The Wii U Pre-Order Thread - $349.99/$299.99 - 11/18/12

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CheapyD

CheapyD

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Amazon
Consoles* Amazon did not take preorders, see note.
Games

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Best Buy
Consoles Both models sold out online & in store
Games

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Gamestop
Consoles Both models sold out online & in store
Games

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Toys R Us
Consoles Both models sold out online & in store
Games

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Target
Consoles Both models sold out online & in store
Games

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Walmart
Consoles
Wii U Bundle Sold out online, in store pre-orders were not taken
Wii U Deluxe Sold out online & in store
Wii U Basic Sold out online, in store pre-orders were not taken
Games

Sears
Consoles/Games Deluxe model sold out online, in store pre-orders were not taken

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Kmart
Consoles/Games Deluxe model sold out online, in-store pre-orders were not taken

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Newegg
Deluxe Bundle Bundled with New Super Mario Bros U, Black Ops 2, and Zombi U-Out of Stock
Games

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Play-Asia
Consoles/Games Reservation List Only for NTSC Basic & Deluxe models

Fry's Electronics
Consoles Both models sold out online
Games

Staples
Consoles Both models sold out online
Games

J&R
Consoles Both models are no longer available for pre-order at the physical location.
Games

Nebraska Furniture Mart
Consoles Both models sold out online
Accessories
Games

:hot:Nintendo World Store
Consoles: Both models are no longer available for pre-order at the physical location in NYC.

Notes:

  • Newegg, as of now (Friday before launch) is selling the deluxe console as a bundle only. It is listed for immediate shipping, not as a pre-order.

  • *Amazon email sent out to those who signed up for Wii U pre-order notification:
Dear Amazon.com Customer,

Thank for you signing up to be notified when the Wii U is available.
Unfortunately the Wii U console is not available at Amazon.com at this time but please check back in the future, as availability may change. We do have the latest Wii U games and accessories available now so check them out. Thank you for shopping with Amazon Video Games.
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System Information

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My preorder today was uneventful, but I did find a SMB 25th anniversary DSiXL on the way out. I have one already but my gf bought it for me to keep sealed. Its a little banged up but I was surprised to see it. Does anyone still see those around? I hadn't seen one in a long time.
 
[quote name='Justin42']The thing is too, the WiiU is launching in a very different world-- everyone's bowled using motion controls now, the Wii is in pretty much every home that REALLY wants one, the economy's been in the toilet for 4 years, etc, etc.

I'm sure there's demand for this-- it's the first new home console launch in a long time. But honestly the launch lineup isn't THAT fantastic (at least IMHO), the console costs $50-$100 more than the Wii did at launch, the new functionality is a bit harder to really get excited about (Motion control in 2006 was just MINDBLOWING! Playing a game on a tablet.. not so much ;) )

I'm sure it will be initially tough to get. Maybe even though Christmas. And I am sure Nintendo will do everything in their power to remind everyone of the craziness of the Wii launch and try to control the resupplies so that they're "moderately difficult but not impossible" to get one if you didn't pre-order. Enough to build hype, not enough to lose sales. This Christmas is CRITICAL for Nintendo to get a lead in "next next gen" before Sony and Microsoft start working to steal their thunder.

I hate to admit it but I sort of pre-ordered on the hype. There's not a whole lot I want to play RIGHT NOW (well, at launch) but this is my hobby and I enjoy it, and I'm sure it'll be a fun system.

(I will say-- I think people forget what a surprise the Wii was. I remember a LOT of people expecting it to bomb. Remember it launched 2 days after the PS3 and people thought the PS3 would steal all of Nintendo's thunder... but then it became apparent that weekend that while the PS3 was selling well, a lot more people wanted the Wii.. the hype about the Wii being impossible to buy sort of came up 'overnight' as the launch happened and suddenly everyone was out of stock. I think before that everyone had sort of low key expectations about the Wii and expected the PS3 to be massive)[/QUOTE]
I mostly agree, but I think another big thing to keep in mind is that many of the general consumers (buying for their kids or whatever) still don't understand that Wii U is a new console. Hell, a lot of these folks don't even know that it exists yet. I'm sure there are plenty of other towns like mine where people are completely oblivious to the world of gaming. Not too long ago, I was out shopping when I saw/heard a mother and her child arguing about the 3DS...he really wanted to get one for his birthday and she kept refusing because she couldn't understand that it wasn't the same thing has his GameBoy Advance. He was trying to show her that they are different products, but she insisted that he would just have to deal with playing new games on just the one screen. And while waiting for a manager at layaway, they asked me what the Wii U is and they had a hard time understanding that it's not a regular Wii that comes with an iPad.


