GTA IV smashes records at Play.com

By GamesIndustry International Published 29 April, 2008

More than 80 orders a minute taken.

Online shop Play.com has revealed it's taking orders for Grand Theft Auto IV at a rate of 80 per minute.

Boss type Stuart Rowe said the game is all set to smash records, observing, "We're experiencing trading levels similar to what we would see in the run up to Christmas, taking over 80 orders per minute at peak times.

"We have had to recruit extra warehouse staff to work through the night to ensure product arrives on the day of launch. Grand Theft Auto IV is going to break all previous records when it comes to gaming."

The company had to resort to a first come, first served system for the game earlier this month, as demand became so strong there could be no guarantees of release day delivery.

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Comments (61) Latest comment 4 years ago

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  • Vice.Destroyer #1 4 years ago

    Went to Gamestation in my lunch hour. Picked up copy. Walked out. Result.

  • thepiedpiper #2 4 years ago

    fuck me. if I were a betting man, I think mayhaps the xboxlive servers may crash this evening!!

  • StanleyPointLarge #3 4 years ago

    i pre ordered from play.com and i got an email yesterday saying they had posted it. If it isn't on my doorstep when i get home i'm going to firebomb play.com GTA style

  • JohnnyWashnGo #4 4 years ago

    I imagine that once the initial rush of sales is over, the figures will adjust themselves accordingly.

  • rhinoxious #5 4 years ago

    Walked to sainsbury, paid £40, you can always get games at supermarkets for reasonable prices without all that fuss from online and specialist retailers.

    I think some people just enjoy the hassle of a big launch, popping into tesco for a loaf of bread, pint of milk and copy of GTA4 just isn't momentous enough for them - twats.

    As for Play.com, you can get it cheaper from Asda I believe.

  • el_pollo_diablo #6 4 years ago

    My Play order was listed as having been dispatched last thursday. Then on Monday it changed to 'despatched today'. It has yet to arrive. I'm not the only one either.

    I think Play are a crap company.

  • viper_h #7 4 years ago

    Fuckers didn't bother delivering mine on time though.

    Ordered mid-Jan, before the first-come-first-served announcement.

    In the end went to Sainsburys, got the last copy in front of a group of hoodies. Oops.
    Edited by viper_h at 29/04/08 @ 13:28

  • wyli #8 4 years ago

    Went to Blockbuster in my lunch hour. Picked up copy. Walked out. Result.

  • Aretak #9 4 years ago

    "Went to Blockbuster in my lunch hour. Picked up copy. Walked out. Result."

    Thief!

  • Garulon #10 4 years ago

    "My Play order was listed as having been dispatched last thursday. Then on Monday it changed to 'despatched today'. It has yet to arrive. I'm not the only one either."

    Just checked, exactly the same thing happened to me. It doesn't arrive today then play.com lose a customer.

  • Aretak #11 4 years ago

    I can't believe anyone actually expects to receive things for launch day when ordering from Play. They're terrible for that.

  • stevencole7 #12 4 years ago

    Ordered mine a few days ago on play.com and it arrived this morning (Tuesday). Must be a lucky one....... Normaly I pre-order from Gameplay.com, which most-times, gets to you a day before release.

  • Brodie #13 4 years ago

    "More than 80 orders a minute taken."

    Less than 80 a day posted. ;p

  • Hughes. #14 4 years ago

    First come first served, eh? I ordered mine from them 4 days ago and it was in my letterbox this morning.

    It's the first time in months anything from Play arrived on time too.

  • Nitrous #15 4 years ago

    Went to my local ASDA for about 11:30 last night. They were selling 20 copies of each version. A guy who works there went round tallying up who wanted what and then said "anyone past this point will not be able to receive a copy of GTA tonight" and I was one of them.

    However they sold the rest of stock this morning at 8am! I was 6th in line at just gone 7am and about 20 other people turned up after that. Amazing game so far! £37.00 for Xbox360 version and £40 on the PS3.

    Edited by Nitrous at 29/04/08 @ 14:21

  • special_move #16 4 years ago

    My Play.com order initially said shipped 25th, I've just recieved a ship note that says it left today. If they've messed mine up I'm going to be annoyed especially as I walked past shelves full of it earlier today....

  • chrisjm #17 4 years ago

    'if I were a betting man, I think mayhaps the xboxlive servers may crash this evening!! '

    your probably right :(
    they have DOUBLED the capacity in preperation for GTA4 meltdown though, so fingers crossed it will survive.

  • sickpuppysoftware #18 4 years ago

    Went to my local videoshop this morning to find they only had pre-orders. Logged onto argos and reserved a copy which I picked up no problem at lunch time.

    edit - and got the joy of seeing some fat women buy a copy then turn straight round and hand it to her 13 year old kid in front of the staff. Well done mom /o\
    Edited by sickpuppysoftware at 29/04/08 @ 14:31

  • jamie_fear #19 4 years ago

    I pre-order the GTA4 special edition from play.com when they first put it up. Arrived on my desk at work today and it's been tauting me ever since. It's gonna be a long day until 5PM...

