Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Online Pre-Orders Are Apparently Being Cancelled (US)

More evidence of Nintendo taking their customers for granted. There are other entertainment companies out there.

This is bizarre and upsetting. Pre-orders for this game have been selling out on Amazon, and I've had hope for the first time in a long time that Paper Mario is going to have a bright future ahead with this game being a smash hit. But now it's like Nintendo wants to sabotage their own sales forecast. I can only imagine they're doing this because of the occasional game that gets delivered a day or so before street date, but come on. This is beyond idiotic of Nintendo and I hope won't have to much of a negative impact on sales. And to do this so close to release? What a joke.

This might just be Mario mandate PTSD, but I almost wonder if someone behind the scenes is doing this purposely because they DON'T want a Paper Mario game with original characters and traditional battle mechanics to sell well. Surely Tanabe or Miyamoto or whoever is responsible for the sanitization of the Mario franchise isn't THAT evil...

Can we not go just one day without a big company doing something stupid?

ha i pre ordered my copy at gamestop

I hope my preorder at Best Buy is ok, I preordered it online for pick up at my loca Bes Buy store.

Welp, I did mine at BB

Unless a discount is included in it, I will never understand game preorders, specially digital ones. Clearly I am missing something because it makes no sense. You can buy it digitally the same day and even wait to see if for some reason the game ends up being trash after reviews. Physical preorder could only make sense if you think there will be a shortage, but that is very uncommon I believe. Not even financially convenient to spend it beforehand. But hey clearly I am missing something because a lot of people preorder

Thankful I decided to go digital on this one.

My digital copy just downloaded earlier today, and my physical copy hasn't been cancelled yet.

For those that this effects, GameStop and BestBuy still seem to have it. eShop is also a choice if all else fails.

Sooner or later, physical titles will be phased out, and all we'll see is cards with codes as far as the eyes can see. We might as well be buying games the way Masahiro Sakurai does: Digitally, as it is the easiest thing to do. I hope my in-store pre-order at GameStop is still intact.

Thankfully I didn't pre-order my copy from either of them. 😌

I ended up pre-ordering with Gamestop (in store)...yeah, I was that desperate to get my copy

Since this is only happening in the US, this might be on Nintendo of America...for some asinine reason. Really feels like they're the most frustrating branch of Nintendo. Maybe I'm mistaken, but they also seem to be the division that spearheads all the legal shenanigans that regularly draw ire?

Pre- ordering needs to die.

I almost never pre order games. This was my first pre order in probably 5+ years since I had a gift card to burn. GameStop better ship me my game cause there is no GameStop within 30 minutes of me.

@Diowine Only time I've preordered was the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Deluxe Edition and that's still going for $150 on ebay

@Diowine Physical pre-orders are something I tend to go with because most stores near me only carry the copies for people who pre-order. Impossible to purchase games they come out without one now.

I’ll just play my OG unaltered copy on my GameCube.

My Amazon preorder got cancelled a while ago. And my Walmart one to replace it just got cancelled today. I am not caving and going digital. I'll wait months to buy it if I have to. I did the same thing with Metroid Prime Remastered. Nintendo needs to produce enough copies. This is ridiculous.

Ehh was planning on going to the Nintendo New York store anyways to purchase this game. Always wanted to go there for a day 1 first party release

Gamers nowadays should be physically fit with all the JUMPING to conclusions they make before hearing the full story from all sides.

thats concerning, out of all games to seemingly not have preorders its the one that has the most stakes on making the series feel whole again

just the fact this game is releasing so late into the switches life too, i hope it sells well

@Diowine People preorder for various reasons. Sometimes it is about budget (allowing some gamers to earmark the date or to slowly pay for a game) , sometimes it is about access or unlock time or preorder bonuses, sometimes it is simply because they can. If a person doesn’t find gaming to be expensive then they see no issue with paying full price up front. Sometimes there may be a deal with preordering or they want to use trade credit. Sometimes it’s logistics. Ever live in a small town? Better preorder if you actually want the game.

