Retailer warns customers to pre-order now and 'not be left out'
26 CommentsGAME's flagship store on Oxford Street is warning customers that stock levels of Microsoft's £130 Kinect are 'limited'.
The news comes after a number of UK GAME outlets told CVG that they would have no Kinect units to sell at the Xbox peripheral's launch on November 10.
GAME Oxford Street is currently displaying two signs - both warning of limited stock.
One billboard, positioned in the doorway of the store, warns customers to pre-order if they don't want to 'be left out this Christmas!'.
However, at HMV down the road, we were once again told there were no concerns over Kinect stock limits.
Meanwhile, CVG reader Jacksaddiction - who claims to be a GAME Group employee - said that any outlets telling customers Kinect definitely won't be available at launch are likely to be based on individual store estimates.
He added: "At the moment, no store is sure of how many they will receive, but they can always guess going on delivery figures from the past compared to their pre-order total. So yes, due to the recent increase in pre-orders within the stores, many stores COULD be sold out come release day."
Fellow CVG reader MrRage told us: "My local GAME store has a sign in the window saying due to stock shortage there wont be any for general sale on release day."
An official GAME HQ spokesperson told CVG this week: "We are not aware of any potential stock shortages with Kinect and are working with Microsoft to meet expected demand.
"We do anticipate Kinect to be incredibly popular and it absolutely has the potential to sell out on release day. As a result, customers who want to get their hands on Kinect at launch really need to pre-order to guarantee that they get it."
Gamers will be hoping to avoid a repeat of the Wii launch in 2006, when limited stock in the UK led to some heated retail encounters - and a lot of disappointment on Christmas morning.