GameStop, EB Wii preorders detailed

In-store reservations for Nintendo's next-gen console begin tomorrow; Canadian PS3, Wii preorders begin Monday.

Gamers who blinked may have missed the preorder program for the PlayStation 3 from EB Games and GameStop. The retailers announced the details of the campaign on Monday, and put them into effect on Tuesday. Because of extremely limited supply--most stores were given only eight units for presale--the retailers quickly sold out of their PS3 allotment, the majority snatched up in just minutes.

Now it looks as though the retailers are taking a similar approach to preorders for the Wii. In an e-mail notice sent out to gamers today, the stores announced that preorders for the Wii will begin tomorrow.

Preorders will be given out on a first-come-first-served basis, and start promptly when the retailers' 3,600-plus stores open their doors for business. A $50 deposit--cash, credit, or trade-in--for the $250 system is required, and reservations are limited to one per household. Preorders for the PS3, which will retail in two models for $499 and $599, required a $100 to be put down. The companies did not reveal how many preorders would be available from each store. Details of online preorders are expected soon.

However, GameStop and EB can't absolutely guarantee a system at launch for those who do successfully get their hands on one of the prized receipts. A disclaimer on the stores' Web sites reads: "As we cannot control production and shipping issues by the manufacturer, a reservation deposit does not guarantee receipt of a system available to purchase at launch."

The two chains also revealed plans for Canadian preorders for both the Wii and PS3. North of the border, the campaign for both systems begins Monday, October 16, and requires a C$200 cash or credit deposit, or C$50 in trade.

582 Comments

  • TriggerHappy723

    Posted Nov 1, 2006 11:32 am PT

    In the first 48 hours of the PS2's launch, it sold 900,000 console. That is a record in the guiness book of records.

  • dc345601

    Posted Nov 1, 2006 9:12 am PT

    What is the record for the most units sold on opening day?

  • ioioe

    Posted Oct 31, 2006 3:48 pm PT

    >.>; I should try and get my hands one at least one of the two..I hope to get at least both by then end of the year..Hope...Thats the key word there guys :3

  • xraystar

    Posted Oct 31, 2006 1:07 am PT

    yes napoleon dynamite kicks major a** ... oh yea, the wii is going to be great

  • nyohnk

    Posted Oct 30, 2006 6:13 pm PT

    yeah dude, Urine, you're 100% correct....but i dont know about the whole Napoleon Dynamite thing....besides there is sex Kip and LaFawnda bang at the end if you have the unrated version

  • Packt

    Posted Oct 30, 2006 5:32 pm PT

    Chill?

  • Shaner258

    Posted Oct 29, 2006 4:42 pm PT

    When I phoned EB Games before this was announced they said Nintendo wouldn't be dong pre orders at all!!

    Now I can pre order!!!!!! THAT STUPID JERK ON THE PHONE! I BETTER GET ONE AT THE STORE IF I HAVE TO SHOOT THE STUPID ***** THAT SAID NO PREORDERS!!!!

  • wickerman2004

    Posted Oct 29, 2006 10:21 am PT

    who cares? i don't. fight it out, while you're doing so - i'll be playing with my Wii (having a good ol time) and not caring about what ppl like rjzfnas or whatever have to say about Nintendo software.

  • Strategy-knight

    Posted Oct 29, 2006 9:10 am PT

    I tottaly agree with Urine72.

  • louiedagreat1

    Posted Oct 29, 2006 8:28 am PT

    TO TOYS R US! AWAY! God i hope they still taking preorders

  • patriot6

    Posted Oct 29, 2006 7:21 am PT

    I agree with Urine72 as well... by the way... just 3 words to make rijnie think... Super Smash Bros. for me and for other thousands one of the best fighting franchises ever... it was rated E when it first came out for N64 if you haven't realized.

