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Gamestop To Be Resupplied With PS3, Wii

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the more-next-gen-on-the-way dept.

GameSpot reports that GameStop will be resupplied with Wii and PS3 units within the next few weeks. They have some details on how the two console did in comparison (more games bought with the Wii than the PS3), and point out the best sellers for both systems. From the article: "The executives also recapped the launch performances of the two systems. For the PS3, Sony's Resistance: Fall of Man and Electronic Arts' Madden NFL 07 were the biggest sellers, while Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Ubisoft's Red Steel stood out from the pack of Wii launch titles ... While GameStop and its EB Games brand collectively account for about 25 percent of the US gaming market, the company believes it didn't receive that much of either system's day-one shipments. Executives said that they've never been satisfied with their launch day allocation of any new machine, but added their main concern now is the flow of follow-up shipments — which both Sony and Nintendo have promised will come at a steady pace."

24 of 126 comments (clear)

  1. O RLY? by EEBaum · · Score: 5, Funny

    A store that ran out of an item is getting more of that item?? NO WAI!!!

    --
    -- I prefer the term "karma escort."
    1. Re:O RLY? by VGPowerlord · · Score: 3, Funny

      NO WII?! YES WII!!

      --
      GLaDOS for President 2016! "Well here we are again. It's always such a pleasure." -- GLaDOS, 2011
  2. Resellers by fatty+ding+dong · · Score: 4, Funny

    To all of the Ebay resellers that endured week long lines, biting cold, searing heat, slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, all for ownership of a PS3 that they might sell it for 400% of retail price before Christmas, I say unto thee: Ha ha! Pwn3d n00bz!

    --
    -Now I may be an idiot, but there is one thing I am not sir, and that, sir, is an idiot.
    1. Re:Resellers by Osty · · Score: 2, Informative

      To all of the Ebay resellers that endured week long lines, biting cold, searing heat, slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, all for ownership of a PS3 that they might sell it for 400% of retail price before Christmas, I say unto thee: Ha ha! Pwn3d n00bz!

      Nah. The shipments will likely be very small, on the order of 10 or fewer consoles per store (more likely around 2-5 consoles). Given the demand and Sony's inability to satisfy, I think the ebayers will be fine at least through the holiday season and possibly as long as next spring.

      We saw what happened when Microsoft had a problem with chip suppliers for the Xbox 360. That was just memory chips. Sony's having a problem getting blue lasers for the BD drives as well as suffering under low yields for Cell chips (some reports have yields as low as 10-20%, though I doubt it's truly that bad). It will take a miracle for Sony to hit their estimate of 2 million consoles on the market by end of this year, and even if they do a fair number of those will fall after the holiday.

  3. Re:best strategy for getting one? by ENOENT · · Score: 4, Funny

    First, learn to play the banjo. Once you have mastered the art of banjo playing, it should be easy to purchase a Wii or PS3.

    Unless you already know how to play the banjo, that is.

    --
    That's "Mr. Soulless Automaton" to you, Bub.
  4. Just Today... by spoonboy42 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Today I went to a local EB and a Gamestop, and the word seems to be that they'll get a new batch of Wiis on Friday. This sounded good, until I realized just what Friday this Friday is. I'm debating over whether it's worth fighting an army of irate grandmothers to get mine this week.

    --
    Anonymous Luddite: "What do you think of the dehumanizing effects of the Internet?"
    Andy Grove: "Not Much."
    1. Re:Just Today... by Control+Group · · Score: 2, Insightful

      This very fact is what had me pull the trigger on hitting eBay for one. I was all set to wait it out...and then it occurred to me that my plan was to go out at 4:30 AM on Black Friday to wrestle with a screaming horde of deal-seeking madwomen intent on buying the perfect gift for spoiled little Geoffrey and armed with banshee wails and mama bear claws.

      From that point of view, the $120 premium I paid to have it delivered to my apartment tomorrow suddenly seemed far more reasonable.

      --

      Reality has a conservative bias: it conserves mass, energy, momentum...
    2. Re:Just Today... by brkello · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Or you could just wait a week after that and not blow $120 on something that is constantly being produced. I seriously don't understand people who will wait in line or pay above the retail price for what will most likely be the most problem/bug prone verson of the unit. You are also legitimizing the whole buy it/ebay it which is bad enough on its own.