[quote name='Deader2818']Wii U has one of the better launch line ups we have seen.[/QUOTE]
I definitely agree with this. There are some naysayers, but I am quite excited about the lineup. It's certainly the best lineup I've seen in the last several years.


[quote name='Justin42']That was kind of my point, many of the big launch titles aren't WiiU exclusives, at least not the entire game.

I'm not saying it's a bad launch list, just that I don't really look at that list and see many "OMG MUST HAVE WIIU FOR .... " besides maybe NSMB and ZombiU.

That said, Pikmin 3 was enough to make sure I get my WiiU preordered to be safe. ;)[/QUOTE]
For me, it's all about Scribblenauts. I know I can just get it on the 3DS, and I will, but I've been wanting to play Scribblenauts on TV since the first game came out. I'm certainly not saying that it's my sole reason for buying the Wii U, but it is a huge draw for me.


[quote name='vcplant']The mystery of no buyers today...

1) It was the front page of the Walmart ad on Sunday! Do people still read papers?[/QUOTE]
Obviously people do or else they wouldn't be sold anymore. Many, many people get the newspaper specifically for ads and coupons. But it's irrelevant anyway because the ad is also on the site, so even people who don't get the paper are likely to see the ad.
 
Even though it's on the front page, the way it talks about Layaway and such on the front page isn't quite as blatant as "MAKE SURE YOU COME IN NOW TO PRE-ORDER YOUR SYSTEM!" It almost reads like "yeah, we can put this on Layaway too..." I bet many people kind of miss the point of the ad, this is Walmart getting us all into their Layaway system using it as the preorder method.

Probably by the end of the week most, if not all, Walmarts will be sold out of the pre-order stock and many will be kicking themselves given how relatively easy it was today as long as you were persistent.

Plus Walmart is probably getting a very, very, very large allocation of systems given their relative size, especially considering Amazon's out of the equation for this launch. They have 4500 stores in the US, if each store gets 50 Wiiu's thats 225,000 systems... which is probably lower than they're really getting assuming the supply chain is working at 100%. It's probably "not quite as hyped as we think" combined with "large allocation" making today so easy.

I'm fairly hopeful for this but I do have a pretty bizarre track record of Walmart screwing up easy things, so we'll see. Thankfully my heart isn't TOTALLY set on a WiiU but if I get there on the 18th and my Layaway isn't there I'm sure I'll be a bit upset.
 
[quote name='Justin42']Even though it's on the front page, the way it talks about Layaway and such on the front page isn't quite as blatant as "MAKE SURE YOU COME IN NOW TO PRE-ORDER YOUR SYSTEM!" It almost reads like "yeah, we can put this on Layaway too..." I bet many people kind of miss the point of the ad, this is Walmart getting us all into their Layaway system using it as the preorder method.

Probably by the end of the week most, if not all, Walmarts will be sold out of the pre-order stock and many will be kicking themselves given how relatively easy it was today as long as you were persistent.

Plus Walmart is probably getting a very, very, very large allocation of systems given their relative size, especially considering Amazon's out of the equation for this launch. They have 4500 stores in the US, if each store gets 50 Wiiu's thats 225,000 systems... which is probably lower than they're really getting assuming the supply chain is working at 100%. It's probably "not quite as hyped as we think" combined with "large allocation" making today so easy.

I'm fairly hopeful for this but I do have a pretty bizarre track record of Walmart screwing up easy things, so we'll see. Thankfully my heart isn't TOTALLY set on a WiiU but if I get there on the 18th and my Layaway isn't there I'm sure I'll be a bit upset.[/QUOTE]

The thing is, they still aren't taking preorders for the white basic system at Walmart as far as i've seen. They told me they don't even have it in the system yet to pre order(granted though, they were not the most informed employee's i've come across).

I don't think its going to matter for 90% of potential buyers that they can't get the deluxe console. I think there are stores that have no white systems left, but I honestly think Walmart and other big box stores will have stacks of them. Even Gamestop will probably have a lot of extra's so they can advertise it, rather than selling it as preorder only and wasting tons of advertising on something that is sold out.
 
Damn, I missed this, so I guess it's off to my small town Wal-Mart tomorrow to try my luck.

