• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Walmart in-store Wii U preorders begin 10/14

Jtrizzy said:
Question...I have my system and Mario completely paid off at GameStop. If I'm able to procure one at midnight from Walmart, will GameStop refund my money in full?
Click to expand...
I believe not only would they refund you, but if you don't pick it up within a few days they'll automatically give the money back. I seem to recall when I was lurking Amirox having mysterious $250+ credit on his GameStop account, then someone pointing out the amount corresponded with how much a 3DS costed.
 
Preordering a new console is always so stressful. You never know until like the last second if you're actually going to end up with a console in your hands.
 
Thanks for the replies. I'm very biitter towards GameStop for not doing a midnight launch. My store does midnight launches all the freaking time and it isn't a safety issue in this case.
 
I have a Deluxe preorder at Walmart and Target - one of those has to work out. Luckily they were setting aside the receipts in a folder (as per the instructions) so I'm hopeful they'll be ready. But, since it's entered as a layaway sale and they have your information in the computer shouldn't it be in there anyway as not paid off?

Unless, that is, you paid the full amount and didn't leave the required penny on it. At that point the sale would've been complete and out of their system.
 
Well I haven't gotten a call from Wal-Mart so I'm not too worried yet. I was the first pre-order so I would expect to be safe.
 
Hopefully my Walmart did things right, it seemed like they did as I saw them have the folder and sticker list exactly as the instructions that circulated around said. It doesn't open until 9am anyways so I'll just show up around 8:30 just to guarantee that I get it, but I'm not anticipating any big issues or anything.
 
The Walmart I ordered my Wii U from is a 24 hour store, so I hope they have their stuff together because I do not want to head out to pick up a Wii U at midnight.
 
I just went and paid mine off. Only 96 cents left to pay on it. The lady told me tht they will surely have one for every person that preorder. She seemed so sure of their shipment numbers, though she still wouldn't tell me who's many they were getting.

I'll be there at midnight just in case. Not gonna wait in line though. I'll just show up around 11:45 and see what happens from there. I doubt there will be too many waiting at midnight. I expect most will just pick it up the next morning.
 
So where do you pickup the preordered WiiU? I'm asking because even though my WalMart is open 24 hours the Layaway department closes at 10PM.
 
olimpia84 said:
So where do you pickup the preordered WiiU? I'm asking because even though my WalMart is open 24 hours the Layaway department closes at 10PM.
Click to expand...

Good question. At least at my store for the Wii launch they had them all up front at the customer service area
 
olimpia84 said:
So where do you pickup the preordered WiiU? I'm asking because even though my WalMart is open 24 hours the Layaway department closes at 10PM.
Click to expand...

Mine seemed pretty assertive that I had to pick it up at the Layaway department during the hours that Layaway is normally open. Could be different for other locations though I'm sure as this wasn't a 24 hour Walmart.
 
antonz said:
Good question. At least at my store for the Wii launch they had them all up front at the customer service area
Click to expand...

At mine they had us line up at the back of the store at layaway to get one. I think it's going to vary by location. Some store managers wont want a line of people in the store and will just tell them to line up outside while others will let them stay inside.
 
olimpia84 said:
So where do you pickup the preordered WiiU? I'm asking because even though my WalMart is open 24 hours the Layaway department closes at 10PM.
Click to expand...

From the sheet they handed out to the stores when this started it's supposed to be layaway. What they'll do according to it is have a trained Layaway clerk there along with management to handle it. It won't matter if the layaway is closed earlier. They'll have it only open specially for the WII U launch.

That's also usually how all the others have gone too is that they have management and a clerk back there to handle them. That keeps electronics clear that way and allows them to handle it in a timely manner.
 
PsychoRaven said:
From the sheet they handed out to the stores when this started it's supposed to be layaway. What they'll do according to it is have a trained Layaway clerk there along with management to handle it. It won't matter if the layaway is closed earlier. They'll have it only open specially for the WII U launch.

That's also usually how all the others have gone too is that they have management and a clerk back there to handle them. That keeps electronics clear that way and allows them to handle it in a timely manner.
Click to expand...

