I'm not big on pre-ordering games. I don't know why, it just doesn't sit well with me. Call me old fashioned, but I'm the guy who wants to go in the day it comes out, or that weekend after, give them money and they give me a game.

But my friend (who pre-ordered it) keeps telling me that I won't be able to with GTA4 because it is going to be sold out everywhere and I'll be SOL for a couple weeks. I keep telling him that I'll find it SOMEWHERE.

Is there even a remote chance it will be sold out everywhere (best buy, cc, walmart, target, etc)? I didn't think that really happened with video games anymore. Except maybe Halo (did it happen with Halo 3?).

I really want to game, but I won't die if I don't get it the first week. I'll definitely be disappointed, but not enough to run out and pre-order on a friend's suggestion that it will be hard to come by.

No, it's not gonna happen. Worst case scenario, the day it comes out buy it from BB Online and do in-store pickup. That is what I might do with Gran Turismo tomorrow.

GameStop would love to convince people that they only ever have enough for preorders, so its mandatory you do, but its a scam, I remember them saying that **** with Halo 3 and now I see them selling LEs of that game for like $70.

I would be very surprised if you can't find one at a brick and mortor store. Sure a couple might sell out, but someone should have it.

Well if it is sold out... just GTA someone who preordered it haha

I think the hardware shortages get people all paranoid about software shortages.

Just remember, it's really cheap to reproduce games. No way would they want to "deprive" anyone of the privilege of owning a game.

Can you recall the last big game that was sold out for any period of time?

^^^it took me awhile to find gta 3, IIRC.

The simple answer is to stop going to Gamestop. Go down to a Fry's or BestBuy and take it off the shelf yourself.

I can't recall the last game that sold out and was impossible to find. You should be able to easily get a copy BB or even Target.

I mean even if say the EB or GS near me sell out theres always Kay Bee, Blockbuster, Walmart Im not worried.

word to the wise and daring:

Depending on where you all live, you can usually get the game up to a week early....

Try to find a mom and pop video game store in your town or surrounding areas...give them a call like 2 weeks before the release date and ask them when they will be getting "XYZ". Sometimes they will say on that date, but just say "I was hoping to pick it up early" They almost never refuse a sale. Now, this might work better in person becuase, sometimes they might be apprehensive to disucss over the phone. BUT I have gotten pretty much every last major release for no extra cost about a week earlier than the release date at a bunch of different stores.

Just dont go bragging and telling everyone where you got it. I know this may seem a little too much for some people, but if your dead set and getting the game, its worth a shot.


Now, back to brick and mortar retailers...this game will be available somewhere on launch day i wouldnt worry

I don't get the disdain for preorders. I've come to use my local eb games for preorders for most games that interest me.

It's not like it costs any more for a preorder, and one can always cancel. Plus it's nice not having to run around town trying to find a title. Seriously, I'm busy enough as it is. It's nice to stop, at my convenience, walk in, pay, and leave. Except for the launch PS3, I've never had a preorder not be there.

I didn't preorder Motorstorm. I had to wait almost a week to find it. I didn't preorder Warhark. Took me three days to find a copy. I didn't preorder GT4, but fortunately I only had to wait two days.

And it's not like I live in the boonies. I live in Birmingham, with tens of walmarts, 3 best buys, 3 targets, and plenty of eb games/gamestops on my commute.

Why do people call it a scam? It's not money that one cannot recoup.

It has never sold out and it won't happen this time either, stores get nothing out of sellouts, since you don't want to stop the constant cashflow that will occur because of GTA that week.

I bet T2 will ship 2 million + copies and all of that will be sold within the next 3 weeks......

I don't preorder because I seem to always find a way to get a new game for less than $60. Either a 10% off coupon pops up or the Sunday ads show a special for new releases that involve a discount, gift card, or something else. Hell, I got COD4 on release day for $30 plus a free COD3 which I sold for $20 bringing my total to $10 (Circuit City had buy COD4 and get COD3, but it rang up COD4 as $29.99 and COD3 as $.01).

Also, if any recent game was going to be sold out and hard to find it would have been Halo 3 and I don't think it was sold out of any store except for maybe Gamestop which doesn't count.

Preorders are effin joke. How many times have people preordered something only to have the shipments delayed by FedEx or UPS.. or the company mixup. The only time I would even bother preordering is if I was pressed for the bucks or found a place giving out bonus items.. Like I believe Circuit City gave out a 1600point MS card with the purchase of Guitar Hero II for the 360. Thats a $20 free gift.

No game has ever completely sold out.. and no game ever will. Its simply to easy manufacter software, package it and get it to retailers. If you go looking for a copy on the first day. I guarantee you will have no problem finding it. Stick with big retailers like Best Buy, CC, Walmart etc. They will have copies by the 100's maybe even 1000's.

If your really really pressed to guarantee you get a copy first thing. Then go get one when the store opens at 9am.. and be an hour late to work. Or go get a copy on your lunch hour.



I'm personally doin what NJ3118 recommended. Hell we are probably getting our copies from the same stores. But I'll definitely find a mom and pop store selling it a few days early.

