Attention Gamers!Important Insider Information About the Nintendo Wii prior to Launch

360*

Im posting as a friend today, because what I have to tell you could leave me unemployed, but I feel that its something I cant let people unknowingly wander into. Ok, I work for Gamestop, and Ive heard all this information from my manager prior to the launch date of the Nintendo Wii. I know that this information has to do with the limited Wii's that Gamestop are supposed to have scattered across the countries stores for first come first served use and im not sure if it applys to Wii's that have been preordered.

First things first, the Nintendo Wii will not be sold as the console on its own. I know you think this is absurd, but I was told by my manager that the Wii wouldnt be sold on its own and would be sold as part of a Bundle Deal. The manager said he recieved word yesterday that the minimum price of the console would prob be between 400 and 450 with 2 games and a controller. The public do not have a choice to get the console for 269.99 on its own and I dont either it seems, even as a staff member I cant get a console on its own. The manager told this to a member of the public in the store yesterday and he went ape****, and we're expecting a good few people to be queueing outside on Fri, and we've been telling them (the other staff and me) that the price is 269.99 when they call or drop in cause we werent told otherwise until this point. Its gonna leave a lot of people in that line very disappointed if they dont have the cash on them

Second, Gamestop will prob not get a shipment of Nintendo Wii's before Xmas after Fri, as my manager again told the same member of public yesterday. It looks likely that once theyre gone they are gone.

Please do not PM my friend asking him where he works, could he get one, where this information comes from etc etc as I posted under his name so as not to get suspicion. Anyone who knows my identity, please respect the validity of the sensitive information ive published, and not reveal my identity to other boarders. Ive tried to do you a service this morning, and pass on some pretty important information, please respect that.

Good luck getting a console on Fri to each and everyone who wants it. I hope this policy changes. I really do.:(

Mitch Connor

hardly surprising if true - didn't gamestop only do bundles for the 360?

Anyway - i would be surprised if many people only wanted the console, but it could prove to be a tight christmas for some families.

Darnell13

Hmmm...i spoke to someone in the Henry St branch about the various things i wanted along with my preorder and he never mentioned this...but no one seems fully clear on what bundles they will have...

This could be good or bad, depending on what games are involved...is there a choice?

Also do i get a controller with this yeah? So, eh...what about Wii play? Surely that won't be one of the games...i wanted that and a controller together...

The main thing here is whether or not Zelda is involved. I want lots of games, but I'm not paying for two on top of zelda...

That'd bring the total to around €500. Never mind extra nunchuck and component cables..

AceCard Jones

Darnell13 wrote:

and component cables..

What do you mean?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but surely the console comes with cables???

koneko

AceCard Jones, if you have a HDTV I'd hope you know what the connections on the back are

The Wii does come with cables, but not a component cable. You have to buy that seperate.

I hope they have them in stock

AceCard Jones

^^Thank the lord that's what I thought he was saying.:rolleyes:
I do have a HD TV but not in my bedroom so I won't need the cables just yet.
SCART will do me just fine for the moment.:D

whitetrash

I read somewhere that they'd been delayed till the 22nd, not sure about this tho. Mine's on order from play-asia anyway.

AceCard Jones

The Wii or the Component cables?If you mean the Wii that's not true.They are already in a lot of the shops already.

whitetrash

The cables

AceCard Jones

Don't scare us!!:D

Darnell13

AceCard Jones wrote:

SCART will do me just fine for the moment.:D

Yeah, i'm just a very greedy man:D


But erm..what about the Gamestop bundle?

fifth

Aaaand that's what happens when you buy from Gamestop! lol, just jk.

I'll be taking my wii, an optional game and an optional remote if I feel the need on friday.

flogen

The "no more wii's until '07" sounds like a scare-tactic to me tbh... in other words you can either pay for a bundle you don't want now, or leave your kid crying come Christmas.