I got the Wii after it first launched and I missed out in every local store. I went to a Circuit City where I knew the manager and he told me exactly how many consoles they were getting. We were there at like 1am behind a couple of other guys. I told them how many systems they were getting and we made a list of the first 20-25 people in line, so that when they came to give us the tickets for the system there would be no last second line jumpers. It worked out perfectly. One guy was just hanging out with his friends just to pass the time, he put his name on the list just because and he ended up selling his ticket for a hundred bucks or so. He was just going to play at his friends' house anyway. It pays to go hang out in these lines sometimes.
 
I wonder if Walmart is going to not preorder out the cheapy version so people have something to walk in and buy if they didn't preorder the deluxe. It would make sense for them anyway, best of both worlds. Oh, you didn't preorder, well we have some Retardo editions in stock.
 
I think the reasons for the lack of preorders today are as follows:
1.) Walmart ads are not as popular as they used to be; I dont think people these days still check ads for deals really.

2.) In my case, I honestly did not even know what layover meant. In no way shape or form did I make the connection between layover and preorder. If it werent for this thread, I would not have gone to preorder, because I thought layover was just a way to finance a purchase into many smaller payments - my first reaction was "oh look its available for layover, but thats probably assuming you have on ordered on walmart.com or found one in store." I know I sound dumb, but I honestly think not that many people (like me) knew what layover exactly meant...

lol I was tired...*layaway
 
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Id say 90% of pre orders for the WiiU are placed by gamers who keep up with the industry which includes all of us on here. The other 10% are friends who tag along and decide to get one or store employees. There isnt any hype, tv commercials, internet campaigns etc...showing the WiiU yet. The average person or store employee has never heard of the WiiU yet. The holiday season for the majority of America doesnt start until Thanksgiving weekend. Then I think Nintendo will start blitzing ads in primetime for the WiiU driving the Soccer moms and Joe dads to stores to get one for little Jimmy. Then the hysteria starts only if Nintendo has limited supply. I think thats their marketing goal...to drive up the hype during the holiday season with limited supply to get in everyones head, then capitalize on the years headstart on Microsoft and Sony.
 
[quote name='arsenalcrazy8']I think the reasons for the lack of preorders today are as follows:
1.) Walmart ads are not as popular as they used to be; I dont think people these days still check ads for deals really.

2.) In my case, I honestly did not even know what layover meant. In no way shape or form did I make the connection between layover and preorder. If it werent for this thread, I would not have gone to preorder, because I thought layover was just a way to finance a purchase into many smaller payments - my first reaction was "oh look its available for layover, but thats probably assuming you have on ordered on walmart.com or found one in store." I know I sound dumb, but I honestly think not that many people (like me) knew what layover exactly meant...[/QUOTE]
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2012/10/05/does-the-public-know-about-wii-u.aspx
This video probably explains alot...
 
The way layaway works at a store level is that when an item is sold, the inventory changes to show one sold. So the on hand for a store would show -6, if 6 were sold. They can easily pull the total sold compared to the other method they use.. They used the preorder gift card system for video games and the iphone 5. The giftcard was/is more of a hassle for employees then layaway also.
 
[quote name='Wanderlai']That sums it up. I even had the WM electronics guy this morning argue that its just an add on to the current Wii....I gave up. He is like "Dude, I KNOW about gaming. Thats why I work in the electronics dept" lol.[/QUOTE]

At Walmart I saw that U Draw tablet thing for the Wii. I'm not even sure what it is really. I am wondering if people are thinking that is the Wii U and the new console is just them bundled together. I wonder how many people are going to buy that thing think it is the new system.
 
[quote name='kayne2000']Nintendo Wii University was the winner of that video truly lol[/QUOTE]

I laughed so hard when he said, "I stand on this mushroom type thing and I constantly get beaten off and fall into the water." I couldn't believe he said that, lol. That goes to show you that Nintendo doesn't know what they're doing when it comes to advertising. I would say 80% of consumers don't even know about the Wii-U.
 
[quote name='CheapAssHustla']I laughed so hard when he said, "I stand on this mushroom type thing and I constantly get beaten off and fall into the water." I couldn't believe he said that, lol. That goes to show you that Nintendo doesn't know what they're doing when it comes to advertising. I would say 80% of consumers don't even know about the Wii-U.[/QUOTE]

They do not need to advertise the wii-u at this point, since it will be sold out everywhere anyways. IF they do advertise now, it would be a war. So I think they are waiting for november/december to start advertising when they should have more units available
 
[quote name='arsenalcrazy8']2.) In my case, I honestly did not even know what layover meant. In no way shape or form did I make the connection between layover and preorder. If it werent for this thread, I would not have gone to preorder, because I thought layover was just a way to finance a purchase into many smaller payments - my first reaction was "oh look its available for layover, but thats probably assuming you have on ordered on walmart.com or found one in store." I know I sound dumb, but I honestly think not that many people (like me) knew what layover exactly meant...[/QUOTE]
I guess kids under 20 might not be terribly familiar with layaway, but just about anyone 25 and up is likely to remember its popularity. It used to be year-round at most stores and for a lot of people, it was the way to shop for Christmas presents. I think it's a bit of a stretch to assume that most people don't know what it is and how it works. But I guess it also depends on where you live.
 