I've gotten Madden08, Halo3, and COD4 all several days early. Didnt even have to pay tax on most titles.

"Pre-Order" is a marketing ploy for the respective business to guarantee themselves you'll spend your money at their store. The game will be available. The game maker would be stupid to low ball their production on purpose. I think if the game is not available people would get over it and possibly not be inclined to buy.

I had a hell of a time finding Vice City when it was released. Went to 12+ stores til i found a single copy at a run down walmart. For SA I waited in line at BB before it opened. Was the third in the door and the people showing up as i was leaving were bitching that they were out. This was in Metro Detroit. I preordered this time, although I'm guessing they won't live up to it.

There is no reason for any game ever to be sold out with current forecasting abilities of publishers and the sheer capacity of the optical disc media presses.

I pre-ordered it from Walmart online but I won't be getting it probably till the following week. That kinda stinks but I had a free $10 gift card from them from way back when the listed HAZE incorrectly and then cancelled my order. Figured this would be the perfect time to save some money.

Back to the topic of the thread, I have never had a major problem finding something on release day. Target is usually my spot of choice becaus it seems like, as far as B&M go, more people run to BB and CC before Target.

There is no reason for any game ever to be sold out with current forecasting abilities of publishers and the sheer capacity of the optical disc media presses.That's exactly correct. Plus these discs do not drain the pockets of the manufacturer if they sit on the shelf. Unlike say the PS3 when it came out; Sony couldn't afford for them to just sit on the shelves and collect dust; so they limited production.

Agree with all you guys. EVERY year some pimply-faced weenie at the game store tries to tell me I won't be able to get Madden on the release date unless I Pre-Order it ("It'll be sold out everywhere.")

And EVERY year I can't swing a dead cat in a Target or Wal-mart without hitting a Madden display.

You will NOT have any problem finding a copy.

I had a hell of a time finding Vice City when it was released. Went to 12+ stores til i found a single copy at a run down walmart. For SA I waited in line at BB before it opened. Was the third in the door and the people showing up as i was leaving were bitching that they were out. This was in Metro Detroit. I preordered this time, although I'm guessing they won't live up to it.

I had a similar experience with SA, I went to The Game crazy on Southfield and 12 mile a couple of days before launch and they said they were going to have around 15 copies for people who didn't preorder. Got there about an hour early and was the 5th or 6th in line. By the time they started selling it, there were probably 40 people in line. Some got it because some dummies who preordered didn't show up. But I doubt that it will sell out "everywhere."

I had the same experience with Vice City as MIAaron. I'd had it ordered through Amazon and it never shipped, so I canceled. Took me most of launch day to finally track down a copy at CC, and I got the 2nd to last one in the store. BB, Target, Wal-Mart and Gamestop were all tapped out. Still, I don't really feel the need to pre-order this. Half the fun is in the hunt.

I think it also depends on your geographical area in the USA (or world for the matter). Usually the distributors of stuff look at the historic figures and ship quantities accordingly. They sometimes don't account for us crazy folks coming in droves trying to buy the product.

I'm the same as the OP, but I got screwed on COD4...it was sold out at Best Buy, Target, CC, and Gamestop. I had to wait about 4 days before I could get a copy (this was for the 360).

It was annoying. I haven't pre-orderd GTAIV either.

There is no reason for any game ever to be sold out with current forecasting abilities of publishers and the sheer capacity of the optical disc media presses.


You seem to be forgetting that the PS3 version will ship on a Blu-Ray Disc, and not a DVD. The "sheer capacity of the optical disc media presses" doesn't apply to BD. Hopefully, the needed capacity was correctly booked way in advance since there are only so many BD replication lines available at the moment. In another year, it won't be an issue. But, for now, who knows?

So, while it is unlikely that the 360 version will be sold out, an argument could be made that the PS3 version isn't a guarantee.

I simply used $5 of credit I had at Gamestop to reserve a copy that I'll pick up on my way home from work on the 29th. Could I have just as easily gone to the other side of the parking lot to get it from Best Buy? Probably, but every single time I go to Best Buy on a game release day, I have to wait for the sales drone to go to the back of the store to get the PS3 games out of a box because they weren't smart enough to put them on the salesfloor when they arrived.

It seems easier to spend $5 that applies to the purchase price than to be an hour late to work (I make a lot more than $5/hour and I don't plan to use vacation time, or stay an hour late on the day that GTAIV comes out to make it up), or drive all over town. $5 is a no-brainer. No one said you have to pay the full price in advance.

word to the wise and daring:

Depending on where you all live, you can usually get the game up to a week early....

Try to find a mom and pop video game store in your town or surrounding areas...

So you have GT Prologe now huh?

"Pre-Order" is a marketing ploy for the respective business to guarantee themselves you'll spend your money at their store. The game will be available. The game maker would be stupid to low ball their production on purpose. I think if the game is not available people would get over it and possibly not be inclined to buy.

yup thats exactly it, the games like GTAIV/MADDEN/HALO ect all mainstream hits have TONS of shipments for the guaranteed money that brings, then keep shipping them over and over and over.

