• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Super Mario Odyssey bundle announced

spad3

Member
Just sent this to a friend and she says they have it in the back but will be putting it out tomorrow morning. Going to try to get her to scan a regular bundle and give me this one instead, but have to wait until close to closing time tonight she said =D

That's thievery isn't it?

Because inventory count will say
X-1 Nintendo Switch
Y Nintendo Switch Odyssey Bundle

but in reality it's
X Nintendo Switch
Y -1 Nintendo Switch Odyssey Bundle
 

sonto340

Member
That's thievery isn't it?

Because inventory count will say
X-1 Nintendo Switch
Y Nintendo Switch Odyssey Bundle

but in reality it's
X Nintendo Switch
Y -1 Nintendo Switch Odyssey Bundle
If you’ve ever worked in retail you’ll know inventory counts are totally fucked 89% of the time. That 11% being the week before and after inventory.
 

hughesta

Banned
Just sent this to a friend and she says they have it in the back but will be putting it out tomorrow morning. Going to try to get her to scan a regular bundle and give me this one instead, but have to wait until close to closing time tonight she said =D
this will go very poorly
 
If no one finds out not but it's clear that it's almost like theft and if they find out goodbye.

Oh, it'll be very easy to find out. Each Switch has a unique serial number. Target employees log in to point-of-sale systems to handle customer purchases. It's incredibly easy to trace transactions back to individual employees. Scanning a Switch and then "switching" it out for the Odyssey bundle will also render the standard unit un-sellable, due to the its serial number being activated at the register. Target's gonna' love that.
 

MTC100

Banned
That's thievery isn't it?

Because inventory count will say
X-1 Nintendo Switch
Y Nintendo Switch Odyssey Bundle

but in reality it's
X Nintendo Switch
Y -1 Nintendo Switch Odyssey Bundle

Especially as the price isn't the same, if it was you could say it was a mistake but in this case it's like stealing. It's likely that they won't find out until the last SMO bundle is sold and there should still be one in stock and she'll be fine as it will be hard to find out who it was that made the "mistake".

It will be very obvious that it wasn't a mistake though so all employees could have to deal with consequences. He must be a good friend to her for risking not only her job but also putting her colleagues in harms way.
 

Krakatoa

Member
Just sent this to a friend and she says they have it in the back but will be putting it out tomorrow morning. Going to try to get her to scan a regular bundle and give me this one instead, but have to wait until close to closing time tonight she said =D

Why waste your time, Its a download code so you want get the game any earlier.

Also, I'm sure local B+M stores will start selling the game when it arrives.
 

MTC100

Banned
Oh, it'll be very easy to find out. Each Switch has a unique serial number. Target employees log in to point-of-sale systems to handle customer purchases. It's incredibly easy to trace transactions back to individual employees. Scanning a Switch and then "switching" it out for the Odyssey bundle will also render the standard unit un-sellable, due to the its serial number being activated at the register. Target's gonna' love that.

Oh that's easy then, yes. Didn't know they scan not only the Barcode but also the unique serial number, where I live only Smartphones are scanned this way, no one cares about serial numbers of other electronics.
 
Oh that's easy then, yes. Didn't know they scan not only the Barcode but also the unique serial number, where I live only Smartphones are scanned this way.

It's possible the serial number isn't scanned (I haven't worked retail for a few years), but even if that's the case, there a many, many other ways to easily track the transaction. Inventory counts will be off, for starters, and asset protection employees love keeping up to date with counts on high dollar electronics.
 

Dranakin

Member
If you have GCU, you can get the game for $38. Tempted by the bundle, but $42 just for the case and color is not worth it.
 

MTC100

Banned
It's possible the serial number isn't scanned (I haven't worked retail for a few years), but even if that's the case, there a many, many other ways to easily track the transaction. Inventory counts will be off, for starters and asset protection employees love keeping up to date with counts on high dollar electronics.

You're right, especially if she is the only one selling that kind of bundle ahead of time, it might slip through if she would swap it when the bundle is actually launching but then she'd have to do this with other customers waiting. Unless she's a very talented magician this will be almost impossible to pull off.
 

Logash

Member
I'm so curious to see if any of these can be sold. I know that the register can prevent early sales of things but I swear I've seen this working with early retail games.
 
