Wal-Mart taking Nintendo Wii U in-store pre-orders

[xg4bx]

If you are looking to pre-order a Nintendo Wii U this holiday you may be in luck as Wal-Martwill be accepting in-store pre-orders shortly.

On Wednesday afternoon a user on CAGrevealed that starting on October 14, Wal-Mart will begin to take in-store pre-orders for the Nintendo Wii U Deluxe Bundle using their Holiday Layaway system -- pre-orders will be limited to 2 per person.

Just as all other major retailers, Wal-Mart will have limited quantities and sales will be blocked once the store reaches their allocation.

For those interested in pre-ordering at Wal-Mart you should know that there is a service fee of $5 and 10% down to the reserve the Nintendo Wii U Deluxe Bundle.

http://www.examiner.com/article/wal-mart-nintendo-wii-u-store-pre-orders-start-on-oct-14

[jd_1138]

There's a page up now on Wal-Mart that describes the bundle and it says "pre-order now!" but there's nothing to click on. I guess they just built the page for it and will make it go live tomorrow.

 

It says you can choose from either the basic or deluxe set (deluxe is black and has more internal memory -- 32gb and some stands), and you have to buy one game (Super Mario Bros. U, Lego City Undercover, or Nintendo Land), and one extra controller (Wii Remote Plus or a Wii U Pro Controller)

[+Gemintronic]

I dunno. Using a lunch tray with a screen for a joystick doesn't sound pre-order worthy. Neither does having a 3 core processor with worse graphics than the current generation.

[jd_1138]

Actually I think the graphics are better than 360/PS3 according to what I read. The CPU is about the same performance wise as the 360/PS3. And the Wii U has 4 times as much RAM memory. The gamepad with the display built in looks pretty cool. Is that going to be sort of like their new portable gaming system besides a gamepad?

 

Perhaps, they should release a core system without that gamepad for $199 or something to build up their install base. And then people can use a Wiimote with it until they buy one of the new gamepads with the display built in.

[+Gemintronic]

Actually I think the graphics are better than 360/PS3 according to what I read. The CPU is about the same performance wise as the 360/PS3. And the Wii U has 4 times as much RAM memory.

 

Here's an article from Sankaku Complex. Some of the advertisements may not be suitable for work.

http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2012/06/12/wii-u-graphics-worse-than-ps3-after-all/

[+wood_jl]

I think the graphics are pretty-much indistinguishable. The only argument possible would be a "my 1080p graphics look better than your 1080p graphics," which is, kind of silly. In theory, I suppose the textures could look better on the newer machine (don't know the specs, perhaps not) but they look so good on the X360 and PS3 that improvement would be negligible, at best. I don't see how anybody could say the Wii U has inferior graphics, however.

[boog]

From what I've read, the bundles on Walmart.com were strictly for online orders and required extra games/controllers in the bundle. Shipped orders only and not for in-store pickup.

 

Walmart doesn't offer in-store pre-orders, but they will take orders for Christmas 'layaway' tomorrow morning. The layaway is just for the bare console... no bundle required. The layaway counter is supposed to open at 9am. Wii U layaways will be shown in their newspaper ad tomorrow morning.

Edited October 13, 2012 by boog

[jd_1138]

I guess shortages of launch consoles will always be a problem because there's so much hype and buzz about a new console for months or years before it comes out, and there are many who automatically buy the current consoles right away. And it's right before Christmas, so it's the hot thing to get for the kids and grandkids, and there are the ones who buy them to flip (scalpers). And the factories haven't fully ramped up production yet to where they can keep up with this demand.

[Mord]

I dunno. Using a lunch tray with a screen for a joystick doesn't sound pre-order worthy. Neither does having a 3 core processor with worse graphics than the current generation.

 

There were people saying that when the Wii launched too of course.

 

That being said, I'm not interested in any more consoles going forward. This is just the first actual home console that gets the snub.

[boog]

Walmart layaway was a breeze this morning. Walked in at 8:45 and there was only one guy waiting... (he'd been there since 7am ) They had Deluxe console layaways ready to go at 9am... the Wii U barcode was taped to the counter next to the register and they had a dedicated red folder set aside to store their Wii U layaway paperwork. Scary to see Walmart so organized.

 

So, I'm #2 at the local Walmart for a Deluxe console. No bundle required. $349.96 + $5 layaway fee + tax. Two others came in at 9am and were in line behind me. If you're still undecided, this morning might be the last easy chance to get one on launch day.

Edited October 14, 2012 by boog

[jd_1138]

Walmart layaway was a breeze this morning. Walked in at 8:45 and there was only one guy waiting... (he'd been there since 7am ) They had Deluxe console layaways ready to go at 9am... the Wii U barcode was taped to the counter next to the register and they had a dedicated red folder set aside to store their Wii U layaway paperwork. Scary to see Walmart so organized.

 

So, I'm #2 at the local Walmart for a Deluxe console. No bundle required. $349.96 + $5 layaway fee + tax. Two others came in at 9am and were in line behind me. If you're still undecided, this morning might be the last easy chance to get one on launch day.

 

I wonder how much these are going to go for on eBay in early December when everyone wants one for their family or nephew or whatever.

[tpugmire]

My walmart had absolutely no clue what was going on. Eventually we got it figured out with the help of a manager, but it was quite annoying.