GameStop pulls out creative stops to move PS3s

I have to admit, I found it funny that, despite the PS3 launch, while I was in Wal-mart a few days ago, I clearly heard them advertising the PS2 over the PA for being fun for the whole family and affordable, as well as having a massive library of games.

Yeah. PS3 might be a very capable system...but it definitely doesn't have enough going for it now. I think I share the sentiments of others that once some killer apps come out, it'll be more of a contender, but not yet. And as a Nintendo fan, I'm loving every minute of the Wii basking in the glory of its success. ^_^

The EB I work at got four 60GB PS3's in on Thursday, sold one of them. Got four more in on Friday, the one sold on Thursday was returned on Friday, the customer stating that he would buy one and actually open it when "the developers give a f--- about the system", this brought us up to eight, that one sold an hour or two later, back down to seven to end Friday.

We still have seven.

@ 6 and anyone else who doesnt believe

heres a pic from my cellphone at work at ebgames
http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/9435/att00006ln7.jpg

wow, i recognized which gamestop that was just by the picture, broadway mall, confirmed after viewing the flickr comments, lol

lol the gamestop next to my work has the EXACT same sign (Handwritten, says "We have PS3s in stock!")

It's like the puppies you want to get rid of because you have too many of them, but the puppies keep wetting the carpet and chewing up the slippers so they just send them back.

This falls in line with what I'm seeing personally at work. My Best Buy still has PS3s left over from a shipment that arrived BEFORE the New Year. We received 40 60 GB units; we still have about 10 left. In addition to that, we had 3 PS3s returned today by frustrated Ebayers; that's either karma or poetic justice (or both). A friend that works for Gamestop says they have moved one PS3 in the past week and are sitting on seven more. They have a large sign--somewhat similar to the one in the article--posted near the entrance. But all anyone ever asks us about, at both stores, are Wiis (probably coming this week). For the record, 360s are still moving very well--I sold seven units today (the same as yesterday, and eight the day before...and that doesn't include what other employees sold...that's pretty consistent with Christmas sales numbers, so they're not slowing yet).

Sony's in trouble. When--if?--they realize it, will it be too late?

"an you would want this to happen? sacrifice quality just you can swing the controller around? that's like putting Halo 4 on the ds."

Actually it would be more like putting Halo 4 on the Xbox. I figure an "Oh Snap" remark follows here but I'd rather not be condescending.

I think this whole thing may be blown out of proportion. As long as the PS3 shipment is sold out before the next shipment and not left sitting there for weeks, it doesn't matter if it takes a couple of days or so to sell. These signs could simply be a means to advertise to people. The supplying of demand here could just simply mean it's smoother and not in a "gone in sixty seconds" rate. Of course it could still mean that demand is cooling and people are more willing to wait or that there are simply not that many people willing to shell out for the high price system. And frankly, we don't know how well the Wii is being supplied yet so at best we can say the PS3 demand is cooling down a bit (not to forget people who wanted to sell them are returning it) and that the Wii supply, for whatever the amount is (which could be small on a region to region basis since Nintendo is distributing the system in more areas this time) is being scooped up at a faster pace. Nintendo hopefully can take advantage of this by simply keeping up with production.

Maybe this is just the ten year old in me, but I hope Sony falls flat on its ass. Games were my only refuge, and they brought games to the assholes who tormented me.

R Jayx
You mentioned:
1. Next gen DVD player
What if I don't want it, don't care for it? Does it improve on games?

2. Wireless capable out-of-the-box (not as an $87.99 sold separately add-on)
What if I have a perfectly fine wired network? Why do I want to pay for something I don't want? Can I take it out?

3. 60GB hard drive (3x the capacity of 360's 20GB) out-of-the-box
True, more storage, better. But does it add to games?

4. HDMI connection (no HDMI on 360) out-of-the-box
So? I'm using VGA that can go the same. HDMI cost more and is far less available compared to VGA.

5. 1080p video out-of-the-box (as opposed to a downloadable update)
Eh free update? Hello? Vs no scaling from PS3?

6. 1 more USB 2.0 port than the 360
So?

