GameStop stops DS preorders

Gamers looking to pick up a Nintendo DS later this month might be in for a shock if they saunter into their local GameStop. The specialty retailer has stopped taking preorders for the handheld system, which effectively means that the company has already sold out of its launch-day allotment. The Nintendo DS launches on November 21.

Meanwhile, GameStop's main competitor, EB Games, continues to take preorders for the DS, but cautions that they will follow suit as soon as they reach their launch-day limit. After the preorder campaign is closed, all further system sales will be first come, first served.

As the Nintendo DS launch draws closer, the picture of what that day will bring comes into clearer focus. Unsurprisingly, many titles that were scheduled for launch will hit store shelves in December. But, interestingly enough, a few DS titles may hit stores in advance of the hardware itself. Currently slated to ship the week prior to the hardware are Asphalt Urban GT (Ubisoft), Madden NFL 2005 (Electronic Arts), Urbz: Sims in the City (EA), Feel the Magic XY/XX (Sega), and Spider-Man 2 (Activision). Only Nintendo's Super Mario 64 DS is scheduled to go out on launch day.

It seems now that these six titles will be the final DS launch-day lineup, with six additional titles slated to hit stores in December. In any case, the DS could very well be the focal point of a frantic holiday shopping season, much like the Nintendo 64 in 1996.