way.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by drolli ( 522659 )

      They wanted to write: we found the 3.5 inch fd and its still readable.

    • Why is it news that they are honoring these pre-orders?

      I think it is a bit absurd that gamestop never said "Okay, it looks like the game isn't actually going to happen, so here's your money back." Not surprising, since they offer reservations when there are mere unconfirmed rumors of games being in the works.

      If the down payment is 5 dollars, how much would gamestop likely have made off of investments in that time?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by chiph ( 523845 )

      The interesting thing is that Gamestop is honoring these pre-orders without taking the effect of inflation into account. $49.99 in 1997 is the same as $70.05 in 2011.

  • There should be an award ceremony for those who pre purchased "Duke Nukem (takes) forever (to come out)." List off all the names at a huge banquet or something! :D
    • Totally. Actually, Gearbox should have gotten in touch with Gamestop, and put the names of the people with the longest active pre-orders in the credits under "Thanks" or "True Believers" or "You can stop holding your breath now" or something.

      • Totally. Actually, Gearbox should have gotten in touch with Gamestop, and put the names of the people with the longest active pre-orders in the credits under "Thanks" or "True Believers" or "You can stop holding your breath now" or something.

        They would probably do better to check with the Social Security Administration to see who died in the interim. Could save them a bunch of trouble.

        • Ah, don't you love that crispy sound of age old receipts, the ones with all the moisture removed :)

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by sznupi ( 719324 )
        ~1% of the demographic who was most into DN3D (teen to young males) is dead now (as estimated by somebody who deals with demographic data daily, when I wondered) - so it might turn out a bit sad / become a nightmare dilemma how to handle, for PR. Especially "True Believers" or "You can stop holding your breath now" ;p

    • Re:Ceremony (Score:4, Interesting)

      by MobileTatsu-NJG ( 946591 ) on Sunday May 29, 2011 @02:50PM (#36281252)

      You think they were refunded the difference in inflation?

      • Exactly. If people pre-ordered in 1998, then they've had an interest-free loan of $5 from that person. Not a huge amount, but even at a fairly modest interest rate they'd have $10 by now. If they invested it in their own business and have done reasonably well, then they could easily have got $20 out of it. No much per individual, but if 10,000 people put down $5, then GameStop has made a very nice profit from them. I'm a bit surprised that they don't get a deal with the publisher to give free copies to

  • My life (Score:2)

    by tsa ( 15680 )

    Wow, it seems like I've been hearing stories about DNF all my life, and now suddenly it's really coming out! It's like the end of an era.

  • I don't get it. Why would this be open to doubt? If I've understood correctly, Gamestop offered it for sale and these people paid for it... so now it's available Gamestop are going to honour the contract. Is that not what they would normally do?

    • Check the dates. DNF was opened for pre-orders back in 2001 (before being delayed, and delayed more, and delayed longer than any game in history). Some people kept those pre-orders.

      • Check the dates. DNF was opened for pre-orders back in 2001 (before being delayed, and delayed more, and delayed longer than any game in history). Some people kept those pre-orders.

        Yes, I realise that. So you would think there would be two possibilities - (1) at some point Gamestop concluded that they couldn't deliver and therefore refunded the money or (2) Gamestop kept the money and the associated obligation to supply the product. In any situation where they kept the money it seems obvious that they're going to supply the product. Why wouldn't they?

        • Yeah, that's kinda what I'm thinking. This is a big "So what?" story. The game's being released, people put down money on it. If they didn't get a copy, then they're either owed a refund, or Gamestop's committing theft.

          • The developers are different, the publisher is different, the prices, money value heck the economy is different. In europe the currency is different now. All in all, if you think about it it is still gamestops responsibility to honour them but they could argue that its too old or it was for a completely different game. My guess? Its just a bunch of stories centered around DNF's release, the lifetime achievement vaporware award winner is about to ship, its a big moment.

            • I would add that since the publisher is different, they are probably not giving Gamestop a break on those pre-orders. GS is most likely having to eat the cost of the deposits folks made. So it really is a biggish deal - it amounts to a discount by Gamestop.

              • What are you talking about? The retail store always keeps the deposits - why would they be eating anything?

                If anything, the people who pre-ordered should have the ten years interest that Gamestop's been earning on their deposit credited to the purchase!

            • The developers are different, the publisher is different, the prices, money value heck the economy is different. In europe the currency is different now. All in all, if you think about it it is still gamestops responsibility to honour them but they could argue that its too old or it was for a completely different game.

