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iPad pre-orders overwhelm Norwegian stores
Who's got low expectations for the iPad? Not the Norwegians, as one local store can't keep up with pre-orders. Late last week, retailer Eplehuset (Apple House) suspended pre-orders all together when they sold out. A message posted to their site states that those who have already placed orders will have their spot in line reserved, while others are out of luck. "We have chosen not to receive more pre-orders for now," the site says via Google Translate, "we will contact you as soon as we know anything more." Additionally, iPod1 reports that retailer Humac has suspended iPad pre-orders. We don't have any stats on which model is being ordered most often, but Electronista suggests that it's the 64GB iPad with 3G model. It's also notable that most countries aren't offering pre-orders yet (including Apple itself in the US), so there's no way to gauge if the Norwegian customers' enthusiasm is typical. While e-readers like the Nook and Kindle generated a lot of pre-release buzz, tablet computers historically haven't sparked a blaze of enthusiasm in the wider market. If these retailers' experiences turn out to be typical, Apple will have a real hit on their hands (and in ours) with the iPad.
Left 4 Dead 2: now with 4 times as many pre-orders
As if blissfully dancing on the grave of its opposing and recently deceased boycott, Valve's shambler-shooting sequel, Left 4 Dead 2, seems destined to surpass its predecessor. Speaking to CVG, Chet Faliszek revealed that pre-orders for the game had quadrupled those enjoyed by the original game. "As we get closer to launch we see the reaction to the demo, pre-orders are four times what Left 4 Dead 1 was, people's excitement, the boycott itself and how it's changed..." he said. "I think people are just excited now."Having tested what the power of the people can accomplish (most of all when wielding skull-smashing implements) Valve can finally let that excitement wash over them, content that fans have latched on to what's in the game -- and not what's missing. "Honestly I made the joke and it's true: If you put $20 in a box and charge $10 for it someone would complain you didn't put $50 in a box," added Faliszek. "Not to say some of the concerns raised aren't valid, but you're always going to have some kind of upset and that's not how we work. We work at looking at the project and trying to get it out."Valve gets Left 4 Dead 2 out on November 17th.
Windows 7 breaks Amazon UK pre-order volume record, ousts Harry Potter
Take it from us, your London-based sleuths, when anything sells faster than Harry Potter books or DVDs in the UK, it's scorching hot. Case in point is Microsoft's Vista successor, which has sold so well that it has beaten the Amazon UK pre-order record previously held by J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. In fact, Windows 7 was able to tally up more sales in the first 8 hours of pre-order availability than Vista was able to collect altogether. Now that's what we call an upgrade.
Aion Collector's Edition pre-orders top Steam weekly sales
It's been a stellar week of digital pre-order sales for Aion, with the upcoming title taking top honors on Steam's weekly sales chart. Specifically, it was the Collector's Edition of the game that did so well. Keep in mind that this is not the same as the Limited Collector's Edition, which contains physical items like the Asmodian Daeva figurine that might be too difficult to distribute digitally with our current technology. It does however still contain a handful of in-game items that the regular edition doesn't. The pre-sale of both versions comes with guaranteed access to a couple of closed beta events, as well as an attribute boosting hat, an experience boosting talisman and a "special effects ring".Interestingly, the pre-order for the regular edition didn't crack Steam's top 10. It seems that, just like with the Limited Collector Edition from brick-and-mortar stores, people are happy to pay just a little bit more for that extra something. Steam is selling the regular pre-order for US$49.99 and the collector's edition for US$59.99. The weekly sales chart is based on revenue, so Aion's asking price would have helped it beat popular budget-priced titles.[Via Shacknews]
Windows 7 pre-orders begin in UK, selling out fast
If you're hoping to get in on discounted pre-order pricing for Windows 7 in the UK then you'd best get to clicking, son. We're hearing that copies of the £50 Windows 7 Home Premium E are already sold-out on Amazon but still available at Play.com, for example. Stocks of Windows 7 Professional E look plentiful at £100, for the time being anyway. While the offer is scheduled to go until August 9th, it's limited to some magical quantity known only to Microsoft and its retailers. If you're still on the fence remember, Japan completely sold-out in just a few days.Update: Whoa, and now Windows 7 Home Premium E is back on Amazon.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Mortal Online pre-orders to begin Monday, July 13
Mortal Online is the upcoming massively multiplayer online game being developed by Star Vault, one that will have a deep crafting system in addition to a heavy emphasis on PvP. We've mentioned the details of the limited run of Mortal Online collectors editions and the subsequent delay of Mortal Online pre-orders. The second time's a charm though, we're hoping. It seems that Star Vault is on track to begin pre-orders on Monday, July 13th (at 20:00 GMT +1), according to the announcement in the latest Mortal Online news update. In addition to the pre-orders, Monday will also bring announcements from Star Vault about the game's first beta phase and Mortal Online's system requirements. You can check out the full details in Star Vault's announcement on the official game site.
