Wii preorders at Gamestop tomorrow

[AtmaWeapon]

Well the word just came through my inbox that Wii preorders are coming tomorrow. They recommend getting there early due to "extremely limited availability" which I think is bullcrap. I might head down there before class tomorrow but honestly being among the first to get a Wii isn't really that big a deal to me :shrug:

Used to be that pre-ordering told the stores how many they needed to order. Now it's some kind of exclusive secret club that only the nerds who show up at 7AM get to join. If you don't preorder from the miniscule amount of merchandise the store will order, you are doomed to wait a month while they ridicule you for not preordering!

Also I didn't really think it sounded like Nintendo had supply issues, can someone confirm/deny this?

[MottZilla]

Nintendo is said to have atleast around like 2 million Wiis built and ready. Probably more. But it really depends on demand, which is expected to be high.

[vegeta1215]

I used to work across from my local Gamestop, so I know the people there pretty well. I stopped by today and my friend who is the manager said they were only able to take 18 reserves tomorrow. (and the PS3s, these are actual pre-orders, not just a ticket to get your place in line.) Being a friend, he asked me if I wanted one, but I declined - I'm going to wait a while to get a Wii, maybe until Metroid Prime 3 comes out.

btw, yes, you read right, I had the chance to get a pre-order a Wii before anyone else - my friend is cheating the system, but he doesn't care. Having said that, I'm sure it will happen elsewhere.

[AtmaWeapon]

Yeah I just pretty much decided it isn't worth waking up an hour early and making myself late to a class for a video game machine. I'm going to roll into the store at 3 or so when classes are over and let the guy laugh at me for not preordering and then probably tell him I think his company sucks for changing the preorder process from "Tell us how many to ship" to "Be one of the few who gets it while we hoard them for 2 weeks to drive up demand". I'll make sure to let him know I don't blame him but I do blame the company.

I don't know why the whole pre-order thing matters so much anymore; I mean I really want to get one the first day they come out but honestly does it really matter?

What is happening to my nerd gamer status?

[Breaker]

There's like 10 EBGames/GameStops within 10 miles from me, not including the two at the nearby mall. I don't think I'm going to have a problem pre-ordering one at any time of the day. Maybe it's just my area, but I've never seen people camping out or making asses of themselves during events like this.

[Modus Ponens]

On launch day, I'm probably going to go to Fred Meyer for my Wii. If they don't have it, I'll look elsewhere. I, too, dislike the Gamestop preorder system.

[MottZilla]

Heh, as I said before in other threads, I don't really want to preorder. I'll just goto a store and buy one. If they don't have any, it's Nintendo's loss, not mine.

[Warlock]

Heh, as I said before in other threads, I don't really want to preorder. I'll just goto a store and buy one. If they don't have any, it's Nintendo's loss, not mine.

Same. I'm getting mine from Best Buy (who is not even doing preorders so I don't have to worry about them being all gone already). Hopefully I can use a 10% off coupon and get stuff cheap :D (we get these coupons in the mail like every other week - prob cuz I buy so much crap there using the Reward Zone card :))

And as for 18 preorders - that's pretty good really. When I first got GameCube on launch day the store I went to only had like 10 systems. Now if you're talking about some place like New York, they should definately have more than 18 :P

[AtmaWeapon]

There's like 10 EBGames/GameStops within 10 miles from me, not including the two at the nearby mall. I don't think I'm going to have a problem pre-ordering one at any time of the day. Maybe it's just my area, but I've never seen people camping out or making asses of themselves during events like this.One day I want to live in this mythical land of anti-faggotry.

[Cloral]

That never happens around here either. Where do you live that this sort of thing actually happens?

[AtmaWeapon]

That never happens around here either. Where do you live that this sort of thing actually happens?Not all of us live near areas where it is economically viable to place several gaming stores in close proximity.

