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

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CheapyD

CheapyD

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

iconbestbuy.gif
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

icontarget.gif
Target
Consoles Both models sold out online & in store
Games

iconwalmart_r3.gif
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

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

newegg.gif
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.
Click to expand...
System Information

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[quote name='Wanderlai']LOL...that doesnt work... Nobody in line, sleep, nobobody in line, sleep, oh crap 10 people in line now wtf![/QUOTE]

I've seen people round up all the neighborhood kids offer them $50-100 to wait in line, pull up to a store early, and totally monopolize Black Friday deals and console launches. It's not uncommon to see nobody in line one second and a van full of 5-10 people show up the next minute. People are greedy SOBs.
 
For PS3 and Wii, I was in college and broke so I didn't reserve or wait in line. My parents asked me about them and I told them I'd just be waiting until they were easier to find and I had some money saved up. I told them how the lines were forming a week ahead of time in some places and it wasn't worth it.

Then on Christmas, "Santa" brings me a Wii and my big present under the tree is a PS3. My mom waited in line for me for 15 hours outside of a Target in Joliet, IL. She ended up being #5 of 6 for PS3 and she somehow got a 60gb console. Strangers there actually let her stay in their tent with them where she said they had a generator with a heater, tv, and pizza oven. I'll never forget the story from her about it. At one point she had to leave the line to go take my grandpa to the doctor. This took about 2 hours, but there was a rule that you were only allowed to leave the line for 15 minutes. When my mom got back, she had Wendy's food for the other people in line. When the target rep came out to check on the line, they saw her walking back up and they asked how long she'd been gone. She said all the other people immediately yelled "15 minutes!". God she's an amazing lady. Then she and my grandma ended up getting to the mall at 4am for the Wii launch a few days later and got me one of those too.

All this after I told her not to worry about it. I'm a hell of a lucky person.
 
[quote name='Drclaw411']For PS3 and Wii, I was in college and broke so I didn't reserve or wait in line. My parents asked me about them and I told them I'd just be waiting until they were easier to find and I had some money saved up. I told them how the lines were forming a week ahead of time in some places and it wasn't worth it.

Then on Christmas, "Santa" brings me a Wii and my big present under the tree is a PS3. My mom waited in line for me for 15 hours outside of a Target in Joliet, IL. She ended up being #5 of 6 for PS3 and she somehow got a 60gb console. Strangers there actually let her stay in their tent with them where she said they had a generator with a heater, tv, and pizza oven. I'll never forget the story from her about it. At one point she had to leave the line to go take my grandpa to the doctor. This took about 2 hours, but there was a rule that you were only allowed to leave the line for 15 minutes. When my mom got back, she had Wendy's food for the other people in line. When the target rep came out to check on the line, they saw her walking back up and they asked how long she'd been gone. She said all the other people immediately yelled "15 minutes!". God she's an amazing lady. Then she and my grandma ended up getting to the mall at 4am for the Wii launch a few days later and got me one of those too.

All this after I told her not to worry about it. I'm a hell of a lucky person.[/QUOTE]

This is awesome and awesome mom you have. One of the most heartwarming gamer stories I've ever heard. Do you still have the same ps3 and wii?
 
I remember back in nov (either 18th or 21st) of 2001 when the gamecube launched. I knew I had to have one after playing the demo of rogue squadron 2 at walmart. The morning it came out which was either a sat or sun I went before work early and was lucky they had a black one (even though I would have taken a indigo one if I had to) and got rogue squadron 2 as well. The problem was I could not find memory cards anywhere for a few days so I remember playing the game without the ability to save and probably within a week I found a memory card.
 
When did this become a "tell us about your other console launch stories" thread? Can we try and stay on topic that way if new pre-orders do occur somehwere, it isn't lost in all of this clutter?

Thanks.
 
[quote name='SteveGo']When did this become a "tell us about your other console launch stories" thread? Can we try and stay on topic that way if new pre-orders do occur somehwere, it isn't lost in all of this clutter?

Thanks.[/QUOTE]

To be fair, it's all useful for people who can't get preorders to know what the camping experience will be like.
 
[quote name='Belarr']To be fair, it's all useful for people who can't get preorders to know what the camping experience will be like.[/QUOTE]

I'm with this guy. Since I have quite a few stores around me that sell the console, I was planning on checking out waiting a few hours outside one. After hearing these stories, I'm pretty much gave up hope since there is no way in hell I'm going to be standing outside for 15 hours just to either get a console or make a quick buck.
 