I'm so curious to see if any of these can be sold. I know that the register can prevent early sales of things but I swear I've seen this working with early retail games.

A user in this thread already tried at Target and the point-of-sale system denied the transaction.
 

ChelseaLoveX

Neo Member
Why waste your time, Its a download code so you want get the game any earlier.

Also, I'm sure local B+M stores will start selling the game when it arrives.

I can confirm this is the case, she just told me it says "Download Code" on the box.

Glad I read your posts, I mentioned the serial number thing and she said they DO scan it.
 

Jake2by4

Member
I'm so curious to see if any of these can be sold. I know that the register can prevent early sales of things but I swear I've seen this working with early retail games.

It's possible. But the person who does it will most likely get in trouble.
 

MTC100

Banned
If you have GCU, you can get the game for $38. Tempted by the bundle, but $42 just for the case and color is not worth it.

Fun fact: the EU bundle costs 389 Euro and doesn't come with the case. The Grey Switch costs 315 and the download code 43 Euro. So you're essentially paying 31 Euro for the color red... To put that into perspective: that's a physical copy of Binding of Isaac or Axiom Verge...
 

Gabe3208

Banned
I'm so curious to see if any of these can be sold. I know that the register can prevent early sales of things but I swear I've seen this working with early retail games.

I know that at my local Target the tech department people are old and not in the know when it comes to video games. Usually if you complain enough, they'll give you what you want so you can just shut up and leave, lol.
 
I know that at my local Target the tech department people are old and not in the know when it comes to video games. Usually if you complain enough, they'll give you what you want so you can just shut up and leave, lol.

If the system blocks a transaction due to a Street Date, the only means to sell a customer that item will likely lead to employee termination.

Well that answers my question. I wonder why some retails are able to get away with it. Maybe it was smaller stores who don't have advance POS systems.

This + certain items occasionally slip through the cracks and aren't marked as sensitive SKUs by the system.
 

MTC100

Banned
I can confirm this is the case, she just told me it says "Download Code" on the box.

Glad I read your posts, I mentioned the serial number thing and she said they DO scan it.

Well if you care for her at least a bit then you should advice her not to do it in this case. As she would have to scan a regular one including the serial number and then hand you over the SMO bundle... I doubt she can explain how that happened by chance.

Just get the bundle when it launches, you won't be able to play the game before release anyway.
 

spad3

Member
If you’ve ever worked in retail you’ll know inventory counts are totally fucked 89% of the time. That 11% being the week before and after inventory.

I've worked in retail as a manager (GS) and I've made sure our inventory counts were as accurate as possible, especially prior to a major release/console release. The only time we've ever had issues is if someone mislabeled, but even those we caught prior to release day.

I can see Target making that mistake as their inventories are pretty massive, however they have the support staff to back it up their size. Incorrect inventory counts are simply laziness.

Especially as the price isn't the same, if it was you could say it was a mistake but in this case it's like stealing. It's likely that they won't find out until the last SMO bundle is sold and there should still be one in stock and she'll be fine as it will be hard to find out who it was that made the "mistake".

It will be very obvious that it wasn't a mistake though so all employees could have to deal with consequences. He must be a good friend to her for risking not only her job but also putting her colleagues in harms way.

Risking someone's job (and potentially their future) and a company's reputation for an object ... seems like a fair trade
/s
 

Gabe3208

Banned
If the system blocks a transaction due to a Street Date, the only means to sell a customer that item will likely lead to employee termination.

It's actually easy to get something overridden. Last year at Toys R Us I tried to get Magical Kingdom 2 for my wife 2 weeks before release, this older lady cashier was helping me and when she scanned she told me "it won't let me scan it." She felt bad for me since it was on the floor and manually punched it in as a $39.99 item, and I was able to get it. Boy was my wife happy, lol.
 
It's actually easy to get something overridden. Last year at Toys R Us I tried to get Magical Kingdom 2 for my wife 2 weeks before release, and when she scanned she told me "it won't let me scan it." She felt bad for me since it was on the floor and manually punched it in as a $39.99 item, and I was able to get it. Boy was my wife happy, lol.

Of course it's easy. It's also an easy way to lose one's job. Publishers and retailers take street dates very seriously. The employee who sold you the game deliberately broke street date. There's no way to plead ignorance when the POS system literally instructs the employee to remove the item from the transaction.
 
