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Regarding the 360 launch: Best non-pre-order solution?

MmmBeef

Member
In your collective experience, where should I be camped out the night before the launch to secure a unit? (Unless there are some places that still have pre-orders available in the Pacific NW) All the Big Box stores (Best Buy, Circuit City, TRU, etc) are options, and there's a Fry's about 40 minutes away. What about non-traditional sources (Fredy Meyer's on the West Coast, etc.)?
 
TRU is your best option as far as big box stores.. alot of people seem to forget that they carry games for whatever reason. Target and Walmart arent bad options either, it seems the specialty electronics stores (BB, Circuit City) get hit the hardest.
 
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sp0rsk said:
just preorder it
Indeed. You're simply spending $50 which you'd spend buying it in the first place so I fail to see the problem people have with preordering.

But uh.. you could pray/hope/wish you can find one in a Best Buy, Walmart or a random mom & pop store but why bother?
 
Huh. For some reason I've just heard mention that people preordering as of late have been given a bunch of brouhaha about being placed in a queue for a second or third shipment. Is it safe to assume that EB or Gamestop are just managing expectations since we have no clue about shipping volume at this point?
 
I had fun at Best Buy for the launch of PS2. I started the line at 8:00 p.m. the night before, and by morning, there were 150 people behind me. We had fun together, playing football, eating pizza, and watching the World Series on a portable TV. :)
 
Just go to a Walmart super center (open 24 hrs), try to go to one in a small town if you can. You'll prolly only need to get there a couple hours early.
 
Why do people think there will be a shortage of X-360's? They won't be hard to find at all.

Keep in mind, EB and GameStop are a poor representation of the market. Of course they will be sold out, they get a smaller shipment than regular department stores. Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, etc will have them in plentiful supply.
 
Or just wait a couple of months and buy a unit that isn't being rushed-produced to meet the holiday demands. Quality over speed!
 
I'm not worried about finding one at a big brick and mortar store at launch unless MS ships after Black Friday.
 
My store is only scheduled for 30 on launch, so we've been telling people they'd be on the second "wave". However many that one is gonna be...
 
Silent_Echo said:
Why do people think there will be a shortage of X-360's? They won't be hard to find at all.


Greetings, time traveller! How was Q4 2005? Do we have flying cars yet? You wouldn't happen to have a newspaper or two that has the winning lotto numbers, do you? Preferrably Powerball, but state lotteries are also acceptable.
 
I refuse to preorder any more consoles after being forced to buy a bundle with crap I don't want. I'm not going to preorder Xbox 2 when it is releasing a year early. I'll have too many good PS2 and GCgames to play this year. I'll get it in the spring when I'm not forced to buy crap.
 
I don't think I'm going to be able to pre-order it either.

I've been stockpiling Best Buy gift cards from last Christmas and my birthday to help pay for it. I've got about $400 in gift cards, so it looks like I'll be hitting Best Buy around 6-7am.
 
miyuru said:
I'll never understand people who don't preorder. It's a convenience.

I think the problem (at this point) is that you cant preorder and get it on launch day from any stores that take preorders.
 
StoOgE said:
I think the problem (at this point) is that you cant preorder and get it on launch day from any stores that take preorders.

Oh ok. So you're saying that it's better to just try your chances at getting a system at launch rather than committing to a pre-order that might not be guaranteed for launch?

Hm yeah that makes sense *thumbs up*. Haha honestly I'm not being sarcastic, I understand that point of view.

So why can't you preorder and get a system at launch, how do you guys know?
 
miyuru said:
Oh ok. So you're saying that it's better to just try your chances at getting a system at launch rather than committing to a pre-order that might not be guaranteed for launch?

Hm yeah that makes sense *thumbs up*. Haha honestly I'm not being sarcastic, I understand that point of view.

So why can't you preorder and get a system at launch, how do you guys know?

If I just got a system I would but I don't want to preorder a bundle.
 
miyuru said:
So why can't you preorder and get a system at launch, how do you guys know?

I have a preorder, got it right after E3. However, most of the specialty shops are now saying that you are on a second or third "wave" of shipments with a preorder, which they say could be as soon as two weeks away or as far off as two months away. Now its possible they are just being safe and underbooking preorders, but their could be production issues that cause you to get your preordered system late... so at this point it seems your best bet for getting a system at launch is to camp out at a B&M store.

Plus, there is the chance some of the pre-order places will pull the bundle stunt. Hell, they did it with the first Xbox and that shit wasnt in short supply at all.

Still, its probably not a bad idea to put 50 bucks down on a preorder, that way if you dont pick one up at a B&M on launch day you can get it a few weeks later.

Edit: or you could move to Japan, wake up around noon, walk in and be the 3rd or so person to buy one that day.
 
sp0rsk said:
you can preorder at best buy too cant you?


No. Best Buy doesn't do pre-orders on any gaming hardware, only software. My only option of being able to afford an Xbox 360 at launch is to use my $400 in BB gift cards.... so I get to line up early in the morning :(

I did the same thing for the PS2 launch. I got there around 7am and was number 55 in line. They came out and handed each person in line a ticket to swap for a system. They only had 80 tickets and the line swelled to about 200 people by the time the store opened at 10am. The stragglers had no clue about needing a ticket to get a system and numbers 81-200 in line damn near started a riot at the store. It was a huge fucking event. They had news crews and shit all out there filming it. I had to hide behind the fat lady in front of me because I had called in sick for work that day and with my luck, the boss would have been watching the news that night and caught my ass red-handed.
 
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