Any word from anyone on shipments? I called them last night and the CSR said they didn't know what their allotment was yet so they didn't know when I would be getting mine. That seems odd 2 days before launch.. I guess I will just sit with my two games on the couch and study the manuals. I can use my old PSX1 controllers and just make sound effects with my mouth..

The sound effects bit was funny. http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/smile.gif

No word here either....I know that I won't play it much anytime soon, but I feel a little anxious about getting it asap!

Hopefully we hear something soon...good news that is.

[This message has been edited by Sparrow (edited October 25, 2000).]

I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but I wouldn't get your hopes up with Outpost.com.

Example, I placed a pre-order for the Diablo II Collector's Edition PC game at least three months before the release date. Almost a week after release and not receiving it, I contacted a CSR who told me they did not know when they would be receiving them. I contacted them repeatedly for the next few days. Approximately two weeks after release, they sent me an email telling me they were not going to be receiving any and they were cancelling my order, basically I was S.O.L. I even contacted Blizzard Entertainment about it, and they said that Outpost was never in their original distribution and should not have had it for order anyway.

I ended up paying twice the store price on Ebay. (Although the Ebay prices are much lower these days.)

The moral of the story: I no longer shop at Outpost.com and get all my gaming pre-orders through EBworld.com.

outpost.com does not buy direct from sony so i assume they are waiting for whoever they buy them from to ship the ps2 to them. Everyone got cut back alot and distributors which is who outpost must go thru would give product to the best customers first. Maybe outpost will not be getting any at launch and will have to wait until the distributor gets more.

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Other Bargains Coupon Pet Thread

They've been eerily quiet. I don't think they'll follow through, despite a CSR's confident assurances that I'd absolutely get one. If I don't get it, Outpost will really be the outpost of my internet shopping.

Videoholic, I'll bring over a multitap and neGcon and we'll see who has the better sound effects!

Right now I have my track and field game sitting on the PSX1. I am using the old controllers and I have my pregnant wife jumping over the couch pillows for hurdles. She's getting good. I still don't have a good move off the blocks though. She's just lucky I haven't bought Ready To Rumble 2 yet...

Right now, I have Kessen duct-taped to my chest, my head in a tea kettle, and Kurosawa's Ran in the DVD player. The Guncon's plugged into my armpit and works pretty well under the circumstances.

Here is an email I just got from Outpost... I also just got Madden in the mail. Can't wait to see my wife bust through the line for the first down.
______________________________________


Hello,

Thank you for contacting Outpost.com.

As you know, the PS2 game console is in high demand and is a heavily
allocated item throughout the entire country. We have received a
shipment of units for the initial release date, however, it has been
severely reduced due to Sony's publicized manufacturing limitations.
Unfortunately, it will not be possible to fulfill all existing PS2
preorders at this given time. Currently, we are expecting our next
shipment of PS2 consoles early next year, however, this is subject to
change pending Sony's production and shipping schedules.

Outpost.com is committed to ensuring that products are quickly shipped
to our customers in the order in which they are received. We appreciate
your patience, and apologize for the delays and inconvenience.

Please let us know if we can be of further assistance.

Regards,
Meg F.
E-Contact Representative

Outpost.com
1-877-OUTPOST (688-7678) - Toll Free
1-860-927-2050
1-860-927-8371 FAX http://www.outpost.com http://www.outpost.com/entry?site=kana http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/redface.gifutpost


Original message follows:
-------------------------

Order Number: W*******0

Message: The airborne express guy came and went today and no PSX2. Do
you know when I should receive it? Not sure where I am on the list...

I'm irritated, especially since someone in the Other Bargains forum claims to have received a PS2 from Outpost. But, Sony's mostly to blame for halving its shipments in order to generate hype and for privileging stores like Best Buy which cater to Joe Consumer versus the gamer. I won't bet on Outpost; by the time they ship PS2's, PS9 will be out. Yet, if by some stroke of luck or treachery they're able to fill orders in the next few days, I'll be their most vocal supporter.

[This message has been edited by DJMAN (edited October 26, 2000).]

I do feel for you guys!!! While your pulling out your hair and getting ulsers about the new P2, I will be kicking back with a Corona in one hand and a fine Californian Blonde in the other, while she plays my trusty Atari. Again, I do feel for ya!

You call it your Atari?

