Wal-Mart getting games in late?

[DJBoy416]

I was in my local Wal-Mart yesterday to get a GameCube memory card and I noticed something interesting..
They have a small sign listing upcoming games,but every game they have isn`t coming to Wal-Mart until three or four days after they are released.
For example..
WWE Day of Reckoning 2 and Mario Baseball-Ships August 29th,in store September 1st
Scooby-Doo Unmasked-Ships September 12th,in store September 15th
They are also not getting Nintendogs until this Thursday..two days after it`s nationwide release.

It really caught me off guard because they usually get games the day after their release.So,I was wondering if anyone else`s Wal-Marts are like this,or maybe someone who works at a Wal-Mart can tell me why there`s been a change?

[Slimedog]

Probably because the manufacturers and wholesalers know that Wal Mart can't be trusted not to break street date. Mine tends to toss stuff on the shelf as soon as they get it, regardless of the release date.

[Simply Dave]

The Wal-Mart is my area has always been one of the last places to receive new games. Always has been and probably always will be.

[GarrettCRW]

Ships August 29th

You do understand the concept of shipping, right? As much as stores would like the games immediately, if Game Maker X ships on the release date, you can be certain that most stores won't be getting the game until after that date.

[rpepper9]

Doesn't really matter, Wallmart is still the closest place to get games for millions of people. It is in evey hick town and is a large retailer that has so income that a day or two late on a game release date makes little difference. x_x

[Poofta!]

the real questions should be:

a) why the hell were you in WallMart
and
b) why the hell would you buy/play WWE Day of Reckoning 2,
Scooby-Doo Unmasked and Nintendogs anyway? especially the day they come out...

[JJNova]

the real questions should be:

a) why the hell were you in WallMart
and
b) why the hell would you buy/play WWE Day of Reckoning 2,
Scooby-Doo Unmasked and Nintendogs anyway? especially the day they come out...

Because they have everything, at a lower price.

And I bought Nintendogs there monday morning as the UPS man came in and delivered the package. Your WalMart might not have Nintendogs, but mine definitely does.

Snoopy, my beagle, has learned four voice commands and won first plce in the Obedience Competitions Beginner level. ALso, one of my neighbors stopped me while I was giving him a walk, and reminded me to obet litter laws. Apparently I'm supposed to pickup after my dog in this town. Screw that Matthew guy though, he plays his music too loud.

[DJBoy416]

the real questions should be:

a) why the hell were you in WallMart
and
b) why the hell would you buy/play WWE Day of Reckoning 2,
Scooby-Doo Unmasked and Nintendogs anyway? especially the day they come out...
Day of Reckoning 2 is the only game out of those I`m getting.I just noticed the later in store dates for the other games and thought it was strange they were getting them days after when Wal-Mart usually gets them the very next day.

[GarrettCRW]

Because they have everything, at a lower price.

No, they don't. When it comes to Wal-Mart, they carry only what their arch-conservative policies dictate. And if you dare to talk trash about Wal-Mart (like Cheryl Crow did in one of her CDs), prepare to never see your stuff in a Wal-Mart ever again.

[PapaStu]

Because they have everything, at a lower price.

No, they don't. When it comes to Wal-Mart, they carry only what their arch-conservative policies dictate. And if you dare to talk trash about Wal-Mart (like Cheryl Crow did in one of her CDs), prepare to never see your stuff in a Wal-Mart ever again.

Firstly its Sheryl Crow, and Yes Wal*Mart carries hers AND Eminems cd's currently, both online AND in B+M stores. (both people that have gone after Wal*Mart). The Ultra-conservative practices have taken big steps back and their biggest remanints of that are the fact that they carry clean cd's over edited ones (when published by the record company, not because Wal*Mart dictates what should be clean and such). If the RIAA actually spent a little time and made the Parental Advisory mean something (with a rating system like Video games) Wal*Mart would carry them. They carry all the movies un-edited and even most of the 'Unrated' cuts because theres reasons on the back of the movie those get rated the way they do.

[snes_collector]

Yeah, I hate Wal-Mart for that reason. I went like last Thurs. or Fri. to get Sonice Gems and they didn't have it. What amazed me more was the fact they had the new Hello Kitty game. How many people(excluding collector) will by that?