I don't mind the launch stories as well. I highly doubt news of Wii Us available for pre-order again will get buried since that will become the talk of the thread when posted. While I have mine pre-ordered at Best Buy for in store pickup, I am worried they will make a mistake and end up selling it or "misplacing" it instead of setting it aside. I am going to show up at the midnight launch just in case... Has anyone had any issues with BB in store pickup? I haven't used it much but I did have an issue once but it was due to BB being bad at updating their website with on hand quantity. It wasn't for a pre-order however
 
When I waited in line for the Wii, I went to Target at about 5AM. I got there and a lady waiting in line had a list of everyone that was in line. She told me that she heard from a manager that they had 20 units when they open. I think I was like 16 on the list. We got the tickets at 7AM and were told to come back 10 min. before 8AM to get in line by the number of our tickets.

I got three games and classic controller with my Wii. I think the special they had was $10 off if you got 3 games. I was able to get the last classic controller though. Didn't expect that was going to be able to get a Wii at launch. I guess I lucked out because the Target I went to was a brand new one that just opened for only a few months.

No such luck getting a PS3 though. I ended up buying a 60 GB bundle online with Walmart. I think it had like 5 games in the bundle, memory card adapter, and a extra controller. The whole thing ended up being over $1,000. Thankfully they let me return the games that I didn't want. I kept 2 of the games.
 
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[quote name='ps2emotions']This is awesome and awesome mom you have. One of the most heartwarming gamer stories I've ever heard. Do you still have the same ps3 and wii?[/QUOTE]

Sure do. Never getting rid of those
 
[quote name='ps2emotions']This is awesome and awesome mom you have. One of the most heartwarming gamer stories I've ever heard. Do you still have the same ps3 and wii?[/QUOTE]


It would have been kind of funny if he flipped 'em both on eBay.
 
I tried to preorder the Wii from Toys R Us about a month before release and I remember getting there about an hour early and there being more than 50 people in line waiting for 50 spots, so I decided to "camp out" on release day. I used an online tracker to find a Target in my area that had 120 units for launch so I went there at about 5 AM on launch day. I think they opened at 9 for Wii campers, so I only waited about 4 hours and was #92 out of 120. Thinking back on it I don't know how I managed to get one without camping overnight, because most of the people in line had been there since the day before. Either way I wouldn't have been allowed because I was only 13. This time around I think I'm pretty prepared. 1 in store pickup from Best Buy and one from Fry's.
 
[quote name='SteveGo']When did this become a "tell us about your other console launch stories" thread? Can we try and stay on topic that way if new pre-orders do occur somehwere, it isn't lost in all of this clutter?

Thanks.[/QUOTE]

No fun allowed ;)
 
The only console launch I had sort of a hard time with was the Gamecube launch. The year it came out, I was 17 years old and I told my parents I wanted one for Christmas but I was afraid they wouldn't be able to find one. I somehow talked my mom into going to a Meijers store at midnight to stand in line and pick one up. When we got there (about an hour early) we stood in line with a group of maybe 12 people. They only had six consoles, so half of us were shunned unfortunately.

However, the good news is that they said they were expecting more to come in on their truck at 6am. My mom was actually cool enough to drive home, sleep for like 4 hours, and drive back to try to get one of those for me. We ended up grabbing one of the black ones and three games for it. The Meijers we drove to was about a half hour away too and I'm still shocked to this day that she did that for me. Thanks mom! Of course she didn't let me have it until Christmas.

The GCN was the first launch I was involved in (I bought a Dreamcast maybe a week after launch but that doesn't really count). After that I participated in the 360, 3DS, and the Vita launches. This will be my first home console launch since the 360 (which I had preordered at Gamestop and didn't have a problem getting). I have my Wii U deluxe preordered at GS so I shouldn't have any issues getting one.

I bought both my Wii and PS3 a couple of months after launch when they were easier to find. The Wii I happened to see one sitting on a shelf at Wal-Mart and was with my fiance (girlfriend at the time) and we were shocked it was there and bought it immediately. The PS3 wasn't hard to get a hold of in January when I bought it a couple of months after launch.
 
Just called Nebraska Furniture Mart, they told me they were never taking pre-orders on the deluxe and are sold-out of the regular. So that option is gone.

My guess is Amazon will have a small window to order some on Black Friday. I'll try to get lucky then.
 
I'm gonna be camping out at Walmart this year.

