Outlaw

I ended up oversleeping and missed out preordering. I called gamestop a half hour after they opened and he said they filled all their preorders. I asked him how many they had and he said around 40. Well that sucks! Now I'm going to have to wing it at Best Buy. But luckily if I can get one there I'll be able to use my rewards card . It'll be a fun november night!

Supermallet

Man, I feel like reporting on selling pre-orders is starting to be a regular thing.

When I opened the store for the the PS3, one person was in line at 8:30 AM. This time, TWO were in line. Double the amount!

I had an ASM come in to the store at 9:30 to help me out. We printed out lists of reservable games and spread out Game Informer magazines to our 30% extra trade in coupon. We got everything nice and ready, and then I looked out the door to see how long the line had gotten. It went all the way down to the end of the walkway in the mall (we're a mall store). So, I'd say we had about 4 times the amount of people waiting to reserve a Wii as we were for the PS3.

Before opening, I traded in some DVDs and games, got my 40% extra store credit, and paid for the Wii in full. I put down deposits on Zelda, an extra remote, and an extra nunchuck.

I put up a marker near the first register, and opened the gate. I went out and told everyone that we wanted them to come in up to the marker I had set, and we would call them when we were ready to take the next customer. I felt this would allow us to spend the time we needed with each customer instead of just hurrying them out of the store.

Overall, it went very well. Almost everyone reserved an extra controller set, Zelda, or both. We had time to relax and chat, while still making sure we got through people in a fair amount of time.

Around 40 minutes in, someone asked how many we had left. I looked at the list and noticed I only had 7 systems left. So I went down the line, counting, and then told the 8th guy that we had no more left. The line still went almost all the way down the mall. So I would say over half of the people left empty handed. But nobody grumbled or complained.

Personally, I thought the Wii reserves went more smoothly than the PS3 reserves, and I was really surprised by how many more people showed up for the Wii. I'm not sure if it's because people thought more Wii systems would be available (and there were; we got 36 to reserve), or if people were genuinely more interested in the Wii than the PS3. But it's a good sign for us Nintendo fans.

Sorraffy

well i cant say my preorder day was as "eventful" as other peoples as there were only 16 people in line (the 16th had to be turned away as they're only getting 15 systems) I got there about 8AM and only 4 people were in line, one guy ahead of me claimed he got there at 2AM and started waiting. I got to sleep on a warm bed and i didnt miss out on preordering, so i LOL at him

oh yeah, and the bounty was pretty small: system and Zelda. If I want extra accessories/games i'll do that online or something

jediwicz

I put 50 down to guarantee I get one on launchday, I was fifth in line so I got it (out of 18). I still think I'm going to get one at Best Buy though so I can use my Reward Zone, but if they sell out I know I at least have one at EB. And if I get it at Best Buy, oh well, there's another game I can get at EB. Pre-ordered the Classic controller as well as Zelda and Red Steel.

glasschicken

I'll be there at Best Buy. Couldn't take the time out of work.

The Monkees

So there were 4 people there?

Supermallet

I hope you're just trying to be smart, otherwise you missed the part where I say the line ballooned up.

The Monkees

I was joking

thomkai

Pre-ordered mine! Of course I'm an employee so we had some set aside for us.
Suprmallet, I think I wrote before that I was mad at GS for not taking employee reserves (which was the rumour I had heard). Just wanted to let my fellow employee know that I am officially VERY impressed that GS actually set numbers aside for us - a bold move indeed! Better than employees breaking policies and customers getting screwed (not that I would have of course, but I've heard at past launches lots of employees took home pre-orders).
But my town is pretty small. I showed up right at 10 for the PS3 and Wii pre-orders and had plenty of breathing room in the 8 our store was alotted, so even if I hadn't been an employee I would have been good - better in fact cause I would have been placed at my spot and not at the last of the reserves set for employees.
Really suprised at the amount of Wii's promised though. Barely more than the PS3's. But impressed with the execution of them, as it was sorta hushed and made it less chaotic.

IIG

I haven't pre-ordered mine since I know I can show up at midnight at Wal-mart and get one... but I have this $40 off a $199 or more purchase coupon for Circuit City, so I think I'm going to take my chances getting in there when the store opens on launch day. Circuit City isn't doing pre-orders are they? This is risky because if I can't secure one at Circuit City by the time the store opens (after all it is a Sunday), I'm afraid everyone else in town will be sold out by then.

The Cow

Just to be sure, check the fine print on that coupon. Most of those exclude game consoles.

