GameStop Won't Offer Pre-Orders for the NES Classic Edition

Ah well; doesn't affect me anyway. Does seem strange though.

I'm starting to wonder if I'm going to end up spending that 60 bucks I've been saving on this for something else. I really don't have the time to beat people to a line for this thing. Why not just properly stock this stuff and put it on Amazon??

Such crap.

Why do people still shop at GameStop, it's the worst store to represent the gaming community not to mention the worst store period

@Whopper744 it probably part of a deal they made with retailers here. The retailer gets a smaller cut but you are forced into their store where you can be tempted to spend more 💰. It's a pretty common practice in the us.

Not that big of a deal. I personally don't see why people are so excited about it. Most on this site probably own a copy in some way form or fashion of the games it offers. If it could use your own carts or a way to expand the collection on this it might be a good deal. But $60 for a collection of games you already own?! I'll skip this altogether.

Never pre-ordering from them again after what happened earlier this year.

@JustinBailey @mikegamer
Why the hate for GS? I've had only one or two bad experiences with them and I like to buy my games at a store walk in pick it off the shelf and purchase done! Online shopping is not very secure so I hardly ever do! Besides it cuts out the cost of shipping and supports the local economy!

Scalpers beware, your in for a scare.

Was going to get my brother one for Christmas, but last time we talked and played some retro games he said he didn't really even remember the NES, but really wanted to play some Colecovision. So, Colecovison Flashback ordered. Too bad there's no Donkey Kong with it though- that was the pack-in game when we had it circa 1982-3. Thought about Raspberry Pi, but figured that would be too complicated (for him especially) and then I would have to find and buy authentic controllers with USB adapters.

@GameOtaku The list of why not to shop at GameStop is very long but I will mention a few reasons.
Terrible return policy, if you buy anything from them and open it then realize you're not satisfied with it you can not get a refund on it and I'm not talking software I mean consoles, controllers, accessories everything in the store

If you are a loyal customer you still have to pay a fee to really benefit from their rewards program. Most stores offer that for free.

And if your not aware of their abusive trading techniques you probably don't pay for your own games.

Having said that if that's the only way for you to get games, go for it. I don't really want GS to go away I just want them to adopt better business practices unfortunately as long as people keep supporting them, they won't.

And yet another reason to hate GameStop.

@JustinBailey
I pay for my own games. If you don't like what they offer for trades don't trade! Used merchandise you can return if not satisfied, but if you buy a new game and say I don't like it, tough luck this isn't the early 90s where you had to take a chance with the box art. And shop smart be sure what you buy is compatible!

One more reason not to shop at GameStop.

Hopefully we'll be able to pre-order the Nintendo Switch. I really do not want to stand in line when it releases.

sigh at least it isn't limited edition...

I digress everything in the store is non refundable once it's opened. You can exchange it if it's defective but once you opened its yours unless you care to trade it in (lol, you'd be surprised how many people give in to that scam). If you don't believe me look up GameStop return policy you'll quickly find they are rated in the top worst.

Huh at my GameStop if you buy a used game and don't like it they will let you exchange within a week! It must vary from store to store .

As a GameStop/EB Games employee i can honestly say that this is not something they chose to do. Nintendo is notoriously bad at giving us stock allocation so we can't do pre-orders until we get those allocations for obvious reasons.

@GameOtaku you are correct there. They can make exceptions at their discretion but you as a customer are pretty much at their mercy. Most of us don't get that lucky.

@JustinBailey Disclaimer: Former Gamestop Assistant Manager. Gamestop's policy is pretty standard for new merchandise. If it is defective you can exchange it but if not and you open it or break it you may only trade it back in as it is not in resale (as in new condition) yes that includes the gutted display copy. Which is gutted to prevent theft mind you. Yes their trade credit sucks but most places don't allow you to get anything for your purchase. Not sure about a game? Buy it used. I'm sorry preowned. They have a 7 day return policy. I barely bought games but played a ton by, well, abusing this in college.

