Delivery and dissapointment

[GhostofAnakin]

Story policy? The release date is the release date is the release date. They don't get to pick and choose when they feel like releasing it, they are just to dumb to know when that time is SUPPOSED to be. It wasn't a story policy, as I said he said that if they sold it before the release date they would get in trouble (they as in Bestbuy, not as in incompetent worker boy) with Lucasarts....ergo, they had no clue when it was supposed to be released. They STILL to this very moment think its the 7th........hello people the Site doesn't lie......

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Uh, yeah actually, the individual stores' head office DOES decide when their store outlets release the game. The "official" release date just stops stores from releasing it BEFORE that date. But the official release date has no bearing on whether a store wants to release it AFTER that date.

 

Keep in mind not all stores have the same shipment date. If the store always receives its shipments on a Tuesday, then obviously it won't meet TSL's Monday release date. How exactly is that the staff's fault?

[Tasthius]

I can't believe the Best Buy did that to you. If it were me, I would have demanded to talk to a manager and told him I want the game now, or I will blab around town about how badly this store sucks. I have worked in retail all of my life, and I know how much power customers have over managers. With enough hell raising and logic thrown in, he woulda seen it your way and you would be playing the game right now.

 

When I went to my Best Buy today, the girl didn't even know what the game was (though I can't blame here cuz it wasn't her dept., I don't think). She simply went to the computer and the game was not listed at all. She just said "check back tommorrow."

 

As for me, I am skeptical whether the Gamestop I have it preordered from will actually have the game tommorrow, even though they said they will. This distribution process is all screwed up.

 

We all know the game has been made, packaged and shipped from the factory for probably 5-6 days now (as evidenced by the fact that numerous people have said their Wal-Mart has had it for days in the back). WHY is it so HARD for these game retailers to simply order the game on the 3rd or 4th and have it by the 6th? WHY?

 

I am off work this week and am staying up all night. I am good minded to hit my Wal-mart right now, at midnight, to see if they have gotten any overnight trucks. Whatcha think?

[Darth Nemisis]

Look I have been dealing with dead beat brainless morons all day, maybe that has rubbed off on me or something, but all I know is, its one thing is they don't get a shipment in or something, its another to have no clue what the customer is talking about. I however am off for a cold one and a nice long sleep. On top of all this, I have seen enough snot-nosed kids running threw store aisles and frustrated (and possibly suicidal) parents, to last me a life time. Damn I hate this time of year....so hopefully tomorrow I can have my very own copy and all those people will be out of a job come Friday. Goodnight.

[Bastilla_Skywalker]

Personally I don't know what to think any more. I am a little dissapointed atthe scores and as everyone else said that the stupid game stores have no idea the game is big. I couldn't believe the game spy score,maybe I am going over board but I don't go with gamespot anymore,they really disapointed me when I saw that score, everyone is saying graphics is every thing in TSL,well man be dammed with graphics! the original KOTOR got at aleast 9.0 for the game and everyone including my self expected hight scores for TSL but it did get a 9.3 fom IGN because they know what they are talking about but gamespot know nothing!

[Darth Nemisis]

I am off work this week and am staying up all night. I am good minded to hit my Wal-mart right now, at midnight, to see if they have gotten any overnight trucks. Whatcha think?

 

Actually I was tempted to go to my 24 hour Walmart myself to see if they have it in yet....but like I said, I'm tierd, cranky, and now have a very personal hatred towards Bestbuy.....but good luck on your search.

[Darth333]

Jeez! is that a soooo big problem to have to wait an additional 24-72 hours to get a game? The way some people speak it looks like a life or death problem. Let those employees a chance! As GhostOfAnakin said, they are bound by store policy and what the computer tells them plus not everyone is interested in this game (that's the lot of every game).

 

I pre-ordered my game last week at EB games in Montreal and they told me the game would be available on the 7th. I checked again today and nothing has changed. I made only one phone call and chose that store because it was the closest.

