Wii U pre-orders sold out at GameStop, retailer opening waitlist

"Demand for Wii U has been off the charts," GameStop president Tony Bartel said. The retailer is no longer taking pre-orders, and has started a waitlist for post-launch systems.

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GameStop stores nationwide are no longer taking Wii U pre-orders, as discovered by our very own Ozzie Mejia. Getting a console on launch day at the popular games retailer is going to be difficult, as "overwhelming demand" has forced the company to stop taking pre-orders for both the Deluxe and Basic packages.

"Demand for Wii U has been off the charts," GameStop president Tony Bartel said in a press release. And while pre-orders for launch day units are gone, the company has opened a wait list exclusively for their PowerUp Rewards members. By visiting a retail location, PowerUp members will be able to join a wait list. "Customers will be notified when a Wii U is available for purchase and will have 48 hours to respond. There is no deposit required to join the wait list and enrolling does not guarantee a Wii U on or by a specified date or at a specific price," the press release detailed.

Because the wait list doesn't guarantee you'll receive a system by the holidays, you may want to look at other retailers for other pre-order opportunities. And, if you become really desperate, you can succumb to the inevitable hawkers on eBay.

Andrew Yoon was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

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From The Chatty
  • reply
    September 21, 2012 1:30 PM

    Andrew Yoon posted a new article, Wii U pre-orders sold out at GameStop, retailer opening waitlist.

    "Demand for Wii U has been off the charts," GameStop president Tony Bartel said. The retailer is no longer taking pre-orders, and has started a waitlist for post-launch systems.

    • reply
      September 21, 2012 2:21 PM

      Amazing how many people are hard up for a new system. I admit I toyed with the idea of preordering it just to play my old Wii games in HD but in there was not ONE damn game that I have even a little interest in. My wii has been ignored for over a year at least and I doubt the Wii U would not have ended the same way. Not even a new 3d mario or Zelda or god forbid Nintendo came up with a new idea. Pikmin 3 that is the one game in the lineup I even care barely about and its not a launch title. Games I am looking forward to in the future from Wii U , none ,el zilcho. Cant believe nintendo well actually I can believe because they did. What a waste of creativity this system is. I may have outgrown you Nintendo but I have not outgrown seeing a pile a poo you call a new system launch.

      • reply
        September 21, 2012 2:26 PM

        this is how all modern launches go. people buy a bunch in hopes that the system is under produced and then turn around and sell them on craigslist or ebay for a profit.

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          September 21, 2012 2:29 PM

          [deleted]

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            September 21, 2012 2:55 PM

            Best time to do that is when they release the next xbox. Surely it will be close to X-mas. Buy one or two and jack the price up when they're sold out. Can make triple your money sometimes. I saw PS3's going for over 1200 bucks when they came out on ebay.

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              September 21, 2012 3:07 PM

              The last two times people have tried this they've been burned -hard-.

      • reply
        September 21, 2012 3:01 PM

        You wouldn't be playing any Wii games in HD, it doesn't have that functionality. Have a read up on ZombieU though as it's looking to be a decent 'hardcore' game with similarities to Demons/Dark Souls.

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        September 21, 2012 3:55 PM

        just get yourself some dolphin my brother

      • reply
        September 21, 2012 4:56 PM

        They're probably not going after the bitter and doesn't enjoy games crowd. Well, outside the integrated tv stuff.

      • reply
        September 21, 2012 8:05 PM

        Wii U won't play Wii games in HD anyway.

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      September 21, 2012 2:57 PM

      Some people will never learn.

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      September 21, 2012 4:12 PM

      I think Nintendo is purposely planned preorder supplies on the low end to create the illusion of high demand. I'm not buying it. The product just seems just so mediocre.

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        September 21, 2012 4:43 PM

        I think some people complain about everything that lies outsider their fanboy loyalty boundries.

      • reply
        September 21, 2012 7:32 PM

        There was talk that they might have had some manufacturing issues like a month ago. They really should have ramped up extra production though this time.

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          September 21, 2012 8:30 PM

          How are you going to have production issues on 5 year old technology?

          • reply
            September 22, 2012 1:46 AM

            Virtually nothing in the Wii U is "5 year old technology", least of all the tablet streaming tech.

            I understand the horsepower of the Wii U may not satisfy the haters, but it is in fact an all new console and there are bound to be issues. For what it's worth the next Xbox is suffering production issues as well, and possible delay.

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              September 23, 2012 12:10 AM

              ...and it's quite possible that the PS4 won't come out until 2015.

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            September 23, 2012 4:59 AM

            sigh ..... you have no idea about tech. also factor it was chinese protests burning down facilities

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        September 21, 2012 8:49 PM

        Notice they said "Demand for the Wii U.....", nothing about supply.

        Oh no! Something you don't like is popular! We need to rally the anti-Call-of-Duty and anti-Apple people! The Internet must be alerted to this upcoming travesty!

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