When I worked at GameStop I saw all kinds. The financially burdened (or just folks that planned their budget in advance like I do) would preorder to allow for payment over time, some would do it so they didn’t forget when a game came out (usually the busy students or busy career folks) some did it because they liked the shopping experience. In retail stores get a limited number of copies (gamestop in particular as they distribute stock based on sales/foot traffic and preorders) and their customers are trained to know that. Some folks do it for ease of purchase. I had a few regulars that worked in the mall or nearby and they would swing by on their lunch break. Having a pulled and paid for copy meant they could enjoy the rest of their lunch quickly. I also had plenty of folks that spent the money to preorder because they had it like that. I worked at one of the largest malls in the country for a bit and got plenty of folks that made really great money but preferred to shop in store and talk to us about games (probably because they didn’t have friends in the hobby. Imagine being a high profile lawyer that plays games. People will judge them for something they spend their hard earned money on.) People spend based on what is convenient for them.

I don’t preorder often but when I do it is because I want day 1/hour 0 access or if there is limited stock. I just dropped 3hundo on the Assassins’ creed CE because I would rather pay months in advance than have to pay a scalper later and I want the game and goods day 1. Plus i would rather already have the season pass paid for and done with. Basically once i install the game I don’t have to do anything else. That has monetary (time and stress averted) worth to me, plus since I budget for BF months in advance I already have started spending into that planned money.

I might need to pick up my copy upon release. This game seems like it might have a lower print count. I was hoping to wait until the Holidays for a potential sale.

@PikaPhantom they were definitely the worst during the the late 2000s and the early-to-mid 2010s.
Refusing games that were already in English such as Disaster: Day of Crisis, Another Code R and Fatal Frame: Crimson Butterfly as well as the whole Operation Rainfall debacle, releasing games that had physical versions in other territories as digital-only (I'm sorry, still salty about Picross 3D Round 2 being a victim of this).

@Ryu_Niiyama @VoidofLight both are great reasons I cannot deny. Thanks for sharing!
Maybe in my case I just don't preorder because I went ~80% digital for a couple years now and because of some bad surprises related to games that I was expecting a lot but that when reviews came in the same week of release I just had to desist because they sounded like a big letdown.
Only 2025 game I 100% know I will get is Shadow of the Erdtree dlc. Other than that waiting for reviews.

@BodkinDQ thankful? now you're missing out on a 25$ coupon. cause had you pre-ordered it, and now it gets canceled, you could've still pre-ordered it digitally

@Diowine
There are multiple reason to pre-order:
1: I often get the game 1-2 days before release. That can't happen with digital pre-order
2: It's often cheaper. I have PM pre-ordered for 50€ whereas in the eShop it would be 60€

With that being said, I only pre-order games where I can be certain that they won't dissapoint me. Been doing that for 10 years and in those 10 years the only game that ended up actually dissapointing me is Cyperpunk 2077. And even in that case I would probably have bought it as soon as the reviews for the PC versions went live since those ones were actually good

People just need to stop pre-ordering games from companies that are known to not care like EA

@YoshiAngemon OVER MY DEAD BODY!! You’ll have to pry the game carts out of my cold dead hands. ….side note, I do wonder how many game carts I could hold in one angry hulking fist…

It's nice to see a company still value bricks and mortar these days.

It's bad enough there's usually no incentive to pre-order Nintendo's games in the US, because usually pre-order bonuses are outright pitiful compared to other regions—and Paper Mario didn't even have one, not even a piece of paper with Mario printed onto it to fold into a paper airplane! But now Nintendo of America is outright canceling pre-orders. Since the $25 coupon that Walmart is giving out presumably can only be used in the online store, I'm guessing that means you can't use it to knock $25 off the price of TTYD, but at the very least, maybe now you can choose any Nintendo game you felt was overpriced and buy it for something more agreeable.

@HeroOfCybertron God, me too. It's so close to have this mess happen.

Pre ordered originally on Amazon the day pre orders went live and they canceled it a couple months ago. Went to GameStop and haven't had any issues. This is very odd.

I pre-ordered Princess Peach Showtime and Amazon sent me an email on the Wednesday saying it had been dispatched and then it arrived on Thursday in the morning post - a day ahead of street date.