  • bottomdollar

    Posted Oct 28, 2006 12:37 pm PT

    Urine72, I agree completely. People always saying this and that about Nintendo just for kid6 s or is family orientated. Like he said, it doesn't matter. Rating don't make a game great, (look at games like Desperate Housewives, Playboy: The Video Game, etc.) geared toward and adult content but the games aren't quality. Then you take an E-rated game like ummm I dunno platformer The New Super Mario Bros. and look what you get, a game and a system that were the soul reason video game profits were up, (the DS system providing 6 of the total 8%). All the video games companies are in it like any other job, TO MAKE Money, and with Nintendo's so called "kiddie franchise" its been doing a pretty profitable job for the last 20 years or so...

  • Muffalones

    Posted Oct 27, 2006 12:25 pm PT

    urine72, you're right, but thats the worst example ever.
    Napoleon Dynamite blew.

  • scout10101

    Posted Oct 27, 2006 10:53 am PT

    urine72,
    Speak the word man!

  • urine72

    Posted Oct 27, 2006 3:52 am PT

    Give me a break, im sick of people bashing nintendo talking about kiddie games and crap like that. what does it matter what the ERSB rates the game. A little black M in the corner of the box does not make the game any better. Almost every game on the NES was a " kiddie " game, but they were still fun as hell. and nobody complained about how they are too old to play them. Its all about gameplay, which nintendo always delivers with a whopping punch on all of their first party titles.
    Take this for example Napoleon Dynamite, no sex, drug use, violence, of harsh language. and its been called one of the funniest movies to come out in the last ten years.

  • hanjo

    Posted Oct 26, 2006 2:17 pm PT

    rijnie
    why nintendo only makes kiddie things. I know that chinies and japanese guys are not smart and serious but common!! BE MORE MAN NINTENDO ,IN 6/7 YEARS!!!

    i know quite some "kiddies" who are at least twice your age and like nintendo quite a lot - including me. oh, and they don't have such a disgustingly racist attitude.

  • dyne12

    Posted Oct 25, 2006 11:22 pm PT

    Got one of each at eb the got there at 3AM then next person didn't show up till 5AM and the next 2 at 7AM the eb opened at 8:30 and after the pre-order line was thru they still had 3 ps3's, and 10 Wii's they got 15 wii's and 8 ps3, i checked back last weekend and they still had 1 of each left.

  • kingfluffypanda

    Posted Oct 25, 2006 2:58 pm PT

    I preorders my new wii from blockbuster SO HA ON YOU

  • Martyr

    Posted Oct 25, 2006 12:34 pm PT

    i was going to reserve ps3 but since only 12 systems are going to be available worldwide, i'll reserve a Wii until sony decides to release more systems on a large scale and not like retards. way to go Nintendo!

  • waffle79

    Posted Oct 25, 2006 10:20 am PT

    :S america gets the wii 1st but the pre orders start later than the UK! I preordered my Wii on the 1st of OCtober the pre orders started on the 28th september oh well at least im guarenteed to get a Wii

  • rikardo10

    Posted Oct 25, 2006 7:17 am PT

    i have to get one!!!!!

  • Staryoshi87

    Posted Oct 24, 2006 10:06 am PT

    woo for november console releases....cold winter camping incoming at least the 19th is a sunday

  • mack10

    Posted Oct 23, 2006 11:58 pm PT

    Its because Toys R Us aren't so anal ezek -- had I known Toys R Us did pre-orders I would've been there long ago, instead I got screwed for my pre-order because I thought (as I was actually told by a few different EB stores) that the pre-orders started at 10 and I show up and find out they were all done at 8:30. Either way, I'm sure with a projected 6 million units at launch I'll pick one up somewhere. (by the way, I'm speaking of the Wii, sorry I didn't mention this in the paragraph).

  • ezek

    Posted Oct 23, 2006 8:33 pm PT

    I'm not sure if I'm getting confused somewhere along the line, but why are pre orders just starting now? I work at Toys R us in Canada, and we were pre ordering the Wii/PS3 for months (since at least Feb.). We stopped the pre orders a long time ago, since they sold out, but they were available for anyone to purchase. A $50 deposit was required for both systems, and the agreement to purchase 2 games and an extra controller on the day of purchase. Can someone explain to me why we did ours so long ago, and everyone else is just starting? Or if I'm just mixing things up somehow?

