SpacemanSpiff

Hey

i am just thinking, instead of preordering all this bs I will just get up early Monday Morning and hit all the stores to see if I can find it somewhere.anybody think there is a chance this works?

Stoney

It would certainly be possible, and I've heard that there won't be a shortage at stores, but at the same time, I called my local Toys R Us, and they told me that they will have midnight madness for the lines of people...that makes me think differently. But, hell....it's worth a shot.

Groucho

It's really hard to gauge. That the Xbox is only coming out 3 days earlier will help stave off demand. On the other hand, if Amazon is to be believed they sold out of Gamecube much faster than they did Xbox. Keep in mind that November 18th is almost a month before Christmas, which will drive demand for both consoles up even higher.

Another factor to consider is the Playstation 2. In some areas, they were impossible to find. In others, you could have strolled into a store a few days after launch and found plenty on the shelf. If you are in the latter group, you'll probably be fine.

I personally pre-ordered. I may not get my Cube right on November 18th due to shipping times, but I do want to have it by Christmas...so I'm taking no chances.

One final note: the Cube comes out on a Sunday, so if you want to increase your chances you may not want to wait until Monday.

Outlaw

hrrmmm thats a very good question I've been thinking about lately....

Since most of the preorders are bundles that cram a ridiculous amount of stuff I don't want into them I've been holding off preordering. Plus I'm not 100% sure I want it yet.

I'm gonna scope out the situation probably Sunday night before the the 18th at my Best Buy (they usually get the most there) and at TRU and pray people aren't lining up , and then probably wake up early and hit the stores. I'm gonna take a stab and say that there's a good chance if you get to your store early enough before they open that you'll be able to get a system without worries. Thats only speculation of course but I'll be doing the same thing.

Edit: ok i just read groucho's post and it shows what I know lol, I thought monday was the 18th. I'll push my tactical planning back to saturday evening and wake up early sunday if thats the case.

SpacemanSpiff

oh crap your right
its a sunday eh


i have no qualms doing midnight madness either
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm



im gonna try for amazon or eb online preordering
but who knows if i will get online in time to buy some

are they going as monday as in the morning or at midnight?

and i wonder if the brick and mortar stores are going to do bundles similar to the online ones

goddamnit
all i want is a black gamecube
rogue squadron and wave race
not damn luigi or some other bs

tanman

AGHHHH!!!! thats right i totally forgot about christmas. that will make it really hard to get, quite honestly. that really bites. i was thinking ok i'll wait and save up some more moneyand get it like a month later so i dont have to put it on plastic. oh well. thats the most patriotic thing to do anyways right? go in debt and save the country. a lot of good Personal Finance did.

Josh H

I'm not pre-ordering one. I figure with 700,000 on launch day I ought to be able to find one at Wal-Mart K-mart or any of these other stores that will likely get a lot of units and aren't doing pre-orders. Plus there will 400,000 more between now and the end of the year, so you should be able to find one shortly after launch if you miss out.

Also, I picked up a GBA on launch day here without any pre-order, and arguably the demand for that was higher.

SpacemanSpiff

well i found a small electronics store that is taking preoders
my friend is gonna hook me up

speaking of gba
gonna have to buy one of those too
damnit

ricwhite

I went to Toys R Us today to try to reserve a GameCube. I was told that they will not do that because Nintendo is not willing to tell them a specific number of units they will receive. They have a corporate policy NOT to preorder items that they do not know how many they will get. (Unlike XBox which they were given specific numbers).

He reassured me, however, that plenty GameCubes will be available. He said that Toys R Us is a major seller of Nintendo products and they would be getting a large share of the initial shipment. He also said that Nintendo has informed them that 1.1 million units will be ready to ship by release date. (Up from the 700,000 units reported earlier).

If true, it appears that there will be plenty of GameCubes to go around without preordering them.

SpacemanSpiff

Thanks for that tidbit of info

the dude was going to preoreder for me, cant do it now

so Toys R Us will be the first place I hit

thanks!

Cornfed

Gamecube will have a bad launch, so I see no reason to pre-order one. There shouldn't be a shortage with this system. I'll wait to see how Super Smash Bros. Melee is before I buy one.

ricwhite

I don't think it will have a "bad" launch. Those stores that are brave enough to offer preorders are selling out quickly. Most stores will not allow preorders and will just stock the shelves on the night of the 17th and open doors early morning on the 18th to a rushing crowd. It would not surprise me if many buyers will be camping over night at the store doors in order to be one of the first ones to grab a GC.

But. . . once the initial "rush" is over, I predict that there will be plenty left for those who just sit back and wait it out. Some stores are playing the "shortage" game in order to increase demand and sales. It actually is a good strategy from a marketing standpoint, but, in reality, I don't believe there will be shortage -- especially for those willing to wait a few weeks.

SmackDaddy

Well, I'm waiting for both the X-Box and Gamecube, rather than pre-ordering. With the launches so close together I think a lot of people will adopt the wait and see approach before the plunmk down a few hundred bucks for a new console, plus the GBA and PS2 are still expected to do quite well this holiday season.

Plus, if the Japanese launch of the GC is any indicator, picking up a non-bundled unit shouldn't be a problem.

CreatureX

Gamecube will be extremely hard to find come launch day. Here is the newsletter I received from EBGAMES.com:

Gamecube sold out in only four minutes at Amazon.com.

Gamecube became the fastest selling item in the history of EBgames.com.

