Rochester, NY: I showed up at a local Target (Penfield, NY) at 7:40. There was only one person waiting outside, so I figured I was in great shape to get one when they opened at 8:00. A couple of others showed up, and we chatted a bit while waiting. At 8:00 we were let in, and the small bunch of us headed towards the electronics section like a miniature parade. We found someone marking prices on other video game merchandise, but when we asked him about the Wii U he didn't seem to know what we were talking about. (Not a good sign, I thought.) He called someone higher up on the Target food chain to find out what was going on, then promptly disappeared.
Soon, though, someone else showed up and asked us if we were here for the Wii U. (Success!) Then he asked us if we had our RESERVATION TICKETS. Our eyes all widened. None of us had one, nor did we know that they even existed. But we knew exactly what that meant as soon as he said it. We were screwed. He offered to check to see if any of today's units hadn't been claimed, but he didn't sound hopeful. Sure enough, after a few minutes he came back and told us there were none available.
A few of us stayed to complain, but I started walking out to the parking lot immediately. I knew this avenue was closed. I pulled out my phone and frantically started looking up local retailers. One local Walmart was 24-hours, so I called them on a long shot. They had none in stock. I called another Walmart a little farther away that been open since 7:00, and they had ONE Deluxe kit and 8 Basic ones. I headed there immediately. Fortunately, nobody else got there ahead of me, and I secured the last Deluxe. Hooray!
My question. though, is how does Nintendo feel about retailers doing this "reservation ticket" business? It seems a little shady, and certainly put a damper on my Launch Day experience. Pre-orders are one thing, but pre-selling your incoming stock seems quite another. Is it worth it for me to complain to Nintendo and/or Target? I felt especially bad for the first person in line there, who had been waiting in the cold for almost 2 hours. I hope he manages to secure the Deluxe set he's looking for today.
Happy hunting out there!