Mortal Online pre-orders delayed by two weeks
We announced some details about the Mortal Online pre-order which was slated to kick off today in the game's online store. However the Mortal Online developers, Star Vault, announced there will be a two-week delay with the launch of the Mortal Online online store. Star Vault CEO Henrik Nystrom announced: "On the 25th of June we brought you some good stuff, but today we have to bring you bad news. We have been working very hard to get the shop up and for it to accept different methods of payment, however it's not obvious we have been too optimistic this time as we have encountered several last-minute problems.More information and a new schedule will be announced on the Mortal Online game store soon." (Thanks for the tip, Rhys)
iPhone 3G S pre-orders start shipping, reservations estimated in the hundreds of thousands
We've got a number of tips this morning about lucky iPhone 3G S pre-orderers getting shipment notifications from Apple. Naturally, with a high profile launch like this we're guessing Apple has done all it can to ensure shipments won't slip through earlier than the June 19th launch date, but hopefully at least few folks will get lucky -- and at least they've got one of the only guarantees of a launch day phone going. In other news, an anonymous Apple Store employee has done some homework and tallied up average reservation numbers at other US stores -- he estimates about 800 people on average are on the reservation list per Apple Store (ranging from a couple hundred to well over a thousand), which amounts to about 200,000 reservations as of now, a number he believes could double before launch. There's no way to back that number up, but it sounds fairly rational. Finally, the iPhone 3G S firmware download link has made its way into the wild. Sure, it doesn't do you any good if you don't have an iPhone 3G S, but we thought you just might want to know all the same.[Thanks to everyone who sent these in]Read - iPhone 3G S shipping noticeRead - iPhone 3G S firmware
Nokia N97 NAM preorders shipping in both colors
We've received confirmation from Nokia that preorders of the beastly N97 have now started shipping to American customers in both available colors, black and white. That puts the white model a couple days behind the black, true -- but any way you slice it, this still beats the online store's old estimate of July by a mile, so we can't complain too hard. Anyone out there already (creepily) strategically positioned on their porch in preparation for the FedEx dude's arrival later today?[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Star Vault reveals Mortal Online beta and pre-order details, launch info
Another competitor in the hardcore PvP niche in MMOs may give Darkfall Online a run for their money: Mortal Online from Sweden-based developer Star Vault. The game is presently in closed beta and is about to get its first test of the release build. The real news here is that Mortal Online has announced its open beta and release schedules. Pre-orders for Mortal Online will begin on June 29th via the official site, and the actual launch (with monthly subscriptions) is slated for Q4 2009. Anyone who pre-orders the game "in any of the formats available" will have access to all of the beta phases remaining until the title launches. The catch, however, is that the pre-orders are limited to 10,000 people.
CrimeCraft to be sold exclusively for North America at Best Buy
One of the titles gamers can look forward to this summer is CrimeCraft, a hybrid of a shooter and urban MMO from Vogster Entertainment, to be published by THQ Inc. in August. Vogster and THQ have taken a somewhat surprising step towards distribution of CrimeCraft in North America; the title will be sold exclusively at Best Buy, either in-store or online. The exclusivity of this deal may bring some perks to CrimeCraft players. The official release states: "Consumers who purchase CrimeCraft at Best Buy will receive two months of free play time and a number of exclusive in-game items, including two in-game t-shirts from acclaimed real-world fashion labels and a combat backpack for their avatar. Gamers will also receive a virtual Best Buy discount card that allows them to purchase in-game items at a reduced cost. Those gamers pre-ordering CrimeCraft via Best Buy retail stores or online at www.bestbuy.com, will additionally receive virtual in-game shoes from Ecko Unltd., created by fashion icon Marc Ecko, access to play the pre-release version of the game during beta, and three days' head start at the game's launch."Pre-orders begin on May 31st (online) or on June 7th (in stores). CrimeCraft is still slated for an August 25th launch.%Gallery-48843%
Nokia Spain taking N97 pre-orders next week, deliveries in June
Our dear colleagues over at Engadget Spanish have learned that the cream of the Nseries crop -- the N97 -- will be available for pre-order on Nokia Spain's site starting next Monday, May 4. Of course, there's a world of difference between a pre-order and actually having a device sitting in your paws, and it sounds like retail units will be delivered at some point in June. We'll take two, Nokia Spain -- giftwrapped and overnighted to the States, please. Thanks!
Darkfall prepares for launch, renewed sales of games
Today's the big day, Darkfall fans! The 25th of February has arrived and Darkfall should be fully online sometime this afternoon/evening as Aventurine flips the switch on their servers!This launch hasn't passed without problems though. First came the online pre-order page becoming swamped with traffic, leading to multiple credit card charges, people who never received their activation codes, and people who got codes but weren't even charged for the game. If you have had a problem with your pre-order, and wish to check the status of your account, you can always do so on the account management page. Be warned -- account management is under extreme stress from all the traffic and has been mostly down.Today, the heavily burdened website's forums have been up and down, with timeouts occurring as players pile in to see what the news is on the servers. Currently, as of the writing of this post, the servers are still down and unresponsive.Sales of Darkfall will also resume today, as Aventurine plans to start selling the game early in the evening, around the time the servers go live. No exact time has been given yet, but we'll keep our eye on the forums for any specifics given by the development team.