AceCard Jones

Nintendo have already stated that they have 1 million Wii units ready to re-stock places that sold out.Where didn't sell out I suppose is the question....

Kanney

But no re stock before Xmas is pretty gay. I really hope I get one.

AceCard Jones

If you have the mula you may as well check out eBay for EU consoles being sold.At this stage the prices can't be as high as they have been since it's released everywhere.

Attol

This isn't true. I called up to check and I hadn't heard anything prior to it either. I don't know what you're at with this "help" but you certainly don't seem to have a clue what you're talking about.

Call up a store and check but Bray sure as hell didn't have a clue as to what I was talking about.

Attol

Seriously? My bad. Odd that all the stores didn't know yet.

scrapland

AceCard Jones wrote:

^^Thank the lord that's what I thought he was saying.:rolleyes:
I do have a HD TV but not in my bedroom so I won't need the cables just yet.
SCART will do me just fine for the moment.:D

Well i hate to break it to you then that you will have to buy an RGB scart lead seperatly then as well :rolleyes:

Wii ships with PHONO composite cables and maybe a scart block - but your still only getting a composite picture which is the ****tiest picture you can get after RF.

To get full quality RGB scart, you will have to pay the €20 for the proper wii scart cable.

Attol

On the bright side you have a chance of getting one. Game employees had theirs taken from them.

Flashraziel

This is really annoyed me. Anyone spoken to Gamestop about this?
If you have pre ordered the console are they even allowed to do this?

rainbow kirby

LadyLotts wrote:

Game employees had theirs taken from them.

You wouldn't believe how much I want to break stuff at this point.

Attol

I very much doubt it'll apply on pre ordered stuff. Give the store you preordered in a call and check. I was assured I'd be fine but I've a pre order.

And Rainbow, that is such a b!tch. Can't believe they'd screw their staff over so badly. Are you eligible for the second batch?

And also where the hell is my sig?!?!

Jim

rainbow kirby wrote:

You wouldn't believe how much I want to break stuff at this point.

koneko suggested this, could you not get a mate of yours to go in with your preorder slip and claim your console for you? Or were the employee preorders handled differently from customers?

Nalz

LadyLotts wrote:

And also where the hell is my sig?!?!

zippidy zoop! somethin goin on lately with the oul images!

Flashraziel

Just called Gamestop, They told me that you can buy the console as is for 270. I told him that there are rumours about bundles and he checked with the manager and she said the same.

Retr0gamer

I think it's a disgrace that the Game staff are being denied the Wii since they are just as much valued customers as anyone who walks in from the street. TBH I'd be trying to take my custom elsewhere but thats hard to do since there is such a shortage at the moment.

dimerocks

Just off the phone to Gamestop Cork and the guy said that he hadn't heard anything of the sort.

Fenian

I paid for my Wii in Gamestop last week, I had a 25 euro deposit down and it cost me an extra 345, thats including a copy of Zelda and Wii Play.
Don't know where ye got the 400-450 price from.

That's just my experience, it might be different up in the pale.

flogen

Jimeatsmenu wrote:

koneko suggested this, could you not get a mate of yours to go in with your preorder slip and claim your console for you? Or were the employee preorders handled differently from customers?

That probably depends on the manager, but if they want things to go smoothly then the staff won't be able to mess around..

Just hypotetical, but let's say there are 200 pre-orders (incl. 5 staff ones) and 150 consoles coming in, that means that removing the staff won't solve the problem, and so there are still preorders that won't be honoured.
If a manager wants to avoid any hassle, they'd go through the PO lists NOW, and put a name on each Wii individually, going from the first PO onwards and skipping every staff member... this way they can notify those who didn't make the cut before they come in on Thursday night/Friday morning and not have to deal with explosive people face-to-face.

If they just operate on a first come-first served basis within the PO's (which would probably allow the staff to get their PO bought by a mate) then you'd have pandemonium and additional unfairness (guys who PO'd on day 1 but got nothing).

