i'll be keeping my eye on my local argos, woolies and tesco - they've done it before and they'll probably do it again....

Tesco are bound to **** up again...

Smaller websites are going to be the worst culprits. I can see the logic of wanting to deliver the game to the consumer ON the day of launch. However certain sites are leveraging their need for earlier deliveries to meet this demand in order to get stocks to consumers actually before launch.

So much so in fact to a point that they are taking trade from other sites because the consumer knows they can expect it anything up to 3 days early. The near enough guarantee of early shipment has become their strongest selling point.

With a Tuesday launch, I expect most stores will have been in receipt of stock by Friday. Unless GEM have issues strongly worded letters, it would not surprise me to see it on sale by Saturday with web customers receiving theirs Saturday or Monday.

The only competition I have is a local Woolies and they are all clueless there so I have a suspicion it may go early. I am definitely keeping an eye on it. Me, well I got a small (but big allocation) and when it was agreed took £10 deposits for all my pre-orders so am fully sold out.

I would never break a street date as it is way too risky and would not jeopardise my relationships with suppliers at all. I will open at midnight for half hour so the pre-orders can be picked up to show that I care about the customer.

If someone drops out I feel that this is a big enough title to be able to sell at some point anyway. I am expecting to see a lot on ebay for silly amounts of money.

I can see all the big boys dropping the RRP just to get the trade in the door.

They will not have many units but then it will make everyone look over priced!!!

We wait all year for the best AAA game and nobody can stop it being F$CKED up!

Now the smart money is on waiting a week and selling it for 60.00 or 100.00 when nobody can get stock!

Buy all the units at big boy Tesco for £26.38 wait a week ebay for £120.00!

I can see them Special Edition being gold dust...

i will be keeping a look out in ASDA also thay are open 24hours a week were i live so i could go there 12.00 in the night like i did with forza 2.
Come on!!!

I expect my limited stock to arrive the day before release as per usual and as an e-tailer, this means my pre-orders may not arrive on release day to some customers, it will depend on the Royal Mail. So there'll be little chance me breaking the release date anyway.

Also I have to keep to the full RRP as even a tiny cut will mean no profit being made once I take into account the cost price, the credit card merchant fees etc. There's no point me price cutting, I know that the supermarkets will sell at more than I paid, but they always do. I have the orders, presumably as these customers couldn't pre-order elsewhere, so I may as well stick to the RRP.

I know a local retailer where the employees will be taking their copy home as soon as their stock arrives. Doesn't really bother me......I suppose you've got to have some perk for working in a low wage game retail store. Some people have a life outside the gaming world to occupy themselves till 29th. ;) It's well worth the wait!

i'll be getting GTAVI on friday worst comes to worst on saturday :) from my local retailer. A whole 3 DAY!!!! before lunch day. I'M FEELING LUCKY......

I already know of one store in Nottingham that is planning on allowing those who have pre-ordered the title to pick it up on the Monday evening because they can't open at midnight.

I just called the web-site where I've had a PS3 pre-order for over a month (one of the big web-sites) . They said I won't get my copy until Tuesday 29th 'cause they aren't even sending it until Monday 28th ! Apparently guaranteed for Tuesday anyway, I'll be watching for the postman..

Posters in Tesco state April 25th.

http://www.psbeyond.com/news/Exclusive-UK-retailer-to-break-Grand-Theft-Auto-IV-release-date.505.html

sod everyone im sellin early got loads from an import distributor, dont care anymore about street date due to supermarkets price cuts, really dont care not bought any from gem anyway !! the more i sell keeps customers in my store and not woolies, tesco, asda etc etc etc

Apparently each game is fitted with a micro transmitter linked to a small expolsive charge that means if anyone opens the box prior to the 29th it explodes so its probably not worth selling it early

I hope that I get my copy early - it's a present for my 12 yr old son and it's his birthday the weekend before release

Oh dear - @15. This is why we get people like Tanya Byron going on... IT'S AN 18 CERTIFICATE GAME - you're giving it to you 12 year old son...