 

And about those reviews, I don't really care about them. After all, 8.5 at gamespot is pretty good. How can you tell it's worth a 9 if you have not played it? Anyways, I don't worry: the main negative aspect they mention is the graphics and the framerate.They seem quite happy about the rest.There will always be people who like and others who dislike. I'll get the game and see for myself.

[Cyricc]

The problem is that this game was simply not hyped enough. While too much hype is very bad, too little hype can be bad as well. It seems like hardly anyone was talking about this game over here. Just seems (keyword: seems) like nobody was looking forward to it until the actual release date.

[Lifthransir Bane]

Do you mean Gamestop? I didn't know Gamespot had stores. Anyway that is exactly why I order my games online. I don't pay tax and I never pay shipping either because I order during a stop watch sale or a publisher free shipping promotion. I will be getting my copy of TSL Dec 8th at 3:00pm via my free Fed Ex 2 day shipping deal. Sure I may not have the first copy on my block but atleast I know I will be getting a copy before the week is out. You have every right to be angery The Omnifarious Host and I hope you get a copy of the game soon, but maybe next time you should go the online route and save yourself the trouble.

 

Cheers!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I always confuse gamespot, gamestop and gamespy, although only two of these things are the same

[Ameorn]

I always confuse gamespot, gamestop and gamespy, although only two of these things are the same

 

I know what you mean, since i live in sweden i thought that they actually did mean Gamespot. A couple of them wrote that. Thought they had stores, but they probably just misspelled.

[Kazic]

My gamestop had it last night.

[CoM_Solaufein]

Personally I don't know what to think any more. I am a little dissapointed atthe scores and as everyone else said that the stupid game stores have no idea the game is big. I couldn't believe the game spy score,maybe I am going over board but I don't go with gamespot anymore,they really disapointed me when I saw that score, everyone is saying graphics is every thing in TSL,well man be dammed with graphics! the original KOTOR got at aleast 9.0 for the game and everyone including my self expected hight scores for TSL but it did get a 9.3 fom IGN because they know what they are talking about but gamespot know nothing!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Worry not it will be a great game. Don't let reviews influence whether to get it or not. Lot of those reviewers are a bunch of pin heads that probably never played the game completely through if at all.

[Ostkant]

It looks surely like KOTOR 2 is rather... overlooked. Even though the extremely overrated Halo 2 was not overlooked at all (I'm not fanboy, I have Halo 1 and 2 but they're not as good as people and the magazines say) the sequel to a game that got over 35 awards is overlooked.

 

So what's going on, really? Why this ignorance and overlooking? I've seen this happen to KOTOR a lot of times.

[ken the great]

 

This thread is a hoot!

 

This whole distribution problem has been an issue for at least 10 years.

 

Release dates are not the street dates. The street date will vary from retailer to retailer. Some will have it on the shelves the day of release. Others will usually have it on the shelves within a day or two. And some will take a number of days to get the game on the shelves. It'll be there when it gets there. By this weekend, every major retailer will have some on the shelves and will be selling it.

 

Gamer Tuesday/Thursday/Whatever Day are built around the advertising cycle. Many stores like Best Buy and Wal-mart will hold back a street date to coincide with advertising releases. Also, many of them will hold it a couple of days to ensure most locations across the country have it in stock on the same day.

 

High schoolers in a games shop are idiots. Most of them are just warm bodies looking for a discount on their next Shooter/Figher/Sports purchase. They don't care about RPGs. Managers like hiring them because their friends tend to show up and buy games from that shop. If you want to get good information from a games shop, go in before 3 pm. You will usually get an adult and frequently that adult will be the manager or assistant manager. Get to know that person and you will get solid information in the future.

 

Games with high community expectations go through this exact cycle. We never think the game stores give our passion enough attention. We always bitch about it. Just be patient and the game will probably be in your hands by this weekend.

[Tasthius]

Release dates are not the street dates. The street date will vary from retailer to retailer. Some will have it on the shelves the day of release. Others will usually have it on the shelves within a day or two. And some will take a number of days to get the game on the shelves. It'll be there when it gets there. By this weekend, every major retailer will have some on the shelves and will be selling it.

