What We Know About the Week of October 1st, 2006

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What We Know About the Week of October 1st, 2006

While my week begins on a Sunday, I still tend to dread Mondays. I couldn't tell you why. Maybe it's because all of the people around me feel compelled to be respectable five days a week, and the first day they start that nonsense every week is on Monday. Or maybe I know new releases don't hit until Wednesday. That's two days away! 48 hours! That's a long time. A really long time. Gaming news also tends to be relatively trash on Mondays (even though our standards are low because it follows a weekend). As such, I feel obligated to break the monotony and tell you what you could be enjoying if you're the "Gotta Play 'Em All" gamer-type like myself.

So every week, I'm going to be doing a news brief (more fun than just new releases) of things that have no chance of surprising us each week. The information we already know. Apparently, people need reminders. And here's this week.

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[OcellotJenkins]

What We Know About the Week of October 1st, 2006

This is only a rumor, but word has it the Two-Headed Monster Gamestop/EB will be starting preorders for the Nintendo Wii on Thursday.

Thank you for the heads up.

[schild]

I meant that to say Tuesday.

[OcellotJenkins]

Get ready for a midnight fist fight at Walmart..

Thinking about getting one of those spiffy new Wii or PS3 consoles this holiday? You'd best start lining up now. GameStop -- America's largest 'videogame only' retailer -- says they're not taking pre-orders on console hardware.

That little tidbit came up at the annual GameStop sales conference, held last Saturday in Dallas.

"The great thing is there is a lot of demand." said Steve Morgan, president of Gamestop. "But launch is one day. And really the key to this business is what flows after the launch. We did learn a lesson last year. I think the lesson is caution and optimism at the same time."

Predicted shortages of the PS3 come as no surprise in these here parts -- the comparatively low numbers of console units hitting North America practically guarantees it. Of note, however, is that GameStop also seems to be banking on a Wii sellout. With 1 million units inbound, that's a lot of holiday optimism.

GameStop's decision not to guarentee your hardware pre-order is by no means carved in stone -- but from this point it seems a pretty sure thing from a strictly-business point of view. Last year, GameStop caught some heat after it mistakenly took in more Xbox 360 preorders than it had the capacity to fulfill. Looks like they've learned something from the experience.

The message is clear: The best way to assure you've got a console under the tree is probably still the old-fashioned one. Get out, line up.

Either that, or start saving your nickels for Ebay.

[schild]

Screw that. make buddy buddy with the store manager, tell them you'll hand them $600-$900 (if you're getting both) in store credit and tell them to hold that shit.

Or you'll kill them.

[LadyGuardian]

I got my pre-order from Zellers of all places. The store near me was allowed to sell 10 coupons and I managed to get the second one since no one seemed to know that they were available. It was a bundle including Rayman Raving Rabbids and Excite Truck but that's cool with me since I would have bought them anyway.

[Sky]

Screw that. make buddy buddy with the store manager, tell them you'll hand them $600-$900 (if you're getting both) in store credit and tell them to hold that shit.

Or you'll kill them.

It's even easier than that. Give a truck unloader a 12-pack of beer. Used to work wonders when I ran walmart's dock, back in the tickle-me-elmo era. We got three cases of them and only one made it to the sales floor (but not to the shelf, people grabbed them off the pallet). If I had been more capitalistic I could've really cashed in.

[OcellotJenkins]

It's looking Wii pre-orders will likely start this week.

...GameStop/EB Games has officially opened their Wii page.

Just to let everyone know, I have called numerous EB Games/GameStop outlets, all of which have told me that Wii preorders are due to start this week.

[OcellotJenkins]

From The Wiire:

Retailer GameStop confirmed to The Wiire today that Wii pre-orders for North America will begin Friday, October 13.

While Wii games have been available for pre-order for a few weeks now, Friday will mark the first time GameStop has opened up pre-orders on the hardware. In order to make a pre-order, gamers will need to go to a local GameStop or EB Games and ask to put down a set amount of money (between $25 and $50) on a Wii. The money placed on a pre-order goes towards the final price of the product.

North America is expected to receive approximately two million Wii units by the end of 2006, with half of that shipment expected at launch, though recent reports of expectation-exceeding Wii production may cause those numbers to change.

The Wiire could not confirm the pre-order status of GameStop/EB stores in territories outside North America, nor of other retailers such as Target, Wal-Mart and Toys 'R Us.