Whilst Nintendo's reaction seems over the top... can we pause a moment and put the spotlight on Amazon? Why are they dispatching items 2 days before release? Amazon is a well oiled machine... they should not be sending things early - as in it shouldn't even be possible.

Amazon get preferential treatment from almost all corners - good on Nintendo for standing up to this bully of a retailer.

Amazon are too big. Dodge taxes. Treat their staff poorly. More people need to stand up against them in my humble opinion. They are everything that's wrong with retail today.

@nintendozach Sure, other companies can do and sell Paper Mario? lol

Is Nintendo trying to save stores? Please keep us updated, I would like to know the real reason.

Is this affecting the NES World Championship?

I wonder if this means there’s been a supply issue, like a delay in shipment to these stores? Like, if these preorders are being posted to customers, maybe they won’t get the units in time to ship them to customers, but they will get them in time to stock on shelves?

However, if this issue is more widespread than Walmart and Amazon, say… it happens everywhere, then I’d assume Nintendo are doing it deliberately.

Game companies have been doing a lot of shady stuff, but I’d still like to hope that things like this are incompetence rather than malicious. Of course, if it is a scummy move, I will be rightfully unhappy about it

How strange. I would think, as a company, that you would actually want to maximize pre-orders, instead of cancelling them 2 weeks prior to release.
Good that they're compensating, and there's still time to order the game somewhere else, I guess.
But the communication from Wallmart is a bit strange. The e-mail should better read "your Wallmart pre-order", kinda sounds like they're blaming their supplier. Bit childish, whoever is at fault in this case.

@DarkFighter You win some and you lose some. In the end just happy to get the game.

I rarely pre-order, unless it's a Limited Edition or something. I never get why people would pre-order a regular copy of the game, as it should be widely available and it's always best to wait for reviews.

@nintendozach

Let’s hope for your sake there are other usernames out there as well. Thankfully, @microsoftzach and @sonyzach don’t seem to be taken.

I think this is about tears of the kingdom getting downloaded over a million times illegally before it’s street date by shops shipping early allowing the pirates to put it up sometimes five to seven days before it’s officially released

@Diowine one pretty cool thing with Nintendos digital pre order is that around a week before release date the game will download to your switch and be ready to open at midnight on launch date. Can be handy for larger games like tears of the kingdom was 13gb or so and I'm sure that could take a bit to download for people with slow net connections buying it on launch date.

@sanqet I think those leaks mostly come from Nintendo digital pre orders being rolled out to modified switch systems. Those pre orders start to download a week before launch and can be dumped from a hacked system.

This smells like Nintendo having beef with specific retailers rather than a genuine shift in their sales policy.

@Pillowpants Well this game specifically already has a huge legacy and the original is already considered one of Nintendo's best games, so we don't really have to wait for reviews.

Again with this game it seems like it'll be harder to secure a copy so pre-ordering might be the best option.

@calbeau Wouldn't be the same round here if they didn't! I mainly come here to see the freakouts. Damn you Nintendo!!!!! etc.

@YoshiAngemon While that could entirely happen someday that would take into consideration if Nintendo ever want to limit their market in the industry. Remember that not every country had access to online via the eShop so a majority of those countries rely on physical release especially those in India and the Philippines where online isn't easily accessible.

Do try to understand why Nintendo doesn't want to get rid of physical games next-gen, it's not because going all digital makes more sense, it's because by going all digital means they'll limit their audience even more. Like PSN, the Nintendo eShop also isn't available in every country either, a majority of those country if they want to buy games digitally they had to create a regional account and in most region like China and Russia that privilege is block or limited.

Not enough people questioning why this is only happening in the US and with a select few retailers like Amazon and Walmart.
Are they the retailers most likely to send a game a day early?
Does having a game a single day early really matter?
And why is this happening week before release?
It's all so messy that it seems very likely that it wasn't planned. Unless Miyamoto still holds a grudge against TTYD and felt like targeting the US specifically, it seems more likely that there was an issue with the supplies than self sabotage.
Whatever happens, I hope Nintendo gets the message that we're starving for another TTYD-like Paper Mario. Or a decent Mario RPG in general.