  • steelman101

    Posted Oct 23, 2006 6:01 pm PT

    to everyone who says they will just get it in 3 weeks when it comes out. I'm going to say you are sadly mistaken. If everyone is going to do that there wont' be enough left. Don't be a baby about it becuase you didn't get a pre-order.

  • ChucklesMginty

    Posted Oct 23, 2006 9:27 am PT

    I have too much of a life to camp outside a shopping center just to get my nintendo wii. I nearly laughed out loud wen I saw he sign in game saying "pre-order now limted stock" even though they'd be giving out pre-orders for nearly three weeks and I was the only one there pre-odering there gonna be over 1,000,000 wii's in Europe on launch I've got my pre-order and I'll be there on launch day not camping outside.

  • heaven_weapon

    Posted Oct 21, 2006 5:15 pm PT

    i got one suckers

  • bottomdollar

    Posted Oct 21, 2006 9:54 am PT

    Maybe Quebec got more Wiis then PS3, thats very possible. The online website is still saying pre-orders are available in Canada too

  • dibooda

    Posted Oct 21, 2006 9:32 am PT

    I have been surprised to see that th wii (in quebec ebgames) didnt go fast on preorder.
    i preordered mine after school(around 5:30 pm) there was still 2 available excluding mine.but ps3 were out after 10:00 am...lol

  • Comduter

    Posted Oct 20, 2006 9:28 pm PT

    I'm not going to by any system until some time next year after I've hopefully seen some examples of what the three new consoles have to offer. Doing it that way makes the most sense, unless you want to sell a PS3 on ebay during the system's launch.

  • torchicfire

    Posted Oct 20, 2006 5:08 pm PT

    Heh.

    Preorder = Meh.
    Camping Out = Bleh.

    "I think I'll just get the console whenever I feel like instead of racing to see who gets it first, where a month later it won't matter if you got the first wii/playstation 3 ever released in America/(Europe?)/Japan/Whatever." = Win.

  • 16tony16

    Posted Oct 20, 2006 3:07 pm PT

    they last like a second

  • Brochi_10

    Posted Oct 20, 2006 2:03 pm PT

    the preorders will last 0.0000001 seconds!!!!

  • BluSamuraiG

    Posted Oct 20, 2006 11:00 am PT

    i was #8 out of 11 ( i got there at 4:30 too lol)

  • rockman2k7

    Posted Oct 19, 2006 10:34 pm PT

    try toy r us
    they r taking preorders on the 29th

  • Breakfast_Clubber

    Posted Oct 19, 2006 7:57 pm PT

    preorder schmeorder. i'll just pick one of 10 up at walmart in three weeks.

  • tobenator

    Posted Oct 19, 2006 1:00 pm PT

    Preordering=meh

    Camping out= Yay!

  • Gobo666

    Posted Oct 19, 2006 7:11 am PT

    I got mine all preordered!!!!!!!!

  • XGxAxMxExRX

    Posted Oct 18, 2006 10:14 pm PT

    i'll just wait

  • Tribalinius

    Posted Oct 18, 2006 7:36 pm PT

    1st of 15 on pre-order list. woohoo =). My local EB called me sunday to tell me to come early as possible mondaymorning. I was there at 4AM... Since The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, I'm taking no more chances with anticipated release. I nearly killed people this day in a legendary sprint to the electronic department of my local zellers lol. No joke I'm a fatso and proud to run for a video game :3.

  • wooooode

    Posted Oct 18, 2006 3:18 pm PT

    I pre-ordered a while back just after E3, but if you didnt or were to late i would not worry you should be able to get one on day one if you walk into a Wal-mart or Best Buy early that day.

  • wickerman2004

    Posted Oct 18, 2006 2:36 pm PT

    i'm not pre-ordering anything. i'm confident one month from now - i'll bring home a wii. CONFIDENT i tell you!
    i think all the 'trade in' offers right now are horrible - you're getting way ripped off.

