Nintendo Australia comments on 3DS Game Stock Issues in Australia
Earlier this week we reported on the shortages plaguing Nintendo 3DS games here in Australia. Our readers too shared their frustrations and experiences about trying to find copies of Luigi’s Mansion 2, Fire Emblem: Awakening and Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate in stores.
Along with the article we asked Nintendo Australia for a comment to find out what was going on and to their credit they got back to us. Here’s what they had to say;
[quote]Due to the current demand for recently released Nintendo 3DS titles in Australia and New Zealand some retail stores may have limited stock.
We would like to apologise to any consumers who have been unable to purchase a physical copy of those titles. Nintendo Australia is working hard to replenish stores as soon as possible. [/quote]
So there you have it, Nintendo have acknowldged that some stores have limited stock and are working to get the games back on shelves. We will of course continue to monitor the situation and keep you updated!
Well, that’s a non-reply if I’ve ever seen one. Is the issue that Nintendo wasn’t shipping enough to begin with, or is the issue that stores buyers underestimated demand and are now frantically reordering? I don’t see Nintendo wanting to finger point at the retail stores, if only to not piss them off, and it’s not like the frontline retail staff would be able to tell us anything either. I think we’ll only know for sure if the store buyers themselves are contacted.
Ok so if that is true, why can’t you buy Lego City for WIiU or Monster Hunter for WiiU…. Last time I checked there was almost no demand for WiiU games.. Got nothing to do with High Demand…
I went into local EB & JB looking for Fire Emblem recently without success. The EB clerk told me to jump on their website because their head office was sitting on stock that they wouldn’t distribute out to stores but were selling online. I’m not sure how I feel about this – if stock’s limited I guess it makes sense to distribute straight to customers but it was a bit annoying. Now I’m currently deciding between eShop, EB online or just waiting until I’ve reduced my unplayed games backlog or a sale.
This really is unacceptable to the consumers, and Nintendo Australia needs to step their game up.
Us: Hi, we’ve noticed a problem with being able to buy your games, can you comment?
Them: Yes, we can confirm people are having problems buying our games.
I have to laugh, otherwise I’d cry. 🙂
I got UK imports for these games and plan to get Animal Crossing for free via their “So Many Games” and had no issues getting them.
Went into EB games on Albert Street Brisbane today, they had 5 copies of FE available to sell, on top of whatever was pre-ordered on launch. Myer Centre store were sent 12 copies for sale. Under-estimating demand seems to be a pretty piss poor excuse in my opinion. If it’s on Nintendo’s end I just don’t know what to say given the demand they saw in the States two months earlier. If its the retailers, then can we please cut the crap about the extra charge on the e-shop being needed as to not cannibalise retailers since they can’t seem to do their jobs properly to begin with.