@versionfiv
Yeah that would be weird, but what is wrong with walmart stores? I have no idea how they operate or how their image is.

@Not_Soos It's likely they had production issue, probably physical cart shortage or lack of employees working to manufacturing those physical copies. Whatever issue they had you'll had to get the game the old fashion way, by buying it at retail shelves.

@Serpenterror I don't think it's a production issue. (US) Amazon's digital copy of TTYD is unavailable, and so are eShop gift cards. Likely a problem going on behind the scenes, probably linked to Nintendo of America.

I'm just gonna have it preloaded and ready to go.

@nintendozach While it's true that Nintendo neglects and ignores their fans a bit too much.. Other entertainment studios, like Microsoft and Sony, have done far worse. Also, it seems that this pre-order cancellation business is only in the USA, so it doesn't count for Nintendo as a whole in the rest of the world.

Nintendo is easily the best place to be right now if you want to be entertained.

UK is fine everywhere

@CannibalChristmas
Unfortunately not, the big 3 are currently sharing
One brain between all 3 of them, so unfortunately stupidity is imminent.

It seems to be just Amazon and Walmart. I pre-ordered it at Gamestoppo because I had $30 credit.

Those of us who live in the boonies tend to pre-order games we really want because there are fewer stores to buy from and inventories can sell out quickly unless we want to drive 50 miles to get it.

This seems like a problem on the retailer end, in estimating supply. My guess would be that stock is lower than they expected or demand is higher.

It would be weird for Nintendo to try to control a sales channel like this, I don't know if they can even do that. There doesn't seem to be a reason for that either.

There is no way this is a bad look...

What a dumb thing to do.

Could this be a concern about breaking street date? Or perhaps a punishment for past transgressions in that regard?

@HeroOfCybertron I'd definitely call them and find out

@Diowine It's not difficult in the least to understand. Your just pretending to make it difficult to understand.

That's quite unfortunate. Isn't the point of preorders so that the customers will be ensured to get the product?

@CannibalChristmas Game Companies: O Days since our last dumb decision. :/

I am going to preorder this game at the nearest gamestop just to be safe.

My preorder from Amazon got cancelled

"I am going to preorder this game at the nearest gamestop just to be safe."

@Papery0shi Get there quickly on release date to make sure they don't open it and play it first. Remember, that's considered "new" at GameStop.

Dear Nintendo..Xbox… Sony..stop it…stop it right now you guys are always making great items weather it’s a game..console..or controller, and it happens ALL the time the way you make your gamers jump thru all kinds of hoops. Sure it’s the best form of advertising (Sony and the PS5 shortages)but it’s unnecessary and not fair to your supporting GAMERS…

@Tempestryke not at all. This was no bait.
6 people have responded to the comment and so far the best reason I was given to preorder a game, that doesn't offer extra bonuses nor discount for buying in advance, is to 'save around 15min of your time on launch day because it pre-downloads'. That is if you are waiting at midnight for release to play immediatley.
Other than feeling like a reciprocate fan I see no reason to preorder in other cases.

Hey that is ok, but for example other than the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, there is no game in 2024 that I would buy before confirming it's worth it when it launches through reviews and hands on impressions..

@Diowine
Considering that you default to calling anyone you don't understand a fanboy, despite all the replies, you either are trolling, lack empathy or struggle to think logically.
You don't always pay immediately for a pre-order. For myself, the money is usually taken out of my account during the week of release or two days before it gets shipped. And then more often than not I receive it on release day. That's it.
You order it early, you pay before it gets shipped, it reaches you on day of release. Why do you need more justification from others than that to not judge them?
Also, you assume people aren't sure they'd like a game months before release, under an article about a remake of a game from 24 YEARS ago. Other things like demos, trailers or being from a familiar series can convince people that they'd enjoy a game too.
If you really aren't trying to bait people, at least try to understand instead of being condescending.