I stayed (inside) at Walmart for 32 hours for the Wii launch. Met some great people. Our Walmart was kickass and let us set up shop in the garden section with sleeping bags and every thing. Our "line" was actually just a list, and we just couldn't leave the store (yeah, they even let us roam around the store!). The order we signed the list in was the order in which we got a console.

Absolutely loved the experience. Hopefully the store will let us do that again.
 
[quote name='Manifest95']I'm with this guy. Since I have quite a few stores around me that sell the console, I was planning on checking out waiting a few hours outside one. After hearing these stories, I'm pretty much gave up hope since there is no way in hell I'm going to be standing outside for 15 hours just to either get a console or make a quick buck.[/QUOTE]

When I waited in the cold December snow for 10 hours for an Xbox 360 for its "second wave launch" in 2005 at BestBuy, I had to make my girlfriend hold the place for me in line multiple times while I went back to the car to pee into a bottle. And one time I partially missed.

How's that for a horror story?

This year I pre-ordered Deluxe day 1 at Gamestop.
 
[quote name='controlcommerce']Just called Nebraska Furniture Mart,

My guess is Amazon will have a small window to order some on Black Friday. I'll try to get lucky then.[/QUOTE]

Actually, Amazon's not gonna carry it at all due to a feud with Nintendo. Your best bet is Gamestop's waiting list for PowerUp Rewards members. It's free.

And Nebraska Furniture Mart?! WTF! Sounds like the store needs a name change if they're carrying game consoles.
 
waited overnight for a Wii at my local target, i believe they only got 39 units, manager came out before leaving the store and told the person at the front that he had 39 exactly, so i guess if more than 39 people were going to camp to not bother, there was a list we checked in at before getting on line, just names on a legal pad, the next morning, manager came out with vouchers, handed them out to the people on the line

meanwhile the soccer moms showed up around this time expecting to grab one, the manager informed them he handed out vouchers already to people who had lined up overnight, everyone with a voucher was led to videogame section where a security guard was present as we checked out, it was exciting and my first launch experience

btw i remember showing up to gamestop the day preorders opened for Wii and it was different than now, people had actually been lined up waiting that morning to get their preorders, so when i showed up causally around noon it was too late. Perhaps because PS3 was launching around this time, it had gotten people more aware of how hard it was going to be to find these consoles. Now without any other console launching with the WiiU it kind of flew under the radar for preorders IMO but they still sold out.

I have a preorder at GS for the WiiU deluxe, been informed few times already by different employees my preorder is guarenteed to be fullfilled and that "ill be good for launch day", im interested in seeing how smooth it goes, i know i definitely trust GS more so than Bestbuy
 
[quote name='ElektroDragon']When I waited in the cold December snow for 10 hours for an Xbox 360 for its "second wave launch" in 2005 at BestBuy, I had to make my girlfriend hold the place for me in line multiple times while I went back to the car to pee into a bottle. And one time I partially missed.

How's that for a horror story?

This year I pre-ordered Deluxe day 1 at Gamestop.[/QUOTE]

Maybe you should have gotten her to hold the bottle too :)
 
I remember when the wii launched. I was in Tyson's Corner VA at anime usa 2006 staying in a fancy hotel beside a porsche dealership and right up the street a quarter of a mile was a best buy. I thought about getting up early the morning before the convention doors opened and walking there to try to get a wii and it wasn't until I came home I saw on the news someone got shot there trying to get one, lol. That is once console launch I'm glad I skipped out on.
 
I preordered one of the bundles from Walmart online. Anyone have any experience with Walmart online console preorders? Hopefully I don't get screwed.
 
Traded in my 3g vita at the EB where I pre-ordered today for $150, only owe like $55 more on my deluxe! Gonna have this thing paid off next Friday when I get paid!
 
Is there some reason everybody is ignoring Fry's and trying Furniture Stores and Captain Fly By Night Electronic stores?
 
[quote name='gordojones88']I got there at 9:00 am.
The line filled up really fast after people woke up, ate breakfast,
and went to get in line, almost all at the same time apparently.
It's some sort of mob mentality.

Guys would come strolling into the store grinning,
ready to wait in line for 12 hours to get their Xbox 360.
Within seconds, they hear all the tickets are long gone,
and the look of horror on their face as they realize
they have seriously miscalculated how many other people
would get there before them, and they've blown their chance.

That's why in this pre-order thread, people were seriously
freaking out about making sure they get one.
There are few guarantees with a console launch.[/QUOTE]

Looks like i will be camping out come november 17th LOL
 
[quote name='vcplant']Is there some reason everybody is ignoring Fry's and trying Furniture Stores and Captain Fly By Night Electronic stores?[/QUOTE]



Not sure, im in41 at FRYS thanx!
 