7. Bluetooth
Again, so? Is there a significant difference from the wireless that 360 has in terms of gaming?

8. Memory Stick/SD/CompactFlash slot
The USB port supports memory storage and a media read cost like oh $10?

9. Free online play
Vs $3.67 (list or less with discount) per month...

How about the other side of the equation?
1) Movie/TV rental/purchase for downloads @ 480p or 720p?
2) Pay $3.70 a month and get a much superior offering online
3) Built-in scaler
4) Choice of HD DVD (or not)
5) Choice of Wireless (or not)
6) $200 in the pocket
7) Lots of games today vs wait wait wait

"I live outside the Baton Rouge area, and we have yet to see a PS3 on a shelf. " -- Gavin

Gavin, I live in BR as well, and I promise you that Best Buy near the Mall of LA had PS3s on the shelf last time I was there, which was December 22 IIRC. I wanted rechargeable batteries for my Wii remotes, so we went and there was a sign on the door "PS3 available" They had about 10 - 15 60GB, and my friend picked one up as his Christmas present from his parents.

Thanks for the kind replies, those of you who read my first post (for those who haven't, it's #49). Maybe I should get a job at Weblogs, Inc. as "The Level-headed Nintendo Fan."

Yes, I am a Nintendo fan. I wouldn't say fanboy, due to the negative stigma associated with that term. I'm not blind to Nintendo's mistakes (pricing on Virtual Console, and no online VC multiplayer, seems to be a huge misstep if you ask me).
But I still like them the most. The reason? The games. Nintendo has always been my favorite developer. I've always liked the quality and charm of most of Nintendo's games (but not all, as not every game Nintendo releases is a winner).

And, I don't outright HATE Sony or Microsoft. I have about 10 or so games for PS2, and there are still more I want to get (I have Guitar Hero II, but not GH1. That's just wrong!). I don't own an Xbox or 360 yet, as there hasn't been many games for either that really pulled me. But if they can get more of Xbox's games to work on 360, I'll get one sooner or later (one title I'd really like to play more of is Jet Set Radio Future).

There are many things about Sony that's made me displeased with them. Terrible advertising, expensive systems, and the lawsuits against Lik-Sang to name a few. But if the prices for PSP and PS3 came down enough to be worth the money in my eyes, I'd get them.

I love the DS. I have over 30 games for it, and only one regret: Retro Atari Classics (wasn't worth the $10 I spent!).
But that doesn't mean I hate the PSP. I just don't find $200 a good price for a portable system. There are games for PSP I want (Lumines, the Megaman titles, Katamari, LocoRoco, etc.), but the upfront cost deters me.

Why is that? The more I have to pay for the system, the less money I have to spend on the games.

I got a Wii at launch. While $250 is more than I would normally pay for a system (the most I've ever paid was $200+tax for any Nintendo system at launch, or for when the PS and PS2 dropped in price), the fact it came with a game bundled made up for that. And I got Zelda with it.
Now I have two more Wii titles (Metal Slug and Super Swing Golf). Without tax included, that's about $390 spent. Less than a 360, and I still have more to do with the system than a 360 or a PS3.

Upfront cost is important. You can add as many pricey accessories as you like, but the less you charge up front, the more people are willing to jump in (sorry to use 360's slogan here!). Because they figure they can "upgrade" the system at a later point if they feel like it, but still buy a game or two now.

That's what's harming PS3 now, and what hurt systems like the NeoGeo in the past. The NeoGeo was the most powerful system of its time. Neither the Super NES, nor Genesis, nor TG16 could handle arcade-perfect ports of SNK games like NeoGeo could... Well, that's due to being the exact same guts as the NeoGeo arcades. But that power came at a $650 price tag.

NeoGeo became a niche market. Sony can't do that, as their success relies on the PS3 appealing to a broad market, like PS and PS2 did.

Sony is not down and out. Far from it. PS2 is still selling quite well, so they're definitely making money off of that.
But going into next, er, current-gen, they're in a tough spot. PS3s should NOT be widely available like this. It leaves a very bad image for them, considering how scarce 360s were the same time last year.

What will help them? I'm sure more exclusive GOOD games NOW will help. As would a pricedrop.


A message to all:
Don't buy a system because of what you can get down the line. What good does it do you to have a shiny new box do nothing for a fre months? Buy it when there are games you want available, or will soon be available. Who knows, maybe when the games you want are out, there could be a price drop.


And, to the Nintendo haters:
Why do you think Wii will be the end of big, and epic games? From Nintendo alone, we have several non-minigame-collection games. Zelda at launch, and then Mario, Metroid, Disaster: Day of Crisis, and Project H.A.M.M.E.R. down the line. The controller brings a new way to play old styles of games, as well as new ways to play. How exactly is that a bad thing? Just because the visuals aren't on par with 360 and PS3?

I'm not saying high-end visuals are a bad thing. But they shouldn't be the most important thing to gaming. We should be playing games because they're fun, not because they're something pretty to look at. That's why they're called "games" in the first place: We play them.

