Zelda Revolution: wishful thinking or calculated scam?

by James Ransom-Wiley { Jun 16th 2005 at 1:04PM }

No Image GameStop has posted a link for "Legend of Zelda: Revolution" and they're asking $59.99 to pre-purchase the title, estimated for released on March 1, 2006. Right… Shouldn't there be some kind of regulation that prevents retailers from selling a game that is—most likey—just a figment of some developer's imagination? I'm sayin', not only will this pseudo-announcement stir up the N-faithful, but it's also downright dirty. Sure, if you give GameStop the $60 now and the game is never released, then they'll give it back, but when? As long as they keep pushing back the release date, GameStop can go right ahead and hold onto that money. Maybe it's time we enacted a gamers' rights movement. Thoughts?

[Thanks, NM]

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Ryan @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

Personally I trust GameStop over my local bank.

Who doesn't?

prophecy @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

I love Nintendo but there is no way i would pre-order a game that hasn't been talked about at all. And how can the release date be March the first if the revoultion isn't suppose to come out until Nov. 2006. Is this a hint at a early release date for Nintendo?

Chris Norman @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

I'm currently taking preorders for Halo 6 on the XBox 1080. By then, games will have gone up in price, so send me your $300 USD and I'll hold a copy for you.

Cpt Spaulding @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

As #2 except only $250, first 100 orders get the game half price and a free copy of the strategy guide on release. Payment via Paypal to: onlysuckerspreorder@paypal.com

ChronoZaga @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

Gamers rights? Dude, this is America. Consumers should consume mindlessly. Corporations know what is best for us. Come on, this new preorder transaction system will strengthen the economy, support our troops, and the profits will "trickle down" to the poor. See, everybody wins!

robotplague @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

Theres no question that Zelda: Revolution will come out, its just a matter of time, obviously. But to put a preorder this quick is really lame. Most likely the console won't even be out by then anyways. I've never prepaid for a game and I probably won't start anytime soon.

Killian @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

I don't think there needs to be a gamer's rights movement, just a report sent to the Better Business Bureau or something. That's the most ridiculous scam I've ever seen from a preorder-- and the sad thing is, I'm sure there will be clueless parents or hopeful fans who will waste their money on that nonsense.

Eric @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

Look at the other Revolution games they're pre-ordering:
http://www.gamestop.com/search.asp?sortby=default&searchtype=quicksearch&searchcount=12&keyword=&platform=34&find.x=5&find.y=12&find=Search
Same w/PS3:
http://www.gamestop.com/search.asp?sortby=default&searchtype=quicksearch&searchcount=12&keyword=&platform=33&find.x=9&find.y=15&find=Search

I think 3/1/06 is just their default date whenever they don't have a clue when a game will come out.

Jellodyne @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

Um... Maybe I'm missing, but what exactly does pre-ordering get you, ever? I mean, what was the last big hyped game which had shortages at launch?

Timmay! @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

They've had Kingdom Hearts 2 up for forever on gamestop. Don't believe the hype.

CheapyD @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

GameStop.com, like most sites, will not charge your credit card order until your order ships. Therefore, this article is kind of pointless. :)

chill @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

We have Gamers Rights, dont be RETARDED and preorder a game you'll most likely find on a store shelf anyway when it is released....

Knight37 @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

I heard that this version comes with all the old Zelda's except it's remade. BUT ONLY FOR PRE-ORDER!!! So hurry up lemmings.. er I mean Nintendo fans and buy BUY *B*U*Y*!!!!

(only suckers pre-order)

Dan @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

As ridiculous as it is to preorder a game like this so far out, making inaccurate statements like "Sure, if you give GameStop the $60 now and the game is never released, then they�ll give it back, but when? As long as they keep pushing back the release date, GameStop can go right ahead and hold onto that money." is just bad reporting.

When you reserve something, all you are doing is pre-paying for all/part of an upcoming release. The money is still yours to decide what to put it toward until the product is delivered, and you can at *any* point change your mind and use that money toward something else.

It's like a gift card in that repect. While you can't usually just get your money back (which is typical of gift cards) you can spend that money on anything you want at any time you want.

For instance, I did this for the PSP launch - I made reservations at multiple stores and after I picked up my PSP, I used the money put down on the other reservations to pick up the games I wanted. I've done this with other reservations for dvd's and such too where I've changed my mind later and never had any problems at Suncoast, MediaPlay, GameStop, or EB.

32_Footsteps @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

Geez, you guys at Joystiq ruin all my fun. How am I supposed to write a populist-toned editorial that gets people complaining about my idiocy in regards to economics, sociology, psychology, and video gaming if you beat me to the punch?

Go ahead, take away all my fun and controversy.

Tyler Durden @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

I order from GameStop.com and they don't actually charge you anything until it ships, so it's not like they're holding your money. You're basically just making a reservation.

Chris Norman @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

So, do they hold my money in some sort of escrow account, and not bank and collect interest on it? Even gift cards skim off money if not used by a certain date (usually a monthly deduction).

And seeing as how good they are for business, Gamestop seems to engineer artificial shortages. I still remember hearing how I absolutely had to preorder a PSP, otherwise i would never get one, and if I was lucky my pre-order might get me one from the third shipping batch; only to pick one up off the shelf of a Sam Goody for the standard retail price (no bundle ripoffs) two blocks away. That same day.

Masud @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

I dont understand what you people are talking about. I know from prior experience that both gamestop and ebgames only charge you once the item ships. All they want from you is a credit card number to finish the preorder but your card isnt charged until the item actually ships. If you cancel the order you don't pay anything. You guys at joystiq need to learn how to read.

chill @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

(only suckers pre-order)

You got that shit right.....