[quote name='vcplant']Is there some reason everybody is ignoring Fry's and trying Furniture Stores and Captain Fly By Night Electronic stores?[/QUOTE]

Well, for me, Frys IS a bust for midnight launches or BF. Case of too few locations and too many people going to each location. I'd hafta to camp out the whole weekend to get a console and that just doesn't click with me. But hey, whatever floats your boat.

And Nebraska Furniture Mart ain't what it appears in name. Know just enough to get in trouble Even though never been in one (thanks to being a business major and having professors that worshipped everything Warren Buffett). Anyway, should be a low-key spot to get a console.
 
[quote name='YBX87']did you not read the link some1 posted earlier in this thread, it is over the nintendo 3ds[/QUOTE]

I don't think the link said that
 
Looking for opinions...

I pre ordered the Wii U at BB in store ($5 on the deluxe)...just incase

I work at Walmart (New store...small town...only has had to do 3DS and Vita launch...3DS had 6 people counting me at midnight) and get a 10% discount...my discount card didn't work for pre-orders online.

I get off of work at 4:00 pm on the 15th...I was thinking of grabbing a bite to eat and being back at the store at 5 pm to be ready for any line standing...with the discount (I know for sure it will work) buying the deluxe console will come to around $315, instead of $350...

if you were in my shoes...would you stand in line for 7 hours to save $35?

Would bring my 3DS and DS to play the whole time, so boredom wont get in the way.
 
[quote name='vcplant']Is there some reason everybody is ignoring Fry's and trying Furniture Stores and Captain Fly By Night Electronic stores?[/QUOTE]
That's what I've been wondering. I pre-ordered mine on there days ago and looks like it's still available. Best part is it isn't a bundle like some of the other ones were.
 
I've been to quite a few launches and by far the PS3 was the most hectic one, followed by xbox360 then by the wii. I think this one is going to be pretty bad only because of the holidays and it being the new next-gen console.

If you haven't pre-ordered one now, I suggest scoping out what places might be possible for you in about a month. I checked my status today, I'm the 5th pre-order so I'm going to guess and say I'm ok.
 
[quote name='Tdog987']Looking for opinions...

I pre ordered the Wii U at BB in store ($5 on the deluxe)...just incase

I work at Walmart (New store...small town...only has had to do 3DS and Vita launch...3DS had 6 people counting me at midnight) and get a 10% discount...my discount card didn't work for pre-orders online.

I get off of work at 4:00 pm on the 15th...I was thinking of grabbing a bite to eat and being back at the store at 5 pm to be ready for any line standing...with the discount (I know for sure it will work) buying the deluxe console will come to around $315, instead of $350...

if you were in my shoes...would you stand in line for 7 hours to save $35?

Would bring my 3DS and DS to play the whole time, so boredom wont get in the way.[/QUOTE]

is the Wii-u worth it?! you not sitting there to save you might not get a Wii-u if you don't camp out. I was the first to preorder at best buy in my area yet I was told not everyone will get one and that even I am not guaranteed a system. Funny thing is when xbox 360 came out i didnt camp and i got a system. I preordered of course and had it almost paid off it was at gamecrazy =( i miss gamecrazy
 
Preordered a basic set off Frys.com. Let's see how this turns out. I have a deluxe ordered off walmart.com but have no idea if it will ship; crossing my fingers.
 
Went to a different best buy and asked him if they will get extra for people who didn't preorder. ( sold my preorder for $50:)) he said they should get extras for people that didn't preorder. I'm still on the fence about this system.
 
I pre-ordered for in-store pickup at Best Buy... even got mine in BEFORE the emails went out. I just kept refreshing after the Nintendo press conference.

Still... I'm only cautiously optimistic I'll get a Wii U at launch. I just have this bad feeling that either Nintendo will have some insane shortage, or that all the retailers got wrong numbers, or whatever.

One thing... I'm not camping out. I'm over 30 and I own every Nintendo console... but if I my pre-order falls through, I'll just wait. Hopefully it all works out and I just get a "Your order is ready for pickup" email on the morning of Nov. 18.
 
I emailed bestbuy about wii u preorders and i was informed that bestbuy will fullfill all preorders and that they will be getting enough wii us.

Email them yourself, they respond in about 3 days.
 
