Blockbuster UK Reports Record-breaking Xbox One Pre-orders

News
By Jane McEntegart
published

Good news for Microsoft.

Though Microsoft isn't expected to announce any more details on the Xbox One until E3, it seems that Blockbuster customers have heard enough to know they want the console. Blockbuster in the UK reports that pre-orders for the upcoming games console from Microsoft have been record breaking.

 

James Morton, who is head of product at Blockbuster in the United Kingdom, told MCVUK that the pre-orders have broken all previous records in the company's 24-year history. Morton is quoted as saying Blockbuster is 'delighted' by the huge number of people committing to the Xbox One.

"At Blockbuster, we have a fantastic array of adrenaline-fueled console games for sale or rental," he said. "Our expert staff know gaming and they know consoles and these pre-orders are testament to our customers' trust in us as a leading gaming retailer."

After years of rumors, Microsoft finally unveiled the newest Xbox at an event on the Redmond campus on May 21. The Xbox One packs 8 GB of RAM, an 8-Core CPU, a 500 GB hard drive, a Blu-ray drive, HDMI in and out ports, USB 3.0, 802.11n wireless, as well as a brand new version of the Kinect sensor. However, several aspects of the console have been criticized by gamers, including the focus on entertainment and TV and the fact that users will have to pay a fee to play second-hand games.

Jane McEntegart
15 Comments Comment from the forums
  • This was a good strategy by Blockbuster, who have almost gone bust, they have now got a massive portion of the pre-orders for it
    Reply
  • Stimpack
    Wait, there's a Blockbuster UK? They've been shutting down left and right in the US. The fact that there's a Blockbuster UK is the real news here.
    Reply
  • ricardok
    What Blockbuster fails to show is the exact number of pre-orders. Without that how can we know what "huge" is?
    Reply
  • silverthorn
    "At Blockbuster, we have a fantastic array of adrenaline-fueled console games for sale or rental,"
    Um, yeah. Well THAT is going to stop soon since the cr@pbox 1 either will not let you play rentals, or you are going to have to pay extra on top of the rental fee to play it.
    I guess it goes to show that microsuck is still going to sell a record breaking amount of these things to the people who don't do the research or read reviews.
    Reply
  • teh_chem
    10911617 said:
    "At Blockbuster, we have a fantastic array of adrenaline-fueled console games for sale or rental,"
    Um, yeah. Well THAT is going to stop soon since the cr@pbox 1 either will not let you play rentals, or you are going to have to pay extra on top of the rental fee to play it.
    I guess it goes to show that microsuck is still going to sell a record breaking amount of these things to the people who don't do the research or read reviews.

    Calm down...you don't think MS can and would make accommodations with rental outfits and customers for playing rental games? There won't be an added fee paid to MS to play a rental game. That would defeat the purpose of paying to rent a game in the first place.
    Reply
  • jack1982
    I always have to be extremely suspicious of the legitimacy of pre-orders placed before the price of the product is even known.
    Reply
  • silverthorn
    10911785 said:
    10911617 said:
    "At Blockbuster, we have a fantastic array of adrenaline-fueled console games for sale or rental,"
    Um, yeah. Well THAT is going to stop soon since the cr@pbox 1 either will not let you play rentals, or you are going to have to pay extra on top of the rental fee to play it.
    I guess it goes to show that microsuck is still going to sell a record breaking amount of these things to the people who don't do the research or read reviews.

    Calm down...you don't think MS can and would make accommodations with rental outfits and customers for playing rental games? There won't be an added fee paid to MS to play a rental game. That would defeat the purpose of paying to rent a game in the first place.

    Even if they did, it just means that the burden of the extra money is on the rental place instead of the end user.
    This whole thing is 'bunk' anyways. I still feel that what microsoft and the game companies are doing is crap.
    Out of the billions and billions of items on this planet, from cars to household goods to ANYTHING you have ever bought, can you name me just one thing that you have to pay for a second time when you buy it used? Or anything where the manufacturer gets a cut of the money when it is sold used?
    Reply
  • bluestar2k11
    And yet right below this article, and the comments, is/was whichever the case, about "Blockbuster UK enters administration; 4000 jobs at risk."
    Should I assume those "record breaking, but unlisted" xbox pre-orders might be at risk? Maybe they just weren't record breaking enough.
    Reply
  • therabiddeer
    The bigger question is: Who buys a console from Blockbuster? I didn't even know they sold them in the first place.
    Reply
  • teh_chem
    10912605 said:
    Even if they did, it just means that the burden of the extra money is on the rental place instead of the end user.
    That's not what this means. I don't support the fee, but the reason for having to pay to play a used game is because it means that they (the publisher or MS) lose out of a "new" game purchase. Used game purchase = no money to anyone other than the person selling it. The fee is so that way the publisher or MS (whomever it goes to) gets a cut of that transaction. Renting a game is completely different; the publisher or MS ALREADY gets a cut from game rentals because they have business contracts in place with rental outfits. There would be no point in assessing a fee on top of that to rent a game that MS already agreed that people can rent.

    10912605 said:
    can you name me just one thing that you have to pay for a second time when you buy it used?
    Sales tax. State and local governments in the US, for one, will always (or should I say, are legally entitled to) take their cut of a used-item sale regardless of whether tax has been paid on that item before (i.e., sales tax when buying a used car; the original new car purchase already had sales tax paid on it the first time, so why impose sales tax on the same item again?).
    Reply