[bargora]

What amazed me more was the fact they had the new Hello Kitty game. How many people(excluding collector) will by that?
Hello Kitty Deathmatch is finally out? Sweet!

[snes_collector]

What amazed me more was the fact they had the new Hello Kitty game. How many people(excluding collector) will by that?
Hello Kitty Deathmatch is finally out? Sweet!

Yeah, my Wal Mart only had 4 copys though(they probably already sold the rest) so you better get a copy soon!

[Griking]

Because they have everything, at a lower price.

I don't know if its just in my area or not but Wat*Mart's videogame prices always seem to be on the high side to me. I'm almost always find that games are cheaper at Best Buy or EBWorld.

[poe]

Also, Walmart probably uses ground shipping for everything, whereas video game and many electronics specialty retailers next-day air most of their stuff to put it out that much sooner. The costs wouldn't be worth it to Walmart, seeing how it eats into that piss poor margin a single video game has in the first place. However, places like Best Buy and EBGames, who can pimp the hell out of a strategy guide or an extra used game, which Walmart doesn't leave any shelf space for, can turn that $50 game with $4 margin into a $75-100 sale with $20-40 margin.

[Bluteg]

If you believe Wal-Mart has the lowest prices then you are falling directly into their brainwashing. Wal-Mart is VERY expensive on video games especially in areas where there is little or no competition. My Wal-Mart still wants $49.99 for games like Fantavision and Frequency. It's fucking rediculous the prices they ask for games that were clearenced at comparable retailers years ago. The problem is that Joe Six-Pack and Nascar Nate don't really keep up with price drops and such. Wal-Mart caters to uneducated consumers and that is the lowest common denominator.

[Half Japanese]

I don't need to hop on the Wal-Mart hatetrain, I've been shoveling coal in that bastard for years, but one thing to realize is this:

Specialty stores will almost always get the goods first. For instance, if you want a CD that's not a huge release that week, it often takes retailers like Best Buy or Circuit City until Wednesday or Thursday to get them, whereas your local record shop (be it something small and independently owned, or something like Tower Records, FYE and what-have-you) should have it first day. Same with games. EB and Gamestop will almost always beat CC or BB to the shelves.

Someone earlier mentioned that Wal-Mart and larger retailers can't be bothered with street dates, and that's an excellent point. Especially when the warehouses ship out new releases mixed in with replenishment stock. That puts the burden on the low-pay employees to know everything coming out that week and pick it out of the dozen or so boxes received almost daily. Then, when they can't meet that stupid criteria, they have to be the ones that look stupid when their computers come up with a street date prompt and they can't sell what the customer has brought them.

Shop locally whenever possible, and if not locally, then at least specialty. In the end it ensures you get what you want when you want it, even if you have to pay an extra dollar or two for it.

[mills]

Lol what i dont get is why any of you know that walmart has sheryl crow and eminem cds, and games like wwe and nintendogs.

[PapaStu]

Lol what i dont get is why any of you know that walmart has sheryl crow and eminem cds, and games like wwe and nintendogs.

I worked for their primary Music and Movie merchandiser for the last 18 months (Anderson Merchandisers). It was my job to know what was in MY music runs at all times (my company sent in the product and I stocked it), and I could tell you... for both of my stores everything that was in them. Thats how I know. And while cleaning up my deptartment its not like its hard for me to look over at the game cabinets and see whats in there at any given time.

[goatdan]

I would agree with whoever said it really just comes down to the fact that a lot of Wal*Marts have broken street dates in the past, and not giving them the games right away is the way to punish them for that. I saw Halo 2 prepped at a bunch of local stores two weeks in advance, but they kept street date -- meaning they didn't sell the game until it was supposed to be released. I would assume Wal*Mart just broke that rule, so now "ships on [date]" really means that is when the games will be shipped to them.

[Leo_A]

"The problem is that Joe Six-Pack and Nascar Nate don't really keep up with price drops and such. Wal-Mart caters to uneducated consumers and that is the lowest common denominator."

Nothing more uneducated than someone that lumps everyone together.

There are plenty of NASCAR fans, even at this message board, that are just as educated as you, if not more.

