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Future Shop feels really bad about Touch Pro mixup, offers Touch Diamond blowout as peace offering
When it comes to the retailin' biz, apologies don't really mean a lot to us -- unless they're accompanied by some sort of financial recompense, of course. Canada's Future Shop is graciously extending an offer to sell Telus' HTC Touch Diamond for just $99.99 CAD on a three-year contract (a $100 discount) after it was unable to deliver on its flyer's promise of a Touch Pro this week for $239.99. The store blames the "vendor's shipping delay" for the gaffe, and you know what? We believe them.[Via MobileInCanada]
New Mac placeholders appear in Future Shop stock system
If there's one thing we've learned over years (aside from the fact that Segway users will always be looked at strangely), it's that Best Buy's inventory systems are famous for turning us on to forthcoming wares. Just this year, strange part numbers in its stock system have correctly predicted the arrival of new MacBook Pros, the Nikon D90 and an unlocked US 3G Touch Diamond. Now, we're feasting our eyes upon the latest snippet from Future Shop's (Best Buy's Canadian sibling) inventory system, which shows a half dozen new Mac placeholders for French and English language machines. Unfortunately, "Apple Mac" is about as vague as it gets, but we wouldn't be shocked one iota to see new MBPs surface in the near future. C'mon stock system -- don't let us down.
FutureShop: Force Unleashed, Gears free with Xbox 360
Canadian retailer FutureShop has bundled a pair of titles, valued at $99, with every purchase of an Arcade or 60GB Xbox 360 console. For a limited time Gears of War and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed will be included with each console purchase. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is the key title included in this bundle as it has just been released and is receiving mostly positive buzz.Buyers note that the version of Gears of War included in the bundle appears to be the original version and not the recently released special edition which includes new multiplayer maps among other treats.
Canada Day Futureshop, Best Buy Canada promotions
In honor of Canada Day on July 1, FutureShop and Best Buy Canada are bundling up savings and throwing them to Canadian consumers. This week, until July 3, Best Buy Canada is offering the Xbox 360 Premium console with the recently released Alone in the Dark for $349.99; a savings of $60. Best Buy is also holding a Buy 2 for $99 promotion on Ninja Gaiden II, Battlefield: Bad Company and Hellboy: The Science of Evil! Select any two of the three for a huge savings (we wonder which two people will pick!). Lastly, Best Buy is offering Guitar Hero: Aerosmith for $89.99 netting gamers a $10 instant savings and $5 off a 12 month subscription to Xbox Live ($54.99).Not to be outdone, FutureShop continues its console bundling experiments by mixing an Xbox 360 Elite with Gears of War and Dark Sector for $449.99 (a $90 value). Also for those who haven't picked up Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV, the title has dropped $5 to $54.99. Hey, every penny counts!
Canadian console combos continue
FutureShop and Best Buy Canada have been bundling up Xbox 360's with a number of titles for quite some time but this week's promotional bundles might turn some Canadian heads. FutureShop is bundling copies of Halo 3 and Gears of War (both standard editions) with the purchase of the Xbox 360 Premium or Elite bundle while Best Buy is bundling Premium Xbox 360 consoles with the Guitar Hero III Bundle (including game and wireless guitar). Clearly the Best Buy promotion is the better deal of the two netting potential gamers a savings of over $100 while Halo 3 and Gears of War can be found at significantly lower prices. Have a friend on the fence about switching up from that crummy old Amiga to a new Xbox 360? Maybe one of these promos will tickle their fancy.
Give Dad the gift of gaming with Xbox 360
Hey Canadians, thinking about getting your father into gaming? While our dads can barely program the VCR, yours may possess the keen insight to pull off a 100-hit combo in Ninja Gaiden II. Best Buy and FutureShop have a few special promotion bundles available just in time for Father's Day that you may want to take a look at.At Best Buy, purchasing an Xbox 360 Elite package will allow you to choose from four pre-selected bundles that groups such titles as Grand Theft Auto IV with Tomb Raider Anniversary or Lego Indiana Jones with Lego Star Wars: The Original Trilogy to name a few for $449.99 CND.Purchasing either the Premium ($349.99 CND) or Elite ($449.99) consoles at FutureShop will net you your choice of GTAIV, Ninja Gaiden II, Lego Indiana Jones or The Bourne Conspiracy.Full details on Best Buy's offer and a clipping from the FutureShop bundle after the jump.
