EBGames Wii Pre-Orders are Wii-diculous

[MajSheppard]

EB Games just sent out info on the Online preorder info for the Wii.

And so here Wii are. Less than two weeks and counting until the most innovative product the video game industry has seen hits the streets.

This Thursday evening (CST), November 9, your opportunity to get in on the excitement arrives when our Wii bundle becomes available for pre-order online at EBgames.com. You'll get the best games, accessories and more in one convenient package delivered right to your door - all for under $699 plus tax and handling!

Quantities are extremely limited and there will be a limit of 1 Wii bundle per household, limited to US delivery only. Ordering a bundle does not guarantee shipment at launch and orders will be shipped on a first-come, first-serve basis. The bundle will be removed from the site as soon as we have reached our expected quota.

So the people who order in the stores gets to pick what they want, but the online order folks get stuck with who knows what for 700 bucks plus tax?!?!
Glad I preordered early....

[51|RandoM]

Just say no to bundles.
just say no to preordering.

Just say yes to the widespread availability you experience when you've got 4 million Wii ready to ship.

You notice how they slant their blurb to make it sound like it they might run out like... instantly if you don't race to put $700 in their hands?

[Chameleo]

everyone who wants, and can afford, a wii - will get one before christmas.

i dont think there will be any shortages.

[KingGorilla]

Stop buying bundles, stop pre-ordering. Have some fucking self restraint and help the rest of us drive EB and Gamestop out of business.

[CapnBob]

I personally think EB decided to only allow as many preorders for Wii as they could for PS3, so they could make it look like you won't be able to buy a system just so they could put up this ridiculous online preorder deal, which most likely they won't run out of prior to launch.

[Evil Avatar]

everyone who wants, and can afford, a wii - will get one before christmas.

i dont think there will be any shortages.

HaHa. Dude, there is only something like 400k - 800k Wii's available at launch. (Notice Nintendo doesn't say how many?)

They will be sold out in about 10 minutes after launch and there won't be another system available until after Christmas.

Mark my words on that one.

[Zeal]

These bundle 'deals' are the biggest scam I've ever seen.

Shouldn't this shit be illegal.

I agree with EA though, there's no way they can ship the numbers they're claiming. There will be a shortage and Nintendo knows it.

[Draft]

Nice headline.

[Siraris]

How is anyone surprised by this bundle offer?

[Sandman]

If you didn't see this coming you need glasses.....and if you already have them you need a stronger perscription.

[51|RandoM]

HaHa. Dude, there is only something like 400k - 800k Wii's available at launch. (Notice Nintendo doesn't say how many?)

They will be sold out in about 10 minutes after launch and there won't be another system available until after Christmas.


Nintendo has already stated 1,000,000 units at launch in North America. Siphon off 10 percent of that for Canada, you still end up with 900,000 Wii in North America... the 1st day. They'll keep making them, they'll keep shipping them, if you can't get a Wii the first week, you're not trying.

reference (http://www.mackenziefinancial.com/en/pub/media_centre/news/includes/ztechnology/060914/z091450.shtml)

You guys are so conditioned to the release shortage hype you can't believe anything else is possible.

Is Nintendo advertising heavily on TV or in the theatres? I've not seen anything in NYC, I'm not even sure if Joe A. Gamer knows about the Wii.

[31 Flavas]

The Wal*Mart bundle isn't bad. You get an extra Wii-mote + nunchuck, 2000 points card, and 4 games of your choice. Which for me would be Zelda, RedSteel, Trauma Center, and ExciteTruck. Guess what 4 games + 2 full controllers and a points card is less then a PS3 60GB console alone. Even considering the 20GB model and, oh yea, a game to play.... it's $30 less.

As long as EB doesn't put but any crap in the bundle like SpongeBob, Cars, AntBully, or Open Season, it be a good one shot purchase for those that want a one shot purchase.

[cp#]

Target. Wal-Mart. Anywhere but EB.

[Zeal]

People shouldn't have to choose a bundle just to buy a console they want. This stuff is getting out of hand.

I can't wait to see the nuclear meltdown that is PS3's launch. Expect to see history in the making.

[31 Flavas]

HaHa. Dude, there is only something like 400k - 800k Wii's available at launch. (Notice Nintendo doesn't say how many?)

They will be sold out in about 10 minutes after launch and there won't be another system available until after Christmas.

Mark my words on that one.Oh don't worry, we'll hold you to your word. You sure this isn't going to blow up in your face like the whole DS vs PSP thing did?

Edit: And I mean, you were really confident that the PSP would clean house.