Nor am I saying fun gameplay and high-end graphics need to be mutually exclusive. There have been many great games on the previous systems, even when they were considered "next-gen graphics." And 360 and PS3 both have some promising games either now, or sometime down the line.

Okay, I'm done for tonight.

@ Charlie Chaplin #142
Actually, Nassau county is one of the most affluent counties in the country. The Median income hovers around $90,000. People here have money, just no one wants a PS3 or already has it.

Dunno about whether the sign is bogus or not, but I can tell you this from the other side of the pond (I live in Hong Kong):

Two weeks ago, I was (as usual) trying to get my hands on a US Wii. So, I went to the usual gaming malls here (yes, we have gaming-only shopping malls!) to inquire. The only US Wii available was for something around US$485.86, including the Zelda and Spongebob games.

Japanese Wiis were all over the place, selling at close to retail (US@269.92).

The PS3? You'd better believe it! They were available for retail price. Of course, this is hardly a fair comparison, because the PS3 is *officially* launched in Hong Kong, so no markup there.

Last Saturday, however, I went to the malls again, and guess what?

Japanese Wiis? Still loads of 'em.

US Wiis? Yes, they are in stock, but still too expensive!

PS3s? Yes, they are still on sale, but strangely enough, they weren't nearly as *visible* as a week ago (read: not on display). No markup, however, over retail.

This IS Hong Kong, however, and it is logical to see that the Japanese Wii "supply is outstripping demand" as hardly anyone in Hong Kong can read Japanese (wanna know what the hell is going on in Zelda? I sure do!).

The local Toys'R'Us does sell the gray-market (as it hasn't been officially launched here yet, it by definition must be gray-market) Japanese Wii for a robber's ransom of USD 514.01. Ouch! For that price, even I'd consider buying the PS3!

Ah, guess I'll just have to wait for the Hong Kong official launch or until supply matches demand. I love games, but will not pay a premium. Besides, got my PS2, Xbox, Nintendo DS and four networked PCs to cure my gaming fix for now...

I saw a very similar handwritten sign this weekend on the door of the EB Games on State Street in Madison, WI.

For something that costs so much, I'd think Sony's marketing department could help out with some higher quality signage.

@50
"c'mon now how a so call respected site like joystiq post such a crap.this is clearly a joke or a set up. now that just being irresponsible reporting."

Wow buddy, after reading the thoughtfully composed post before yours, moving onto your spew of unfettered thought that is seriously an attack on the English language seems to have popped a blood vessel in my head.

$600.00 plus tax for a console with no included game when you can buy a similar console that plays games just as well or better(xbox360) while costing $200.00 less? Hmmmn, let me see, this is a really hard decision. Let me think about it for a while. Ok, thought about it. No.

"Yeah, because Okami and FF 12 look like crap. Better luck next time, Darkness."

That wasn't the point. The PS2 was the weakest system last gen. If it were all about the graphics, then there was no way it should have beat out the Xbox. Of course, that's not how it happened. Graphics don't mean jack at the end of the day. Sure it's nice, but it comes down to the games.

This is for the Sony fanBOYS (not fans. You guys cool in my book :)

Come to the OC! You...won't find PS3's in many of the local or big brand shops! Hope it makes you happy! ~:P

...Back on topic...many people here have pointed out that PS3's can easily be found in their areas, while others like me cannot even see on ein a store. The point I'm making is back off: my comment is saying that I haven't seen PS3's in my area. But that doesn't mean that others who say there are stocks of PS3's in their areas are liars. Regions, people...

>_

I'm a former Game Stop supervisor and i can guarantee that such ads would not be presented to the public the way you see it in the picture. the ad wouldn't be made out of some large, bland looking piece of paper with magic marker scribbles on it. I know.. we used to get cited by secret shoppers for that crap. So whoever sent in this picture can go nail himself!

The sign is definitely true. I stopped by the EB and even talked to the manager, no ones buying the ps3. Retro clutch is right the place is top five in counties richest in the country.

It's two weeks after Christmas and not a Wii in Whoville. Where are all these Wii's. Right now, they're all pretty well being marketed in Japan in Nintendo battle with Sony for the top spot. Once this battle is done, Nintendo can enjoy all its short live glory. After that they falter into nonexistance. Yeah, there's a lot of PS3 still sitting on the shelves everywhere not being sold. Couldn't agree anymore. Which brings up the 360 experience. It's not only about gaming, but TV itself. Everything your experiencing right now through television gets even way better with Xbox 360. You could be sitting on the sofa watching or recording IPTV 360, watching downloadable HD movies or HD-DVD movie, stream media files from your PC, or even playing a game while chatting with friends online. Nintendo Wii never be anything like the other 2.