[quote name='Davivascaino']They do not need to advertise the wii-u at this point, since it will be sold out everywhere anyways. IF they do advertise now, it would be a war. So I think they are waiting for november/december to start advertising when they should have more units available[/QUOTE]

Yeah. IIRC some were upset that Nintendo did a good amount of advertising for the Wii back when it launched in 2006 when it was already extremely difficult to find in stores. "Why are they increasing the demand when they can't meet the existing demand," people would say.
 
Just leaving Walmart in Lewis Center Oh (near Columbus). CS was unsure if I could still layaway. They had to enter name. Phone# and scan bar code. It went through so I have TRU and Walmart pre orders. Happy hunting!!!
 
[quote name='ets']The way layaway works at a store level is that when an item is sold, the inventory changes to show one sold. So the on hand for a store would show -6, if 6 were sold. They can easily pull the total sold compared to the other method they use.. They used the preorder gift card system for video games and the iphone 5. The giftcard was/is more of a hassle for employees then layaway also.[/QUOTE]

Who is getting laid off? D:
 
Demo units of the Wii U will start to hit Best Buy Oct 17th of this week. Can expect other stores to soon follow.

Burger King will start to have Wii U kids meals that give away Mario U toys on Oct 25th.

Commercials are believed to start airing at the end of October.

Nintendo usually waits at least a month before a product comes out to start to advertise it. They didn't even show Commercials for the Kirby collection on the Wii till like, the day of release.
 
Some people have expressed technial issues with the Wii U.. I just stumbled across these today:

Wii U: ‘GamePad latency is 1/60 of a second’, states Rayman creator

Wii U’s GamePad is not the children’s toy it appears to be, according to Ubisoft’s Michel Ancel, who has shared some interesting technical insight into the device.

Speaking with Nintendo Power, by way of Nintendo Life, Ancel said of the Wii U GamePad, “I think this is where Nintendo is really out in front of things. The technology inside the controller is quite a bit more advanced than what people might think”
“It’s really responsive. The response time is crazy, in fact, and I think the competitors will need some time to [get their solutions] this responsive. It’s crazy because the game is running in full HD [on the television], we are streaming another picture on the GamePad screen, and it’s still 60 frames per second.”
“And the latency on the controller is just 1/60 of a second, so it’s one frame late. It’s crazy, it’s so fast. It’s almost instant. That’s why it responds so well. So it can be used as a real game-design thing.”
It’s not the first time Ancel and Ubisoft have bigged-up Wii U’s technical prowess.

Rayman creator Michel Ancel is currently working on Wii U title Rayman Legends, and has shared some information on what it’s like to develop on Nintendo’s hardware in a new interview.

The interview first appeared on the French site GameBlog, and has since been translated by a GAF forum member.
In the piece, Ancel stated that he feels Wii U is a core gamer’s console, and brings new tools to players that they haven’t experienced before. He also explained that Nintendo’s hardware has proven difficult for developers to grasp, but because it gets them thinking, it will result in better experiences.
On the Wii U’s inner workings, Ancel revealed that it has ‘enormous memory’, and that his team found no memory limitations during development. He also stated that the hardware is ‘surprising’, allowing for full 60 FPS even when streaming content to the tablet controller and TV in tandem.
Finally, Ancel claimed that Wii U is not a ‘traditional next-gen machine’, in terms of raw power, and that the console’s unique features make it a next generation console.
 
How did any of that express technical issues? Other then "this is something we havent seen before so we really need to think of new ways to take advantage of this)
 
I think he could have worded it a bit better, maybe concerns instead of issues. I think he meant, "In response to those who think the Wii U hardware will have problems with complex gaming applications, we have this info from an interview with a 3rd party developer":
 
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[quote name='Gareee']
Wii U: ‘GamePad latency is 1/60 of a second’, states Rayman creator[/QUOTE]
I doubt rayman is going to make the current gen consoles break a sweat let alone the Wii U. Probably would be better if they get the devs making the Wii U version of AC3 to comment.
 
