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What's going on with Zelda Pre-Orders

by Rick Powers - February 25, 2003, 5:43 pm EST
Total comments: 14

Rumors are swirling that stores are running out of Bonus Discs and that Nintendo is ending the pre-order campaign. What's going on?

We've heard for the past week and a half all of the rumors and complaints from gamers and retailers alike that Nintendo is ending the pre-order campaign for The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and that retailers like GameStop have run out of the bonus disc and are being told not to expect any more.

We've contacted Nintendo on the matter, and have been told in no uncertain terms that Nintendo is NOT cancelling the pre-order program. We repeat ... Nintendo is NOT cancelling the pre-order program.

However, this was not intended to be an indefinite program, and is supposed to be limited to pre-orders ONLY. As a result, it is entirely likely that once the pre-order discs at a retailer run out, that they will not be getting any restock. While Nintendo will not comment further, we have reason to beleive that Nintendo only ever intended to make the bonus discs once, and once they are gone, there won't be any more. In other words, it's "while supplies last".

What does this mean to you if you haven't pre-ordered yet? It means that you need to get going. These discs aren't going to last forever. Your best bet is to avoid a store like GameStop that is already claiming to have run out of the discs and focus on either large stores like Toys 'R' Us and Best Buy, or chains like EB that are smaller than the GameStop chains. Online stores seem to still have stock, but that can be risky, since you won't know until you receive it.

It's worth noting that as of Monday, all mention of the pre-order bonus disc was removed from Zelda.com, and replaced with the following statement:

"The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker preorder offer has been an incredible success! Due to overwhelming demand, it is possible that the special The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time / Master Quest Bonus Disc may no longer be available in your area."

More on this story as it develops.

Talkback

joshnickersonFebruary 25, 2003

Even better places to try would be retail stores like Target and Wal-Mart, since they are usually the last places gamers tend to go for their games. My local Wal-Mart still has ten bonus discs left.

doggbizkit00February 25, 2003

Quote

It's worth noting that as of Monday, all mention of the pre-order bonus disc was removed from Zelda.com, for whatever reason.


also, on the TV commericals, I saw some last night, it no longer has the ending with the Bonus Disk Info

swimguy228February 25, 2003

I saw the wind waker comercial today, and i find it interesting that the part about the pre-order discs was cut out of it.

Berto2KFebruary 25, 2003

I noticed that at the bottom of the Wind Waker page in white, it says that is has been an incredible success and may no longer be available in some areas. I'm glad I got my pre-order in.

GCN Zelda page

ssj4_androidFebruary 25, 2003

Yeah, I noticed that about the commercial also. Must be done. I'm glad I got one. face-icon-small-smile.gif

PGC-Agent CooperBilly Berghammer, FounderFebruary 25, 2003

I'm so glad our readers are smart!

Modulus-XFebruary 25, 2003

Quote

Originally posted by: PGC-Agent Cooper
I'm so glad our readers are smart!


THAKNS BILLEH I KEN REED THESE WERDS NAOW BECUZ PGC TAWT ME!

face-icon-small-happy.gif

But anyway, I got my disc, haven't really played it that much yet. I'll get to it, I have other things to tend to first, like a girlfriend. face-icon-small-tongue.gif

nolimit19February 25, 2003

well i think its cool if nintendo is just playing gamers so that they can get more sales, but if they are seriously running out, i think its a bad move by nintnedo. they should have provided more bonus discs. i mean what if someone decides not to get it because of this.....

olanmillsFebruary 25, 2003

Nintendo is offering a cool bundle for the Wind Waker at their online store.
For $70, you get:


  • The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
  • The Official Player's Guide
  • The Ocarina of Time bonus disc, which includes Master Quest
  • A full year, 12 issues subscription to Nintendo Power


That's a savings of $20 if you consider that the bonus disc doesn't really have a value. This is a good way to get the bonus disc too, if you haven't pre-ordered yet.

Berto2KFebruary 25, 2003

I saw the commercial for Zelda at each commercial break during Real World tonight. Each time it said nothing of the bonus disc.

doggbizkit00February 26, 2003

Quote

Originally posted by: Berto2K
I saw the commercial for Zelda at each commercial break during Real World tonight. Each time it said nothing of the bonus disc.


yup, as posted before when i mentioned the commerical....it was during Clone High (another MTV show) i saw it mabye 2 or 3 times

SPhil64February 26, 2003

I can't say that I'm surprised that the bonus disc is disappearing. I had expected it to end eventually but I never thought that it would be so soon. Geez, the official preorder hadn't even gone ten days when this was announced. I got a feeling this may be Nintendo's fastest selling game...

HappyMaskSalesmanFebruary 26, 2003

I got mine from EB. They had said that they only had a certain amount shipped, and that they wouldn't be getting any more so I wasn't very surprised. Of course, if you missed out on Ocarina of Time on the N64 and the Gamecube, and don't have an N64 anymore you can fetch them from Amazon.com for (get this...) $70! What a rip-off huh? You could just buy a used N64 and used Ocarina of Time for half that, and that's probably the best course of action if you missed out.

Little Dragon WingsFebruary 27, 2003

Hello, I called ebgames.com this morning (10AM e.s.t - 2/27/2003) to confirm that they still had the preorder disk in stock, and they did. So I preordered through them.

I live in Gainesville (FL), and every Brick and Mortar store I checked was out and said they wouldn't be recieving anymore (best buy, toysrus, software etc, etc) EXCEPT ebgames in the mall. However, they said that each shipment they get is already spoken for, and you have to preorder before they get each shipment, but they were the only ones that hinted at even being able to receive more preorder disks (maybe through their hdquarters as opposed to from Nintendo). I didn't want to risk it so I just preordered mine online after calling the Customer Help line at ebgames.com.

I can't believe I almost missed out on this by being so nonchalant about it. It's something I just wanted to have, since I've already played it. Good luck to anyone still searching for it !

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