Yeah I know. I'm not very happy

@Ryu_Niiyama
Kudos to you on sticking it to the man. I'd love to exploit that loop hole myself now that I'm aware of it but I just rather not deal with them at all. Until they fix their policies. It's a real shame that the one store that represents gaming nationally is so crooked.

Not like this thing is gonna sell out anyhow...

Whatever...
Wal-Mart for me then.

I still can't figure out why Nintendo isn't making a bajillion of these things right out of the gate. Make five million. I guarantee they'll all sell. Argh. Want get but fear won't get.

Talked to the Best Buy person that worked at the store pickup counter about this and she said Best Buy also would not be putting this up for preorders

I've never pre-ordered anything in my life, and I can honestly say that I've never had a problem getting a game or a system. If I have to wait a few days, oh well. We can't really complain about this until we know what stocks will be like.

I don't really pre-order as much as I would. But I imagine that the Scalpers want us to buy from them, for even MORE! Why buy it for like 5 bucks a game, when you can spend the same amount for all those games for the Wii U VC and Wii Mode VC? I already have the Upgraded Final Fantasy via Final Fantasy Origins on PS3.

you think maybe they offer this because the switch won't have a virtual console?

@Jamotello I can't see the Switch not having some form of virtual console. I think this is to fill the lack of a big holiday release, and to get "Nintendo" on those hot holiday items lists. I have a bad feeling that most won't be able to pick this up until next year.

@Decapre lol don't be silly 😜 lots and lost of people are going to buy this thing.

@RichardsShadow I think it's to get older gamers who haven't picked up a controller in years to get excited about Nintendo again through nostalgia.

@Jamotello the make way more money per title through vc and licensing. No way the switch isn't going to have vc.

@AirElephant I think they are. I just think this is a special deal with major brick and mortar stores.

@faint I agree, but it won't be a journey finding one.
I feel like i can walk in without preorder and easily get one...

@Decapre that's what they want you to do. They are going to ship more of these than they shipped wiiu's all year. 😜

Well, there's either going to be a ton of these, or none.

For those who don't remember, in New York it was hard to find a Wii on a store shelf for about 2 1/2 years after it launched. 2 1/2 years. I mean, you could find them if you were lucky, millions sold, but I mean just walk in any day every day and see 1 or 2 on a shelf. So I'm not optimistic.

But I really don't know how this is Gamestop's fault though, I figure it went something like this:

Gamestop HQ - Nintend, those NES Mini look great, how many are we getting so we can start taking pre-orders?
Nintnedo HQ - Not nearly enough.

@Captain_Gonru A couple of days ago I could have been on topic for a change.

You pick up PM:CS? 2 levels in, and while the stupid touchscreen battle system is somewhat annoying, I'm having fun.

But I did preorder at the austrian GameStop where I buy most of my games ... 😯

..psh great..see ya there...
...last one in's a Rotten Egg!

I've yet to see or hear of ANY pre-orders in the US (per usual).
And going by Nintendo's continued under-stocking habits (and rumored short supply... rumor, of course, but hard to dispute), I absolutely don't expect to find one of these things at retail.

Just as long as I get a NES Mini, I traded my Xbox One in For credit to get one !

@mikegamer I second that. Preordering amiibo from them last year was a nightmare. Waiting in store on a lunch break for two and half hours, being fifth in line I couldn't get ANY of the amiibo wave with Ness or Lucina. It's probably better off that they aren't offering preorders as they likely haven't made any changes to their corporate computer system in years.

@JustinBailey I love buying my games at GameStop because I just have to walk in when they open up at 9 am and they already know why I'm there. You know, unlike practically every other store where I either have to explain what a "videogame" is, have to spell the game outloud or have to send the already annoyed shop assistant to the storage room to look for the game. Maybe it's just because I am friends with almost the entire staff at the local GameStop, though ...

Got so bored waiting for a pre-order that I picked up a retrusb AVS instead. At least it'll take carts.

