# Gamestop, EB, and the art of reservations (a pit by proxy, Xbox 360 related) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 21, 2005, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamestop-eb-and-the-art-of-reservations-a-pit-by-proxy-xbox-360-related/332086 "2005-11-21T15:51:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamestop-eb-and-the-art-of-reservations-a-pit-by-proxy-xbox-360-related/332086/1 "2005-11-21T15:51:09Z")
I could care less about the Xbox 360 at the moment, but a lot of people are clamoring to get one tonight and/or tomorrow (tomorrow is the official launch; some places are selling them tonight at midnight). A friend of mine recently lost his marbles and decided he has to have a new Xbox, so he’s going to Best Buy after lunch today to wait for 12 hours in the cold for one. I’m told that’s pretty much what you have to do if you didn’t reserve one a long time ago. But what if you did? My brother preordered his at Gamestop in July, paying for it in full. He assumed that would guarantee him a unit at launch, but it didn’t. In fact, today he received an automated message from the company stating that he most likely won’t be getting one in 2005. :eek: Why? Apparently he was ninth on the list at one point, because they were going by the date that the system was paid off. But now, I’m hearing [rumors](http://www.penny-arcade.com/2005/11/16) that people who buy the most extra shit with the system are suddenly first in line. I talked to the drone at the local EB Games here in Plano, and he told me that the reason they’re having problems is that Microsoft cut back on the number of units they had originally promised to each store. His location was supposed to get 50, but now only anticipated only 25. However, _they took 72 preorders!_ I’m not anything remotely resembling a lawyer (unless you count a Criminal Justice degree and watching a lot of Law and Order), but isn’t this a class-action suit waiting to happen? I know, in the grand scheme of things, people waiting a few weeks for video game systems isn’t too terrible. But aren’t these companies promising something that they know they can’t deliver? ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamestop-eb-and-the-art-of-reservations-a-pit-by-proxy-xbox-360-related/332086/2 "2005-11-21T17:13:23Z")
> [@Slacker](#): > > I talked to the drone at the local EB Games here in Plano, and he told me that the reason they’re having problems is that Microsoft cut back on the number of units they had originally promised to each store. His location was supposed to get 50, but now only anticipated only 25. However, _they took 72 preorders!_ Is EB Games still in Collin Creek Mall? Most states have laws regarding the sale of items and the promise of delivery. You might want to look into Texas and see if what they’re doing is actually a criminal offense. You could always take EB Games to small claims court I guess. Does the sales receipt say anything about “subject to availability?” Marc I’m not anything remotely resembling a lawyer (unless you count a Criminal Justice degree and watching a lot of Law and Order), but isn’t this a class-action suit waiting to happen? I know, in the grand scheme of things, people waiting a few weeks for video game systems isn’t too terrible. But aren’t these companies promising something that they know they can’t deliver? [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamestop-eb-and-the-art-of-reservations-a-pit-by-proxy-xbox-360-related/332086/3 "2005-11-21T17:16:35Z")
I posted this in a friends blog and I think it’s also relevant here: No retailers (or journalists for that matter) were expecting Microsoft to announce a simelataneous (I can never spell that word) worldwide release of the 360. So they made pre-order sheets based on that and the number of Xbox 1’s MS delivered in 2001. Enter the worldwide launch and that number gets cut down to a third. So what do you get? Pissed off gamers with pre-order slips that now say January on them. It sucks for everyone that pre-ordered, but you have to admire Microsoft’s balls for finally getting the whole world involved in a console’s life right from the start. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamestop-eb-and-the-art-of-reservations-a-pit-by-proxy-xbox-360-related/332086/4 "2005-11-21T19:41:30Z")
Gamestop is a fucking scam anyway. I buy used games there, but that’s about it. They pimp pre–orders so goddamn hard that it makes me want to punch the salesman in the face. The only reason you would ever need to pre-order from Gamestop is if you feel like you MUST buy from them. Those stores get an average to low number of copies of anything that is released because the stores are so damn small. I can walk into CC or BB any day of the week and grab a copy of any game I want on release day but at Gamestop they’re always sold out. It’s stupid. I didn’t pre-order an Xbox 360 but I’m sure I’ll be able to find one tomorrow. Hell, the BX on base has 36 of the premium packages ready for sale tomorrow. 36. That’s alot for as small of a store as we have here on base. Wal-Mart will have them at their 24 hour stores and I’d bet cold hard cash you can find one to buy if you trapse out at midnight to get one. I hate Gamestop and their shitty sales tactics. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamestop-eb-and-the-art-of-reservations-a-pit-by-proxy-xbox-360-related/332086/5 "2005-11-21T20:01:45Z")
> [@Stinkpalm](#): > > Gamestop is a fucking scam anyway. I buy used games there, but that’s about it. They pimp pre–orders so goddamn hard that it makes me want to punch the salesman in the face. The only reason you would ever need to pre-order from Gamestop is if you feel like you MUST buy from them. Those stores get an average to low number of copies of anything that is released because the stores are so damn small. I can walk into CC or BB any day of the week and grab a copy of any game I want on release day but at Gamestop they’re always sold out. It’s stupid. Same deal with EB. Last week I went to EB to buy Mario Kart DS. I like EB, I specifically want to buy from them, but I don’t have the foresight or interest in getting a preorder. So when I get there, they’re completely out of the game. All the copies were given to the preorders. So I walked next door to Target where they had a full shelf of Mario Kart and were breaking open a new box as well. The preorder thing is just a little ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamestop-eb-and-the-art-of-reservations-a-pit-by-proxy-xbox-360-related/332086/6 "2005-11-21T20:08:41Z")