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      Support a great indie game: http://www.abaddon360.com
    3. Re:Just Today... by Skreems · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Just last weekend I bought a PS2 for $120. I loaded up on games that had won Game Of The Year for $20 each from the "classics" section of Best Buy. Not only do I get many, many hours of top quality entertainment, but I get to laugh at jackasses who blow huge amounts of money on a system with maybe 2 good games. Summary: people are stupid.

      --
      Slashdot needs a "-1, Wrong" moderation option.
      The Urban Hippie
    4. Re:Just Today... by twistedsymphony · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I bet all your friends love to talk about the TV reruns at the water-cooler too. Buying a game once it hits the discount rack also maximizes the number of people you'll find to play online... er if your game actually supported online play.

      Playing Video games is more then just sitting in a dark room playing by yourself. Much of today's games, and more specifically today's consoles are based around multiplayer and beyond that a gaming community. Even if you only play single player adventure games the new crop of consoles brings the community aspect into it as well by allowing you to view your each others stats, and communicate with other gamers easily. Also many games are taking advantage of this new connectivity by creating new multiplayer experiences. For instance the Japanese RPG "Enchanted Arms" would normally be just a single player experience, but the game features an online option where you can pit the customized and leveled up members of your party against that of another gamer... Similarly Saint's Row which is an open ended GTA style game allows you to go online to create your own gang wars, etc.

      With the added attention to the online and community aspects it becomes important to even casual gamers to own the game when it first comes out, much like seeing a TV show on the first night it airs, or seeing a movie the first week it opens. There an excitement about it and the community surrounding it is at it's peak. Some games will stay strong for quite some time, the Counter Strikes and Halos, etc. But most games will fizzle out after the first month or two, leaving you back to playing with yourself or constantly searching the servers hoping to find ANYONE to play with as opposed to when the game was recently released and you had your choice of opponents and could find others who you enjoyed playing with.

      Entertainment is generally hollow unless you have someone to share the experience with, even if that form of sharing is recounting the experience to someone else after the fact.

      --
      Collector's Edition
  5. Riiiight by mgabrys_sf · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Wii's I can believe - one gamestop got a few in today - but the rest are saying February for the PS3. If by weeks you mean months - then yes - I can stop trolling for typos.

  6. Re:Whew - almost an hour passed w/o a Wii article! by mgabrys_sf · · Score: 4, Funny

    Well at least it wasn't footnoted: "Retailers dread getting in the evil PS3 from the demon company Sony whose black-magical DRM-Rootkit will steal your soul and make you gnaw on your grandmother's unearthed bones BWA HA HA HA HA HA. Remember, if you buy a PS3, you make God cry - Love, Zonk."

    The surprises keep coming fast and furious here boy-howdy.

  7. Whoa by -kertrats- · · Score: 4, Funny

    Gamespot reports that Gamestop...*blink*

    --
    The Braying and Neighing of Barnyard Animals Follows.
  8. news? by Toridas · · Score: 2, Informative

    So does this mean only Gamestop will be getting new systems? It seems kind of obvious to me, "Wii and PS3 to ship more units"

  9. Re:best strategy for getting one? by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Relax this holiday season. Wait until after the New Year to get a new console. And if your kid won't stop crying, it's time to break out the coal and BBQ the kid.

  10. Gamestop is dead... It's only a matter of time. by ivan256 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    While GameStop and its EB Games brand collectively account for about 25 percent of the US gaming market, the company believes it didn't receive that much of either system's day-one shipments.

    They won't get more than 25% of the ongoing shipments either. They used to be a specialty retailer that added excellent customer service to the product you could get elsewhere. Recently, the bent over backwards to please the game publishers under the mistaken impression that if they didn't give in to their demands the publishers would give preferential treatment to the big guys (Wal-Mart, Target, etc...). Now that they don't offer any additional value, the publishers not only don't need them, but they actually have incentive to push them out of the market to reduce used game sales. Now, they get crappy allotments, they have to take pre-orders on everything because they can't return unsold merchandise to the distributor, they can't take returns from their customers for the same reason, and instead of being helpful the employees are reduced to bullying their customers in order to meet the quotas that keep the company in the black. It's only a matter of time. In the meantime, you may as well shop for your gaming gear at Wal-Mart, because you'll get equivalent service, and Wal-Mart has better stock levels.

    1. Re:Gamestop is dead... It's only a matter of time. by ivan256 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      O RLY?

      Is that English?

      I've had no problem returning anything, EVER. Even with no receipt.

      Either you've never opened the package, or you've never tried to return anything.

