Pre-ordering games: The whens and hows

[The Goon]

I'm new to the world of video games, but we got a Wii a few months back, and I'm thinking it might be a good idea to pre-order for Wii Fit and GH:Aerosmith.

Where is a good place to pre-order? And is that done in the store, or online?

Thanks.

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

I usually pre-order at the EB games by my house. $5 minimum deposit gets you the pre-order. You might wanna pre-order those ASAP. I haven't seen a copy of regular GH for Wii in a long time, and I suspect Wii Fit might end up with a similar lack of supply.

[SaprykinPWNSjoo]

Are those available to pre order now? Anyone know the exact dates for when the preoders open?

[TurnedTheCorner]

A dedicated game store like EB Games will let you pre-order just about any game, any time. Usually it just takes a minimum deposit. If you don't mind plunking money down on something you won't get to play for months that should be readily available, they'll happily take your money.

Having said that, those two Wii games might be be good ideas to pre-order. Especially GHIII - I imagine Nintendo has been producing Wii Fit for months now and will have no problem meeting initial demand over the summer.

Bear in mind that a pre-order does not guarantee you'll get the game when it releases, as often stores will sell more pre-orders than the number of games they get allocated in their initial shipment. But it does guarantee you will get the game sooner or later.

I wouldn't bother with stores like Future Shop, Best Buy or Wal-Mart for pre-orders. I'm sure they do it, but I don't imagine they're as organized about it as EB.

GHIII: Aerosmith is due to be released on June 29. Wii Fit on May 19. You could pre-order either of them anytime.

[The Goon]

That's exactly what I wanted to know. I'll be stopping by EB on my way home tonight.

Thanks very much!

[Russic]

I would advise anybody who wants wii fit to pre order. That thing has "appearance on oprah" written all over it. It'll be plastered all over mainstream media so much I bet it will be hard to find.

Guitar Hero games are pretty much pre-order musts, so I congratulate you on your forward thinking.

Personally I prefer to preorder my games just so I'm not frantically driving around town trying to find what I'm looking for. Grand Theft Auto day is hell without a preorder!

[TurnedTheCorner]

Forgot to add a caveat about release dates - almost all sites publish US release dates. They almost always release on Tuesdays, like CDs and DVDs. And in Western Canada stores tend to get the games 1-2 days after this date.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Teh_Bandwagoner

I usually pre-order at the EB games by my house. $5 minimum deposit gets you the pre-order. You might wanna pre-order those ASAP. I haven't seen a copy of regular GH for Wii in a long time, and I suspect Wii Fit might end up with a similar lack of supply.

Try pre-ordering from EB games in deerfoot meadows. I pre-ordered rock Band for the 360 before Christmas. They've been selling them to people off the street for months now, but I'm sure MY copy will arive any day now. Just waiting for that call.

[llama64]

I've never pre-ordered a game in my life. Never saw the point to be honest. I can either find it online or just wait a week for the stores to get their second shipment in.

Far as I'm concerned, it's a scam by EB games and others of that ilk. But that's just my opinion.

[Yeah_Baby]

Originally Posted by llama64

I've never pre-ordered a game in my life. Never saw the point to be honest. I can either find it online or just wait a week for the stores to get their second shipment in.

Far as I'm concerned, it's a scam by EB games and others of that ilk. But that's just my opinion.

Kinda like their game insurance or whatever....

[llama64]

Originally Posted by Yeah_Baby

Kinda like their game insurance or whatever....

Oh... don't get me started on the various types of insurance scams that stores like EB and Future Shop try to pull on people...

[Russic]

I don't consider it a scam at all. I do despise the insurance, but the pre-ordering I don't really see the problem. It doesn't cost anything extra to do it, and as long as you stay away from deerfoot meadows you should be ok!

I think it's a tactic for them to gauge shipping numbers. I've heard that they try to push the pre-orders so that they know how many units to ship. Some see that as backhanded but I've never understood that mentality. Perhaps somebody could share other reasons?

I don't love eb but the preorder service has value in my eyes. I could absolutely wait a week and find any game on it's second shipment, but to be honest when it comes to video games I'm nothing short of a complete and total nerd. Gotta have it . . . first day. I'm ashamed of this, but I can't stop.

[llama64]

Last time I did a pre-order it cost me 10$ more overall then the actual retail price. If that's changed, then I suppose it's not as much of a scam anymore... but still... I'd rather wait to buy things on my own time then be tied to the release date of a product.

[Russic]

Originally Posted by llama64

Last time I did a pre-order it cost me 10$ more overall then the actual retail price. If that's changed, then I suppose it's not as much of a scam anymore... but still... I'd rather wait to buy things on my own time then be tied to the release date of a product.

10$ more?! I've never had that happen to me. Whenever I do it you put down whatever you would like (5$ - full price) and then they subtract that from the total when you pick up the item. I've never heard of it costing extra money, unfortunately you may have been screwed.

[TurnedTheCorner]

What used to happen lots of times with EB is that the game would be priced more for the first few days, and when it would be readily available at the competition (Future Shop, Wal-Mart, wherever) for a lower price, EB would lower thier price accordingly. Meaning many times the pr-order folks would pay more for the game. I haven't seen that kind of pricing from them in a long time, though. Probably because I rarely pre-order anymore.

[Russic]

Originally Posted by TurnedTheCorner

What used to happen lots of times with EB is that the game would be priced more for the first few days, and when it would be readily available at the competition (Future Shop, Wal-Mart, wherever) for a lower price, EB would lower thier price accordingly. Meaning many times the pr-order folks would pay more for the game. I haven't seen that kind of pricing from them in a long time, though. Probably because I rarely pre-order anymore.

That actually did happen to me when I bought nhl 08, but I think it was more due to incompetence of the manager. Every other eb in town was mysteriously selling it for 10$ less than his location.