American video game retailer GameStop is apparently, nationwide, sold out of it's pre-order stock of Wii U Deluxe Sets and "basic bundles are dwindling" as well. This information comes from gaming site Kotaku. There had been rumors that the chain was expected to hit its cap soon and it appears it is now official.

While Nintendo fans are cheering and lighting up discussion boards around the world, talking about how incredible it is for pre-orders to be sold out roughly one day after they started, I'm not going to get too worked up over this news. Everyone seems to have forgotten that GameStop hit their PS3 pre-order cap the same day they started. In fact, the PS3 was sold out in minutes...both models. And they were priced at $499.99 and $599.99. I don't think I need to remind anyone how the first years of that console's post-launch life went.

Then again, GameStop reportedly had only 13 to 16 pre-order slots for Sony's console at each store, and we have not yet heard what sort of allotment Nintendo has given each retailer. This is great news, to be sure, but it's always a good idea to wait to see the full picture before celebrating.

For additional perspective, I tried to find the figures for Xbox 360 pre-orders but was unable to find any solid info. If any of our readers can find the numbers, I would be interested to hear them.


Sources

GameStop has, nationwide, sold out its pre-order stock - Kotaku

PlayStation 3 pre-orders come and go in minutes - ArsTechnica

It is still available in Europe. I will pre-order it tommorrow with Zombi U

I live in Atlantic Canada so I'll be fine.

when it hits £170 il be buying one! so i personally hope they don't sell to well at first (basically the patten of the 3DS)

When I reserved my WiiU, it was #23 for their store, and they had dozens more preorders they were still allowed.

So if PS3 only had 13-16, then PS3's numbers mean little.

The PS3 was under stocked to increase demand

Well maybe it's the same thing here?

But perhaps this means something?

http://www.gamespot.com/news/playstation-vita-global-sales-exceed-12-million-units-6351171

apparently sony believes vita sales are exceeding internal expectations for the handheld..

ps3 preorders were beast