 

But that's the problem that we all are complaining about in the first place. Why do some retailers have it 3 days early, and others wont have it until the 9th? Don't give me the "its all because of geography" line either. Canada is further away from any distribution warehouse than any place in the states, and folks in Canada had it in their stores yesterday, and I STILL don't have it here and I have 2 game stores within 3 miles of me, not to mention Wal-Mart's, Sears, Targets etc...

 

The fact is, most of the major game retailers in the states dropped the ball on this and just didn't put any effort into having it on the shelves by the release date. You can bet your a$$ if this were Halo 2, they would have had 500 copies in the night before the release date.

 

The game has been out there for a few days now, it's just that these retailers were lazy and probably didn't expect it to sell. Hell, a couple of people at my gamestores didn't even act like they had even HEARD of this game!

[Evilkinevil]

I reserved my game at Game Crazy. I was told from a trusted advisor that it would be out today. On the other hand when I went in their yesterday, a young hot shot told me it will be out on the 10. I am starting to get really annoyed!

[ken the great]

But that's the problem that we all are complaining about in the first place.  Why do some retailers have it 3 days early, and others wont have it until the 9th?  Don't give me the "its all because of geography" line either.  Canada is further away from any distribution warehouse than any place in the states, and folks in Canada had it in their stores yesterday, and I STILL don't have it here and I have 2 game stores within 3 miles of me, not to mention Wal-Mart's, Sears, Targets etc...

They probably didn't drop the ball. Many retailers won't even ship a game to their stores before the release date. Electronics Boutique (aka EB Games) is notorious for this practice. They don't want some high schooler in Topeka, Kansas selling the game early. So, to solve that problem, they ship the game to the stores on the release date. Also, many retailers want to provide an advantage to online purchasers, so they ship games to the online purchaser on the same day they ship to the store. They make more money with an online purchase than an in-store purchase.

The fact is, most of the major game retailers in the states dropped the ball on this and just didn't put any effort into having it on the shelves by the release date.  You can bet your a$$ if this were Halo 2, they would have had 500 copies in the night before the release date.

Damn right! Halo 2 had 1.5 million pre-orders and sold 2.5 million units on day 1. PC and Xbox combined, KOTOR2 will be lucky to equal Halo 2's pre-orders, much less its day 1 sales.

 

The game has been out there for a few days now, it's just that these retailers were lazy and probably didn't expect it to sell.  Hell, a couple of people at my gamestores didn't even act like they had even HEARD of this game!

It has been out for precisely 2 days. I don't think the retailers were lazy. I just think KOTOR is being treated like any other holiday release. It will sell well, but it's not a blockbuster compared to Halo 2, Half-Life 2, the Sims 2 and World of Warcraft. And that's LucasArts fault. Had they held to their guns and released both versions in February, there would have been better buzz around this game. Instead, it's getting lost in the holiday shuffle.

[Jedi Master D Murda]

I went to EB games not too long ago and they told me they were expecting it to come two hours from when I got there. So I will be going back soon to pick mine up.

[ken the great]

I went to EB games not too long ago and they told me they were expecting it to come two hours from when I got there. So I will be going back soon to pick mine up.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You should ask them to hold a copy for you. Most EBs will hold a copy for you so that you can pick it up later. That way you don't have to worry about them selling out before you get back to the store.

[sickboycp]

I haven't actually bought a video game from the store since the original KOTOR. I find it to be much less hassle for me to order it from Gamestop and just wait the two days shipping, rather than worry about driving 30-45 minutes after a bloody awful day of work to either Wal-Mart or EB Games. Plus, I don't have to deal with people which is ALWAYS a plus for me.

 

Anyway, my copy of K2 and The Bard's Tale (which my gf got me for Xmas) just arrived in Columbus Ohio so I think I'll have it tomorrow morning. Then, well, tomorrow might very well be the Friday on my work week.