@k8sMum “ just Amazon and Walmart “

If it was just Amazon or Walmart I’d put it down to them selling way more preorders than they had to sell, which happens too often as far as I’m concerned, but being both of them does make it feel like an NoA decision. And not a very good one. Is NoA afraid of spoilers getting out a day or 2 early for their 20 year old game?😝

Doesn’t bode well for new Switch 2 games, after the first year or 2 of ports and complete DX versions. Nintendo going to have MK8 last 15 years.😩

@Diowine reasons pre ordering is a good idea:
1. Secure a copy (as these copies are seemingly being taken down)
2. Play it early (if you've been waiting months for something, you want it ASAP)
3. TTYD already has a huge legacy and is high demand, with the original being critically acclaimed. We already know this game is phenomenal
4. The hands-on impressions of the remake being nothing but positive (from all of the hands-on impressions I have seen)
5. Avoid spoilers by playing earlier
6. Get a deal/discount (I got TTYD digitally with a voucher which saved me $10) (some websites have deals for the game, that is something else I have personally chosen)
7. Pre-order bonus
8. Reserve a copy at a local store
9. If you'd potentially want to stream the game at launch (doesn't apply to me but I bet some people are thinking this)

There are plenty of reasons to pre-order. A lot of reasons specifically for this game!

@_fatto_katto_ Paper Mario is not divinity. It is a video game. One that Nintendo tries to sell again instead of fresh installment at that.

I had a bad experience buying a game at Walmart, where I was confidently handed a sealed copy of WarioWare: Move It!, and it wasn't until much later when I opened it that I realized the sealed case had no game inside, but a foam insert to make it look like there was a game if looked at from outside. A bizarre scam, pulled off by an unknown party.

@Maxz Your comment does not provide a reason why my comment is wrong.

@Maubari There are a myriad of entertainment companies, that isn't just video games. For example, movie theatres, streaming services, music. Just three examples. A electronic entertainment company that had a pre order for a game should honor it. They literally are telling customers to go to the store or buy it digitally. That is taking customers who are willing to pay for entertainment for granted. My personal guess is that Nintendo thinks their customers are addicted. There is no credible reason why they cancelled. Obviously it isn't a huge deal, but it's enough to conclude they are taking their customers for granted.

I don’t think I’ve ever pre-ordered a first party switch game. And I’ve never had an issue picking up a copy. Now Walmart putting them out on time is another story…oh and non first party games are hit and miss. Like right now I can’t find biomutant anywhere….

I've switched over to digital nowadays cause I've been running into a ton of problems regarding physical games with Amazon and Best Buy.

@rjejr
I think you get a BINGO on them selling more than they were going to get theory. As someone else said, Walmart's gaming offerings have reduced, especially for Nintendo.
I've pretty much given up trying to understand Nintendo's decisions. But this one is not a good look. "Please understand..."

(btw: my sprained ankle I've been walking on for 8 weeks was, in fact, a broken ankle. Ah well: live and learn). Now I've got a boot that's like dragging a corpse around.)

@nintendozach

Nintendo of AMERICA takes their people for granted. How many times do I have to say this? I pre-ordered it in my own country (Via Nintendo of Europe), and I've had no such thing happening.

Pretty sure pre-orders aren't getting cancelled in Japan either.

I didn’t want to buy this game because I thought it was a hot mess when I played it 20 years ago (yea I know that’s an unpopular opinion, I admit), but I got an offer to get it for 30% off at target plus my 5% off with their card, so I preordered it and that made it around $40. Thankfully no cancellation notice so far! And hopefully I’ll enjoy the game more this time around. Life is a lot different for me now than it was in 2004. That could make all the difference! Sometimes playing video games under bad circumstances can make us think negatively of a game that might actually be awesome.

UPDATE: I just got an email right after typing this, that my Paper Mario game just shipped! I’m stunned! It will be here several days before release. This must be why they are cancelling preorders but mine slipped through!

@Diowine Well, unless I am miss-remembering from orders I've done in the past, when you preorder digitally the game will download days prior to the actual release date. Then at the release time the game is immediately ready to be played. If you're foaming at the mouth to play, you don't have to wait whatever amount of time it would take for the game to download. I would imagine that some game waiting until launch day would make for an extremely long download time.

