News: If you want a PS3 pre-order you better start lining up now...
GameStop and EB Games has finally announced their pre-order program for the PS3 and you'll be glad to know it doesn't seem to involve bundles of any kind. The bad news is that EB/GameStop expects to sell all of the pre-order slots within minutes of opening their doors tomorrow morning.
Here's the official word from EB/GameStop:
"GameStop and EB Games will begin accepting limited pre-orders for the PlayStation 3 console on Tuesday, October 10, on a first come, first served basis. Due to extremely limited supply, we expect to deplete this allocation very quickly, most likely in minutes. We will not accept additional pre-orders at this time. To avoid an unnecessary trip we strongly recommend you call your local store to determine availability. A $100 reservation deposit is required, which can be funded with cash, credit or trade. As we cannot control production and shipping issues by the manufacturer, a reservation deposit does not guarantee receipt of a system available to purchase at launch. Reservations/Purchases are limited to 1 per household.
Our limited online pre-order program will be announced at a later date, after software and accessory availability dates are confirmed. Online product pricing and availability will vary and will be fulfilled independent of store reservations."
For those curious about the "limited online pre-order program", we have links to information about the EB Games program and the GameStop program. Check out the URL attached to that link, the pre-order page is listed under "sweepstakes.asp". It's good to know that the largest video game retailer in the world officially considers pre-ordering a PS3 a contest.
So it looks like if you want a PS3 you may have to start lining up now.