R. Jayx:
I simply stopped reading after your first paragraph after your admission of owning only Microsoft and Sony systems. Not only would your lack of knowledge into gaming as a whole prove for a worthless read, but the obvious bias and willingness to embrace pandering advertising would sicken me. Good luck on your choice of systems.

religiousjedi:
Odd that there are numerous and detailed stories (i.e., location, date & time, etc.) accounted for a lack of PS3s at stores, but I've yet to see a person specify exactly where they went when they didn't see any. Like yourself, they delivered a blanket statement that they just hadn't seen any. Though anecdotal, I'd trust the former over the latter.

Keil Joy:
You're a blatant liar who has obviously never dealt with EB corporate - they are more than willing to inundate the customer with as much selling and advertising as is possible, even if handwritten. I doubt you've supervised anything more than how many Duplos your pity friend in grade school got to play with.

I know I'm going to get flamed for this but anyway.
I really don't understand why people carry on about how the PS3 is doing so badly and how the 360 is doing so well and then look at console sales as a whole. It's absurd. Why not compare official like-for-like post launch sales? How can you honestly compare a console out for 1 year and 2 months with a console out for 2 months? It’s not rocket science which one would have sold more yet some people try and laud these figures as the second coming, not prepared to think past the idiocy of their comments.
Ignoring Japan (http://www.vgcharts.org/japconscomps.php?name1=X360&name2=PS3&type=2&align=0) where the PS3 was ALWAYS going to be more successful than the 360
and ignoring the PAL region (as the PS3 hasn't released there yet so we clearly can't make a launch for launch comparison), lets look at the US:

http://www.vgcharts.org/usaconscomps.php?name1=X360&name2=PS3&type=0
Now these are (apparently) the figures per the latest NPD reports (hence why they don't have January comparisons). Looking at the comparison, by the end of December the PS3 had sold 100k MORE than the 360 in the same period of time. AND there were apparently 300k more on the way (Shipped 1mil before the end of December, not necessarily 1 mil on the shelves). So what does this say? Well clearly Sony have done a MUCH better job at supplying consoles post launch than MS did, therefore it's outselling the 360 in a similar space after launch (December). People carry on about how the demand has plummeted and the 360 had demand until March but it's not rocket science, the MORE you supply the QUICKER you will meet demand, MS was only supplying about 250-300k machines a month until around March, Sony has supplied at least 750k in ONE month, the equivalent of almost 2.5 months worth of 360 shipments. Had Sony decided to "stockpile" and "stagger" the released of consoles (as opposed to doing weekly shipments) they could have "maintained" the "sold out" status for much longer, but they didn't ... and this is a bad thing?
Yet people seem to think the PS3 launch is a “failure”. What? Outselling the 360 in the first 2 comparative months is a failure? Then what does that make the 360 launch?
And looking at the sales figures, if you notice almost a third (3/5) of the console sales happened in Nov/Dec06. What’s coincidental about that? Oh, that’s right, it was right by Xmas, the 360 was freely available and GeOW had just been released (the only truly outstanding game on the 360 so far). Sales went from 3mil to 5mil in 2 months, before that the console was just “coasting” until a major release was made.
So it’s fine for the 360 to sell 700k to the end of December (after release) and coast until Nov06 when a big game comes out BUT the PS3 sells 800k in a similar timeframe and hasn’t had any big releases yet (or a second Xmas being readily availably EVERYWHERE) yet it must be a failure?
Not to mention sales will increase when the big name (or hyped) games are released IF they are any good (I say if because you can’t tell how good/popular they’ll be until they’re released, case in point, the dismal Gundam). But with big name (or hyped) games due for release (although granted some will probably be delayed) staggered over this year (Genji, Motorstorm, F1: CE, VF5, UT07, Lair, Warhawk, MGS4, DMC4, Killzone2, FFXII etc) it could take any one of them to create a large sales increase, particularly MGS4 (ignoring any unconfirmed unlikely rumours that that will go multiplat) and DMC4 (same as above). I doubt they’ll all be AAA titles and I also doubt ALL of them will be on the level of GeOW but a lot of them are still big names and will certainly increase interest/sales.