What I am lost on is, why would a person not just preorder diginatlly from the e-shop anyways. Unless perhaps people have Amazon/Walmart points to use???

Have no idea WTH is going on but this sucks for fans. Preordering a physical copy of a first party Nintendo game is not a bad idea. You rarely save money by waiting because the games rarely go on sale anyway.

@DDFawfulGuy yeah maybe the fanboy part was too much. Honestly not bait, but seems it touched a sweet spot on you with the " lack empathy or struggle to think logically" part.
Again, your best point is: "And then more often than not I receive it on release day." Yeah I have seen a lot of cases where they preorder and even then it arrives late.
In summary, no discount, no difference for digital, physical shipping can get delayed and physical pickup is the same as not pre-ordering if your local stores don't have shortages. So yeah, not much benefit there.
On the other hand you wait for critic reviews, audience scores, word of mouth, you can go to other store if the one shipping gets delayed, and can pay after, mostly.
But if you are 100% convinced that you are going to buy and don't care for an abysmal case where the game ends up being trash (Any game, not Paper Mario) then go ahead.
Again, not trolling, just pointing out why I don't see benefits of preordering.

I wonder if they did not print enough copies. You would think they would realize this one will sell gangbusters

@Tempestryke Thanks but my BB online account still says the pick up order is alright so hopefully I can pick it up at my local BB after work next Thursday.

@Diowine
This isn't a particular 'sweet spot' for me but I do find myself question someone's ability to understand other people a lot.
Good on you for taking back the fanboy thing though.
Anyways, you have to remember that people have different experiences regarding things like pre-orders. Like you said, sometimes you get it a day late. But others get them a day early. And I must assume most people get them on time otherwise pre-ordering would probably be less popular.
Then you have things to consider like those that will only buy stuff online from stores they know. Like my mum will happily buy stuff from Amazon but if I tell her she could buy it cheaper from another online store she looks uncomfortable.
In a sense I get what you're saying. Personally, I probably wouldn't pre-order without an added incentive. Partially because I have a big backlog and don't buy many games on release anyways and partly because if I'm eager for a game it'll likely either be cheaper somewhere or have a bonus or deluxe version and then of course I'll go for those.
But not everyone bothers looking for stuff like that. Maybe they're busy on the day of release and having it sent to them is easier for them then grabbing it in a store, or maybe they don't have NSO so they can't get it digitally.
On the topic of buyers remorse, I already gave my reasons why people would already be able to tell why they'd like a video game before playing it. And you can change your mind and cancel pre orders so you aren't obligated to buy it once you set it.
My point is, I think you're right that if you're going to order a game online you should look for discounts or bonuses, but not everyone thinks and works the same way and you're simply not considering everyone else's circumstances.

@NintendoByNature why don't we assume they're next? I have a best buy order and I figure nintendo is going after all of the retailers.

Anti-Scalper tactic. Beautifully done Nintendo! Those who truly want it physical will get it.

@Kiyata Originally I was really turned off by the overuse of exposition in tTYD’s dialogue; I wished a lot of the uninteresting characters would just shut up already. I totally understand why Miyamoto-san did not like the direction that particular aspect was taking. Paper Mario 64 has a much brisker pace to everything.

I still own the GameCube original but I never finished it because it wore me down like a bad anime that needs to go into nerdy detail about the stupidest aspects of its lore, just because it is written badly

@DDFawfulGuy The answer can be gleaned by reviewing what happened when Nintendo released Super Mario 3D All-Stars. A disproportionately small number of resellers scoop up all available supply online making the product scarce, then mark up prices to out of control levels, ruining the experience for gamers who just wanted to play and enjoy the games. Nintendo received a lot of heat from fans for allowing that to occur. This time, they make adjustments to their process that will better protect the market for their target audience and people are still upset. No win scenario?

@Grail_Quest
You're saying that the supply for TTYD was so scarce that they had to limit sales of retail juggernauts Amazon and Walmart?
Just sounds like a supply issue overall, then.
3D All-Stars had the unique position of being a limited time sale. Scalping was inevitable but if even retailers were doing that then it was a serious issue.
Whatever the excuse is, Nintendo must've underestimated how much a remake of one of their most beloved games would sell. It's just the US but it hurts to think about how many more sales TTYD could've gotten if this never happened.

