Rumor Mill -- Wii pre-orders open Wednesday at GameStop/EB
by Nikki Inderlied 
{ Oct 10th 2006 at 1:00PM }
These days Wii rumors are about as common as PS3 delays. Anything and everything people scrounge up flies all over the interwebs but this one here is quite a doozy.
It's time to (hopefully) break out the fireworks and confetti 'cause an unconfirmed source told us that Wii system and accessory pre-orders are open TOMORROW. Re-read that a few times gents. It was hard for us to believe too.
Now the reason we say "rumor" is because we made a dozen calls to all our local GameStops/EBs and while a good chunk of them said yes to tomorrow, others said the boring non-helpful "sometime this week."
Still, even if it is "sometime this week" that is something to celebrate. Break the piggy bank and get your 50 bucks ready. Oh, and ignore those still trying to tell you that you have to trade in 50 dollars worth of games/systems/accessories. They are liars and thieves.
Celebrations commence!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Matt Smylie @ Oct 10th 2006 1:11PM
I just called my GameStop (Twin Falls, ID), and the manager said it'll be sometime this week, but she doesn't know when.
Oh, the anticipation!
OSM @ Oct 10th 2006 1:32PM
It looks like I was one of the few lucky ones that got my pre-order in through amazon.com after the Wii Launch date was announced .. they quickly turned it off which makes me nervous .. but .. day after day i check and it says shipping Nov. 19th.
Should I be worried?
All Your Lost Socks @ Oct 10th 2006 1:26PM
Freakin'... I don't get paid until Friday :(
Well, that and I'm not getting one until Christmas. If there are any LEFT by Christmas. Of the FOUR MILLION.
Chinami @ Oct 10th 2006 1:30PM
Thanks be to god, I have enough to put down a deposit. Er, pay it off. Completely. Praise be to St. Eva.
I'm still camping out.
All Your Lost Socks @ Oct 10th 2006 1:39PM
OSM - I think the consensus was that they have enough for the preorders already placed, but they shut them down because they were unsure whether they'd have -more- than that. You should be fine. :)
Jeff @ Oct 10th 2006 1:58PM
I just called 4 local GS/EB's. Three of them said they didn't know or hadn't heard anything. One said call back tomorrow, which was promising. I used to work at a GameStop...usually the employees won't say a word to customers about things like this because we're told not to...
Laurie @ Oct 10th 2006 2:12PM
huh? i don't get what the big deal's about? I've been able to preorder my wii at hmv and gamestation in the UK since the 15th.
Chris @ Oct 10th 2006 2:36PM
Laurie -
Forgive Joystiq for not explicitly posting in their thread, but they were discussing USA retailers, not UK retailers. It's a big deal because it's the first major B&M store to offer preorders.
Nimbus @ Oct 11th 2006 6:12PM
omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg o my god!!!!!!i wont waste you guys' time about how excited i am about this(cuz i know u feel the same way).just wanted to say thanks nintendo, http://www.4colorrebellion.com/, and nintendo wii fanboy.i couldnt have known all i can know and get this excited without you guys.get it,play it,watch it,play it again,and then get more accesories.
antho @ Oct 10th 2006 9:15PM
My local (Tampa) Gamestop manager told me "this Friday"...
stephen @ Oct 10th 2006 4:21PM
yeah, i called my Eb store (indian river mall, Fl) and they said they had no clue.Nothing. but i have the money to put down a preorder tho, so , hopefully i can.
dannyboy112591 @ Oct 10th 2006 4:34PM
if it is wensday (tomorow) do you guys think i can pick up a preorder around 430ish? thats like 6 hours after the store opens.
Egon Pax @ Oct 10th 2006 4:45PM
I've called 6 local GS/EB's and 5 of them said "next week." One of them (the most astute sounding) said rumored this Friday. But who knows.
At least 3 of them told me that if you pre-order a Wii game, then they'll call you the day they start taking pre-orders. Which might not do anyone any good. (Like the PS3.)
I really hope they'll start taking pre-orders this Friday, since I don't work Friday's. Come on Friday!!! I don't want to have to take off a day (or half a day of work for this!)
Justin @ Oct 10th 2006 4:58PM
Well they could've warned us. I spent all my extra money on DS games and now I don't have any to put down on it tomorrow.
Hmmm... now I have to figure out a way to get 50 extra bucks.
You think if I stood on the street corner and shouted "Money for Wii!", anyone would help me out?
Mr. Khan @ Oct 10th 2006 5:10PM
I knew it
I got my Pre-order at GameCrazy, which is about 30 miles away, and as soon as i left the store, i thought "I'm jinxing myself, Gamestop preorders will start tommorrow"
So it wasn't tommorrow (which is today) it was the day after......
Sorry if i got confusing
Now I panic, i am 8th on thier list, will that be in the first shipment?!? Probably, but i still panic
Justin @ Oct 10th 2006 5:18PM
I called a few around where i live, and all of them said they believed this week, one guy hinted at me getting there early tomorrow.
Seth @ Oct 10th 2006 5:49PM
Does anyone know if Target in the USA is going to be taking preorders? I wanted to take advantage of the 10% off you get if you sign up for a Target RedCard (the Target credit card). I was planning on showing up at 7:30am at my local Target (northern California) on launch day and buying my Wii then, but now I feel like I might not get one.
Is Target actually going to get Wii's on launch day?
Billy_McBong @ Oct 10th 2006 7:31PM
is it possible to preorder things online or over the phone?
Ryan Pax @ Oct 10th 2006 8:54PM
If you live in Canada like i do, get to a Toys 'R' Us as soon as possible. I pre-ordered mine in July and found just found out i'm getting 2 games and an extra controller set for the price of the normal console!! I called the store and the guy wasn't sure if the extra game is on top of the WiiSPorts pack in or not, so i'm at least getting an extra game for sure. Now do i go straight for free ZELDA or do i give RedSteel a chance and save Link for X-MAS?
Zyblorg @ Oct 10th 2006 9:16PM
Actually, I just spoke to a ToysRUs clerk here in Toronto about my preorder, and he told me that the TRU preorders don't guarantee you a unit on the 19th -- they just get you a place in line. And if you are like me, and didn't buy a preorder until September, it looks like you're way at the back of the line. Dang.
justin @ Oct 10th 2006 9:32PM
will this be available to pre order online tommorow
Josh @ Oct 10th 2006 9:45PM
As long as preorders are sometime this week, during a weekday, I'm not missing school. Beyond that, I'd rather wait in line on launch day at a big box retailer and just get one that way. Less hassle, and you don't have to worry if your store will keep a reserved unit for you.
Foetoid @ Oct 10th 2006 10:58PM
I dont get it. EB Games Australia started preorders the day we all found out the launch prices, and i preordered mine that very day. They even have a deal where i can trade in my shitty xbox, a dozen shitty gamecube/ps2/xbox games (god i got some shit games lying around) and i get the Wii for half price. Meaning i get my Wii, plus zelda and red steel for the same cost as the Wii itself without the discount. I dont understand why the rest of the world was so slow to adopt the preordering, especially since it is the same company (EB Games)