Nintendo blamed for pre-order ambiguity
Customers at Virgin Megastores interested in preordering a PS3 are being told that they may or may not actually get the console they're reserving, thanks to Nintendo. Yeah, our reaction was very like that "what-huh" you've got going on there. Now, we know there were Wii shortages in the UK (as there are now everywhere), but there are often shortages at launch. It's part of the rush to be an early adopter -- you get out there and fight your fellow gamers and everyone has a grand time. No, we're just confused as to why this is an issue. It's pretty much SOP around here to assume that pre-orders aren't a guarantee. Most places even remind you of that fact either on a receipt or in person at the time of preorder. So instead of pointing the finger at Nintendo, why aren't they just saying, "That's the way of preorders, old chap! We'll keep our fingers crossed for you." Instead, they're all trying to instigate some problems between Sony and Nintendo. Good game, Virgin... let's get everyone amped up to fight!
Outside of all the finger-pointing drama, there is an interesting underlying issue in this story regarding the shortages. Nintendo denies any shortages, and seems to have delivered on their year-end numbers. Virgin says they didn't receive what was promised. Nintendo swears they released all allocations in October and met them on time. Certainly someone's at fault here, but it's hard to tell amidst all the finger-pointing.
