Gather around children, and listen to my tale of woe....

[TecmoBowl]

Maybe this should go in the "Order shipped" sticky thread, but I am going to add something that I think takes it out of that one.

This past weekend I went up to my local Gamestop and prepaid for my Xbox 2k5 (not reserved, PRE PAID). I got an automated call that I can pick up my game Wed. afternoon.

So after work and dinner, I drive the 10 minutes to the Gamestop. When I walk in, the clerk asks if I am here for 2k5 and asks for my last name. I tell him yes and give him my last name. He turns to the display case. There are about 20 PS2 ESPN NFL2k5 games in there and pulls one in a stack with a receipt attached to it.

I tell him it should be for Xbox. He looks at the receipt attached to the PS2 box. It says, like mine "XB" for Xbox. He looks frustrated and at that moment I know they don't have one for me. Apparently the rhymes-with-witch (and I know it was a female cause the clerk used the female pronoun) put my receipt on the wrong box. And they are sold out of the Xbox version.

Due to the fact I am closer to thirty than twenty, I take this calmly. The clerk is more upset than I am. I take a more Zen approach (Q: If the Gamestop does not have the NFL2k5, does it make a sound in my Xbox? A: NO.).

He kindly offers to call all the local Gamestops to see if they have a Xbox version available. 3 separate stores he calls - none have one. That brings me to the point why I didn't put this in the sticky:

FOUR Gamestops in the Alexandria/Springfield, VA area. All sold out of any non-reserved Xbox NFL2k5 games. That bodes well for sales I think. I hope the game can make a dent in the Madden juggernaut and remain in the market for the foreseeable future.

As for me I am without my copy. Hope to have one tomorrow or Friday. I think I am going to go drink now. Cheers.

[CM1847]

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TecmoBowl said:
FOUR Gamestops in the Alexandria/Springfield, VA area. All sold out of any non-reserved Xbox NFL2k5 games. That bodes well for sales I think. I hope the game can make a dent in the Madden juggernaut and remain in the market for the foreseeable future.

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Which brings up another interesting point......this $20 thing, is it a plan to get people to buy their games(to see how good they are) and they will hike them back up to $50 next year.....just wondering because I know a bunch of people who will be getting the ESPN brand games this year only for the price, even if they loved the EA games last year. is this like an introductory price type deal or what?

But too bad about your story, props for not going balistic on the poor Gamestop clerk(and props to him for doing all he can to try to help you), too many people would have gone insane if they were told a simple computer entry error kept you from getting their game. I wonder why so many more PS2 copies are always shipped first? I know more PS2s are sold, but there always seems to be like 20 PS2 copies of new games when the xbox sells out(NCAA 2005 did the same thing). In the long run I'm sure more PS2 copies will be needed, but for the people who care enough to hunt for it the first night it's released, there is probably the same demand for the games....

[TecmoBowl]

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CM1847 said:
too many people would have gone insane if they were told a simple computer entry error kept you from getting their game. I wonder why so many more PS2 copies are always shipped first? I know more PS2s are sold, but there always seems to be like 20 PS2 copies of new games when the xbox sells out(NCAA 2005 did the same thing). In the long run I'm sure more PS2 copies will be needed, but for the people who care enough to hunt for it the first night it's released, there is probably the same demand for the games....

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Hah. It wasn't a computer error. Some dumb broad just stuck the receipt on the wrong box. And they sold out of the rest of the Xbox ones before I got there.

Don't know why there were so many PS2 ones available. Shipped equal amounts of both? Which is dumb cause the demand is higher for the Xbox versions of VC titles. Has been since the Xbox launched. Hopefully, this means demand exceeded their expectations.

And I think the price will return next year to $50. But thankfully it is $20 for all the 2k5 games this year!

[TecmoBowl]

And now I must sit thru another day at work listening to people talk about the game I still don't have.

[Anaxamander]

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TecmoBowl said:

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CM1847 said:
too many people would have gone insane if they were told a simple computer entry error kept you from getting their game. I wonder why so many more PS2 copies are always shipped first? I know more PS2s are sold, but there always seems to be like 20 PS2 copies of new games when the xbox sells out(NCAA 2005 did the same thing). In the long run I'm sure more PS2 copies will be needed, but for the people who care enough to hunt for it the first night it's released, there is probably the same demand for the games....

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Hah. It wasn't a computer error. Some dumb broad just stuck the receipt on the wrong box. And they sold out of the rest of the Xbox ones before I got there.

Don't know why there were so many PS2 ones available. Shipped equal amounts of both? Which is dumb cause the demand is higher for the Xbox versions of VC titles. Has been since the Xbox launched. Hopefully, this means demand exceeded their expectations.

And I think the price will return next year to $50. But thankfully it is $20 for all the 2k5 games this year!

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Tough break man. When I went to EB yesterday, there were tons of people gathered around the Xbox ESPN demo, and many lined up ahead of me buying the Xbox version. I saw in the glass case behind them that they had stacks upon stacks of the PS2 version, but only a dwindling pile of for the Xbox. I hope this sends a message (to EA specifically) that if you develop for the Xbox, the fans will reward you.

[Reddog2]

See that is what you get for rooting Mizzou!

Good luck, though. I picked up the game yesterday and it is very entertaining.

Cheers

[Mangum]

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CM1847 said:

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TecmoBowl said:
FOUR Gamestops in the Alexandria/Springfield, VA area. All sold out of any non-reserved Xbox NFL2k5 games. That bodes well for sales I think. I hope the game can make a dent in the Madden juggernaut and remain in the market for the foreseeable future.

---

Which brings up another interesting point......this $20 thing, is it a plan to get people to buy their games(to see how good they are) and they will hike them back up to $50 next year.....just wondering because I know a bunch of people who will be getting the ESPN brand games this year only for the price, even if they loved the EA games last year. is this like an introductory price type deal or what?

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I haven't heard this confirmed or anything but when I picked up my copy yesterday the clerk told me that the $20 is for the first week only. After that the price goes up. Also he said that the other ESPN games that are due to come out this year will be at the $20 price also.

[TecmoBowl]

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Mangum said:

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CM1847 said:

Quote:

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TecmoBowl said:
FOUR Gamestops in the Alexandria/Springfield, VA area. All sold out of any non-reserved Xbox NFL2k5 games. That bodes well for sales I think. I hope the game can make a dent in the Madden juggernaut and remain in the market for the foreseeable future.

---

Which brings up another interesting point......this $20 thing, is it a plan to get people to buy their games(to see how good they are) and they will hike them back up to $50 next year.....just wondering because I know a bunch of people who will be getting the ESPN brand games this year only for the price, even if they loved the EA games last year. is this like an introductory price type deal or what?

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I haven't heard this confirmed or anything but when I picked up my copy yesterday the clerk told me that the $20 is for the first week only. After that the price goes up. Also he said that the other ESPN games that are due to come out this year will be at the $20 price also.

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Interesting, I had not heard that. Can't see why they would raise the price - word of mouth the next few weeks till Madden should help move copies at $20.