I had a pre-order with HMV for the special edition since the week it was announced last year (was it July or something?!) then went to check it was ok on Friday and found out they're not selling it in stores at all. Had to go on a mad dash online to try and find someone who's still got it in stock. Pissed off is not the word. I still don't know if I'll get it in time. So much for getting in there early. Anyone know anywhere guaranteeing spec eds for Tuesday? Not worried about getting it early.

im selling early need a head start on supermarkets who have a better allocation than us. Asked for 200 + got 20 had to make the rest up in grey orders, around my area its advertised as 35 qudi choices or argos will sell early, ive not followed street dates since san andreas. I dont get any help from suppliers so, i gotta help myself the more i sell early is less customers going to my competitors sorry i dont care

Most indies will want to sell some early to try and get a jump on the supermarkets, its the only competitive advantage they've got.

However I think most will wait until Tesco/Argos/Asda commit a 'administrative error' and release the game on Saturday, then start to sell them themselves.

It doesn't matter when you start selling it.

Everyone will be sold out by Tuesday night anyway!

I can confirm that gamestation will be getting stock on Friday, however, they are under strict instructions not to sell early. Even staff have to wait until 5:30pm on Monday before buying it and then they are not allowed to go online with it.

I can only assume #15 is a wind up, either that or the gene pool had a misfire.

If not, then I hope your console dies the minute you put the disk in the drive.

@21

That is still a clear breach of Take Two street date policy.

I will be informing the release date police forthwith.

Could be a wind up but from what ive seen in shops and online its all true!

I dream of the day i never hear a 6 year old singing in my ear as i try and kill the other side on COD4!

Dont get me started on JUGGERNAUT PU$$YS!

I preordered GTA4 on Play over a month ago, just phoned them up to double check I'll get it on Tuesday and they said I will probably get it a day or two early! :-) However if you try and preorder it now off there you won't even get it on tuesday because they won't have enough copies... Unlucky!

My comment (3) - nice to see that used in print this morning!

Whilst shopping in our local store quegeley, we (my wife and I) stopped to watch a demonstration in kitchen knives, and was promised a peeler for taking part. when the demo finish we went to collect our gife and told no come back and watch the next one we and a few other CUSTOMERS were very embarrased to say the least.

Well there are already rumors of a leakage - see http://www.gameseekr.com/games/details/grand-theft-auto-iv.html" onclick="window.open ( this.href ); return false;" class="comment_url" >http://www.gamesee....html.

Hope the game does well - we need this success to power up 2008 as the year for the gaming industry

can anyone who is releasing early please contact me, im desperate for this game before i deploy to afghanistan on sunday and very much doubt anywhere will send to a bfpo adress. Im willing to travel to collect, this really will be a big morale boost if i can get a copy for me and the lads.
bia_prouty@hotmail.com thanks

i think most "indie" stores will be getting their stocks today.
the situation could easily have bee resolved if this was a pc launch....usuing similar protection methods to Bioshock and Crysis,,,both requiring internet activation only available on day of release....
im assuming neither the Xbox or the PS3 version will have nay kind of online protection or requirment to activate.
Its a tough call for publishers...Bioshock took heavy flack for its security methods.....
but then again look at Wii Fit....currently selling between 110 and 200 quid!! no protection at all....does it harm sales for that to be a day or two early? not in this case...its almost doubled or trebled street value!....whether the same will happen for GTAiv is unlcear...but its unlikely....even so...if indies can get an early slice of the pie and keep themselves afloat..more power to them....its time both the publishers and the distributers realised that the "bog boys" take the p**s constantly.....and care very little about the overall marketplace of the gaming industry...therefore a little slip to help the indies should be a good thing.

I orded my copy of GTA iv 3/4 weeks ago now yesterday i trckrd my order over the intertnet it said that i would get it
on the 29th or before BUT i recived a email saying i woud'nt
recive it till the 5th may onwads as anybody eles had this confussion o and the store is called Asda

tesco in leeds have already started selling copys

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