You hear that? It’s the sound of thousands of GameStop employees quivering in terror. They’re going to have a lot of angry customers to deal with come Friday.
How long did you guys sit in line for your PS3 preorders? Six hours, maybe eight? I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but your hours sat in the cold might prove to be for naught. GameSpot is reporting that GameStop’s initial PS3 launch shipments may not cover all of the meager six-to-ten preorders per store that they’ve already offered. Tomorrow, GameStop stores will be contacting customers personally to give them an update on their reservation.
Quoth the Harbinger of GameStop’s Destruction:
“We are beginning to notify our customers that our initial shipment of PS3 systems will not be what we expected,” the representative said … For launch day, preorders will be filled in the order they were received, and those who had a preorder but are denied a system on day one will receive something for their troubles. GameStop will give those unfortunate customers (as well as unfortunate employees) a free used game or DVD valued at $19.99 or less when they eventually wind up purchasing the system.
Are you kidding? Twenty bucks in merch as consolation for effectively dashing all hope of a PS3 at launch? Those who made that initial wait at GameStop passed over other opportunities at retailers like Toys R Us. We put our faith in GameStop because their allotment estimates already seemed conservative; moreover, we assumed that a horribly botched operation like the Xbox 360 launch could never happen again.
Uh.. oops?