T-Mobile's G1 presales aren't "even close" to 1.5M
A source close to the situation has chimed in to tell us that T-Mobile's G1 presales -- while very strong, and seemingly making the carrier and HTC very happy campers -- are nowhere near the 1.5 million figure being randomly spouted off by Motley Fool. We don't have an exact figure, but to put things in perspective, it took 74 days of real, actual sales for Apple to hit a million iPhones -- which like the G1 numbers here, counted the US market alone. Real question is, what percentage of the presales have been for that crazy brown model, eh?
WAR marches into retail with 1.5 million
Mythic Entertainment has announced that 1.5 million units of Warhammer Online have been shipped to retail worldwide. The game is also EA's most pre-ordered PC title to date. It's been said these kinds of numbers would be required for the game to be considered a success. Of course, shipping 1.5 million copies to retailers and selling them are two different things. Which isn't to say we don't think the game will sell well, especially if the head start is any indication. It's just that hard numbers are still a few weeks away.With Wrath of the Lich King coming out just around the corner, we're pretty certain that there's going be a numbers battle in the minds of MMO gamers throughout the next several months. We have to admit, it's going to be a little interesting to watch the sales of both WAR, Wrath and Mines of Moria. Our hope is that they all do well, because all of them are great titles.
Warhammer Online access details for pre-orders and Collector's Edition
Warhammer Online fans, the promised day is almost here. Mythic has announced early access details for pre-order and Collector's Edition customers. Pre-orders get a headstart and will be invited to play as of September 15th; those who sprung for the Collector's Edition get to trump everyone else, gaining access to WAR on September 14th in addition to some of those other sweet extras that come with the CE. Still, not all Collector's Edition customers are happy about how CE customers are being treated. One Collector's Edition buyer named 'Micah' had a nightmare of a problem with his order from Electronic Arts (EA). A simple request to not have his CE shipped to an address he no longer lives at was met with a bizarre choice to be made -- either cancel the order and lose out on the sold-out CE, or let the order stand and have it shipped to the complete strangers living at Micah's former residence. Check out the entire correspondence between EA and Micah at The Consumerist. We hope this is an isolated incident, particularly given the cost and apparent rarity of the Collector's Edition. Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out all of our previous Warhammer Online features, and don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!
Mythic publishes Warhammer Online pre-order FAQ
Mythic has created the beginnings of a FAQ intended to help would-be-customers sort out all the details about pre-ordering Warhammer Online. Info included in the FAQ: how to pre-order in Canada, who to poke to get pre-order codes when you place your order through an online store, and details and definitions on the beta testing phases, among other things.Mythic promises that the FAQ will be updated with new information in the future, but doesn't say what kind of information it'll be.The FAQ has some helpful information if you have those specific questions, of course. If you want a more in-depth and badass guide to pre-ordering WAR, though, check out our WAR collector's edition pre-order guide. Which retailer distributes codes in the most helpful way? Which one gives you the best extra goodies? It's all there!
Breakfast Topic: When's Wrath?
If I had a nickle for every e-mail the WoW Insider team received that told us when Wrath of the Lich King was going to be released because Amazon or GameStop was selling pre-orders, I'd probably be lounging on a beach enjoying drinks decorated with tiny paper umbrellas instead of enjoying the glamerous lifestyle of a rock star blogger. Trust us, folks, game sellers usually don't know anything more than you or I -- but they're eager to get your pre-orders in and they can't do that without a release date. (Certainly not when we're talking about Blizzard "We'll Release It When It's Done" Entertainment.) These are their best guesses and, who knows, they may turn out to be right, but they're not based on any secret insider info. And, hey, why should retail outlets get all the fun when, really, anyone can play the "Guess the Wrath of the Lich King Release Date" game? So tell us, dear readers, when do you think Blizzard will really release Wrath of the Lich King upon the world?
Forum Post of the Day: Wrath release dates
We're all anxiously anticipating the announcement of a release date for Warth of the Lich King. Many of us speculate that the game will be released in November of this year. Many players have sent us tips about various retailers and their release dates. Lubu of EU-Burning Blade shared an email from the vendor with which he placed a preorder of the game: Dear sir Thank you for the following order placed with GAME. As you may already be aware, the release date for World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Expansion Pack has changed to Oct 2008. Changes to release dates are relatively common in the videogames industry and are unfortunately beyond our control. Don't worry, your order is still live and will be despatched prior to its release date via your chosen method of delivery.
Square-Enix offers in-game harpsichord for CD pre-order
The CD compilations of Final Fantasy game music are popular items among players, so any new release is cause for celebration. This newest CD, however, entitled Piano Collections Final Fantasy XI has special significance -- first edition pressings come with a code included that unlocks a beautiful harpsichord for use in the Mog House.The pre-order ends on June 12th, so fans of the soundtracks will want to visit the site and get moving on this today. Looking at the track listing available made us want to make a joke about passing the Duchy 'pon the left-'and side, but fortunately, we're too mature for that.[Thanks, Fusionx!]