  • Garfy #20 4 years ago

    Mine was posted yesterday morning but no joy in the post today :-(

    I hate waiting for things, it drives me crazy

  • moggsy #21 4 years ago

    @rhinoxious

    I think some people just enjoy the hassle of a big launch, popping into tesco for a loaf of bread, pint of milk and copy of GTA4 just isn't momentous enough for them - twats.

    Well you would have been out of luck trying that in my local Tesco Extra, as they had sold out of both versions. Looking at store pickup at my local Argos stores reveals slim pickings too - most of the stores in West Yorkshire are sold out.

  • el_pollo_diablo #22 4 years ago

    For those of you who did recieve their Play orders, has the tracking number now been filled in on your order history page?

    God I'm tragic.

  • zedzee #23 4 years ago

    Yes, but what's the ratio of package sold for PS3 vs X360?

    Come on, EG, get to the heart of the matter!

  • zedzee #24 4 years ago

    @jamie_fear:

    Yeah, but you still got to get home, so even if you finish at 5PM, it may take you a some time to get home, install it and start playing!

    Tee, hee. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news there! ;-)

    Enjoy anyway! :-)

  • dom6918 #25 4 years ago

    thats great!! none have been fucking delivered! i ordered mine 3 months ago..where the fuck is it play.com?? they have lost a customer!

  • sonmi451 #26 4 years ago

    ordered from Play too, got a £3 discount too because GT5p arrived a few days late.

    no sign of GTA4 today. bah humbug. might badger them for another discount. then again i might try elsewhere.

  • potter73 #27 4 years ago

    Not happy with Play. I pre-ordered GTA with them back in June last year (anticipating the original October release date) Was informed it was shipped on Friday, just checked and nothing has arrived (yet funnily enough money has been taken from my account)

  • Krusty #28 4 years ago

    Ordered mine in July!

    Looked as if it'd been posted last Thursday, but then got dispatch mail yesterday.
    Not turned up yet :(

    Play.com are great normally, free delivery on everything is nice... it is quite a special launch this one though so can understand the huge demand.

    Hope it arrives today though!

  • dom6918 #29 4 years ago

    everyone that ordered from shopto.net had it delivered on time and free plus 3 quid cheaper..if it wasnt for the fact that you have to be in to sign for it..id use shopto all the time!

  • potter73 #30 4 years ago

    Just spoken to Play.....apparently orders received prior to last week should have been shipped out on Friday 25th...however due to a cock up they were not dispatched until yesterday (sort of takes the piss out of everyone that pre-ordered last year, first come first serverd etc)

    Was informed that if you have a post date of 28th, then you should received the game tomorrow

  • benstarkie #31 4 years ago

    I shan't flog a dead horse further but the same has happened to me with Play. Perhaps it may increase your sympathy to know it is my birthday today and I was just going to spend all evening playing it. But no, now I will have to have a meal with my girlfriend. And she won't be like those GTA girls......

    Chances of compensation? Slim? None?

  • dom6918 #32 4 years ago

    thanks for the info potter...still wont use play again..this isnt the first time they have done this!

    i think im going to deflect to game.co.uk..same service..usually same prices and usually get it day before or defo on the day

  • potter73 #33 4 years ago

    Im with you on that one Dom....bloke at work ordered his 360 ver through Game, and got it on time
    Edited by potter73 at 29/04/08 @ 15:37

  • BOBBYLUPO #34 4 years ago

    Same thing happened to me.

    Eurogamer, could you please change article to Play.com f*** up pre-orders?

  • benstarkie #35 4 years ago

    Second that @Bobbylupo

  • dom6918 #36 4 years ago

    yes ...change the article name...they have screwed up majorly!
    no email to apologise and nothing on their website...shit poor customer service and company!

  • Gorgonnae #37 4 years ago

    Huh, I ordered mine yesterday afternoon and received it today morning, LOL.

  • benstarkie #38 4 years ago

    @gorgonnae

    On Play.com?

    I havent been home yet, just getting steamed up at work (on my birthday whine moan) about it. Maybe it will be upon my mat. That would be lovely.

  • dom6918 #39 4 years ago

    yeah..boast about...thats really nice of you..wankr

  • sonmi451 #40 4 years ago

    @gorgonnae

    ha, i ordered mine next week and it arrived 4 days ago.

    love & kisses
    HG Wells.

  • benstarkie #41 4 years ago

    Yes it was only receiving Pro Evo a day early before its official release a while back that set me up for a fall really...they have been ok in the past. But you would think they would take extra special care with GTA because of the demand and because its my....no, I won't say it again.

  • benstarkie #42 4 years ago

    Anyone read the daily mail (Its great, like brasseye but REAL which is why I hate it) story about the 'youth' getting 'shanked' in the queue for GTA in croydon? They blame the game which seems odd as the queue was to buy the game. But dont let that get in the way of journalistic sensationalism.

  • DiscoMike #43 4 years ago

    "everyone that ordered from shopto.net had it delivered on time and free plus 3 quid cheaper..if it wasnt for the fact that you have to be in to sign for it..id use shopto all the time!"

