Xbox 360 Guitar Hero II supply issues in Canada and UK
RedOctane's Guitar Hero II has been such a success on the Xbox 360 there seems to be a little supply issue. Not so much in the US -- although it is tough to get in some cases -- but we know of supply issues in Canada and the UK. One of our own writers living in jolly ol' England told us, "I've tried about a dozen retail stores, [it's] harder to find than a Wii." Yeah, supply is that bad.Joystiq received comment about the supply issues form Red Octane, telling us, "We can confirm we definitely are selling Guitar Hero II for the Xbox 360 in Canada. The issue of being sold out isn't just in Canada, as many other retailers in the US are experiencing the same situation as well, as there's just been an insane amount of demand for the game and can't stay on the shelves. The best tip we can provide is to either stay patient as more supply will be available to everyone shortly, or purchase from the RedOctane online store since it is still available there."
We've been told that conspiracy theories in Canada about the supply issues revolve around a recall due to broken whammy bars and that RedOctane is trying to control Canadian supplies by milking them quietly by doubling shipping costs from $17 to $35 (we're guessing that's in Canadian dollars). Anyway, for those looking to rock out in the Great White North or Europe it may be time to bite the bullet and pony up the cash for shipping from RedOctane's store. Although supplies are tight at retail, their store seems capable of supplying the guitar faithful.
[Thanks, Chris N.]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
bearxor @ May 4th 2007 3:16PM
Awesome! I think this game needed to be a sellout to show third party developers that yes, us XBox owners are interested in more than just FPS's and action games.
Canadianmaniak @ May 4th 2007 3:25PM
yeah i bought the game as soon as it came out at bestbuy. The thing was broken and when i went to return it they were sold out. After an hour. So its been about 4 weeks and a couple days now and still no extange. Thing is idont know it ill be able to return it. Open merchindice has a extange time limit of 14 days lol, plus i cant find the recipt :P They better get some soon.
Dirk Dorkelson @ May 4th 2007 3:32PM
I live in the San Francisco Bay area and had a fairly hard time finding my copy this week. Finally grabbed it last night about about the tenth store I tried this week. I don't know if this is local or regional, but it's been in short supply enough recently that AP's video game columnist wrote about it.
abu @ May 4th 2007 3:32PM
Microsoft Xbox 360 is good for software sales
fob2000 @ May 4th 2007 3:40PM
My sisters bought this for me via an Amazon.com retailer. They paid $130 for it brand new because they were sold out everywhere except for Newegg.com. The problem is, my sisters don't know what Newegg is so they overpaid. Oh well, at least I got mine. :-)
Diskoboy @ May 4th 2007 3:45PM
It took me 3 weeks, but I finally found GH2 on Tuesday.
Gamestop finally got about 4 or 5 in. But I'm sure they're gone now. I've never even seen it stocked in the box stores. They can't seem to keep it in.
The people at Gamestop said the pre-orders got so numerous, they quit taking pre-orders about 2 weeks after they announced the game.
Rask @ May 4th 2007 3:46PM
Got my 360 version at WalMart on launch day here in Canada.
I was a GH virgin before picking this up.
Best 89$ + tax on gaming I've ever spent.
Wiggydee @ May 4th 2007 3:48PM
Currently living in England, i can tell my tale of the purchasing of guitar hero II online!
Basically i don't even own a 360 yet, but i was borrowing my friends at the time, and i've never actually owned a ps2 and i've always wanted guitar hero, plus i was still half drunk from a party the night before so i decided to drop the £70 into guitar hero II.
Basically i then checked several shops, each one was sold out, until i came across a second hand one in cex, (Computer exchange for you yanks, we're aware of the unfortunate name). The game had only been out a week and i already found a second hand copy for sale, complete with a whole £2 knocked off the price.
Of course still being a little drunk i forgot the hard part, which is the whole taking it home thing. Yeah... I got a few stares on that train.
But then i got home, and let the rockin' begin, the only downside is that the previous owner had already put the stickers on.
So in conclusion: Some one in england likes putting stickers on things and then giving them back, and the stock is in fact low enough that they got away with only knocking £2 off the price (Which i spent on the train ticket)
The end.
