Pre-Order Midnight Releases In Jeopardy Due To Rockstar Shipping Rules? [REPORT]

[NSanityHD]

Every gamer with a pulse is anticipating the GTA V  release date in 12 days. The GTA V  release date of Sept. 17 has been known for a while now, but todays GTA V  release date news doesn't have anything to do with when the game is supposed to be released, it has to do with whether or not the game will be at your local retailer at all. According to a report from Videogamer, Rockstar has apparently set a shipping restriction on the game so that units don't ship until Sept. 16, the day before the GTA V  release date.

 

UK retailer GAME sent an email to customers that said that "GTA V  is released on 17th September and Rockstar, who publish it, have worked very hard to make it the biggest gaming launch ever. They have requested that no UK retailer despatch GTA V  before the 16th September and GAME, along with all reputable retailers, will respect this request."

 

That's right. Your precious GTA V  disc won't be en route to your local retailer until the GTA V  release date itself. Yeah, I know it technically comes out on the 17^th but I'm sure there are hundreds of thousands of fans who are going to be lining up on Monday to get a good spot in the midnight release line. And the GTA V  release date midnight festivities are now in jeopardy.

 

Granted, this is a UK-based policy so it's possible that American retailers are under no such restriction, but that's unlikely. The goal of the GTA V release date shipping restrictions is to prevent copies of the game leaking early. And, if you've been following GTA V  news recently, you know that leaks have been a problem after the PlayStation Network got hacked and some user managed to extract game files including the complete soundtrack.

Here's the nightmare scenario I envision on the GTA V  release date. I'm waiting in a long line at my local GameStop (which has had trouble managing smaller midnight releases in the past) and, at around 11:30, some poor, greasy-haired mope has to shuffle outside and tell a large crowd of antsy gamers who have been fantasizing about an evening of bloodletting and chaos that GTA V  isn't coming tonight because of a screw-up with a Fed Ex truck. Cut to the next day when the mainstream media (which is undoubtedly waiting for the first troubled teen to act out in an atypical way so they can denounce the game) start airing reports of "riots" at retailers where the shipment didn't arrive. Broken windows, kids in hoodies, you get the picture.

 

I know these will likely be isolated incidents, but the GTA V  release date is going to be a MAJOR media event because it will likely be one of the best-selling games of all time. It will certainly put up Call of Duty style numbers, and those are annualized releases. We're talking about the most well-known franchise in the gaming world; a lightning rod for controversy from every uncool sector of society, a game that has been in round-the-clock development from some of the most brilliant minds in the industry since before Obama was President. It will be of unprecedented scope, size and scale and is likely to be counted among the pinnacle IPs for the current generation and fondly remembered as one of the greatest games of all-time.

 

Hope your Fed-Ex guy doesn't get lost.

IDigitalTimes.com Source

 

Huge frickin' SIGH!

[Chris]

Well, the UK is, geographically speaking, a fairly small country. Shipping with first class postage as GAME said they would should mean the vast majority of customers will receive the game on release day. Other retailers such as Amazon offered pre-orders with release day delivery guarantee. So I imagine they may even ignore that request from R* in order to have greater chance of meeting that guarantee they offered.

 

Rockstar's own Warehouse also guarantees release day delivery on pre-orders.

[Trevor_Philips]

If I can wait 12 days without my brain melting, I can wait another 12 hours or so. Look at it as a reward for a Tuesday's hard day of work, school, or whatever your daily responsibilities are.

[NSanityHD]

Well, the UK is, geographically speaking, a fairly small country. Shipping with first class postage as GAME said they would should mean the vast majority of customers will receive the game on release day. Other retailers such as Amazon offered pre-orders with release day delivery guarantee. So I imagine they may even ignore that request from R* in order to have greater chance of meeting that guarantee they offered.

 

Rockstar's own Warehouse also guarantees release day delivery on pre-orders.

 

I hope so.

If I can wait 12 days without my brain melting, I can wait another 12 hours or so. Look at it as a reward for a Tuesday's hard day of work, school, or whatever your daily responsibilities are.

 

I suppose. Except I probably won't be in for the parcel when it arrives lol

[BlackListedB]

Hard not to expect Rockstar to tighten the clamps on the system in place after Sony set up the Digital Download of assets prematurely thinking nothing of the high anxiety that hacking fans have for this game or perhaps any other AAAA title, but I live in the USA and I'm waiting till the last possible day or two to pre-order, since I'm so damn cheap to begin with! hahaha

[NSanityHD]

I've cancelled my preorder with GAME, I'm gunna get it from store at midnight instead.

[BlackListedB]

I was downtown, out and about trying to get connectivity cables for a Samsung digital camera, they don't use any generic parts, so that proved fruitless, but I did bear witness to GTA wallpaper up and around town here in Minnesota, if you go along the Minneapolis Light Rail transit system, you'll come across it, if you take the bus to Rosedale shopping Center, just South is Har Mar mall with two bus shelters plastered with the new promo art. The most alarming thing, perhaps is that all it says is it's coming to Playstation 3. No other system, odd that!

I stopped into GameStop to request info on the game, they will have a Midnight release, but I doubt I'll make it, I'm looking to pre-order the only copy left, that being a limited supply of Collectors Editions not spoken for yet, Will know tomorrow if I can reserve one, I've decided to make it an XB360 version to start with, that way I can plow right in at least, and see how the old 2008 360 I have can handle the new GTA engine code! (I don't have high hopes I'll admit)

[BlackListedB]

.....Actually I think it maybe a 2007 model Xbox since the HDMI premiered early the next year, roughly 10 months later, the oldest Xbox360 I've recently come across was dated Feb 2006.