I'd imagine that if there is a shortage, people who have a wii held will be told they have to pick it up on friday or lose their place until the next batch, this means that some, if not all, of the extra PO people who didn't make the first cut might get a phone call on Saturday to say there's one with their name on it.

WarZoneBrother

any bundles with zelda or affordable bundles for around 350-400???i might go to gamestop but hearing this i dont think ill bother...i have not pre ordered so i might just wait till after xmas

dor83

I dont think they can force you to take a bundle, just bring a print out of their add, from the special offers section on their site, in with you. I dont think they can refuse to sell you it if they have it advertised on its own for €270, but maybe im wrong.

EDIT: My brother just got in and said they rang him today at 5:00pm(he put the money donw for me and gave his no.) and they said that there was a few bundles but that you could take the consloe only for €270. The bundles included 1 with 1 game for €319 i think.

Dman001

Shurly they cant force you to buy a bundle?Wouldnt nintendo be against this?

Jim

Dman001 wrote:

Shurly they cant force you to buy a bundle?Wouldnt nintendo be against this?

It ain't got nothing to do with Nintendo.

Absolam

flogen wrote:

That probably depends on the manager, but if they want things to go smoothly then the staff won't be able to mess around..

Just hypotetical, but let's say there are 200 pre-orders (incl. 5 staff ones) and 150 consoles coming in, that means that removing the staff won't solve the problem, and so there are still preorders that won't be honoured.
If a manager wants to avoid any hassle, they'd go through the PO lists NOW, and put a name on each Wii individually, going from the first PO onwards and skipping every staff member... this way they can notify those who didn't make the cut before they come in on Thursday night/Friday morning and not have to deal with explosive people face-to-face.

If they just operate on a first come-first served basis within the PO's (which would probably allow the staff to get their PO bought by a mate) then you'd have pandemonium and additional unfairness (guys who PO'd on day 1 but got nothing).

I'd imagine that if there is a shortage, people who have a wii held will be told they have to pick it up on friday or lose their place until the next batch, this means that some, if not all, of the extra PO people who didn't make the first cut might get a phone call on Saturday to say there's one with their name on it.

GAME staff get their machines Friday, same as all $1 preorders, and most $2 preorders.. except of course, staff get a discount

hutch

my holy god...
lads if you have any cop on at all you'll know that its impossible for a retailer to force you to buy anything although its not against the law to try. its ****ing retail for gods sake. its a **** business. full of *****.

and as for the gamestop thing. i manage a gamestop and this is utter bollox....

buy whatever ya want....

motley crew(wayne) your fired!!

AAAAAAAAHAHAHAHHAHAHA

jonnybadd

Anyone know if Gamestop on Henry St will be taking trade ins on games at the Midnight Launch? Or remember if they were doing so at the launch of the 360?

hutch

marry me lady lotts......:rolleyes:

hutch

jonnybadd...
you can trade in whatevver ya want on the night...
mario will be there...
and lights and crap!!

jonnybadd

Awesome, can't wait

j14

hutch wrote:

motley crew(wayne) your fired!!

This line should be framed and put on a wall somewhere!
Quality man!

Attol

Heh. This is gonna get interesting...

j14

I know it is LadyLotts!

Star Lord

LadyLotts wrote:

Heh. This is gonna get interesting...

So do you accept the marriage proposal?

hutch

thank you mr diablo....
shes leavin me hangin...

Attol

I thought inappropriate couplings were only allowed at Xmas parties so I'm afraid you'll have to wait a whole year before you can ask again.

Star Lord

a whole year or till next year? Two very different things!!!

Mmm boards romance

hutch

shot down...:(

Star Lord

Damnit, LadyLotts have ye no heart?

the corpo

what about a gamecube trade in? or will i get laughed at?

Star Lord

Probably better off selling it on boards.

But GAME in the Square did tell me that they would be accepting gamecube trade-ins when I'd be picking up my Wii