Yeah, i just gave back the 360, i'm actually so bored i'm telling boring stories on joystiq.
bearxor @ May 4th 2007 3:56PM
The cool thing about the 360 guitar, Wiggdee, is you could at least hook it up to your PC/Mac and play Frets on Fire or Freetar Hero.
CaptNink @ May 4th 2007 3:58PM
Thanks for posting my news tip Joystiq! :D
Wiggydee @ May 4th 2007 4:02PM
bearxor,
I actually let them take the guitar and game aswell since untill just now i thought that i wouldn't have any use for it till i get my own 360... Dang.
Oh well, this computer would probably be the first form of technology to suffer a biological heart attack just by trying to run a modern peice of software anyway.
Thanks anyway though.
Hey Apples @ May 4th 2007 4:17PM
This isn't specific to just Canada and UK, In the U.S. I haven't been able to replace my defective unit. I haven't found any in stock for well over a month with all stores in a 150mi radius showing as backordered.
Blurgy McBlurgh @ May 4th 2007 4:52PM
The problem with ordering from Red Octane to Canada is that they use UPS. UPS absolutely *rapes* Canadians on brokerage fees. So, not only will you have to pay almost CAD$40 for shipping, you'll get dinged again for probably that much from UPS.
Surprise!
kcx2233 @ May 4th 2007 4:57PM
jeez there just sitting every where in Georgia. I guess rock folks are in the north?
Frowelishnu @ May 4th 2007 5:27PM
No GH II for 360 in all of Hawaii.
I'm sick of shortages and getting all the games a day or two late.
I guess that's the price of living in paradise.
I'd much rather be here with no GH than in Georgia.
Yobari @ May 4th 2007 6:41PM
Fellow Canadians, do not purchase from RedOctane's online store. They charge 26$ for shipping and then another 40$ for customs and taxes. It ends up costing about the same thing as what you bought and forget about ever getting a refund from them. Worse customer service experience I have ever witnessed.
GoonieGooGoo @ May 4th 2007 11:06PM
I couldn't resist any longer and picked up GH ...as broken as the whammy response is....even with the patch......
Hopefully they'll improve it further....and that my Guitar doesn't break. Or my console doesn't brick.....even after the update....which it hasn't (fingers crossed)
David @ May 5th 2007 6:57AM
The only thing is, RedOctane doesn't ship to Europe, only US and CAnada. Otherwise we'd all have probably bought the 2-guitar set. Instead, everyone I know has one guitar, whih makes co-op less of a "let's play together! thing and more of a "well, we've planned this for weeks so it should be alright".
Kester @ May 7th 2007 7:49AM
Every shop I've tried to find Guitar Hero in has told me that: 1) They haven't received any new units since launch and 2) They have a reserves list as long as your arm. A few have stopped reserving copies, and say I should check in often, as they'll probably sell out within hours when they do get some in. I think I'm just going to forget it exists for a few months and then try again...
I really hope they learn from this and that the whole thing doesn't repeat when Guitar Hero III arrives.
JediMaster_Dav @ May 15th 2007 12:15AM
Looks like they up the milking price for Canadian Residents. I have been looking for the it for 2 weeks, ever since I got the X360 Elite!
Service Business Days Cost
UPS Worldwide ExpressSM 1 Day N/A
UPS Worldwide ExpeditedSM N/A 69.93*
UPS Standard to Canada N/A 39.29*
* Includes Shipping & Handling Fees
JediMaster_Dav @ May 15th 2007 12:16AM
Fellow Canadians, I think you can get around brokage fees by doing Customs yourselves, done this a couple of times after getting ding from Ebay...
1) When your package arrives from shipper, reject it and tell them you want to do your own customs\brokage
2) When your package returns to the shippers depot, go to the shipper to pick up the custom form for your item.
3) Take the form to your nearest Canada Customs office and pay your taxes. U might want to fiddle around with the actual price you paid, but at least back it up with some fake email proof, a la ur printer... chances they will not even look
4) Return the form back to the shipper, volia that is what it means for brokage!