  • T-bone123

    Posted Oct 18, 2006 12:15 pm PT

    nice, better get preordering

  • Neo2199

    Posted Oct 18, 2006 11:22 am PT

    Wii Launch > PS3 Launch:

    The Wii is the proverbial WIN-WIN situation. The Wii is the complete opposite of the PS3 situation. Abundant system availability at a reasonable price point with games that are guaranteed to be some of the greatest and most innovative titles in the history of gaming ON LAUNCH DAY. Nintendo makes a profit off of every unit sold. The Wii is both accessible and provides fantastic gaming experiences to gamers. Nintendo wins, gamers win. This doesn't make me a fanboy, it makes me educated. The irony is that if my girlfriend had not bought me a DS for my birthday last month, I would have never of known how truly amazing the Nintendo experience has become. I only had a PC and a PS2 until then.

    The whole PS3 debacle is a farce. What is blatantly obvious about this whole situation is that Sony's primary objective is NOT to provide gamers with a revolutionary gaming experience. Sony's primary agenda for the PS3 is the ulterior motive of proving Blu-Ray to be a viable next generation media platform (UMD anyone?).

    This has led to the travesty of a premature launch date with low supply causing an egotistical pissing contest for the rich and massochistic; spending money that they don't have, to buy things they don't even want, trying to impress friends they don't even have.

    This is sickening and pathetic.

    The PS3 launch is NOT about games and it certainly isn't about gamers. It is the proverbial LOSE-LOSE situation. Fools clamouring to throw away large sums of their money to support the sociopathic behavior of parasitic opportunists. This all happens at Sony's expense taking a $300 loss per unit!!

    I loved my PS1 and I love my PS2 because both systems ultimately proved to provide some of the greatest gaming moments in history. However, both systems launched with crippling defects warranting class action suits (PS1 - Plastic Laser Sled, PS2 - Disc Read Errors). If you have read any reports on Sony's Blu-ray manufacturing disasters you would quickly put 1 and 1 together to arrive at the conclusion that the PS3 is certainly NOT poised to overcome the curse of it's predecessors. They can't even get their codec straightened out even if they could get their hardware layer stabilized. What is the problem?

    If ALL companies focused on a win win strategy, the world would be a better place, SONY. This concept is alien to eBay scalpers and gamblers alike. Somehow in their miniscule, self-centered, selfish, evil, little minds, they have convinced themselves that preying on others to rob them of their money is equivalent to capitalism. Correction, when one person profits at another's loss, it is called "parasitism". That's right, if you scalp a PS3 on eBay, you are a parasite.

    Sony has been the leader in gaming the past few years, but they need to play a SERIOUS game of catch up. They need to join the paradigm shift of innovation and appeal to a wider audience than just 13-30 year old males. Sony needs to swallow some pride and stop making suicidal business decisions. I love Sony and I even tested and helped develop Jak 3. I seriously hope they clean up their act soon and pull this out.

  • ryan123423424

    Posted Oct 18, 2006 8:46 am PT

    ****UK gamers take note:

    Play.com sell the games for £32.99 inc delivery (£7 cheaper than normal)

    HMV.co.uk sell the Wii nunchak for £12.99, Wii classic controller for £12.99 and Wii remote for £24.99, all free delivery

    but best bit is last:

    dixons.co.uk are selling Wii + 1 extra wii remote for £179.99 inc delivery, saving you £24.99 on the remote. (Note: No, I don't mean the £199 package - check the wording on the £179 deal which has been copy/pasted from the £199 deal)
    The webpage is ambiguous, first saying the package contains "1 extra wii remote" (i.e 2x wii remotes, plus 1x wii nunchak), and later saying package contains 1x wii remote, but, I rang up and they confirmed, after checking, that "It contains 2 wii remotes, in addtion to the nunchak"
    confirmed at 4:19pm today. I have printed out the page to prove it just in case they argue it.

  • markbridges

    Posted Oct 18, 2006 7:08 am PT

    I'ma just wait.

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