[J Arcane]

Holy fucking shit. That's the most goddamn ridiculous thing I've seen all year. Did Sony or MS put them up to this? Scared the cheap price is gonna kill sales of the other two big boys, so they have to gouge the fuck out of people to make up for the difference?

Pre-ordering is for suckers, bundling doubly so, and for the Wii, triply so.

[FreezaSama]

I worked at EB when the Gamecube and original Xbox came out, and they pulled the same shit back then. They love it when they can force people to buy a certain amount of product via these bundle packs.

Of course, at the time it was in-store as well, so be happy this is limited to online.

[Psykoboy2]

So EB does this eh?

How the hell is this any different from private individuals selling their systems on eBay?

[laggerific]

Wow...glad I decided to skip the launch for both systems this year so I can focus on all the 360 goodness, and PC games...Gothic 3 isn't going to finish itself...NWN2 either...

Of course they forced me to spend $800 last year for the 360, most of the bundle was good and they replaced DOA4 with Condemned, which shows to me that they might actually try to provide quality games.

I expected a forced bundle, but am quite surprised by the cost.

[FreezaSama]

So EB does this eh?

How the hell is this any different from private individuals selling their systems on eBay?

It's only okay when giant corporations do it. I thought you'd caught on by now. ;)

[J Arcane]

Wow...glad I decided to skip the launch for both systems this year so I can focus on all the 360 goodness, and PC games...Gothic 3 isn't going to finish itself...NWN2 either...

Of course they forced me to spend $800 last year for the 360, most of the bundle was good and they replaced DOA4 with Condemned, which shows to me that they might actually try to provide quality games.

I expected a forced bundle, but am quite surprised by the cost.
Sigh. They didn't force you to do anything. YOU decided to give them your $800 bucks. You didn't have to buy it at launch. You could've waited.

It's a game system, not a pacemaker. You can live without it.

But by actually buying into it, you send the message to the company that "Hey, these suckers will pay basically whatever we want them to!"

Vote with your dollars. Walk away.

[laggerific]

Sigh. They didn't force you to do anything. YOU decided to give them your $800 bucks. You didn't have to buy it at launch. You could've waited.

It's a game system, not a pacemaker. You can live without it.

But by actually buying into it, you send the message to the company that "Hey, these suckers will pay basically whatever we want them to!"

Vote with your dollars. Walk away.


Okay...so forced was too forceful of a word...I have no regrets about the decision to buy it that way...the games were fine and I didn't have to really fret about getting a console....

Damn...everyone's gettin' down on the gamers this time of year.

[[VSK]BadCRC]

How the hell is this any different from private individuals selling their systems on eBay?

Because they're a retailer. They are supposed to sell me the product, as it is, from the company they bought it from.

It would be like walking into a candy store, and asking to buy a bag of M&Ms, as they're marked for individual resale, but the owner of the store decides that I can't buy that one bag, instead I have to buy a 20-pack of the same M&Ms in retail box just for the sake of increasing their profit.

Or what if you went to a gas station, bought $5 worth of gas, walked inside and the clerk tells you you owe them $10 because they now package their gas with special money-saving bundle where you get your choice of any flavor of gum in the store and a single bottle of Pepsi. You'd probably shoot the clerk and take the pepsi.

[Nadreck]

Meh. As long as you're not paying a premium to buy a bundle (ie, the cost of the bundle should be equivalent to the cost of all the elements within it, or preferably a little less), I don't really care if they offer such. Gouging happens all the time, and in far more significant places than this (see: ExxonMobil posting their most profitable quarter EVER after Katrina allowed them to raise gas prices). If they're not overcharging you, then quit complaining.

I'm excited about the Wii. Don't get me wrong. But maybe it's just the jading perspective of a gamer getting older, but I just can't bring myself to care about the launch of any of the consoles. I'll get one when I get one, and while it would be nice to get a system sooner than later, the games aren't going anywhere. They'll still be as new (to me) in 3-6 months as they would be if I was there standing in line on launch day.

[laggerific]

Meh. As long as you're not paying a premium to buy a bundle (ie, the cost of the bundle should be equivalent to the cost of all the elements within it, or preferably a little less), I don't really care if they offer such. Gouging happens all the time, and in far more significant places than this (see: ExxonMobil posting their most profitable quarter EVER after Katrina allowed them to raise gas prices). If they're not overcharging you, then quit complaining.

I'm excited about the Wii. Don't get me wrong. But maybe it's just the jading perspective of a gamer getting older, but I just can't bring myself to care about the launch of any of the consoles. I'll get one when I get one, and while it would be nice to get a system sooner than later, the games aren't going anywhere. They'll still be as new (to me) in 3-6 months as they would be if I was there standing in line on launch day.