@HeroOfCybertron That's good!

My Best Buy preorder is still intact. Preorders with Target and Gamestop seem fine too. Unsurprisingly, people blowing this out of proportion, especially before we even know the full story.

Amazon cancelled my Paper Mario pre-order for no given reason on April 8th. Went to Best Buy's website immediately and pre-ordered there. No cancellation notice from them yet, but did get an email notice yesterday asking me to confirm my shipping & payment details so there's no problem shipping the pre-order next week, which was nice of them.

@diowine While I don't really like to pre-order, I have learned to after many many games I have have tried to get are sold out at launch or near launch in my area. I now pre-order simply for peace of mind that I'm not going to be out driving around several towns or watching online for something to come back into stock. If you PO on Amazon they don't charge your card until it ships, just an FYI.
Hope that helps.

Now I feel sorry for TTYD! I might have to buy it now just to send a message to Miyamoto-san 😋

@nocdaes Amazon send pre-orders before the release date so they can get in the customers hands on release day. If the didn't, they will get a lot of complaints & cancellations. Think of it this way, why would I pre-order online to ship and get my order after release when I can just to the store to pick up my game on release day?

@k8sMum Ouch, not fun. Hopefully the annoying boot at least helps you heal up this time. Foot in a boot does sound like a legitimate reason to get stuff in the mail though rather than going to the store. Nintendo logic is undefeated though.😜

@Maubari Nintendo out of Japan should not allow them to cancel. Read quotes from Jeff Bezos about customer focus of Amazon while he was the CEO. Customers first. My original comment is accurate.

@Hamstrman because Amazon and Walmart sell aftermarket cheap knockoff items on their storefronts. Bestbuy only sells their actual products. No 3rd party stuff.

@NintendoByNature that's just the third parties... The "others" that sell on the secondary market on Amazon or Walmart. Amazon itself does not sell cheap knockoffs.

And yet, in the case of Amazon, they can't be asked to only sell in store. On account of them not having any.

Dang. $25? This might the only time I wish I HAD unnecessarily preordered a game.

@nintendozach I’m don’t think your comment is (necessarily) wrong. I just think it’s funny.

To be honest, I’m hard pressed to say what is right/wrong regarding the situation at this moment. It seems rather self-defeating and is (as far as I’m aware) completely unprecedented.

I’d definitely welcome a bit more context!

reading through nintendolife comments on a regular basis makes me understand why nintendo struggles to make the right calls from time to time. The community's voice is so inconsistent and can be so hard to track. I thought people wanted a return to older paper mario form, but apparently not now? I have no idea what to think anymore, we could do well with a community-wide chill pill

@Maxz They are not honoring a pre order from customers who paid in advance. That is what is wrong. You must be slow not to understand that, or trolling.

I wound up placing a Pre-Order on Videogamesplus just due to their reliability. Fingers are crossed that they don't cancel.

Digital for the win. Don't have to worry about such a cancellation. XD

@HistoricKombat yes, they should send it ONE day before release. They sent Princess Peach TWO days before. 1st Class post in the UK takes one day.

@nintendozach You seem to be assuming that the pre-orders were placed directly with Nintendo and that Nintendo is refusing to honour them, when in fact the pre-orders were placed with a third-party (Walmart) which seeming can’t honour them due to its hands being tied by Nintendo for unspecified reasons, even though many other third-party retailers are apparently having no issues shipping their pre-ordered copies to customers.

Some people have suggested stock issues. Some have suggested anti-scalping measures. Some have suggested that Walmart (and Amazon) have transgressed in the past and now Nintendo of America are doing this as a sort of… slap on the wrist?

No one seems to have a particularly solid grasp on the situation, least of all… you.

…Or perhaps it is all very simple: Nintendo are deliberately cancelling all pre-orders they’ve received because, as a company, they value spiting their customers and taking them for granted more than selling the primary product that makes them money.