The location I pre-ordered at closes at midnight but the instructions sent to the store still talk about a midnight launch and having the stock ready to go at 11:45 pm. Does that mean that even stores that aren't 24-hour will be doing midnight launches? Ahh!
 
Called the lady and she assured me that my wii u would be there in layaway. She also assured me that they'd be there at midnight to give them out. I'm gonna plop down a penny on the counter like a boss. So excited.
 
I have one on layaway but not sure I will have my sister pick it up. Nothing is really interesting me and I don't think it will be much a hot item where I can resell it for nice profit.
 
Specialmias said:
They called me this morning. I was technically the second person in the store to have done the layaway. However, they didnt start properly doing the lay away thing until after me so I suppose I somehow got tossed down the pile.
Click to expand...

I would call a district manager, your receipt should have a date and time stamp on it. It should be easy enough to see that you were before others, and if they don't look at that they're fucking things up.
 
SuperPac said:
The location I pre-ordered at closes at midnight but the instructions sent to the store still talk about a midnight launch and having the stock ready to go at 11:45 pm. Does that mean that even stores that aren't 24-hour will be doing midnight launches? Ahh!
Click to expand...

Now those are the crap shoots. That depends on those stores. Some will still be open at midnight. Some will not. They usually leave that choice up to each store and from my experience most of them decide not to open for the midnight launch.
 
I have a midnight store, but no preorder. Really worried about trying to wait outside and attempt to grab a deluxe, as I imagine I'll probably wait and then end up with nothing. I always have a Gamestop pre order to fall back on, but at this point I would feel terrible handing them money. I hope I actually have some other excess preorders to cancel when I go complain.
 
Called my 24-hour Walmart and asked to talk to Layaway Department. I explained I layway'd a Wii U and asked if they were doing a midnight launch or if I needed to wait until Layaway opened. The Walmart employee assured me that the console would be ready for me to pick up at 12:01am on Sunday.

So - that's kinda promising...
 
SreyB said:
Called my 24-hour Walmart and asked to talk to Layaway Department. I explained I layway'd a Wii U and asked if they were doing a midnight launch or if I needed to wait until Layaway opened. The Walmart employee assured me that the console would be ready for me to pick up at 12:01am on Sunday.

So - that's kinda promising...
Click to expand...

Tried calling mine up about the Wii U Midnight launch and they just gave me the layaway counter hours. I'm guessing they had no idea what I was talking about and just gave me hours when they heard midnight.
 
Called my 24 hour Wal-Mart mainly to make sure I'm on the list. He confirmed I was 1 of 6. And that was apparently all the pre-orders they were able to take.

Wasn't clear on the midnight launch. I had been told initially though that there would be one. Plus the paper you guys saw going around the net. I figure I should be fine.

As far as the layway orders go, the instructions specifically said layway (at least the ones I saw) so it looks like if you want one in the wild you'll need to find a different line or go to electronics.
 
SreyB said:
Called my 24-hour Walmart and asked to talk to Layaway Department. I explained I layway'd a Wii U and asked if they were doing a midnight launch or if I needed to wait until Layaway opened. The Walmart employee assured me that the console would be ready for me to pick up at 12:01am on Sunday.

So - that's kinda promising...
Click to expand...

Sounds good. I'll call mine tomorrow just to make sure but I'm sure this will apply to all the WalMarts.
 
My local store report


43 Wii U Deluxe are in the back waiting
only 4 of them are not layaway reserved and none can be sold until tomorrow morning.

not a 24 hour store


how are you guys doing?
 
my walmart is run by (any derogatory word you want) when i called them to talk to electronics the woman didnt know what the wiiU was and asked if it was the new system, said it was and if they were going to do a midnight release, she said they were sold out(wtf i didnt ask that question) layaway is closed at 9pm here and anyone i talk to is clueless except layaway and the only thing they know is that they cant give it to me till sunday when they open at 9 for layaway(store is a 24 hour store) .... this walmart in michigan at 14 and van dyke is horrible.(would rather not go there 9 am to grab wiiU, go to bestbuy at 10am for game pickup and 11:30 for work... rather have it now but no they cant sell it.. hell if they follow the memo for one thing at least give me a midnight release.. or give it to me at 9 pm tonight before you close.
 