@JustinBailey lol not sure what you mean by sticking it to the man. Again GS has a standard policy. Most other places treat electronics (and most goods actually) the same. If you wanted a rental or free trial try red box or buy used. Otherwise do more research or wait for lets plays and reviews. This day and age it is really hard to make a bad purchase blind.

If you are referring to the trade credit I already mentioned that it sucks. However how many goods are you allowed to use, and then take back and get some of your money back? Most places have a "all sales are final policy" unless the item is defective or in the same form you bought it in. Do you only buy games? I'm confused by your outrage.

Last I checked new games have MSRP (in the US) so no price gouging. GS has their issues but don't hate them for things that they do just like everyone else. I don't shop there because I hate the sales pitches (and amazon and bb are cheaper). But I also used to have to do it, so I don't begrudge them. You don't get subs and preorders and your hours go away. No matter how good you are at everything else. But other stores have to pitch that stuff too. Almost every store I go to has a credit card they want me to get.

I'll try to snag one but if not I'll grab two of the controllers.

@SH007ME That is why I hate Black Friday sooooo much. I used to have to work a tripple for that mess. ..."Happy thanksgiving peons! Now back to work..."

I'm good with this.

Fortunately my job has me delivering to malls, and since they now have earlier delivery times I'm inside the mall before it opens. So I will be putting one of my deliveries on hold and waiting outside gamestop for them to open

@Ryu_Niiyama I am not outraged sorry if I came off that way. This conversation is starting to remind of the typical conversation one would have with a person in an abusive relationship. The victim always defends the victimizer and justifies their actions. They even go as far as to say they deserve the abuse because they did something wrong, when it's very clear they didn't.

Wal-mart, Target, Costco, and even Best Buy will gladly take your open merchandise and give you a full refund (not software of course). As far as trading goes your local gaming stores tend give you a better deals than GS. If you don't have access to these outlets and GameStop is your only choice I can see why you shop there. Then again you obviously have the internet and Amazon has a great return policy.

I dont hate GameStop but I do think it's the worst store for these reasons. I am just puzzled why people still support it.

Criticizing GameStop for trade-in values is a little unfair seeing that they will take pretty much any game regardless of its condition. This includes scratched up shovelware, licensed games and sports games, going back up to a decade or so depending on the console.

This includes taking trade-in's of stuff that will most likely never resell or even if it does by the time it does sell it will have been price dropped a few times or might finally sell when GS stops supporting that platform in-store and does their B1G2 or 75% fire sales.

Point being, prices of trade-ins of some games may stink but again a lot of times they are giving you money (or credit) for a lot of stuff that they will not necessarily make much money back on and in the meantime the stuff will be eating up shelf space, too.

For what it is worth, there are some games on various platforms with pretty good trade-in values including games that are several years old. Just have to do a little research and use a little common sense.

@Captain_Gonru "What better way to keep foot traffic up than to force customers to keep coming in?"

They could try not being a store that sucks for starters.

It's the holidays, Gamestop will have more foot traffic than they can deal w/, they don't need annoyed customers coming in every few minutes asking if NES Mini is in stock or not.

I still see it more as a $60 toy than a $300 game console and that's why no pre-orders. Nobody pre-orders $60 toys. And besides, why would Gamestop even want to sell it? They make all of their money off of used games and new games, not consoles, neither of which applies to this, just 1 extra $9.99 controller. Not sure what rofit there will be on this, but they can't sell "add-ons" or whatever you guys in the business call it, w/ this self contained toy.

Sorry, I usually leave all of this business stuff up to you, but I felt like I had a moment of clarity.

Why does it seem like Nintendo is trying to create a shortage? BestBuy & Amazon are not taking preorders yet and GameStop confirmed they won't be doing it at all. If this thing is hard to find like when the Wii was released I'm simply not going to bother. Leave it to Nintendo to ruin my enthusiasm.

Yeah, sounds like something GameStop would do.

They also probably won't have a midnight launch for the Switch.

As an Australian, and being used to the immensely good sales and customer service of EB Games, I find it hard to believe they're the same company.