"I hope this day finds you well. I understand that you have reserved the Wii U Deluxe and want to be sure that there will be enough to fulfill the preorders. Yes, we will have it covered when the launch day comes, please don't worry. If you have anymore questions please let us know.

Thank you,
Kelli
Best Buy Customer Care


Original Message Follows:
------------------------
This inquiry is related to: Store

$My inquiry is specifically related to: General Questions"


Thats my email I recieved. I got my wii on launch at bestbuy so im confident in their services.
 
[quote name='soxxx']"I hope this day finds you well. I understand that you have reserved the Wii U Deluxe and want to be sure that there will be enough to fulfill the preorders. Yes, we will have it covered when the launch day comes, please don't worry. If you have anymore questions please let us know.

Thank you,
Kelli
Best Buy Customer Care


Original Message Follows:
------------------------
This inquiry is related to: Store

$My inquiry is specifically related to: General Questions"


Thats my email I recieved. I got my wii on launch at bestbuy so im confident in their services.[/QUOTE]
I hope they have some extras
 
Between having a pre-order at Gamestop and Best Buy, I think I have a good chance. Both are doing midnight release though so ill be going to Gamestop and the girlfriend will be going to Best Buy. To pick it up with the pre-order she just needs my receipt and RZ card yes?
 
[quote name='drakma676']I hope they have some extras[/QUOTE]

They will because legally in order for them to put something in a flyer they have to have the minimum they set. Wii U will draw monster crowds so each store will probably have 5 of each versions for those that didnt preorder.

It would be a huge business mistake to not have the Wii U in their Sunday Flyer come launch day.
 
Us that Pre-ordered at BB's website pretty much a lottery win at this point.Only a few will be fulfilled? ...ooor they really know what their doing and stopped taking Pre-orders when they ran out of the actual factory shipped numbers.That would make sense for a smart company to do.
 
I really wish Nintendo would just tell us how the save/Shop purchases will transfer. From what I've gathered it seems like you'll need to move everything to a SD card, put the SD card into your Wii U and then through some kind of WiFi magic transfer the hardware license to the U. If that's the case then there won't be any way to transfer copy protected saves since, you know, you can't copy them.
 
[quote name='KanYozakura']I really wish Nintendo would just tell us how the save/Shop purchases will transfer. From what I've gathered it seems like you'll need to move everything to a SD card, put the SD card into your Wii U and then through some kind of WiFi magic transfer the hardware license to the U. If that's the case then there won't be any way to transfer copy protected saves since, you know, you can't copy them.[/QUOTE]

This and the online mode. Never thought I'd agree with a Glee fan.
 
[quote name='ps2emotions']I remember when the wii launched. I was in Tyson's Corner VA at anime usa 2006 staying in a fancy hotel beside a porsche dealership and right up the street a quarter of a mile was a best buy. I thought about getting up early the morning before the convention doors opened and walking there to try to get a wii and it wasn't until I came home I saw on the news someone got shot there trying to get one, lol. That is once console launch I'm glad I skipped out on.[/QUOTE]Quite interesting you bring that up because I go to Tysons Corner every once in a while and I'm going to AnimeUSA again this year.

My Wii-U is still preordered at Best Buy, the deluxe. Doing whatever it takes so it does not get canceled. Picking it up at a Best Buy in the Northern Baltimore area.
 
I don't understand the logic behind people constantly calling / asking in store / emailing the places they pre-ordered from and asking if their order will be fulfilled. Anybody you talk to is obviously going to say yes...why would they ever say no? Even if they have absolutely no idea how many they are getting they would still say yes. So what is the point?
 
[quote name='croqoa']I don't understand the logic behind people constantly calling / asking in store / emailing the places they pre-ordered from and asking if their order will be fulfilled. Anybody you talk to is obviously going to say yes...why would they ever say no? Even if they have absolutely no idea how many they are getting they would still say yes. So what is the point?[/QUOTE]
Agreed. I would be surprised if Nintendo has any type of final shipment numbers anyway with 6 weeks to go until launch.
 
[quote name='nintendospy']Agreed. I would be surprised if Nintendo has any type of final shipment numbers anyway with 6 weeks to go until launch.[/QUOTE]


This IS Nintendo after all. Hell, they don't even have a full description of their online service for the device with only six weeks to go. Expecting them to know how many devices they're manufacturing or how many they're likely to have, well... that's just asking a lot of them.

They're JUST a itty-bitty company run by two guys out of their garage on a shoestring budget. Oh wait, no they're not.
 
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