Xbox 360 HD DVD drive hits $19.99 in Canada
Although the €9.99 Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on over in Ireland is likely still the cheapest way to snag one from a retail location, that flight to Dublin is apt to offset any potential savings. Nevertheless, those in Canada can come awfully close to said deal by visiting FutureShop, which is currently offering the once-molten hot unit for a mere $19.99. Unfortunately, it seems sold out online, but you can certainly phone up your local B&M location and hope for the best.[Thanks, Andrew]
FutureShop plans GTA IV event at select stores
Canadian gamers looking to score their copy of Grand Theft Auto IV as soon as possible are in luck. Big box retailer FutureShop is holding midnight launch events at select stores across the Great White North in anticipation of the big game. Select customers will be treated to a IV branded baseball cap while live DJs spin tunes at the event. Also on site will be Sony street teams allowing gamers to demo various titles (we doubt GTA IV will be playable due to its M rated nature however).One lucky winner at each event will also be able to win a PlayStation 3, we say lucky because a PS3 probably trades for a decent amount towards an Xbox 360. We kid, we kid.%Gallery-3451%
Future Shop offers $100 trade for HD DVD players
We didn't think HD DVD early adopters could get any luckier when Best Buy started handing out $50 gift cards, but we were wrong. Future Shop, Canada's largest retailer of consumer electronics, is offering a $100 trade-in promotion on all HD DVD players towards the purchase of select Samsung or LG model Blu-ray / HD DVD combo players (which retail for $499.99 CND each). Future Shop has sweetened the deal to consumers by promising to donate returned HD DVD Players the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada for use in their after-school and evening programs. Charity and a discount in the HD format war? That's the Canadian hospitality we're accustomed to hearing about! The promotion began on March 7 and will run until April 3 across Canada.
Future Shop offers trade-in credit for HD DVD players, will donate old decks to charity
Slowly but surely, we're seeing retailer after retailer conjure up its own trade-in / exchange program to deal with the finality of the format war. Canada's Future Shop, however, has certainly put an interesting twist on things. First off, it'll accept standalone HD DVD players purchased from anywhere until April 3rd. In exchange, you'll receive $100 off the purchase of an LG or Samsung Blu-ray / HD DVD combo player, but not a standalone Blu-ray player of any kind. Unfortunately, that means your options are pretty limited, but we can certainly understand the retailer's desire to wash its hands of anything with an HD DVD logo on it. Better still, Future Shop will be donating all of the returned HD DVD players to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada "for use in their after-school and evening programs." Now if that's not a reason to trade-up, we don't know what is. [Thanks, Josh]
Rumor: Canadian Xbox 360 price drops $50 Friday
Update 8:15 PM EST: Toys R Us Canada has apparently lowered their prices already.Thanks to an anonymous tipster, we have early word on what might be an upcoming price drop for the Canadian Xbox 360. The above phonecam photo comes from a FutureShop Canada employee, who says he was "quite surprised" to find a $50 price drop for the Xbox 360 Pro Console advertised right on the front page of next week's advertising fliers. Our source also tells us that the inside of the flier trumpets a $50 price drop for the XBox 360 Elite (to $449), an offer which allegedly includes a free copy of Turok.Both price drops should be effective Friday, if this rumor proves true, and while we have no way of confirming this information as of yet, we have no explicit reason to doubt it either. Regardless, if you're a Canadian looking to buy an Xbox 360, it couldn't hurt to wait a couple of days to see if you can save a bit of green, er, funny multicolored money.