              Wouldn't one then argue that if GameStop (presuming GameStop are who sold you the pre-order) felt that the product ultimately to be delivered (if at all) was so much different from the pre-ord

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by jimicus ( 737525 )

            IIRC there was at least one person had an ancient receipt for a DNF pre-order and GameStop had already said "We won't honour it. Sucks to be you." - which is what makes it news,

            • IIRC there was at least one person had an ancient receipt for a DNF pre-order

              The sales assistant looked at it and asked if anyone could read heiroghlyphics. The manager came over and said, "sure I can, it says 'Feather, bird standing, waves, feather, man with his hands on his head, wheatsheaf, bird flying.' That's why I'm in charge, sonny".

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by osu-neko ( 2604 )

      I don't get it. Why would this be open to doubt? If I've understood correctly, Gamestop offered it for sale and these people paid for it... so now it's available Gamestop are going to honour the contract. Is that not what they would normally do?

      If you strip away from the description everything that makes it unique, yes, it sounds unremarkable. Let's not to do and try again. Gamestop is fulfilling preorders that are over a decade old. Isn't that what they normally do? No, in fact they normally fulfill preorders that are only a few months or at most a year or two old. What makes this news is not that their fulfilling preorders, it's that they're fulfilling ancient ones. It isn't news because there was some doubt that they would, it's news beca

      • I mentioned somewhere above that since the publisher is also different, Gamestop is probably taking a hit for every one of those. The new publisher has no legal responsibility to honor any difference in the wholesale price. So Gamestop is (most likely) really taking a hit on every deposit.

        • GameStop believes is has found a source of instant karma with dedicated gamers. The loss by honoring ancient pre-orders may be less than the gain by pitching everything else at gamers in the checkout line.

          • One would hope so! :D Consider that this posting on /. has generated thousands of views of the word 'gamestop' (not a gamer, I never heard of it before, for example), and the marketing aphorism that 'all publicity is good publicity', It makes financial sense as well as 'karma sense'. Of course, if they proceed to do some other thing that generates bad publicity, then they have failed. It's been said that one bad reference outweighs 200 good references. I do note that a lot of the comments here on /. are

        • They're taking exactly ZERO hit. Gamestop never gave the money given to them by the customers to the publisher, that's not how it works. Customer pays Gamestop. Gamestop counts it as a confirmed purchase, and alters their orders as appropriate. Supplier delivers. Gamestop pays invoice for supply (30 days later, generally).

          As I said, Gamestop's the one making on this if anything. They've been collecting interest on the pre-order deposits for up to ten years. They've just found a way to get good PR off

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by mtmra70 ( 964928 )

        Meh, it's not really news. When I worked there (Babbage's) we would hold onto every pre-order that was never claimed. We had some that back-dated MANY years and whenever the person came in to get it, we would refund their money or transfer the credit.

  • It's funny (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    because the preorder reciept will be older than their own employees.

  • The most retarded game store is actually going to do something right? Thought for sure that GameStop would be the only company to NOT honor the pre-orders due to them being over a decade old and because they are one of the most capitalist corporations in America. It would be more profitable for them to charge customers again to pre-order the actual release.

    Still don't like them so IF I pre-order, it will be though Steam.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by u38cg ( 607297 )
      What, honour a dozen pre-orders that people still remember about and dance in all the publicity they get from it? Seems pretty simple marketing to me.

  • all pre-order customers will receive Duke's Big Package at time of purchase

    yea, I bet they will...right up the a--

  • I preordered Portal 2 from Amazon. Thankfully, they honored their preorder as well!

  • What if my brontosaurus ate the clay tablet receipt? Will they accept petrified dung?

  • Last time I pre ordered a game from gamestop I showed up on release day cause no one bothered to call me and they were sold out, they gladly offered to get me a copy as soon as it came back in stock but it wouldnt be with all the preorder swag which cost a little extra.

    so I figured if this system is based around the child who may or may not work there next week writing my name down, why bother?

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Osgeld ( 1900440 )

      ps I ended up walking into best buy moments later and got the pre-release package with no fuss and not having to waste my time preordering

      • I had the exact same thing happen when I pre-ordered a deluxe version of a game. I came in to get it and they didn't have it, in fact they said they only ordered 2 copies and they were already gone. I pulled out my reciept and asked for an explanation of why mine wasn't there and they couldn't. They just sat there staring at each other with no clue what to do now since they couldn't get any more of the deluxe versions of the game. I cancelled my order, got my money back and went and bought it at best buy ac

  • When this is what passes as good customer service.
  • So what are the chances that this release will be canceled again? It might be a bit risky to pre-order now.
  • I just showed my Duke Nukem pre-order to an expert appraiser on Antiques Road Show and they called it a "National Treasure" and said it was worth at least $100,000!
  • Thanks for making me have to google that shit. I had no idea how to even pronounce it before I did [wikipedia.org].

  • I think Duke can keep his Big Package to himself, thank you very much.

  • I pre-preordered from Circuit City you insensitive clod!

  • So... (Score:2)

    by smash ( 1351 )
    So anyone know if it will run on the pentium 3 700 I built for it?

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