Bill_Baker @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

Masud said
"I dont understand what you people are talking about. I know from prior experience that both gamestop and ebgames only charge you once the item ships. All they want from you is a credit card number to finish the preorder but your card isnt charged until the item actually ships. If you cancel the order you don't pay anything. You guys at joystiq need to learn how to read."

What you said may be true regarding online preorders, but walk into any brick and mortar Gamestop or EB Games right now and you'll find that they're willing to take any amount you're willing to give them towards next generation games, systems, and accessories. Here in my region, both Gamestop and Eb are taking preorders for the Xbox 360 with a MINIMUM of $50 paid up front. EB is quoting potential bundle prices of $599 and won't mention what is included because they don't even know what will be available. And now they're saying that they've already been informed that they will only be recieving a very small allotment per store and the best way to guarantee getting a system on day one is to pay in full and move to the top of the list.

This has been happening since the days of the N64, when EB used to let you make your own reservation page in their binder and pay for whatever you wanted to reserve, whether it existed or not. We used to make up listings for "Ice Climber 64" and "Milon's Secret Castle 64" just to see who would be dumb enough to sign up, much less deposit.

benhc911 @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

aww no screenshot? lol

Shannon @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

There is no "may be true" gamestop.com and ebgames.com does NOT charge you before it ships, period. Gamestop brick and mortar stores aren�t taking pre-orders for the revolution yet as far as I know, do you think anyone would actually pre-order a game for system that they cannot pre-order?

And as for the bundle you are talking about. I can�t speak for EBGames but I KNOW - am positive - that Gamestop is selling just the system, not a bundle, and since both companies are owned by the same people, I imagine the same is true for EBgames. In actual stores just the system, online = bundle. I have emailed gamestop customer service and have confirmation this is true, not only from them, but the manager where I pre-ordered my 360.

So it looks like y�all broke out the tin foil hats for no reason on this one. This isn�t some huge conspiracy to get your $50 dollars years early.

Joe @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

Well gamestop and now eb games will give you your money back...buttt in store credit only.

I know from experiance XP

wariowario @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

So you just now took notice to this? I think game-stop took preorders for checkers. Any way you slice it: someone is gonna put some cash down. I'd like to set up my next visit now Dr. Obvious.

Xlash @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

Hey I got great news!!!!

Nintendo has told me in private, that there is gonna be a Mario game for the next 10 systems they made, a Zelda too, a Star Fox one, a F-Zero, a super smash brothers, etc!!!

Pre-order all the next Zelda & Mario games for only 29999$ Offer good for every game till 2299.

patrick h. lauke @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

well, i just can't wait until Amazon UK ship my my copy of Duke Nukem Forever
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005NCEZ/qid=1119037073/sr=8-4/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i4_xgl/026-8070235-1814059

Rocket Punch @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

Sure. BTW I am pre-selling GT12 on PS6 for $149.99 set to be released in Q3 of 2046, anyone interested? Just send me a certified check or money order.

tubedogg @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

I can't speak for EBGames but at GameStop (b&m stores) you can get your money refunded, not just store credit back, if you want to cancel a reservation.

EB and GS are still separate companies at this point. The merger is expected to go through later this year, but the shareholders of both companies have to approve it first and there are still some legal hurdles.

Regarding preordering Zelda at GS.com, if you add that item to your cart you will see this at the bottom of your cart page:

"Pre-Release
Make sure you're the first to play the newest games! Your pre-orders go in the same cart as your regular orders, but will be billed and shipped separately. All pre-orders require no money down and are charged to you just before they ship.

Note: Multiple pre-order items delivered on different dates will be individually charged for shipping. Release Dates are set by the game manufacturers. We are not responsible for changes in release dates.

Billing Your Credit Card
We only charge your credit card for items which we ship to you. If you order items which are on "Back Order" or are "Pre-release", we will not charge you until they ship."

Neither GameStop nor any other retailer is allowed to charge your card for merchandise that is shipping more than X days in the future (the actual number of days depends on the type of card - Visa, MasterCard, etc.). In many cases it's 30 days. Doing so would violate credit card association rules and they wouldn't be allowed to accept credit cards anymore.

tubedogg @ Dec 18th 2005 9:59PM

"And now they're saying that they've already been informed that they will only be recieving a very small allotment per store and the best way to guarantee getting a system on day one is to pay in full and move to the top of the list."

That's really disgusting. The top of the list should be the people that reserved first, regardless of whether they put $50 down or the whole amount, and I know GameStop isn't doing it this way -- there, right now you can only reserve the 360 as "no ETA", meaning that the projected initial shipment has been exhausted, and any further pre-orders will come out of the second or subsequent shipments, or possibly be rolled into the first shipment if the actual allocation is larger than expected. No amount of money would allow us to reserve a first shipment at this point (the computer simply won't let us). The people who were the first in the "no ETA" group would be the first to be rolled back into the first shipment if stock allowed again regardless of what they put down on it.

Regarding bundles, typically the b&m retail stores sell the systems by themselves, while online retailers have to bundle them due to Sony (or whoever the manufacturer of the particular console is) forcing them to include other items in order to receive stock of the console. The manufacturer wants to increase the attach rate - that is, the number of games sold per system sold - to make their numbers look better. b&m stores have a better chance of talking up games & accessories to attach to the system purchase simply because of the human interaction, while online purchases are less likely to have higher attach rates without forced bundling.