This isn't that great a deal, or am I mistaken? A normal switch with Mario is 360 before tax. This bundle is 380 before tax. ???

It includes a carrying case as well. You're not saving any money with this bundle, but you do get an exclusive joycon set and case (though the joycons can also be purchased separately in Japan).
 

Pastry

Banned
I've worked in retail as a manager (GS) and I've made sure our inventory counts were as accurate as possible, especially prior to a major release/console release. The only time we've ever had issues is if someone mislabeled, but even those we caught prior to release day.

I can see Target making that mistake as their inventories are pretty massive, however they have the support staff to back it up their size. Incorrect inventory counts are simply laziness.



Risking someone's job (and potentially their future) and a company's reputation for an object ... seems like a fair trade
/s

Target is notoriously good with data, wouldn’t be surprised if they were on top of their inventory.
 
They may be good on data, but a lot of Targets are garbage tier in actually knowing where something is in the back of the store.

That's an issue with retail employees everywhere. It's actually really easy to locate an item if it's been properly stocked and the employee has been properly trained.
 

Elfstruck

Member
Just sent this to a friend and she says they have it in the back but will be putting it out tomorrow morning. Going to try to get her to scan a regular bundle and give me this one instead, but have to wait until close to closing time tonight she said =D

Jesus, you cant wait one week?
 

Davey Cakes

Member
It includes a carrying case as well. You're not saving any money with this bundle, but you do get an exclusive joycon set and case (though the joycons can also be purchased separately in Japan).
That's why I'm going for it. I like the red color and I think the case is nice. I'm not saving money but I'm getting what I want out of the package. Plus like I said, I'm selling the code and getting a physical copy of Mario so all in all it's fine.
 

ChelseaLoveX

Neo Member
Of course it's easy. It's also an easy way to lose one's job. Publishers and retailers take street dates very seriously. The employee who sold you the game deliberately broke street date. There's no way to plead ignorance when the POS system literally instructs the employee to remove the item from the transaction.

OMG, I just told her this story and she said she can actually do the same thing and literally no one would be the wiser! I just got a call from her and she said "Happy Early Christmas, you owe me BIG time." Running over to pick it up right now!!! XD


Don't worry, I won't ruin anything for anyone on here, I will have no digital footprint for the next 2 weeks!!! Love & Respect <3
 
OMG, I just told her this story and she said she can actually do the same thing and literally no one would be the wiser! I just got a call from her and she said "Happy Early Christmas, you owe me BIG time." Running over to pick it up right now!!! XD


Don't worry, I won't ruin anything for anyone on here, I will have no digital footprint for the next 2 weeks!!! Love & Respect <3

You can't ruin anything because you can't play the game. lol

It's a download code that won't redeem until Friday.
 
OMG, I just told her this story and she said she can actually do the same thing and literally no one would be the wiser! I just got a call from her and she said "Happy Early Christmas, you owe me BIG time." Running over to pick it up right now!!! XD


Don't worry, I won't ruin anything for anyone on here, I will have no digital footprint for the next 2 weeks!!! Love & Respect <3

To your friend, I say

good_luck_morgan_freeman.gif
 

Pastry

Banned
OMG, I just told her this story and she said she can actually do the same thing and literally no one would be the wiser! I just got a call from her and she said "Happy Early Christmas, you owe me BIG time." Running over to pick it up right now!!! XD


Don't worry, I won't ruin anything for anyone on here, I will have no digital footprint for the next 2 weeks!!! Love & Respect <3

You’re going to be so disappointed when you can’t download the game lol.

That or this is all a big lie, this is GAF so you never know.
 

Gabe3208

Banned
OMG, I just told her this story and she said she can actually do the same thing and literally no one would be the wiser! I just got a call from her and she said "Happy Early Christmas, you owe me BIG time." Running over to pick it up right now!!! XD


Don't worry, I won't ruin anything for anyone on here, I will have no digital footprint for the next 2 weeks!!! Love & Respect <3

Oh man, lucky as hell!

Well, have fun at least. God, next week cannot come soon enough.
 
Preordered a while back for my son but it won't be opened until Christmas. Am I at any risk for potential fuckery? Maybe I should open it up and download the game just to make sure is not defective?
 
Top Bottom