Toshiba's HD-D3 going for $100 on Boxing Day
We've already seen some fairly notable deals for a variety of Toshiba HD DVD players in America and Australia, so it's only fair that the Canucks get a bargain of their own, right? Starting at 6:00AM on Boxing Day (that's December 26th for us Americans), Futureshop will be offering up the HD-D3 for a mere $99.99 while supplies last. It needn't be said, but we'd recommend queuing up a few hours in advance if you're dead set on securing one.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Rumor: Rock Band delayed in Canada until Dec. 19 [update 1]
Harmonix and Electronic Arts' love child Rock Band is supposed to launch its North American tour in a little over a week, but Canada might not be seeing this game until just before Christmas. Canadian retailer Future Shop (owned by Best Buy) has updated its listing for the game with a new release date: December 19 for Xbox 360 and the day after for PlayStation 3. (Curiously, a version of Rock Band without instruments is also listed for those dates.)A number of readers have also reported that their local Canadian EB Games are corroborating the four-week delay. There's no official word from EA or Harmonix yet. Online retailers are prone to error, and with just a week before the game is slated for release, we hope that's all it is. Otherwise, given such short notice and such a noticeable delay, local EA offices might have a mosh pit of angry Hockey fanatics to contend with.Update: bits bytes pixels and sprites has an interview with Harmonix where it is noted that packaging regulations (i.e. Canadian boxes must have English and French text) might cause a short delay -- though we hardly doubt that would justify four weeks of absence. It should also be noted that the PS2 version of the game is due out December 17 which, if the delay is indeed an error, would explain the origins of the miscommunicated release date.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Two-tone DS Lite, Brain Age 2 bundle coming August 20 [Update]
Last week, forum members at RedFlagDeals stumbled upon a listing on Canadian retailer Future Shop for a two-toned, Crimson and Black Nintendo DS Lite bundled with a matching carrying case and Brain Age 2. The entire set was priced at $159.99 Canadian dollars (approx. US $153). It was to ship on August 20 alongside the brain trainer's release date.Unfortunately, the listing has since gone missing. We really dig the new colors and the deal. Here's hoping it comes back up close to Brain Age 2's launch, either on Future Shop or another retailer site.Update: Though it hasn't returned to Future Shop yet, Gamestop has a listing for the bundle, priced at $149.99, with no image available and no mention of a bonus carrying case.[Via Engadget]
Canadians get 4 games free with 360 purchase
Canadian gamers are in for a treat this week, because Future Shop has an Xbox 360 deal you can't refuse. This week Future Shop is offering the Premium Xbox 360 Forza 2 bundle for $499, but they are also throwing in three free games to boot! The three free games included are Crackdown, World Series of Poker: Tournament Of Champions, and Hitman: Blood Money plus Forza 2 equals four free games with a 360 purchase. Now that's what we call gaming in a box. Though, we recommend holding out until tomorrow night to see if the rumored 360 price drop happens. If not, go get yourself a 360 ... you deserve it.[Thanks, DjDATZ]
Future Shop wants Canadians to get 360s; Free gift card if out of stock
Future Shop, the Canadian equivalent to Best Buy (who actually purchased the franchise in 2001), promoted the Xbox 360 as a worthy next gen console in a recent "Ask the Expert" column. The article brings up various points about how the 360 stacks up to the competition, mentioning price, resolution and available titles. It's good that they're giving an honest look at the hardware. They finished up with the following:"Even better, Future Shop guarantees that the Xbox 360 will always be in stock - or you'll receive a $30 Future Shop Gift Card - so you can join in the future of gaming anytime. "So you fellow Canuck fanboys keep your eyes peeled next time you're at Future Shop, because you could snag a gift card that could go towards your next game.[Via Digg]
Sweet Xbox 360 bundle from Future Shop
We got a great deal for all the Canadian readers in Xbox 360 Fanboy land. Future Shop (the "it" electronics retailer in Canada) is offering an irresistible Xbox 360 bundle. What's included is a premium Xbox 360, G.R.A.W, XBL Arcade: Unplugged, Ridge Racer 6, and our little gem Gears of War. The price is pretty nice and may make you want to slap yourself and call your pet salamander Sally. You get everything for the low, low Canadian price of $449.99. Better than playing hockey in the Summer and is just an all around good deal isn't it, eih?[Thanks, Randy]