Just called my local Walmart. The lady on the phone said that they will have one person in the layaway department at midnight handing out the WiiUs even though the layaway department is not open 24hs. Sweet!
 
Guh, just called layaway and was on the phone for 15 minutes just to be told that they're not there. Incompetence, thy name is the Sterling Walmart.
 
olimpia84 said:
Just called my local Walmart. The lady on the phone said that they will have one person in the layaway department at midnight handing out the WiiUs even though the layaway department is not open 24hs. Sweet!
Click to expand...

Nice! Tried to call the one I preordered at but the layaway department never picked up. :/ I'll probably mosey over there anyway just in case. The store is open until midnight.
 
My WalMart only received 16 Deluxe's and they're all spoken for. I won't be able to get mine for a week or two, but I was told that it would be "locked up in a cage" for me when I'm finally able to come for my sweet, sweet U.
 
I have 2 Deluxe models sitting at my local 24hr Walmart waiting for midnite. I owe exactly $0.02. HYPE!

If not for this thread, I don't think I'd have gotten a Deluxe, and been stuck with a Basic from Gamestop.
 
Ugh! I'm stuck here trying to finish this project I'm working on but can't stop thinking about the Wii U :( I hate that I decided to reserve it at a location that recently decided to no longer stay open for 24hrs and I have to wait to 5am :(
 
Called, was told I'd have to come in at 9AM. Sucks, but at least people can try the transfer w/ the HBC on their Wiis to see how things go. Hopefully, swimmingly, but with the HBC not making the jump - that's precisely what I'd want to hear, anyway.

bunbun777 said:
I was told layaways are being held until Dec 14th.
Click to expand...
Yeah: you have until then to finish payment and pick it up.
 
Was told as long as I am in the store at midnight I will be able to pick it up tonight. Excellent. (This is a non-24 hour Walmart that closes at midnight.)
 
The missus and I pre-ordered a Deluxe at Toys 'R' Us and we got an e-mail saying it'll be ready tomorrow, but we're still going to try and nab one at Wal-Mart tonight. What do you guys think? Possible? How early should we show up?
 
Man, good thing I popped in this thread tonight. Was thinking of heading down to Walmart at midnight, saw the last couple of posts in this thread, gave Walmart a call.

Unfortunately, their layaway dept is 9am to 9pm, so not gonna get it at midnight, which is fine with me. My original plan was to go pick it up, go home, and sleep, then mess with it in the morning, so its not really going to change my plans too much if I wait till tomorrow morning.
 
shadyspace said:
preordered for instore pickup or home delivery?
Click to expand...

Store pick-up. I got an e-mail from TRU yesterday saying their shipment hadn't arrived and may be delayed (they tell you when you pre-order that you are guaranteed a system but not necessarily on release date). Then I got a second e-mail this morning saying the shipment had arrived and was available for pickup tomorrow morning.

I want to try and nab a second unit for gift-giving purposes tonight if possible, and was thinking 24 hour Wal-Marts were the best bet. I don't have a pre-order at one however.
 
After getting the runaround on the phone at my walmart, supposedly our WiiUs have been delayed until December 1st (preordered a long time ago on layaway). I think most of the employees I talked to had no idea what they were talking about though so I'm just gonna drop by in a little bit and see if I can grab one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Walmart saves gaming - Order Walmart products directly inside of games.
Business Cringe Game Dev 
24
356
ShirAhava replied
PlayStation begin rolling out age verification checks
2 3 4 5
202
818
Draugoth replied
Wii U: Better than you remember - Game Sack
2 3
136
1K
ResurrectedContrarian replied
Windows 10 support ends Tomorrow (October 14, 2025)
News Platform  2 3 4
175
2K
Grenseal replied
Playstation Store is garbage
2 3
100
778
Arsic replied
Top Bottom