I just had that revelation a few weeks ago after purchasing a stack of games...I just suddenly felt like working on these games and that the Wii could wait...kind of a good step...

[31 Flavas]

I expected a forced bundle, but am quite surprised by the cost.Well, i'm guessing it will come as a fully loaded bundle. 4 full controllers + classic controller, points to buy some VC titles with and enough games to keep you busy for a good long while. All in one package delivered right to you on launch day, no hunting or calling around required.

I know I want a Wii and I know i'll want extra controllers, if the bundled games are good or our choice, i'm sold. I mean i'll be buying all of this stuff regardless.

[MaiXu]

You know, when you have no choice but to bundle at stores like TRU and EB and such, then I say, "fuck bundles."

But if you're buying online, you have the option of not getting this bundle by simply going to the store. So maybe the bundle will only sell to people who WANT all that extra shit.

[RevGored]

Stop buying bundles, stop pre-ordering. Have some fucking self restraint and help the rest of us drive EB and Gamestop out of business.

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[51|RandoM]

I just had that revelation a few weeks ago after purchasing a stack of games...I just suddenly felt like working on these games and that the Wii could wait...kind of a good step...

The Wii can wait the most out of the three, if only because its multiplayer still appears to be primarily local/splitscreen.

What I've noticed with the 360 is that most of their online multiplayer games go through a relatively brief period of intense popularity and then die off. If you wait to play that game multiplayer, you're kind of screwed. Most of the people playing at that point are the diehards who've been playing forever and know every single trick under the sun.

That is the main reason if I go for a game with multiplayer, I go for it at release. I hate being the noob on the server. :p

[Mason]

Target. Wal-Mart. Anywhere but EB.
Whoa now, taking a principled stance against EB is one thing, but offering Wal-Mart as a positive alternative? Yikes. Even from a gamer's self-interested perspective, they're a bunch of jerks. Forget the ESRB, game content is moderated/wussified/de-boobed to fit within Wal-Mart's moral standards and secure a place on their multitudinous shelves.

I'll hitch my wagon to the "no pre-order, no bundle" train. The future is a wonderful place: everything is cheaper, more reliable (or at least with better-understood flaws), and more abundant. And the best thing about the future? Go do something productive, and you'll arrive there without even trying.

[[VSK]BadCRC]

Whoa now, taking a principled stance against EB is one thing, but offering Wal-Mart as a positive alternative? Yikes. Even from a gamer's self-interested perspective, they're a bunch of jerks. Forget the ESRB, game content is moderated/wussified/de-boobed to fit within Wal-Mart's moral standards and secure a place on their multitudinous shelves.

Whoa now, indeed. This is Nintendo we're talking about, how many boobs have you seen in a Nintendo game? Apparently someone's been holding out on me.

[laggerific]

Samus, yo! some of the first pixelated bikini clad breasts to be seen on many TV screens...

Seriously, though...do they have the bundle details yet? Or are they just getting us talking about what that $700 could get you...

True about it coming with all the goodies, I know I eventually bought a heap of controllers for my 360.

This is a tough season for self-restraint...not getting the console yet will help with that, for the time being, at least.

[Sazime]

So what the hell comes in the bundle.

And yeah, I have a credit card and I'll be buying a lot of this crap anyway, so I'm doing it. You other kids need to get part time jobs in the summer.

[J Arcane]

So what the hell comes in the bundle.

And yeah, I have a credit card and I'll be buying a lot of this crap anyway, so I'm doing it. You other kids need to get part time jobs in the summer.
Do you and Kuturagi trade notes or something?

[FreezaSama]

Do you and Kuturagi trade notes or something?

Speaking of which, is Kutaragi okay? I haven't heard him say any crazy shit in a while.

[31 Flavas]

Well, Sony corporate probably wants to sell at least a few PS3 systems... They probably bound and gagged him and Kaz.

[Sazime]

Do you and Kuturagi trade notes or something?
No, I'm just mean. :D

I do think this is going to be nuts, for a lot of people. The thing is, they want to sell to the people will to pick up as many accessories as possible. They'll be able to do that. In the mean time, most of us will be heading to Target or Toys 'R Us.

Not saying I will, but I may depending on what's in the bundle.

[Sazime]

Ok, here's another thing, can anyone confirm this? Can we see this mysterious email? right now, considering no one else has anything on this that I can see, I don't think I believe it.

[FreezaSama]

Well, Sony corporate probably wants to sell at least a few PS3 systems... They probably bound and gagged him and Kaz.