It has never sold out and it won't happen this time either, stores get nothing out of sellouts, since you don't want to stop the constant cashflow that will occur because of GTA that week.

I bet T2 will ship 2 million + copies and all of that will be sold within the next 3 weeks......

2million? Try 6 million in the first week alone. You have to remember, this isn't just a AAA title for one console. This is will be the destroyer of worlds for both consoles.

I'm not f'n around getting my hands on this. I pre-ordered at the first place offering a midnight launch. That's GS less than a mile from my house. I will stroll in at midnight and be playing the special edition by midnight-thirty.

6 million?......come now thats crazy, if anything 2 to 3 million for the first week is whats getting shipped. No way will NDPs say in April first week sales "6 million overall(counting both consoles) sold first week!!!", nah if anything combined 3.5 or so with each doing a million +. LOL thats my patcher like prediction, lets wait and see what happens.

You seem to be forgetting that the PS3 version will ship on a Blu-Ray Disc, and not a DVD. The "sheer capacity of the optical disc media presses" doesn't apply to BD. Hopefully, the needed capacity was correctly booked way in advance since there are only so many BD replication lines available at the moment. In another year, it won't be an issue. But, for now, who knows?Pretty sure the game is on a BD-25, and if so, there's no issue. There appears to be plenty of capacity for BD-25 replication, in part because it's used by every game released so far (I believe MGS4 will be the first BD-50 game). More and more movies are transitioning to BD-50 so BD-25 should be easier to achieve (plus it has higher yields and faster cycle times to boot).

It also helps that there aren't a lot of other games coming out. If this was during Q3 Thanksgiving/Christimas period than it might get a little stickier.

GTAIV will not be compressed data on the PS3, on the 360 it will be compressed so it can fit on the DVD.

I expect better sounds on PS3 & less lag, along with more things happening at once with more characters/elements on screen thanks to the CELL.

Gslide

jocktheglide

6 million?......come now thats crazy, if anything 2 to 3 million for the first week is whats getting shipped. No way will NDPs say in April first week sales "6 million overall(counting both consoles) sold first week!!!", nah if anything combined 3.5 or so with each doing a million +. LOL thats my patcher like prediction, lets wait and see what happens.

You're not even in the ballpark. Halo 3 did around 3.5 million the first week. GTAIV will crush that number. This is a multi-platform release of one of the best selling franchises of all time. Did I mention multi-platform? ;) I'm thinking the 5.8 million estimates are definitely feasable. In fact, they are expecting 9 million units moved by the end of the fiscal year (May 31st).

The game will not be sold out. Thats ridiculous. The bigger the game, the more units available. This isnt like a system where its tough to get high quantities out there. Its a disc.

It will however sell TONS of units. I am thinking about it just from the standpoint that its something different/new to play during a spell where there isnt a lot new coming out. The delay from last year was a good thing IMO.

Gslide

jocktheglide

Unless jock has some crazy alter-ego that spams the "new thread" button, I doubt it.

Unless jock has some crazy alter-ego that spams the "new thread" button, I doubt it.
*takes off his junior detective badge* :(

*takes off his junior detective badge* :(

LOL :D

Preorders are effin joke. How many times have people preordered something only to have the shipments delayed by FedEx or UPS.. or the company mixup. The only time I would even bother preordering is if I was pressed for the bucks or found a place giving out bonus items.. Like I believe Circuit City gave out a 1600point MS card with the purchase of Guitar Hero II for the 360. Thats a $20 free gift.

No game has ever completely sold out.. and no game ever will. Its simply to easy manufacter software, package it and get it to retailers. If you go looking for a copy on the first day. I guarantee you will have no problem finding it. Stick with big retailers like Best Buy, CC, Walmart etc. They will have copies by the 100's maybe even 1000's.

If your really really pressed to guarantee you get a copy first thing. Then go get one when the store opens at 9am.. and be an hour late to work. Or go get a copy on your lunch hour.



I'm personally doin what NJ3118 recommended. Hell we are probably getting our copies from the same stores. But I'll definitely find a mom and pop store selling it a few days early.

I've gotten Madden08, Halo3, and COD4 all several days early. Didnt even have to pay tax on most titles.

haha im in bloomfield and Ive driven to newark and paterson to get Maddden and MVP baseball in years past...

So you have GT Prologe now huh?

No, and I dont plan on buying it. Never was too into uber realistic racers....

Im more of a need for speed guy if anything...

But i had COD4 a week in advance.
MLB08 a week in advance..
etc...

Back when the PS3 was brand new and I bought everygame that came out for it.my contact would just call me about a week in advance when it came in and I paid no tax and I was on my way....

Now, since im on gamefly now, I just decide to keep the game with my 10% discount everytime. 9 out of 10 times Im the first one to put the disc in my ps3, cause I have a 4 game a month plan and make sure my queue is empty before a multi launch week. I get the freshest copy and they send me the case and manual with no shipping....best deal

*takes off his junior detective badge* :(


Can you poke Gslide in the eye with it repeatedly? Or, better yet--the hands he uses to post?