I'm in a small college town in Mississippi. We have one Gamestop in the entire town and the only other sources of games are a Sam Goody and Wal-Mart. I am heading over to Gamestop now but I know for a fact the PS3 orders were filled within 10 minutes and I expect no different for the Wii preorders.

If I were in my hometown it would be worse. We have one EB and a Gamestop within about a 150 mile radius. Unless there are online preorders, I'm stuck with the unwashed masses who have to scavenge for a Wii when they are released. My experience with games that have preorders is I get taunted for not preordering for at least a week after the release date when copies magically appear on the shelves, so I am basing the assumption that supply will be artificially scarce on this encounter.

[MottZilla]

Heh, around me I know there's GameStop, GameCrazy, BestBuy, CompUsa, Circuit City, probably even more game stores. I know BestBuy and CompUsa would have systems at launch.

[Orion]

I say screw all of this hassle. I live in a rural town (read: isolated) of 12,000 people, where interest in gaming is low. I'll go to Walmart at midnight on launch day and take my chances.

[ctrl-alt-delete]

I really wanted to preorder one, but every Gamestop/EB Games around me sold out in a matter of minutes, which I knew they would. I had to be at work though, so looks like I will be at Walmart at midnight like Orion.

[Xyvol]

http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=212

I agree that this whole pre-order thing is way out of hand. If I remember, it used to be that placing a pre-order for something meant it would be held for you when the store recived it, and you colud come pick it up at your convenince, especialy if you've already paid money for it. I'm not paying anyone to wait in line, I can do that for free. It seems to me that the store should know how much prouduct they are getting before they do pre-orders. If they don't have that number, then they can't do pre-orders, it's that simple. At my restaurant I can't reserve more tables than I actually have, and only reserve 20% of what's avalible. The companies making these products need to get their act together and be clear about how much product they have if they want to make the consumer happy on this issue. Myself, I'd like a Wii and I'd like to have it on launch day. But if it's more difficult than taking my purchase to the counter and paying for it, than forget it. Nintendo seems to be certain that they will have enough to go around so I'm not realy worried, but if not then I'll have to wait. I think the point I'm trying to make is if somebody wants me to give them money, they're going to have to please me.

[Warlock]

I agree that this whole pre-order thing is way out of hand. If I remember, it used to be that placing a pre-order for something meant it would be held for you when the store recived it, and you colud come pick it up at your convenince, especialy if you've already paid money for it.

Heh, that reminds me of an old Seinfeld joke.

JERRY: I don't understand, I made a reservation, do you have my reservation?
RENTAL CAR AGENT: Yes, we do, unfortunately we ran out of cars.
JERRY: But the reservation keeps the car here. That's why you have the reservation.
RENTAL CAR AGENT: I know why we have reservations.
JERRY: I don't think you do. If you did, I'd have a car. See, you know how to take the reservation, you just don't know how to *hold* the reservation and that's really the most important part of the reservation, the holding. Anybody can just take them.

[AtmaWeapon]

I got to the store and found out that the preorders were filled within 15 minutes of store open AND a poster on the door pointed out that despite the fact that you could pre-order a system you were not guaranteed one on the day of launch.

The storekeeper reassured me that perhaps some pre-orders would cancel and if I were to show up the day of launch I would get lucky. I pointed out this would still require me to show up before the store opens as there would be a line of pre-orders in front of me + people wanting to pick up cancelled systems.

Anyway, from the poster and relative speed of the orders being filled I can infer two things: Demand for the Wii is fairly high here The store will not get more Wii systems than there are pre-orders, as they expect to have to turn some pre-order customers away.Working in my favor, Wal-Mart is across the street so I have planned these hijinks:

First, I will go to Wal-Mart on launch day (which is supposedly a Sunday) to pick up a Wii fairly early (more likely midnightish if they will sell them then because I'm up at that time anyway and it's only a minor inconvenience to head to Wal-Mart at that hour; I'll have to chat up someone in electronics to see when the earliest they can sell them is). If I manage to pick one up I will then proceed to the Gamestop parking lot where I will hold the box up to the people in line and yell "HAY GUYS WAL-MART STILL HAS WIIS LEFT" this is a plan appropriate for someone with a maturity level such as mine.