Kaz strikes me more as the evil mastermind type... he was the one who was all "I don't think PS3 games will reach $99." a few months back.

[51|RandoM]

So, this would be a case of a Wii bundle costing a wee bundle?



*how many years are we going to have to deal with bad Wii puns?

[51|RandoM]

Kaz strikes me more as the evil mastermind type...

The man would put freakin laserbeams on mice, and make you pay for it if he could get away with it.

[Sandman]

The man would put freakin laserbeams on mice, and make you pay for it if he could get away with it.

Give me a laserbeam on a shark, then I'll pay for it.

[31 Flavas]

Give me a laserbeam on a shark, then I'll pay for it.Sorry, too much red tape... and those environmentalists...

[MajSheppard]

Well my main point guys, was there was no bundles in the stores. So why online? This seems to be punishing those people who decided to go that route.

[MajSheppard]

Ok, here's another thing, can anyone confirm this? Can we see this mysterious email? right now, considering no one else has anything on this that I can see, I don't think I believe it.
You want to see it, I will forward it to you. I assure you it is a real email I recieved. If your on the list, they will email you too.
The other question you had was what is in the bundle. If you read the opening, you would see It doesn't say....

[tombofsoldier]

So they want epople to buy sh*tty $700 pre-order bundles, when supposedely there will be plenty enough to meet demand. In the words of Spongebob Squarepants "Well good luck with that."

[Banacek]

Pre-orders are bullshit. Bundles are bullshit. Together they're a vortex of shit the likes of which should never been seen by man. I refuse to buy a system until I can walk into a store and pick one up off the shelf. I'm not a 5 year old. I can wait. I just wish more of you could as well.

EDIT: I would bet money that JackB loves pre-orders and bundles.

[J Arcane]

Pre-orders are bullshit. Bundles are bullshit. Together they're a vortex of shit the likes of which should never been seen by man. I refuse to buy a system until I can walk into a store and pick one up off the shelf. I'm not a 5 year old. I can wait. I just wish more of you could as well.

EDIT: I would bet money that JackB loves pre-orders and bundles.
I'm sure he does. This is exactly the sort of thing middle management types tend to think is a good idea.

[Sazime]

You want to see it, I will forward it to you. I assure you it is a real email I recieved. If your on the list, they will email you too.
The other question you had was what is in the bundle. If you read the opening, you would see It doesn't say....
Forward away. I am on Amazon's list (as much good as that's done me) but not EB's. I didn't even know you could sign up for such a thing on their site. Or was it just part of a newsletter?

[Kefkataran]

Evil's response to this = me laughing

No, really, though, someone write that shit down for later. This will be good. :p

[Bydo_Empire]

Screw that. With the predicted launch-to-EoY quantities, and lots of stores nearby (Target, BB, Walmart, Kmart, etc) there's no way I'm doing a launch bundle online. I'm sure they'll sell out on day one, but 1) there will be enough that if you camp you can get one, and 2) they'll be shipping enough through the rest of the year that even if you miss launch day you should be able to get one.

I ordered a Cube bundle from EB online, and it was great, since it included the three games I most wanted anyways (and an extra Nintendo controller, not 3rd-party crap like other places). I can't imagine a $699 Wii bundle that doesn't have at least one or two things I have no interest in.

[Abednigo]

I saw this email this morning. What total crap. I'll just swing by a store on the 19th and try my luck. That was my plan from the beginning anyway unless an online preorder deal was going to be decent. But this is lame.

[drakkarim]

well, if you absolutely have to have it, you'll shut up and pay it, if you're like me, and don't give a shit about any of the consoles, you might buy one next summer when the dust has settled and the prices have been lowered :)

[Bydo_Empire]

...if you're like me, and don't give a shit about any of the consoles, you might buy one next summer when the dust has settled and the prices have been lowered :)I've actually been thinking that the last couple weeks. There are more must-have ps2 and DS games coming out than I can afford to buy, or have time to play, let alone get a new console. But I can't resist Wii madness.

[JazGalaxy]

I worked at EB when the Gamecube and original Xbox came out, and they pulled the same shit back then. They love it when they can force people to buy a certain amount of product via these bundle packs.

Of course, at the time it was in-store as well, so be happy this is limited to online.

What? No they didn't. There was absolutely NO prerelease hype over the original Xbox. I walked into the store mid-afternoon on day 1, and there were about twenty just sitting there on the floor. I sold my PS2 (at which point teh sales girl called up her boyfriend and yelled into the phone "YOU'RE NEVER GONNA BELEIVE THIS! SOME GUY JUST BROUGHT IN A USED PS2! YEAH! I'LL HOLD IT FOR YOU!!!"), picked up an Xbox and Halo, and left.