    Dunno about you, but my 360 copy from shopto was an import from mainland europe .. no BBFC markings.

  • special_move #44 4 years ago

    @benstarkie "Maybe it will be upon my mat."

    I'm hoping mine is too but the wait to find out is killing me. If it isn't then Play.com are going to be on my shit list.....

  • pinkhippo123 #45 4 years ago

    play.com didnt deliver mine, ordered a few weeks ago, so i went to get my preorder from game. came back and ive got the freakin rrod.... irony.

  • Gorgonnae #46 4 years ago

    Nope, it wasn't from PLAY.com. I was going to order from there but I ordered instead from a scandinavian site. They have a store here in Helsinki. I didn't thought that it would arrive today, but funny thing is that it arrived trhough mail in less than 24 hours. As I said I ordered yesterday afternoon and received it today morning. I guess ordering from smaller web sites pay off.
    Edited by Gorgonnae at 29/04/08 @ 16:54

  • warbo #47 4 years ago

    My pre-ordered copy of GTAIV from Play.com didn't arrive in the post.

  • zuljin #48 4 years ago

    @benstarkie
    Chances of compensation are zilch mate. I remember ordering Assassins creed special edition - same price as normal. Got lost in the mail - I don't blame them for that though - but I did have to wait 3 weeks. After that the special edition had sold out, and without my knowledge just sent me a standard copy and charged me the same amount.

    Absolutely hate them, closed my account with them after that, never again.

  • LOLLERS #49 4 years ago

    Mine hasn't turned up either, but it's more likely to be the post office's fault than Play, since I had a despatch email yesterday...

  • dom6918 #50 4 years ago

    we all had dispatch emails...and no its not the postman..its play..they have admitted to fecking up the pre-orders..

    basically those ppl who pre-ordered months in advance had their accounts updated stating that the order was posted 24th/25th.
    This was a mistake..the orders wearnt posted..but because the system recognised these orders as posted they did not process them for postage..

    those ppl that ordered last minute however got theirs posted straight away as a large amount of ppls orders who pre-ordered up to a yr in advance got lost in a hole..i blame play completely..if tesco..a company that specialised in food can get it right..then why an entertainment provider cant is ridiculous...

  • bmoviebob #51 4 years ago

    Ordered mine 3 weeks ago from Play.com, I live about 1 mile from Play.com warehouse.
    Just got in from work.
    Is it on my doorstep? Is it Foxes Glacier Mints!
    Burn in Hell Play.com!!!

  • arithdcael #52 4 years ago

    Ok, theyve done me over too. Ordered a month or so back, and i had the 25th then 29th "posted" updates. And its still not here.

    I cant imagine the fury if i'd ordered a year back.

    And now i'm sat here on a website while my friends play mp on Live. During one of my few weeks leave of the year..

    Thanks a bunch Play Dot Com. Maybe next year spend a bit more on staff and systems, and not Wembly shows and c-list hosts with fake titties.

    This is public apology stuff at very least, and a goodwill gesture would be a voucher.

  • warbo #53 4 years ago

    I believe Play.com use 2nd class post for delivery. That's 3-5 days.

  • Greebo #54 4 years ago


    Am I the only one who DID order from Play.com and have it delivered?

    Pre-Ordered back in december. Disappeared from pre-order list and I couldn't find it in the Order History, so I paniced and called them.

    They said it was in packing (this was Thursday evening last week).

    Just checked now and it says it was posted yesterday, but can't have been cos it arrived this morning!

  • Greebo #55 4 years ago

    @Warbo

    No, they use First Class. It just comes from Jersey (I think), hence the longer delivery time.

  • Trifle #56 4 years ago

    Simple maths time...80 orders per minute....even if it was only 20 orders per minute for 4 days...that's 1200 per hour or probably around 10,000 per day...so they probably shipped well over 100,000 for delivery today.

    Now....visit royal mail website and it says 98% of first class post will be delivered next day.

    So...that's around 2000 people that didn't receive it today. I'm in that 2000. If it doesn't arrive tomorrow I will wonder what is going on. Until then I will drink beer and enjoy watching Man Utd beat Barcelona.....

    Less than 50 people are moaning and swearing on here about not getting there orders......you didn't even make up 1 minute of their orders! You will get it tomorrow like me....what we need is a decent postal service that can offer 99.9% next day delivery.

    PS....went to ASDA and TESCO and GAME and Morrisons after work...not a sniff of GTA anywhere...the ASDA dude actually said he wouldn't have any more stock for a month at least!

  • benstarkie #57 4 years ago

    It will all be forgotten once I have it on the ol' HD. I'm a fickle consumer like that.

  • dom6918 #58 4 years ago

    tomorrow is chelsea vs liverpool..it gets priority..i would have had it today..red scum!

  • Garulon #59 4 years ago

    I think it's watchdog time. :(

  • dom6918 #60 4 years ago

    did you not get your copy this morning?

  • dom6918 #61 4 years ago

    nah this wont be forgotten...the amount of hype for this game is massive..its very harsh that play has let us down when all these other companies pulled through!!

    there are ppl on other boards who still havent recieved their copy this morning...thats aweful!