General Discussion

So, we all hear the hype about how each of these new games are the next WoW killer and yada yada because of all of these "pre order" numbers.   My question is, when is considered a sale of a pre-order or game box, at the retail store level or when a chain's purchasing agent places orders with the publishers?

PoTBS was to have sold millions of pre-order copies, but look what happened at release to now.  I don't think 1 million people actually purchased the game from the stores.  What happens to those unsold copies?  Do the retailers eat these disks or are the all returned to the publisher for credit?  I'm curious at what point it is considered a sale.

Originally posted by Shannia

So, we all hear the hype about how each of these new games are the next WoW killer and yada yada because of all of these "pre order" numbers.   My question is, when is considered a sale of a pre-order or game box, at the retail store level or when a chain's purchasing agent places orders with the publishers?

PoTBS was to have sold millions of pre-order copies, but look what happened at release to now.  I don't think 1 million people actually purchased the game from the stores.  What happens to those unsold copies?  Do the retailers eat these disks or are the all returned to the publisher for credit?  I'm curious at what point it is considered a sale.

 

And cant give an answer to the main question.

I used to be a department supervisor at Best Buy.  (about 8 years ago) Back then it depended on the vendor.  A lot of merchandise is considered sold when the retailer orders it.  Some though can be sent back to the vendor for a full refund.  For instance Bose did not allow merchandise to be sold "open box".  If a product was returned for any reason it had to be sent directly back to Bose.  Other materials such as CDs, Books, Magazines, etc were pennied out if they weren't sold and then trashed. 

I believe that PC games fall into this category.  Or at least did back then.  I got EQ1 for a penny because they were going to trash the copy anyways. 

This is why Hype and advertising makes such a huge difference in sales numbers.  Part of the reason World of Warcraft stays in the top 10 every month in sold boxes is because retailers want to always keep it in stock.  They are keeping larger numbers of the game on the shelf then other products generally get beyond launch week.  (The other reason being the constant banning of gold seller accounts adds a ton to their boxes sold)

So to answer your question I think PC games are considered sold when they get to the retailer and if it doesn't sell well the retailer eats the cost, not the publisher.