I remember asking and they admitted their American counterparts were idiots.

@Deathstalker83 you traded a new, high end gaming machine just to get a a mini version of a 31 year old console?!?!? Wow, that Xbox One must have been a really horrible system to do something like that...

I think Gamestop is smart to do it, mainly because they probably don't fully know how much of stock they will get I can see Nintendo having small stock on this, so letting first come, first serve will get rid of the people that would just pre-order a bunch of them, then sell them for a crazy price online.

I hope to get one, so I will be in line November 11th, but if I don't get one, ohh well Not as concerned as a lot of people to get this, I guess.

@SH007ME 😳

@hYdeks There was other reasons why I traded me Xbox One in but that's what i'm going to use the credit on.

@Deathstalker83 whatever reason it is, your at least picking something cool up with the money

I had a PS4 and didn't care for it, I traded it for a Wii U and New 3DS. Everyone thought I was nuts, but I didn't care much for the system, and never played it, the Wii U and 3DS I play all the time.

@Captain_Gonru Who would trade in a $60 NES Mini console at Gamestop, you would get about $5 for it, better off giving it to your neighbor. (Side note, once when I bought a new car the dealer offered me $100 for a trade-in so I just gave the old car for free to my neighbor instead.)

$60 for 30 games, it's a nostalgia piece collectors item, nobody is trading it in. Well a few heroin addicts or something, but not gamers, it isn't a new $60 game they can get $30 for when ti's done. And if Nintneod makes enough there won't be a need to buy used.

If Ninteod makes enough, ha ha

I never got £50 gifts in my stocking. I got a satsuma, some chocolate money and a bag of Iced Gems.

@JustinBailey You do know that return policy is used by most retailers, not just Gamestop...

@Captain_Gonru "they might go all Xenoblade and sell used ones for $100."

Now THAT would be an interesting twist in Ntineod's and Gamestop's relationship I would think. On the one hand I can't imagine it happening, on the other hand I never thought stores would charge people to play demo's either.

My wife got an inheritance from her grandmother, bought the first new car, my wife got a big bonus at her job, bought the 2nd new car. I used to buy old cars off the street for $500. She married down.

@hYdeks I got a new 3ds with some of the credit when I traded in my Xbox One and old 3ds and a 3ds XL and picked up Sega 3D Classics Collection. I'm not to thrilled with the PS4 either I mainly use it to stream WWE Network and a few other apps.

@Deathstalker83 it's a very powerful system, I will give it that, but it feels like to compete with the Xbox they are getting too many of the american shooter games on the system and not enough of the great japanese games they once had on there older systems. Also, I'm really sick of the "Remasters" of games that only came out last gen -_-

@Tasuki you and me both, I stopped buying from them a year ago, mainly because the two stores near me barely have any Nintendo games though. I could understand barely any Wii U games, but the stores near me barely even carry 3DS games, and a lot of the time I had to ask at the counter for a game because they never bothered to display the game on the shelf. Just a overall crappy store...

@hYdeks I feel that way about all systems . These companies need to take a good look at the past libraries of what made gaming popular and fun like Xbox instead of EA just having Madden Xbox need to bring back NFL Fever I could go on but i'm sure you get the general idea of where i'm going with this !

@Captain_Gonru 4 days later...

I never play anything only on the Gamepad, if I did then I'd buy a 3DS. My son does though, while his brother plays PS3 on the TV, and he seems to be fine w/ PMCS that way. I think I'm about the same spot as you are, no 100% yet though, I'm not that kind of gamer, I just play the story. I'm at 96%-97% on a couple though just hitting them all as I go, but I'm not trophy hunting to find the rest.

It looks like Best Buy won't be taking pre-orders either: http://forums.bestbuy.com/t5/Let-s-Talk-Gaming/NES-mini-preorder/td-p/974866/page/2

Based Nintendo's history of poor releases and the likelihood that this will be a hot Christmas gift, this could end up being a nightmare for fans.

@CDavis7M

Nice going, Best Buy. Fail.