[roboninja]

Evil's response to this = me laughing

No, really, though, someone write that shit down for later. This will be good. :p
Agreed, the Wii will not have anywhere close to the kind of shortages that the other recent consoles have had. That is one of the advantages of being the Gamecube 1.5 :p That being said, these forced bundles are total BS.

[31 Flavas]

Evil's response to this = me laughing

No, really, though, someone write that shit down for later. This will be good. :pI gottcha covered. :D

[SuperMonkeyFighter2]

BOOOOOO forced bundles .... Hooray Beer!

[Phanto]

everyone who wants, and can afford, a wii - will get one before christmas.

i dont think there will be any shortages.

Sadly in my country their are going to start charging a 6.6 tax beginning at November 14 so buying a console its going to suck :mad: .

[YoungAlCapone]

I want a Wii at launch so badly, but didn't pre-order because I am confident that I will be able to get one on the 19th.

Then I remember that my girlfriends birthday is on the 17th, and she lives in fucking Texas, so instead of buying a Wii I get to drive 800 miles to a place I hate like very few other places. Don't get me wrong, if I didn't love my girl I wouldn't even consider tolerating a long distance relationship, and all the garbage and expensiveness that comes along with it. I just hate Texas. Should be nice to spend the weekend with my girl though, and there are certain things about having a girlfriend that are considerably nicer than getting a console at launch.

Oh yeah, and my little sisters birthday is on the 19th. So no Wii for me. Between a trip out to Abilene, Texas, a gift for my lovely lady, and a gift for my little sister I am fucked as far as a Wii is concerned.

Oh well, as long as I can get one by the end of the year I will be fine. Even if I cant.

[TrainwreckX]

HaHa. Dude, there is only something like 400k - 800k Wii's available at launch. (Notice Nintendo doesn't say how many?)

They will be sold out in about 10 minutes after launch and there won't be another system available until after Christmas.

Mark my words on that one.

WHAT? Nintendo has said multiple times that there will be over 1 million units available on November 19th, and shipments will occur every week until Christmas with an estimated 4 million units by 2006 end. You haven't heard this?!

[YoungAlCapone]

Banhammer? Do not offend the sites proprietor. (Is that how that is spelled?)

He may say some things that some of us don't agree with, but his name is on the site, so bite that tongue boy.

[Banacek]

Banhammer? Do not offend the sites proprietor. (Is that how that is spelled?)

He may say some things that some of us don't agree with, but his name is on the site, so bite that tongue boy.

What? Evil's been plenty wrong before (DS).

[TrainwreckX]

I didn't say anything banworthy. Clearly I was just correcting Evil to improve the quality of information provided on his website.

[operadragon]

Who needs an e-mail when you have the link?

http://www.ebgames.com/gs/wii/wii_signup.asp (http://http://www.ebgames.com/gs/wii/wii_signup.asp)

[Zacharai]

Who needs an e-mail when you have the link?
Well, I might, since the link doesn't work. Two http's in a row does not double the protocol power.

[Kamalot]

Edit: And I mean, you were really confident that the PSP would clean house.
Hey. Cut Evil Avatar some slack. EVERYONE thought PSP was poised to take over the world and BURRY Nintendo.

[TrainwreckX]

Hey. Cut Evil Avatar some slack. EVERYONE thought PSP was poised to take over the world and BURRY Nintendo.

Yeah... no.

[n3ver]

This just in! EB to have special instructions included with Wiimote:

Sit on it.

[Venkman]

Hey. Cut Evil Avatar some slack. EVERYONE thought PSP was poised to take over the world and BURRY Nintendo.

I believe the word is spelled "berry".

;)

[31 Flavas]

Hey. Cut Evil Avatar some slack.Oh I did, I left his ridiculous quoteables out. You want me to bring them back?

EVERYONE thought PSP was poised to take over the world and BURRY Nintendo.I hope your being sarcastic...

While Sony and their fanboys were pissing their pants over the differences between the PSP and DS. Everybody else was telling you the innumerable reasons why it was going to be a flop.

It's just none of the Sony fans wanted listen.

[Venkman]

Many of us were wrong about the DS! I had no clue what Nintendo was doing. And there first game- a port of Mario 64 with crappy controls? ARGH! I thought for sure Nintendo had lost it.

But then the great games started coming out- Meteos, Nintendogs, Castlevania, Metroid Pinball, Mario Kart DS...

Then I bought a DS, and have yet to see a game besides Killzone Liberation that I would buy for PSP.

If they drop the cost of PSP, I'd get it for emulator ability alone.