Worth Reading?
Could it be? Yes, it appears that the time could finally be upon us. What time is that, you ask? Time to preorder your PS3, of course! According to a “leaked” email/memo posted by our friends over at Gizmodo, it appears that GameStop (and EB Games as well) will start taking PS3 preorders today. Also of note in memo is the fact that there won’t be any online preorders for a while, and when they finally start this service up, it will be “bundle-only” (read: way too much money). To read the entire memo, hit the jump! Otherwise, get your preorder in before there aren’t any left!
And now, the leaked memo:
From:*********
Subject: PS3 reservation plan and reservation allocations!!!
Date: 10/09/06 3:26pm
Attention store personnel:
On Tuesday, October 10, 2006, you will begin taking reservations on the Sony PS3 under SKU 020072 (PS3 Premium Edition) and SKU 020071 (PS3 Core Edition). YOU MAY NOT BEGIN TAKING RESERVATIONS FOR THE PS3 PRIOR TO October 10, 2006. Reservations are to be processed on a “first come, first serve” basis for your customers. Under no circumstances are reservation “places in line” to be held for customers. Our online reservation program will be activated at a future date: online reservations will be available as “bundle-only.”
No forced bundles or any other customer “requirements” are allowed (our online reservation policy may vary). Reservations will be limited to one system reservation per household (customer is allowed to reserve 1 Wii and 1 PS3 if desired)
As these systems are in short supply and high demand, all stores are being allocated on their reserve quantity. Stores are not allowed to reserve above their assigned reservation allocation for any reason. Reserving above your assigned qty can result in disciplinary action.
Your assigned allocation for the PS3 is “16″ units TOTAL between the 2 system choices. You are only allowed to reserve “16″ units TOTAL of PS3. No more than 2 of these systems can be set aside to be purchased by store employees.
Please use the tracking form below to insure that you only reserve 16 units. Please record each customer’s name and phone on the form below each time you complete a PS3 reservation.
As you process each reservation, you will need to communicate the following message to each customer:
Reservations/Purchases are limited to 1 per household.
The reservation guarantees the customer a place in line only: it does not guarantee that the system will be available at launch.
Gamestop is not responsible for allocation shortfalls or shipping delays caused by the manufacturer.
Online product pricing and availability will vary and be fulfilled independent of store reservations.
As a service to your customers, please try to capture each customers correct e-mail address when processing the reservation. This will allow us to send updates to the customer as more games and accessories become available for their system.
[via Gizmodo]
I went to a backwoods Gamestop (town of about 20k people) and got in line, there were about 12 of us there; the guy came out at opening and said “2 were already taken for customers”; he was a total a-hole, it was obvious they were for him and the other guy working in there. Anyway, they took amounts of $100 and up and put you on a “no guarantees” list. Originally we thought there were 8 60g and 8 20g preorders available but he put everyone for the one they wanted. I was the 8th person to request a 60g, but I am skeptical that I’ll see it on the launch date. My friend was about 12th and they put her down for the 60g. One guy paid for the whole thing right there 635 dollars or something, so I would say his chances are better. Who knows . . .
I would imagine GameStop would get a larger portion of PS3 consoles than a smaller chain, but figuring that all 400,000 consoles have to be sent across the entire US come launch day, I can’t see there being more than 10 consoles in any given area before new shipments arrive.
If you are reading this now you are probably already too late. Apparently as soon as this got out people started lining up last night and there is a huge line going out the door. Not a chance in this first wave.
I live in South Florida and there was a line of about 20-30 people at my local GameStop about a half hour before they opened. But I went 3 blocks down the street to EB Games and was the 5th person in line.