[Slimedog]

Since I can choose not to shop at Wal Mart, their goofy pricing generally doesn't bother me. The only thing that does tick me off is when the land some exclusive game. Generally I don't hear about it until after its off the shelves. Right now I'm hunting all over the place trying to find Gameboy Bejeweled and the other Popcap games, but I think I'm out of luck. Even if I do get it in time, like my Super Mario Advance 4 with the extra e-cards, I have to pay full retail. Nothing pisses me off more than having to pay full retail. Used and dirt cheap all the way for me.

[NintendoMan]

the real questions should be:

a) why the hell were you in WallMart
and
b) why the hell would you buy/play WWE Day of Reckoning 2,
Scooby-Doo Unmasked and Nintendogs anyway? especially the day they come out...

I like what you said about A. LOL
But not about NINTENDOGS! :angry:

:)

[Avatard]

Welcome to 10 years ago, Wal Mart around here has always gotten things in a week late or more. Plus the supply is meager. I would never buy from WalMart even if the game is $5 cheaper, I'd go to a GameStop or other specialty store and support them.

[poe]

Specialty stores will almost always get the goods first. For instance, if you want a CD that's not a huge release that week, it often takes retailers like Best Buy or Circuit City until Wednesday or Thursday to get them, whereas your local record shop (be it something small and independently owned, or something like Tower Records, FYE and what-have-you) should have it first day. Same with games. EB and Gamestop will almost always beat CC or BB to the shelves.



Actually, speaking as someone who works at BB, I can assure you we almost always get CD and DVD releases about a week in advance (anime being a notable exception in our store, some of those go to a BB distribution center before they come to the store, so we are down to the wire or a couple days late with about 25% of titles). Most releases are shipped 2 weeks in advance with a hard street date, so even with ground freight on those, we get them for Tuesdays.

Video games, with exceptions like Madden and Halo 2, aren't shipped until their release date, so air vs. ground freight makes a big difference, as does publisher proximity to the store (in the northwest, we don't see any video games the Tuesdays they come out, but I hear in the Midwest or eastern US, nearer publishers' DCs, some game stores get them that afternoon.

PapaStu sounds like he was in more of a hands-on distribution role for Walmart, so maybe he could debunk or support the "Ground shipping for Walmart vs. Air shipping for everyone else" argument. We can at least narrow down the speculation.

[Half Japanese]

Specialty stores will almost always get the goods first. For instance, if you want a CD that's not a huge release that week, it often takes retailers like Best Buy or Circuit City until Wednesday or Thursday to get them, whereas your local record shop (be it something small and independently owned, or something like Tower Records, FYE and what-have-you) should have it first day. Same with games. EB and Gamestop will almost always beat CC or BB to the shelves.



Actually, speaking as someone who works at BB, I can assure you we almost always get CD and DVD releases about a week in advance (anime being a notable exception in our store, some of those go to a BB distribution center before they come to the store, so we are down to the wire or a couple days late with about 25% of titles). Most releases are shipped 2 weeks in advance with a hard street date, so even with ground freight on those, we get them for Tuesdays.

Video games, with exceptions like Madden and Halo 2, aren't shipped until their release date, so air vs. ground freight makes a big difference, as does publisher proximity to the store (in the northwest, we don't see any video games the Tuesdays they come out, but I hear in the Midwest or eastern US, nearer publishers' DCs, some game stores get them that afternoon.

PapaStu sounds like he was in more of a hands-on distribution role for Walmart, so maybe he could debunk or support the "Ground shipping for Walmart vs. Air shipping for everyone else" argument. We can at least narrow down the speculation.

Bolded for emphasis. I'm speaking of games/CDs/movies that aren't big releases. For instance, I know that the Circuit City I used to work at didn't get Home Movies Season 2 the week it came out, because it wasn't a huge release to them. Had I gone to a local shop that specializes in CDs/DVDs, or a store like Suncoast, I'm sure I could have gotten it that same day. Also, I don't know about BB, but Circuit City is horrible about sneaking new releases in with replenishment stock, which worked in my favor a time or two (getting Elliott Smith's last CD a week early*), but more often than not, made it a pain when someone brought something up that wasn't supposed to be on the shelves yet and were told "our computer won't let us sell this yet, sorry."


*This was a minor release to CC the week of release and didn't even give a prompt about street date when it was rung up.