Well, I thought it sounded good. You guys were talking about game systems and you know...

the real blame is outpost.com taking preorders and lying to customers saying they had been allocated enough units to cover all the preorders when sony had not allocated any at that time and they do not even buy direct from sony(although outpost.com CSR's said they did). Sony even if they had shipped all 1 million units would not have enabled outpost.com from filling all the preorders they took. Sony was not able to meet demand but bad customer service on a company's part is still bad customer service. Are they going to give you any compensation for lying to you about availablity. they should at least give you a GC http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/smile.gif. I would push them a bit remind them of the promises CSR's made about how outpost was promised enough units to cover preorders when they had no idea.

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Other Bargains Coupon Pet Thread

DVDMAN101 where can i preorder the california blonde?do they have any coupons http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/wink.gif

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Other Bargains Coupon Pet Thread

Sony Explains PS2 Shortages

Find out why the PS2 is in short supply and how Sony paid a bucket-load of cash to make launch.

October 26, 2000

Sony has finally explained in detail the reason behind the shortage of PS2s for the American market, and has also shared some insight into the tremendous cost of making the system's October 26th ship date. This information comes our way via Nikkei Electronics Online.
First, the shortages. Although there are numerous theories as to the cause of the shortage, ranging from stories of Sony having fabricated the shortage in order to generate consumer interest to the belief that Sony is lacking sufficient Memory Cards to go around, the real reason, as stated by Sony today, has to do with difficulties manufacturing the system, as they've said all along.

The problem concerns, primarily, the system's Graphics Synthesizer. Currently this important chip, which work with the Emotion Engine CPU in getting all those pretty graphics on your screen, is being produced at a Sony-owned plant in Kokubu using a 0.25-micron process. The factory can mass produce 400,000 of the chips per month. Beginning this Fall, Sony was scheduled to move production of the Graphics Synthesizer to the newly formed company, SCE Nagasaki Semiconductor. There, the chips were to be produced using a 0.18-micron process which many believe could have resulted in a mass production run of 1,000,000 units per month (although Sony hasn't released specific numbers on the mass production capability). The graphics synthesizers produced in this plant were meant to be used in the North American PS2 systems.

Things didn't work out exactly as planned.

Apparently, there was a problem with the manufacturing process at the Nagasaki factory, resulting in a low yield of the Graphics Synthesizer chips. Upon realizing the problem, Sony reduced the planned number of systems from 1,000,000 to 500,000, and that's how many systems launched in America. However, there was another problem. The Nagasaki factory was still unable to produce even 500,000 chips. So, Sony had to shift production back to the Kokubu factory.

One problem: chips produced in the Kokubu factory are larger than those produced in the Nagasaki factory. The article at Nikkei Electronics is a bit unclear on if the systems for the US version were switched to the .25micron Graphics synthesizers, or if the Kokubu factory was equipped with the ability to do the .18micron fabrication (we doubt this latter possibility). Regardless, having to make the switch between the plants, and requiring the Kokubu factory to produce parts for the .18micron chips in addition to the .25micron chips seems to be what caused Sony the largest financial woes in their quest to get at minimum those 500,000 units out in time.

But wait. It gets better. Say you're Sony, and you have all these North American PS2 systems in Japan. You have a retail delivery deadline of October 26th in America (actually just a bit before that, seeing as how stores need to have their stock ready to go). The conventional (read "cheap") means of moving all those systems to America is via Sea-going ship. Unfortunately, Sony was running a bit behind, and had to Air Lift the systems over to America.

Translation: a whole lotta cash went into getting you that system for under $300.00. And if you didn't get it, there's a damn good reason for it.

Sony states that it will be continuing manufacturing throughout the third quarter of the 2000 financial year at the Kokubu plant while it investigates the problems at the Nagasaki plant. The company still believes that it will make its 10,000,000-console worldwide target for March, and also states that these hefty initial costs will be meaningless at that point.

-- Anoop Gantayat, Contributor


http://ps2.ign.com/news/26926.html

Anoop Doggy Dog and IGN can publish whatever the hell unquestioning, skin-deep press release 'journalism' they want. Even if true, Sony should've delayed the launch.


[This message has been edited by DJMAN (edited October 27, 2000).]

when i talked to them they said they had allocated enough for orders placed up until JUNE. I placed mine July 23. I went to best buy and got mine.