A couple days ago, we put up
packed with advice for those of you looking to obtain a PSP handheld on launch day (March 24).
One tidbit of advice we had was to pre-order the unit at your local GameStop and EB Games stores, since their web-sites were forcing bundle packages priced in excess of $400. We're sorry to report today that GameStop stores (and its web site) have stopped taking pre-orders for the first shipment of units. Now, if you go into a GameStop location or visit their web site, you're putting money down for a system from the second shipment–which won't occur until April. EB Games stores (and its web site) are still taking pre-orders for launch day, but when we contacted a local district manager we were told that they'd also be shifting to post-launch pre-sells within the next day or so.
We checked around, and the Best Buy and Toys R Us stores that we called are still taking pre-order deposits… although the # of slips is dwindling and your mileage may vary depending on how trafficked your particular store is.
In lieu of pre-orders, we still suggest that if you want a PSP on launch day, then you should head down to your local Wal-Mart, Target, or Best Buy as early as possible on March 24th. Many stores will be receiving additional systems to sell that day, and some, such as Target and Wal-Mart, won't already have allotted systems to pre-order reservations.