These stories are popping up like crazy. A friend of mine, who runs a pretty popular video game blog, preordered and paid off a 360 back in May or June - the _first day_ they started taking orders - and just found out that he’s number **six** in line for a system at the local Gamestop, and they’re only getting **three** “premium” systems (which is the one he paid for) and six “core” systems (the almost unusable stripped-down one), so he cancelled his fully paid-off premium system and is going to go wait outside at Best Buy in hopes of getting one. If all of that isn’t ugly enough, the current insider word is that it might be as late as **April** or **May** before we see the next shipment of systems. ---
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamestop-eb-and-the-art-of-reservations-a-pit-by-proxy-xbox-360-related/332086/7 "2005-11-21T20:12:49Z")
> [@BayleDomon](#): > > Same deal with EB. Last week I went to EB to buy Mario Kart DS. I like EB, I specifically want to buy from them, but I don’t have the foresight or interest in getting a preorder. So when I get there, they’re completely out of the game. All the copies were given to the preorders. So I walked next door to Target where they had a full shelf of Mario Kart and were breaking open a new box as well. The preorder thing is just a little ridiculous. Something else; when I **do** manage to find a copy of the game I want at EB or Gamestop, it’s the last/only copy, so it’s been opened and I get the battered, opened, sticker-plastered case from the shelf and the disc that’s been in the sleeve behind the counter. This drives me **nuts**. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamestop-eb-and-the-art-of-reservations-a-pit-by-proxy-xbox-360-related/332086/8 "2005-11-21T21:47:30Z")
> [@VCO3](#): > > If all of that isn’t ugly enough, the current insider word is that it might be as late as **April** or **May** before we see the next shipment of systems. SWEET! \ (I work for Playstation.) ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamestop-eb-and-the-art-of-reservations-a-pit-by-proxy-xbox-360-related/332086/9 "2005-11-21T22:03:15Z")
> [@Pochacco](#): > > SWEET! \ > > (I work for Playstation.) Yes you do, yet I still haven’t received an email offering me leet betas and behind the scenes info. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamestop-eb-and-the-art-of-reservations-a-pit-by-proxy-xbox-360-related/332086/10 "2005-11-21T23:38:08Z")
> [@VCO3](#): > > If all of that isn’t ugly enough, the current insider word is that it might be as late as **April** or **May** before we see the next shipment of systems. I don’t believe that at all. Most of the stores around here are saying they will be getting shipments in thru the holidays. April or May? WTF? Who would believe that? Seriously? ---
**Author:** ![Wolfian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamestop-eb-and-the-art-of-reservations-a-pit-by-proxy-xbox-360-related/332086/11 "2005-11-22T00:11:34Z")
If I may attach a rider to the rant: Fuck you guys for not selling PS1 games anymore! I can understand not selling NES, SNES, or Genesis games as those systems are dead, but PS1 games still play on the still kicking PS2 and, I think, the PS3. Fuck you for depriving of classic Final Fantasy games. I hope chocobos eat your livers and white mages heal you so the process can start again. Maybe its’ just my area, but I couldn’t find PS1 games up and down I-71 yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![Exploding\_Kitchen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c89c15/32.png) [@Exploding\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exploding_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamestop-eb-and-the-art-of-reservations-a-pit-by-proxy-xbox-360-related/332086/12 "2005-11-22T11:05:27Z")
**Wolfian** , When I go hunting for PS1 games, I usually go by video/game rental places and ask if they still have any old PS1 rentals for sale. One here in town sold me FFT, FF7, FF9, Origins, Anthology, and Chronicles, all for the low, low price of… Make sure you’re sitting down… $19 and change. Now, the FF4 CD was too scratched to play on my PS2 itself, but my computer picked up the ISO fine and I can play it emulated (I don’t think that’s illegal, since I own a PS1. PS2, and the game, if it is, mods delete the emulator mention), which is nice. But yeah. If you’re ever hunting for old games, stop in at your local rental place. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamestop-eb-and-the-art-of-reservations-a-pit-by-proxy-xbox-360-related/332086/13 "2005-11-22T15:07:14Z")
> [@](#): > > I don’t think that’s illegal It’s perfectly legal. Your media, your gamwe, you can play it on a refrigerator if you can get it to work. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamestop-eb-and-the-art-of-reservations-a-pit-by-proxy-xbox-360-related/332086/14 "2005-11-22T15:12:28Z")
How’d you like to be one of the lucky ones to get a unit on release day, get it home, and find out it’s defective? I wonder how fast your going to get a replacement? So how long till I can buy one of these for $150? ---
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamestop-eb-and-the-art-of-reservations-a-pit-by-proxy-xbox-360-related/332086/15 "2005-11-22T15:27:25Z")
> [@Exploding Kitchen](#): > > Now, the FF4 CD was too scratched to play on my PS2 itself, but my computer picked up the ISO fine and I can play it emulated (I don’t think that’s illegal, since I own a PS1. PS2, and the game, if it is, mods delete the emulator mention), which is nice. Owning the hardware is what makes the emulation legal. Unless Sony has a different licensing scheme than other hardware manufacturers. ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gamestop-eb-and-the-art-of-reservations-a-pit-by-proxy-xbox-360-related/332086/16 "2005-11-22T16:23:01Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > How’d you like to be one of the lucky ones to get a unit on release day, get it home, and find out it’s defective? I wonder how fast your going to get a replacement? > > So how long till I can buy one of these for $150? I’d say right around the time the PS3 hits the stores. 😉