So I don’t know. I really don’t understand this while fanboy “I want console Y to fail”. Competition is GOOD. You really think MS would have released the 360 so soon if it was not being obliterated by the PS2? You really think the PS3 would have been released with so many expensive extra’s at such a “cheap” (relative to what you get) price? Do you really think games would be progressing at the current rate and we’d get sterling games like GeOW, GoW, MGS3, R: FoM etc were the games market not so competitive? Look at how MS treats the Windows monopoly with buggy software requiring constant upgrading, you really think they’d do any different if they had a console monopoly? I really don’t understand why so many people are slating the PS3 launch when, in both respective markets it’s launched in, it’s “outsold” the 360 in like for like post launch sales. And when Sony is clearly restocking more efficiently than MS did. I just fail to understand it, why are some people so blind and narrow minded? Does ANONE on here have a vested interest in any of the companies? Does ANYONE stand to gain or lose depending on which does better? The ONLY time anybody will be able to do a proper comparison is in at LEAST 2 to 3 years when the advanced games are chugging out regularly and all the consoles have gone past the launch and first gen games and have settled down, been through a Xmas or 2, and are all readily available on the market. Only then will the consoles be on “equal footing” Come on, this console “war” (for want of a better word) is a marathon lasting several years but for some reason some people (mostly Xbox fans) are trying to pretend it’s a sprint. Seriously, get a reality check if you think any different.

Finally before anyone tries to pull the “Wii is destroying the PS3 in sales” retort … looking at Japan sales figures and looking at US NPD numbers, the PS3 has outsold the 360 since launch in both areas so if the Wii is outselling the PS3 by a vast amount and the PS3 has been outselling the 360 … well that doesn’t reflect too well on the 360 now, does it? Looking at the figures at the end of December (latest NPD figures) for the US: 1272500 (wii) > 780500 (PS3) > 674500 (360) and for Japan: 983250 (Wii) > 472750 (PS3) > 86750 (360) it’s clear that comparing launch widows Wii is outselling both the PS3 and the 360 by a huge margin so using that to “attack” the PS3 bodes really badly for the 360 as well considering that the PS3 is outselling that comparing launch figures …



Now I’ll sit back and await the fanboy bashing and for people to try and “prove” me wrong with made up figures and personal opinions stated as fact. If you note not ONCE in my post have I stated that any console is better or worse than the next, merely stating the facts using confirmed figures and how that reflects on the intelligence of people carrying on about: “Oeh noes, teh PS3 iz doomeed n iz a failure”.

Xbox 360 still is a better buy anyway. Read the Comparison at http://www.m1nor.com

Just shows how **** people thnk sony have done!
look at the Wii my m8 ordered one 3 weeks b4 christmas an he is on back order til may! i ordered mine 15 hrs after Argo becae availible and got mine on release day with £30 off when i got 2 games!

I have a 360, and i have to say, ps3 is cool and all but.......................................................................wii just kicked their asses this round.

hey, Scythegpd, tell that to my future copy of Halo 3, would ya?

ive been to that gamestop, everyone who works there is a 360 fanboy and they have signs like that all the time

The gamestop in my town in Rhode Island had a similar sign up. I am close with all the Managers and Employees there. I bought a PS3 and the store manager just bought one also ("but not at his own store") he got it in New Hampshire tax free..! LoL
But to the point he is constantly being called by his District Manager to let as many people (customers) that they are in store going as far as adding the info to the phone pickup answer. Thank you for calling Gamestop were we buy and sell used games. We have PS3's in stock...lmao He told me that once games start comming down the pipe then the sales will pick up. The old line of you can play PS2 games untill the PS3 titles start flowing in was not comming across to good to some people. Feeling like they were being pressured into buying a 600.00 system to play PS2 games. Not to mention that CoD3, Blazing Angles and others don't even have voice support for online...I love RFoM and that's it..I have every demo downloaded on my PS3 fron the Sony Store and pretty much are all driving games..dang..! I want to love it but I just cant lie to myself like that. So on a true gammers side the 360 is a better buy (right Now!), But with games like Halo3, Alen Wake, Mass Effect, Lost Oddyssey, Blue Dragon and GTA4..Why would you want a PS3 for at least another year..Even PS2 would be a better deal for the amount of games available oh and God of War2.! Peace

Im waiting for MGS4 to come out before I buy a PS3. There are no games out right now, worth the $60 for. And I think that is why people aren't buying the PS3 right now. I think things will change when some better games start to come out.

@#50

c'mon now how a so call respected company like sony sell such a crap.this is clearly a joke or a set up. now that just being irresponsible business.

Fix'd. Lawl.

But seriously...go to your local Gamestop/Best Buy/Circuit City/whatever, and ask for a PS3. There are plenty of them around, and you won't have to look hard.

Whats wrong with it being in stock? Wii's are readily available in the UK now, every store I went in yesterday had one. People need to stop trying to get on Playstation over worthless shit like this. Its childish and pathetic.