Oh might I add - NEVER ask the person who qualifies for AARP where the pre-orders for ANYTHING electronic would be. Your wasting their time, and more importantly, they most likely dont have long to live either so your just shortening their "non nap" time with whoo-doo nonsense.
 
that video does sum it up, i think Nintendo blew it with the name and look for the new system

aside from the tablet controller the thing looks exactly like the old Wii and the fact that they named it WiiU , doesnt make the casual consumer think its a new system but more of an add-on, even myself when i first learned of this from nintendo i was unsure if it was an add-on or a new system.

IMO they should have made the system console look differently and give it a completely new name, when these tablet controllers are sold separately i guarantee you there will be a lot of people who buy just the controller and go home thinking it will work with their Wii
 
[quote name='exceed19']Oh might I add - NEVER ask the person who qualifies for AARP where the pre-orders for ANYTHING electronic would be. Your wasting their time, and more importantly, they most likely dont have long to live either so your just shortening their "non nap" time with whoo-doo nonsense.[/QUOTE]

The Electronics manager at my Walmart was an old dude. He was the only one of the four encountered employees that actually bothered to investigate my query instead of just presuming, "We can't do that."
 
For what it's worth: Seemingly knowledgeable employee at Madison, WI, Toys R Us said they will NOT be doing a midnight release and that they expect only three non-preordered consoles of each type to be available at launch.
 
[quote name='jwcdis']"Wii U ??????? Sounds like an ambulance to save Nintendo's a** !"

-Quote: Francis[/QUOTE]

that's funny
 
locked in pre-orders 1 and 2 at my walmart, I had explain everything to the layaway people and a store manager.
I'm not sure if this has been posted but for any one having trouble at their local clueless walmart tell the layaway staff or a manager that they have to look it up in:

"the wire system" and tell them to search "wii u pre-sale"
 
I shouldn't have waited this long to get my pre-order in, and I knew it was going to sell out in 2 days too.

I'm going to try to get one in for Black Friday. Hopefully I can so I can. I'm sure I'll end up reselling it on eBay anyways.
 
[quote name='nightmarishhero']locked in pre-orders 1 and 2 at my walmart, I had explain everything to the layaway people and a store manager.
I'm not sure if this has been posted but for any one having trouble at their local clueless walmart tell the layaway staff or a manager that they have to look it up in:

"the wire system" and tell them to search "wii u pre-sale"[/QUOTE]

Walmart employees can be so dense sometimes. The ASM over electronics in my store insists that there are supposed to be preorder cards that they haven't gotten in yet, and no amount of intelligence will make her believe otherwise. So my store sits at 3 preorders with no more allowed, which forced me to preorder elsewhere.
 
So I'm going to need to ship one of these to my nephew after I pick it up. Anybody know the dimensions of the box on the Deluxe? I'd really appreciate it so I can have one ready to go rather than stealing five boxes from work hoping one fits.
 
[quote name='vcplant']So I'm going to need to ship one of these to my nephew after I pick it up. Anybody know the dimensions of the box on the Deluxe? I'd really appreciate it so I can have one ready to go rather than stealing five boxes from work hoping one fits.[/QUOTE]

Best Buy/GameStop are supposedly getting display boxes later this week that might be the same size as the actual boxes.
 
[quote name='Nintendonly']Walmart employees can be so dense sometimes. The ASM over electronics in my store insists that there are supposed to be preorder cards that they haven't gotten in yet, and no amount of intelligence will make her believe otherwise. So my store sits at 3 preorders with no more allowed, which forced me to preorder elsewhere.[/QUOTE]

This is exactly what I was told, to go to electronics and pick up the card. Also can't layaway something that is not in stock. Even from the manager, after i told him there should have been a nationwide memo, they were really helpful and patient but just had no idea what i was talking about. When he finally found the memo on their layaway computer, he told the other employees, "You have to search wii u pre-sale on the wire system."

I'm sure any employee in layaway or at least an asst/store manager will know and find it right away.
 
[quote name='jwcdis']"Wii U ??????? Sounds like an ambulance to save Nintendo's a** !"

-Quote: Francis[/QUOTE]

I realize Francis is a "character" but if I was so disgustingly obese as to be able to play that character, I'd have taken up jogging by now.
 
[quote name='Nintendonly']Best Buy/GameStop are supposedly getting display boxes later this week that might be the same size as the actual boxes.[/QUOTE]
My Gamestop had a display box when they were accepting pre-orders a few weeks ago. Didn't really pay much attention to it, so can't tell you anything about it, but I remember seeing it.
 
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