      I used to shop at EB frequently. I'd spend thousands of dollars per year in my local store, and had friendly conversations with the employees. Then it changed. The return policy changed to exchanges for the same title only if the package was opened. The PC game selection dwindled. The manager admitted they sometimes had to turn away customers on release days if they didn't have a pre-order even if they had enough copies in stock in order to help convince the customer that they should pre-order next time.

      And I'm pretty sure preorders exist so people like me reserve Gears of War there rather than try my luck getting it at Fry's or Best Buy

      I'm 100% sure that you're wrong. Pre-orders exist because, unlike with every other form of media, the store cannot return unsold copies. If they could, they'd order more than enough and send back the rest (probably just the discs, and trash the packaging. Similar to how bookstores just send back the covers). Since it costs between $2 and $3 to print, press, and package a game and the associated materials, there is no reason not to make extras and allow returns minus the $3 cost.... But they don't and thus you have to pre-order because a small retailer like Gamestop can't take the hit if a $60 title doesn't sell.

      Pre-orders for consoles are different than pre-orders for games. The only reason they sell pre-orders for hardware is to get you in the store twice. You're very likely to buy something each time, and since they make almost no margin on the hardware itself they need the extra boost. Otherwise it doesn't matter to them if you line up for the release, or if you line up for the pre-order. Both would have sold out in minutes anyway. As an added benefit, if they don't get enough units to cover your pre-order, they've still got you locked in as a customer and prevent the sale (with the profitable associated add-ons) from going to a competitor.

      Additionally, it is almost never the case that the bulk of a game's sales occur on release day. Only super-hyped games have front-loaded sales, and the super hyped games are exactly the titles that are in stock in large quantites at Wal-Mart and Target. (Why would you try Fry's or BestBuy? Pick a retailer with high volume, or in the case of BestBuy, one that doesn't suck.) To use your Gears of War example, my local Target had twenty copies in stock the day after release. Purchasing one was no big deal.

      Not to mention I walked in to EB Games at 10:00 on Sunday to pick up my preordered Wii, rather than camp out at Best Buy.

      How long did you camp out for the pre-order?

  11. Re:I am amazed! by abe+ferlman · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'm sure that story would actually surprise a lot of people.

    --
    microsoftword.mp3 - it doesn't care that they're not words...
  12. Re:best strategy for getting one? by Perseid · · Score: 5, Funny

    Nuts to that. I'll just wait for Banjo Hero to come out.

  13. For running free software by tepples · · Score: 4, Informative
    I seriously don't understand people who will wait in line or pay above the retail price for what will most likely be the most problem/bug prone verson of the unit.

    Earlier versions of closed video game consoles generally have more easily accessible holes in their protection, allowing the use of free software or other freeware. Compare an early Xbox console to an Xbox version 1.6, or compare a PSP with firmware 1.50 to a PSP with firmware 2.81. Even when the manufacturer supports the use of free software, as was the case with some PlayStation 2 consoles, the capability is often discontinued: Sony stopped making Linux kits for the PS2 and stopped making the full-size PS2 that was compatible with the hard drive. It remains to be seen how long Sony will maintain the "Other OS" installer for the PLAYSTATION 3 console.

    1. Re:For running free software by ClamIAm · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The real reason that Sony built this into the PS3 was to avoid import tariffs. Their claim is that since you can run Linux (or whatever), the machine is technically a "computer". Of course, it's a sham: the "Other OS" feature is a virtualized environment that will (no doubt) be clamped down to a bare minimum of usefulness.

      There is a bright side, however. If various governments (perhaps EU- or Nordic-types) get annoyed at these shenanigans, it could spur legislation that defines a computer as a computing device where the user has total documentation and control over the hardware. This would be a huge win for Free Software. I realize it's not likely, but it's a scenario we should work towards.

  14. News of the Obvious by jalefkowit · · Score: 4, Funny

    Video game store to receive shipment of video games! Film at 11!

    --

    Read my blog.

  15. Re:best strategy for getting one? by MagusSlurpy · · Score: 2, Funny

    Hot damn! I bet "Dueling Banjos" from Deliverance will be the final track! I just hope it doesn't make me squeal like a pig. . .

    --
    My sister opened a computer store in Hawaii. She sells C shells by the seashore.
  16. Re:best strategy for getting one? by MagusSlurpy · · Score: 2, Funny

    I was following the joke, but, you know, you're right. I would, as well. *sigh*

    --
    My sister opened a computer store in Hawaii. She sells C shells by the seashore.