This could well be the simple truth that only you can see, and everyone else is, as you put it, slow.

@Maxz My comments are all accurate. Customers always come first. Yesterday I walked into a gas station for example and a employee said "Welcome". They did that because I was a potential customer. Ebay gives defects to sellers who cancel orders as another example.

What are people supposed to do that don’t have internet and no Walmart near them?

I have a hunch that Nintendo of America is still scarred from when SSBU was leaked a week early because of a Mexican retailer breaking street date. Thus because of this, whenever a retailer like Amazon or Walmart ships a game before a street date, they have to take action against them for shipping it early. My guess why it's happening now is send the message before the Switch 2 is announced to say "Play by OUR rules or you're not getting as many consoles as insert other retailer"

@Diowine What about other bonuses that are sometimes offered?

@Crono1973 As long as there are bonuses people will pre-prder.

@nintendozach You ever work in retail? Customer is always right or comes first as you put it is a lie straight from Oblivion.

I’m at least grateful the American slogan is actually “the customer is always right in matters of taste. “ meaning we will sell you that gaudy thing if you wanna but it. Rather than the oft abused shortened version that alters the meaning.

@PikminMarioKirby Production issue usually happen when pre-order numbers are so high that Nintendo wouldn't be able to meet day one demand. This is why instead of trying to assured everyone who pre-ordered that they'll get the physical game day one, they now got their pre-order cancelled and must get the game the normal way by fighting the other customers for it. Remember the game will still find its way to retail shelves day one but only limited copies will be available, that's cause Nintendo wasn't able to meet pre-order production goals for certain retailers.

Also Amazon digital eShop purchased were unavailable cause the game was not released yet. They only had those digital code offering for eShop games after the release date, not before it. They are not like the eShop where you pre-order and had the game digitally reserve on your 3DS, Wii U, or Switch until the day of release. As for those digital Nintendo eShop Amazon US gift cards, they are available, you could purchase them through this link:

https://www.amazon.com/Nintendo-America-Posa-Gift-Card/dp/B07ZQZ4MGR/ref=sr_1_2?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.XtlK4i2JfDGKEqPlQzfiQko7jUZig_AUdZvuthRJpl8K02MUlKpeNZ_au9xRDpiArzUDJyd3EOjHALyZUt76iMLlH1Jv4-b1BG-k0PAMnCmf5hL1yKfSjCOt4H3359McjMFxGjRRZjRH4LfqlXVo6gSdaojNDLBdL8BHhl5MmLBAkWhFXVHEsFdN9DNbTHqKy1h6g_BZPjiSWoS3ps1sW_v7sttwMl3_FtmGs13chlQ.AjSX8ZvjoLcJOHGQi2wm-sOvw5Mixwn1cCBAqOBepb0&dib_tag=se&keywords=eshop%2Bgift%2Bcards&qid=1716226349&sr=8-2&th=1

@Serpenterror I mean, I hope it’s high demand. I want a lot of people to experience this game!

@Ryu_Niiyama I said customers first. Read quotes by Jeff Bezos about customers. He became a billionaire by putting the customer first. Your comment implies a customer behaving with poor intentions. My comments rather imply a customer behaving in full honest intentions, as do Jeff Bezo's quotes. What's more, a customer who pre ordered a game is a customer behaving with full honest intentions.

@Maxz

Personally speaking, I prefer to see his username start with Nintendo. Why must so many Nintendo fans just worship the ground Nintendo walks up on and complain when others don't?

Companies do not care about us.

I to had my pre ordered copy of a Thousand Year Door Cancelled with Amazon and ended up going with BB not to happy with Amazon for that but what can you do. I didn't expect my copy today but was willing to wait as long as I got a copy of the game. No explaination was given I almost pre ordered through Walmart kind of glad I didn't due to the fact that I can't drive so me getting to a store would have been impossible. That is why I pre order online at any store that has pre orders available. I would have pre ordered from Gamestop but the one in the Mall nearest me closed and can't get to the other two near me as neither one is within walking distance from the train. Luigi's mansion was also cancelled going through BB for that one as well