Wal-Mart's Wii pre-orders, despite coming with a ridiculous four game (!) bundle, apparently came and went in the space of a heartbeat. Tipsters have told Wii Fanboy that though they signed up for a newsletter or notification e-mail, nothing arrived ... so unless you were one of the lucky ones who got one, or you were camping Wal-Mart's site, odds are you didn't snag one of these pricey bundles.
There is, however, the possibility of a light at the end of this tunnel. At this time, we have not located anyone who actually obtained one of the bundles, and there is some question as to whether or not they even went on sale. Most of the people we've talked to who were camping the preorder got a big nothing. In the interest of getting the whole story (including how many units they had available for this), we've put in a call to Wal-Mart, but in the meantime, if you got one or know someone who did, we'd love to hear about it. We'll update you as the information comes in. It certainly looks like they really did sell out -- the main page at Walmart.com is advertising the pre-orders and the actual page is reporting them as out of stock ... but where are the lucky folks who got one, if that's the case?
Dislike forced bundles? Who doesn't! But word is that after the Xbox 360 launch (which featured another enormous bundle at Wal-Mart), buyers had little trouble returning unwanted items for a refund. That takes some pain out of the bundle, if there's a repeat of that policy this year ....
[Thanks to everyone who's been sending this in!]
[Update 1: Now seeing a few posts on forums from people who say they got one (where are the screencaps of evidence, guys?), but still waiting to hear back from Wal-Mart rep on veracity and number of units.]
[Update 2: Reader WedgeTalon forwarded us the text of an e-mail posted at Cheap Ass Gamer (it's somewhere in the 20+ page thread, we expect), and we quote this line only: Amount Charged to Your Credit Card: $ 597.66. Ouch! Looks like the two minutes of preorders did go down -- now we have to hope for the callback from Wal-Mart verifying number of units.]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-01-2006 @ 2:54PM
WedgeTalon said...
I was camping the site but ended up unable to get one as my wife had snagged my credit card to buy me an anniversary gift today. Oh the irony!
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11-01-2006 @ 3:01PM
eric said...
I got one and was pretty happy about it. At least they let you pick the games you wanted. I got the 360 on the Circuit City pre-order last year, and that was a disaster. My wife and I were sitting at two separate computers, trying to see if we could get anything to work. At least Wal-Mart was hassle free, you know, except for the waiting and refreshing.
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11-01-2006 @ 3:22PM
splitmetal said...
I got one (I hope). I found out about the preorders from Kotaku, via CAG/cheapy D. Sorry, I have no screenshot from my purchase, and I'm too lazy to scan back in my printout or provide a screenshot of the confirmation email.
They went fast. By the time I finished my order and called up a friend to let him know about the preorders, they were already sold out.
And it went through way smoother than my circuit city preorder for the 360. That was a disaster only matched by my failed attempts at getting radiohead tickets through ticketmaster.com.
Thank goodness for competent web teams.
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11-01-2006 @ 3:38PM
WedgeTalon said...
Props to CAG forumer bestgs for his posting of the email.
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11-01-2006 @ 3:40PM
Dave said...
As best as I can tell, this is the breakdown of the bundle (please add what I'm missing or messing up)
Wii Console w/ WiiSports, 1 controller, 1 nunchuck - $250
4 games (4x $50) $200
1 extra controller and nunchuck - $60
2000 Wii Points - $20
My math says that's $530. What's the extra $3?
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11-01-2006 @ 4:00PM
WedgeTalon said...
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5272700
Wii Points Card
$24.82
So,
System: 249.82
Remote: 39.82
Chuck: 19.82
Games: 49.82 (x4)
Points: 24.82
==
$533.56
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11-01-2006 @ 4:08PM
Dave said...
I've read several places that 100 Wii points = $1. Did it change?
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11-01-2006 @ 4:14PM
gphoenix51 said...
I'm sure the $4.82 is tax or the price of the card itself, since NES games are 500 points and that equals $5 bucks, then 100 points = $1
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11-01-2006 @ 4:18PM
Dave said...
I hadn't thought about that, but I still think it's wrong. The card should be free. Gift cards are free. Microsoft points are the same price whether you buy them in a store (card) or online (no card). Tax won't be applied until you check out, and besides, that's almost 25%.
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11-01-2006 @ 4:27PM
WedgeTalon said...
I dunno, Dave. Apparently either retailers can charge markup, or they're gonna be $5 more expensive.
Here's a froogle search showing a wide range: http://froogle.google.com/froogle?hl=en&lr=&q=%22wii%20points%22
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11-01-2006 @ 4:29PM
heemz said...
i was signed up for the email and got no headsup. the only thing i've gotten is tons of spam about their new other crap. nothing even pertaining to the Wii. Seems they just hooked people up for their normal newsletter and didn't deliver for a heads up.
oh well.
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11-01-2006 @ 5:17PM
Chris said...
I got one somehow, but got the 2-3 day shipping so I should be getting it right before thanksgiving!
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11-01-2006 @ 5:56PM
Sato said...
"[Update 1: Now seeing a few posts on forums from people who say they got one (where are the screencaps of evidence, guys?), but still waiting to hear back from Wal-Mart rep on veracity and number of units.]"
Yeah, my first priority when I preorder a gaming system would be to get screenshots of evidence -- despite easily being photoshop/mspaintable later. Totally.
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11-01-2006 @ 6:26PM
KStover said...
So....this means no camping at wal-marts on launche day eve? Whatever happened to Wal-Mart and no preorders. I'm limited to Best Buy now, where EVERYONE will be.
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11-01-2006 @ 6:51PM
Blightwatr said...
As a Wal-Mart Home Office employee, I can tell you the Wal-Mart.com merchandise is treated seperately from in-store merchandise. So, while the website may have sold-out their allotment, it doesn't mean you won't be able to secure one in the stores. Just an FYI for those who think they are screwed into waiting in line at Best Buy, CompUSA, etc.
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11-01-2006 @ 7:11PM
josh said...
what about target i know that there getting a lot of units you should try there as well....
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11-02-2006 @ 10:45AM
Nelson said...
I got one, but I have yet to receive a confirmation e-mail, which worries me. Camped at the site starting at about 8:30AM pacific, and when they went live at about 9:40 just snatched one up and it is in my Purchase History...but still no confirm...
Anybody have any ideas? Did I not get it?
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