IIG

Oh, I checked... It excluded alot of things, but not consoles.

shaggy

Just an update for any last minute Canadian members. EB is giving $100 credit towards the Wii for Xbox systems ( they normally give $60 ) its today only. They also have a deal if you trade any 10 games you get an extra $50 on top of the trade in value. I made out great, I bought 2 xbox systems and 10 games at some pawn shops this weekend for about $80 and I got $309 in credit for it. I was shocked that I got 109 for the 10 games, I figured they would exclude a lot of games but they didn't. I went to EB at 6.00 am and was fourth in line. I also traded in a old ps2 system and got $60 for it. So I ended up with a paid in full Wii and copy of Zelda for an hours worth of shopping, 4 hours of sitting, and $80 cash investment. EB is normally a rip off for trades, but they were great today and the line was handled very well. I'm very happy and can't wait for November 19th. Hope everyone else got what they were after.

Edit: I just looked at my receipt and wasn't charged any tax on the Wii or Zelda. Thats another 15% savings, does anyone know if that is normal for EB Canada? Is there no Tax when paying with store credit?

IIG

Is there a listing anywhere of stores and their launch day plans (pre-order or no pre-order)? Especially Circuit City... I don't want to be screwed out of a Wii just for a $40 off coupon!

Josh H

No info on launch day plans yet.

ejw1224

A question for GS employees, I got my preorder on the 13th... I was wondering if I have to go early and line up, or could I just walk in when the store opens and be able to grab one? Got confused because some people told me that I'm only reserved a spot in line and still have to go line up on launch day.
Thanks for helping

Josh H

Seems like that will vary by store and shipments. As long as they get their allotted number, you can show up anytime within 48 hours as they'll have enough to fill preorders and will hold one for everyone that preordered.

If they get less, then there seems to be mixed reports. Some have said stores told them they'll just give them out in order--i.e. if they preordered 14 adn they get 10, the first 10 will be called and told to come in and pick them up, and the last 4 will be told they are first in line for the second shipment.

Others have said their store said it would just be first come first serve at launch in that case, so the first 10 with preorders to show up will get them and the next 4 will be first in line for second shipments.

Honestly, I wouldn't worry as it seems like they were very conservative with preorders, and will likely get more than they took, and even if they do get short changed they will be getting weekly shipments from Nintendo so at worst if you are unlucky and miss out on the 19th you'll get one with in a week or two.

thomkai

Well, at my store there was a list made, with the bottom spots for employee reserves, which I was told means if we only get enough for customers, they get theirs first and we would have to wait for next shipment (which makes sense). So I think it's based on the list, and I am pretty sure this is standard practice at all stores.

Josh H

It is the "standard" practice, but not all store managers stick to standard practices.

Just like some got in trouble for forcing bundles with the 360, when corporate told them they were not allowed to force people to buy games or accessories to reserve a system and so on.

Outlaw

Wii displays are starting to go up in stores (note not demo units, I just mean advertisements), I was at Target and they have a section for it with a big "Wii" logo, Unfortunately you've been to this Target Josh (the one in Rockville), and they put the Wii section behind the large support poll that the DS section used to be, meaning you can barely see it, but I was at Gamestop too (got $50 for my GC woot!) and they have mock-ups of actual games there. Pretty cool. I wanted to get one of those cool giftcards that glow from the borders, but none in sight. Excitement level rising.

Michael Corvin

Is there a number to call to report stores of this? I preordered a PS3 and my wife said they called the other day and mentioned something about a bundle. She was half asleep when they called, so she doesn't remember exactly what they told her. I sure as hell better not be forced into a bundle after they already allowed me to purchase/order the system. That would be like buying a car and the dealer not letting you drive away until you buy $5000 rims.

Supermallet

Michael, I would call back the store and ask what the original call was about. If they say that they're forcing a bundle, then ask them for the number of their district manager, who you will call if they try to force a bundle on you. Of course, you want to be speaking to no one less than the manager for that.

The Bus

I just hope my store fulfills order on midnight. The clerk said they might.

Josh H

Yeah, they mentioned it at my store as well, but I don't think it is likely since it is in a mall (though some mall stores have done midnight launches in the past).

I really don't care much, as I won't play for more than an hour if I pick it up at midnight, and I sleep in on sundays so I wouldn't be playing it much earlier that day either.

Not to mention the Wheaton mall isn't in the safest area to carry a console to your car in the middle of the night if they dont' have security around during the launch.

Phineas444

I saw it mentioned from the EBGames preorder day about people paying 50 bucks for a memory card/stick. Not sure which it is. I saw someone also say there as an 8 dollar alternative. Can anyone explain this please? Thanks in advance.