Of course there are geographical problems with this plan as I don't know if I'm on campus that weekend or at home but I'm sure I'll figure it out by then.

*edit* and I understand the "Yeah pre-order whatever" attitude in this thread, it's just for some reason I had a psychological attachment to the concept of pre-ordering the system and it was really important to me. So even though it wasn't important enough for me to get up early I still spent the entire day kind of down because of a little part of my emotional side that I cannot control. :(

[Grasshopper]

I'm not paying anyone to wait in line, I can do that for free. It seems to me that the store should know how much prouduct they are getting before they do pre-orders.
They do. But some stores, like the one TSA went to, break the rules and allow for more preorders...in which case you do pay for a place in line. Of coures, you're still ahead of the people who didn't pre-order. Anyway, stores aren't suppose to do that. *cough*fired*cough* My store is getting 18 Wiis on launch day, so we only took 18 pre-orders. No more than that.

The whole line thing is getting way blown out of proportion. If pre-orders go like they are suppose to go, then everyone who pre-ordered it will get it at launch. The whole line disclaimer thing is just them trying to cover the butts if someone decides to screw them over or do something stupid. I think they should've kept their mouths shut, and nobody would have given it a second thought.


JERRY: I don't understand, I made a reservation, do you have my reservation?
RENTAL CAR AGENT: Yes, we do, unfortunately we ran out of cars.
JERRY: But the reservation keeps the car here. That's why you have the reservation.
RENTAL CAR AGENT: I know why we have reservations.
JERRY: I don't think you do. If you did, I'd have a car. See, you know how to take the reservation, you just don't know how to *hold* the reservation and that's really the most important part of the reservation, the holding. Anybody can just take them.

Thats classic. :D

[Cloral]

I remember that episode of Seinfeld. From what my friend who does a lot of buisness travelling tells me, that is all too true.

I really didn't expect all the preorders to go that quickly. I was planning on going today to get one but that's out. At least there's a number of the large retailers around here (Target, Wallmart, Best Buy, Circuit City, and Fry's), so at least one of those is likely to have a system when they come out. People around here tend not to think of getting gaming stuff at those types of places - the last several times I've wanted a game and the local EB was sold out, I've found it at the first retailer I tried. But even if not, then whatever. The only launch title I'm that interested in is Zelda anyway, since Mario and Metroid were both delayed.

On the other hand, sometimes unforseen events allow you to get a system sooner than you expected. When the N64 came out, the store where I preordered was only getting 3 systems and 10 people were ahead of me in line. But the day it came out turned out to be open house night at most of the local schools. So the parents couldn't come and pick up the consoles for their kids. So I jumped ahead of them in line and got one that night. So you never know...

[Warlock]

I remember that episode of Seinfeld. From what my friend who does a lot of buisness travelling tells me, that is all too true.

I really didn't expect all the preorders to go that quickly. I was planning on going today to get one but that's out. At least there's a number of the large retailers around here (Target, Wallmart, Best Buy, Circuit City, and Fry's), so at least one of those is likely to have a system when they come out. People around here tend not to think of getting gaming stuff at those types of places - the last several times I've wanted a game and the local EB was sold out, I've found it at the first retailer I tried. But even if not, then whatever. The only launch title I'm that interested in is Zelda anyway, since Mario and Metroid were both delayed.

On the other hand, sometimes unforseen events allow you to get a system sooner than you expected. When the N64 came out, the store where I preordered was only getting 3 systems and 10 people were ahead of me in line. But the day it came out turned out to be open house night at most of the local schools. So the parents couldn't come and pick up the consoles for their kids. So I jumped ahead of them in line and got one that night. So you never know...

Right. If you think about it, you're more likely to see a lot of the die-hards at places like EB/GS since those places are specifically game-oriented. You're more likely to not see sellouts (right away) at normal department stores.