And these were Gamecube BUNDLES. Now imagine all the people who do not want to buy a bundle and are hoping to score a system and one game at launch? It's going to be a mad house Nov. 18!

ricwhite

I agree. I think I'll stay away from all the toy stores on the launch day. Last year, during the PS2 release, police had to be called in at our local Toys R Us because of fights breaking out from people trying to shove their way closer to the front doors. It was ridiculous!

I think the stores love it, however. AND they promote it by telling everybody that the GameCube will be SOOO hard to get. They release a few preorders at a time and tell everybody how quickly they were gobbled up and they better hurry and order or they won't have one for Christmas. (Amazon.com loves doing that!)

Then, the masses of people who never even considered getting a GameCube start to pay attention because they think they could make some dough on Ebay (ala PS2 last year). So they try to preorder several units hoping to snag a cool three grand or so per unit on Ebay as desparate souls bid absurb amounts in order to have "the gift" for Christmas.

Nice try.

Folks, Nintendo has upped their estimate of units ready at launch to 1.1 million. There will probably be another 250,000 or so ready by Christmas. I seriously believe that the title wave of buyers will quickly disolve after the initial first week of release or so. And then the GameCube will be found at Walmart, Kmart, Shopko, Target, Sams Club, Circuit City, MediaPlay, CompUSA, Sears, Toys R US, Babbages, Cosco, etc., etc.

This is NOT going to be like PS2 last year. Just don't get sucked into all the hype and hysteria that's going on now and for the next few weeks. Sit back, drink your lemonade, and wait 'til the end of November and go to your local store and pick one up for the REGULAR price and then smile at all the jokers who stressed over it.

Outlaw

aww crap! no way I wanna deal with the likes of those people again, it was bad enough last year even though no fights broke out in my area Well, Spacemanspiff and I are gonna rough it out trying to get by those hooligans and snag one, watch my back spaceman....hopefully it won't be that mad of a house. We're in it for the adventure! er...thats what I keep telling myself. I agree that it probablyl won't be like the PS2 last year (thats a good thing!), but I'm sure both systems will be sold out on launch day even if there is no rush, I don't wanna take any chances....anyway about less than 3 weeks to decide what to do...............man its coming up so soon.... The point is that I'm not as worried as I was when the PS2 came out.

IIG

I am a huge Cube supporter and I must have one on the 18th, but I refuse to pay $400 for a bundle. So, where is the best place to camp out to get the Cube? Wal-marts are 24 hour stores, so at 11:59 p.m. I guess I could bumrush the electronics department. Toys R US seems like it could be an option, but it would truly SUCK if I waited all night and didn't get one, because they have been reserved or what not (are they doing reserves?). Best Buy? Circuit City? Let me know...

Sominex

""I am a huge Cube supporter and I must have one on the 18th, but I refuse to pay $400 for a bundle. So, where is the best place to camp out to get the Cube? ""


This is EXACTLY the information we should all be researching and sharing. to HELL with paying $399 for a stupid bundle. I want the system and one game!


WHERE can we go on release day to get a system. Will Walmart, the 24 HOUR store, be selling them at midnight Sunday the 17th?


I am tired of going into stores like KB and TRU and asking if they will be carrying them on release day and hearing "ummm.. uhh... hmm.. I don't know, check back on the 18th"

idiots-


Anyone have any ideas or leads?

SpacemanSpiff

i gotcha outlaw


im gonna try hitting kmart first
i dont think there any 24 walmarts close by me so im not gonna do that

kmart opens 9am sundasy where as most other stores open at 11

im gonna check in target too

but i will enjoy the adventure of getting the gamecube

saturday night will probably be sleepless
hehe

UncleGramps

Nintendojo.com posted this a few weeks back:

"But remember that the GameCube is shipping before the Sunday it is scheduled to launch. Estimates are that most stores will recieve their GameCubes on around Thursday of that week--which is eerily the same date as the Xbox launch.

Walmart has already gone on record saying they're going to sell any GameCubes as soon as they get them. So, unofficially at least, it seems that two major consoles may be first sold on the exact same day."

If you want to read the whole story, go to http://www.nintendojo.com/nims/tools...&GroupBy=month and do a search on "Walmart".

Anyway, the point of this post is that you may want to check Walmart and similar chains (KMart, Target) in the middle of the week of the launch. If you're lucky, you may scoop one up before launch. Otherwise, call a bunch of local stores that week - they should know more about the launch at that point. That's my plan, anyway. I never did get a PS2, so now I get to live the experience of camping out for a system launch.

SpacemanSpiff

MaxF: good info

im gonna go look then on thursday and friday

jeffdsmith

Stoney is cool

SpacemanSpiff

?

HN

little off topic but just curious--for you folks who do go to the b&m stores, do you stake out the store before hand, like finding direct route to electronics section, etc.? seriously

--HN

BenBurnsed

If you live in New Jersey near the Short Hills Mall I just thought I would let you know that just 2 days ago I went to FYE and reserved a Gamecube console alone for 10.00. They said they will get the number in that they have reserved. Thus if you want a non-bundle deal and just one game (Rogue Squadron Of Course) then head to FYE at Short Hills Mall or give a FYE a call near you. PS....FYE=For Your Entertainment. Hope that helps...can't wait to have the option of playing Halo, DOA3, Rogue Squadron, or Metal Gear Solid 2....Gaming Paradise.