Some updates for the EU pre-order situation

[SylverDragon]

Originally Posted by impulsebooks

By preorder bonuses I mean in game items. As far as I know, all CE get open beta access. Different outlets offer different bonuses (as in in game items)

As stated in post 350 in this thread, by Ian (my highlighting)

As clarified several times by me, HMV.com is not a pre-order partner. Only the HMV stores are part of this promotion. You can pre-order the game via HMV's website but this is no different to pre-ordering any other unreleased product, you won't get any of the bonus pre-order program items that way.

which to me means if you order from HMV.com you don't get open beta access, head start or bonus ingame items.

Unfortunately this situation is further confused by the war-europe.com news item announcing HMV as a UK partner, where it says (again my highlighting)

Remember that the Collector's Edition is strictly limited in number so pre-order yours soon if you don't want to miss out. This product is exclusively available in HMV stores and will not be listed on the HMV.com website.

[Zoatibix]

Yeah...this is looking a little odd. Not, the sky is falling OMG, just...eh?

I can understand high street stores being told that they might not get the WAR CE at all or in limited numbers but for them to be allocated PO boxes but not gauranteed the matching number of CE boxes is a...strange... especially since HMV.com are now selling the CE without the PO box.

Are HMV allowed to sell part of their 'high street' CE stock on the Web? Are some high street buyers (such as myself) going to be left with a nice PO box but no CE?

[Norfrit]

Seems that WAR will have great launch but quite awful CE pre-order

[Zoatibix]

Well, I'm waiting for them to announce that the release date is sometime between 19-30 September...when I will be out of the country on honeymoon.

That would just put the cherry on the cake.

[Norfrit]

Days grind in WAR after days grind in bed?

[GDVS]

Originally Posted by Zoatibix

Are HMV allowed to sell part of their 'high street' CE stock on the Web? Are some high street buyers (such as myself) going to be left with a nice PO box but no CE?

Based on the whole Best Buy and Age of Conan debacle (they did exactly the same thing) I'd say definitely. HMV are going to screw this up massively and peolpe are going to get shafted.

[Zoatibix]

lol

Well I do have the week after my HM booked off, too. My GF will be back at work

[Bloodshed]

Originally Posted by Zoatibix

lol

Well I do have the week after my HM booked off, too. My GF will be back at work

After your HM your GF will be going back to work! I hope you mean your wife, or are you playing the field only a week after mariage .

Anyway, im concerned about the HMV situation. Just tried ordering it online, but keeps telling me that there is an 'error in processing the request'. I've also asked to get one in-store, but i don't know if i can really rely on HMV now. I've got my PO box, if i dont get the CE on release day.......... ohhhh, there will be some letters to HMV's H.O., possibly sent with a goblin & pointy stick!

[Zoatibix]

Well, currently she is my girlfriend, so I stand by what I said!

I think Req might be along shortly with a message about this that clears it up a bit....

[IainC_Goa]

Originally Posted by Zoatibix

Yeah...this is looking a little odd. Not, the sky is falling OMG, just...eh?

I can understand high street stores being told that they might not get the WAR CE at all or in limited numbers but for them to be allocated PO boxes but not gauranteed the matching number of CE boxes is a...strange... especially since HMV.com are now selling the CE without the PO box.

Are HMV allowed to sell part of their 'high street' CE stock on the Web? Are some high street buyers (such as myself) going to be left with a nice PO box but no CE?

Nope.

Basically each supplier has been allocated a certain number of boxes by our distributors, this number obviously varies by the size of the territory and the size of the retailer. HMV have a fixed number of copies to sell. The pre-order program applies only in the stores but the CE details (not the pre-order pack) have also been put up on the website - as would pretty much any stock that HMV plans to sell.

If you buy a pre-order pack, you are 100% reserving yourself a copy of the CE in store. I had some friends come to visit me a couple of weeks ago and we went to my local HMV so that they could reserve their boxes, the staff there had a very clear memo from their head office explaining exactly what the procedure was - they took the details and advised us that the CEs they'd pre-ordered would be held for up to two weeks before releasing it back into stock. If HMV don't sell all of their pre-order allocation as pre-orders then they can sell the extra boxes on the website or on the store shelves or whatever as with any other product. The listing on the website will always be subject to stock availability and people with an official pre-order are first in line.

[DunRaven]

Went into my HMV Store today to see if I could get hold of the Pre-Order CE

Was told by the store manager there that there were none left and they'd stopped the 'promotion' or 'offer' or whatever one might call it..

*Sighs*

Sad day.

[GDVS]

Originally Posted by IainC_Goa

If you buy a pre-order pack, you are 100% reserving yourself a copy of the CE in store.

I wish you were right, however past experience tells me HMV will make a collossal balls up of the whole thing. The sheer number of people in this thread who bought a pre-order box and never even had details taken guarantees that. I ordered online on the assumption that Play occasionally get it right but I'm not holding my breath as they made a total pigs ear of the AoC launch.

MMORPG launches have a nasty tendency to be far too complex for retailers with each one wanting to do their own little thing and consequently ballsing it up. Apple have the right attitude there, "This is how it will be, if you disagree even a little bit you get 0 stock".

[Whip-Jack]

Originally Posted by GDVS

I wish you were right, however past experience tells me HMV will make a collossal balls up of the whole thing. The sheer number of people in this thread who bought a pre-order box and never even had details taken guarantees that. I ordered online on the assumption that Play occasionally get it right but I'm not holding my breath as they made a total pigs ear of the AoC launch.

MMORPG launches have a nasty tendency to be far too complex for retailers with each one wanting to do their own little thing and consequently ballsing it up. Apple have the right attitude there, "This is how it will be, if you disagree even a little bit you get 0 stock".

That seems over-optimistic to me too - the HMV in the home of Games Workshop, Nottingham, hadn't a clue - if your shop doesn't either I recommend phoning them up, speaking to the stockroom and getting them to reserve you a copy using their own system.

[Endless]

Not to throw more fuel on the fire, so to speak. But I have never ever ever had a pre-order honoured from any UK store ever. Not once. Every store i've ever pre-ordered from i still had to be there on the dot when the store opened to secure it. And if i wasn't? They sold it to whoever got to the store first.

So i've pretty given up on Uk store pre-orders. I get everything from America where possible. Otherwise i order from Amazon.co.uk or Gameplay.com. Gameplay would have been best choice for UK pre-order site if you ask me. But that's just in my experience

UK stores just don't seem to understand what a pre-order is.

[|MA|Kroy]

I'm still waiting from PLAY.com patiently. I've had pre-orders from them before and they've been fine.

Originally Posted by Endless

UK stores just don't seem to understand what a pre-order is.

Dunno if you're just referring to MMORPG pre-orders, but everytime I've pre-ordered a non-MMORP game at the local GAME stores, I've had no problems at all.