UK online retailers break street date on GTA

By Games Industry.biz Published 28 October, 2004

Gamers get new GTA a day early as online retailers break ranks on launch date.

Efforts to prevent the launch date of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas from being broken in the UK have been a resounding success on the High Street - but customers of some online retailers have received their copies early.

Publisher Take Two Interactive and distributor Gem implemented a policy whereby retailers had to sign a contract guaranteeing not to sell copies of the game ahead of the October 29th launch date in order to receive early stock of the title.

Those who did not sign up to the agreement will not receive stock until tomorrow, while anyone breaking the agreement will not receive early stock on future titles and may be subject to a week-long delivery delay.

The threats appear to have worked, with no reports of any High Street retailers in the UK selling the game ahead of time - almost unheard of for any major videogames release - and many stores planning to open at midnight tonight to sell the first copies.

However, the situation with online retailers is a different one - with several key e-tailers sending copies of the game out early despite attempts by the distributors to sign them up to a contract prohibiting copies from arriving before Friday.

As a result, many consumers who ordered from the GAME.net or Gameplay online stores, both operated by the country's largest videogame retail chain GAME Group, have received their copies of the title a day early, while a number of Play.com customers have also reported early receipt of the game.

A spokesperson for GAME this afternoon told gi.biz that the company is working closely with Take Two on the issue, and blamed the early arrival of the products on Royal Mail, saying that all of the company's shipping agreements have specified that the games should not be delivered until Friday.

However, reports that copies of the game have been delivered to customers today have angered rival retailers both online and in the high street.

"What Take Two have tried to instigate for this launch is to be praised," Doug Bone of major online retailer Simply Games told gi.biz today, "and we at Simply Games are happy to support them with what they are working to achieve."

"GTA San Andreas is a landmark game for this industry," he continued, "and if certain retailers have not held their nerve, then on their heads be it... All Simply Games orders are being shipped today for delivery with customers on the day of release."

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Comments (38) Latest comment 7 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • ssuellid #1 7 years ago

    Excellent. I do find it amusing that recently the usual place to get games early from is SimplyGames.

  • tonynibbles #2 7 years ago

    Well, I for one was disappointed not to get mine a day early.

    Depends how close you live to the warehouses of the online distributors.
    Simple as that.

  • tonynibbles #3 7 years ago

    Swanny! How can you say that about our postal service!?

    It might be easy to slag off, but try taking a look at French, Spanish (!) and Italian mail services. I think you'll find they are 100 times worse than ours... I sent a postcard home from Barcelona airport recently - in the box for 'outbound mail' (not in spain, whatever). It still took 3 weeks to get home. That was from the airport ffs!

  • Vex #4 7 years ago

    Despite sympathising with publishers on this, it is hard for an online company not to accidentally send games a day early. If they posted on Thursday and trusted arrival then it is quite likely they would have a load of screaming customers on Friday demanding to know where their game was. On the other hand, they post on Wednesday and some people get it early.

    I think major releases like this are also hard, as there are an awful lot of games being sent out in a short space of time. Not sure what the solution is here, but I don't think forcing the online retailers to post later is it.

    My copy will probably arrive Friday or Saturday anyway.

  • kalel #5 7 years ago

    That's probably because of the shitty airport mail men. From what I understand out Postal Service is among the worst.

  • thesnowman #6 7 years ago

    I got mine delivered today from play. I dont know what all the fuss is about, does it really matter if gets released early.

  • Shivoa #7 7 years ago

    What really gets me is that this game was out in the US on Wednesday and has been available online for a week. What does that mean for breakinng release dates? That they're next to irrelivant. Once data is publically released in one part of the world the great thing that is the internet makes that data avilable to anyone who knows where to look. All staggering dates does is to increase the number of downloaders (not necesarily the same as decreasing sales but in most cases it does) and just because this Friday release thing is traditional here we are meant to stick to it.

    Why not just let people ship once they get stock in? The best way to fight the leaks for things like H2 and SA is to look at the online distribution model for those poeple who want something on day of release. Although the current gen of consoles can't really be expected to get a Steam clone I can see the next gen coming with a system like that potentially so as soon as the game goes gold you can buy it online while they start duplicating the master disc for retail distribution.

  • D_arkTrooper #8 7 years ago

    Well it`s now 18.21 and the status of my order on Simplygames is still "In Progress".So it looks highly unlikely I`ll be getting GTA tomorrow (launch day).

    Thanks a bunch!

  • Garwoofoo #9 7 years ago

    Mine's been "In Dispatch" all day (Simply Games again). I phoned them up earlier and this does apparently mean that the game would be sent out today, though I'm a bit concerned that the status still hasn't changed and nor have I received the usual mail saying that it's been dispatched.

    I reckon my chances of getting this tomorrow are 50:50 at best.

  • DDevil #10 7 years ago

    Mine has been in dispatch all day today as well. Recieved Midway Arcade Classics today, and that was only dispatched yesterday so fingers crossed...

  • Mr.Small #11 7 years ago

    My order has been "In Dispatch" all day too, until five minutes ago when it became "Order Shipped". Hurrah Simply Games (as long as it does arrive tomorrow)!

  • Garwoofoo #12 7 years ago

    Mine still says "In Dispatch". I've got a bad feeling about this one...

  • bef #13 7 years ago

    Same here in the Netherlands.

    Ah well. Who cares.

  • brutal #14 7 years ago

    biggest non-story ever?

    jesus christ people. games get pirated. Games get sold early. Guess what!?!?! Some scally got a promo copy - lets get him!!!

    what happened to the good old days when no-one cared about a day here or there? Ignorance really was bliss - can't we just enjoy the games anymore?!

    /sigh



    High Street retailers will publically moan about anything. After all, their staff work on a high street. They have to deal with the general public. And that would make anyone grouchy. Online retailers are damned if they do, and damned to the 13th dan of hell if they are late by everyone.


    Surely the big point that should be made here is that no high street retailers dared break the street date? Why twist it against online retailers?

    I don't mean to offend the guy who wrote this, but i'm getting a bit fed up of crap "nothing out of the ordinary" stories circulating at the moment.

    Oh, and blaming Royal Mail for doing their jobs well - thats funny. No really.

    edit - spelling... can't type when ranting :/
    Edited by 1 at 28/10/04 @ 20:44

  • #15 7 years ago

    I find it hard to not burst into a torrid of expletives over this one. For the first time in living history (and I was a sceptic to start with) Uk Retail have done themselves proud by sticking to street date with the biggest release ever to grace our stores.

    Arguments regarding Royal Mail are negated by all etailers live by the same sword and shipping today would have been more than adequate.

    GAME deserve sanctions for this one and I for one would like to see the power to post taken away from them for future releases.

    Maybe even all etailers should be made to subscribe to an industry day one warehousing system that has a charge attached where each pulishers distie is set up to mail out to day one customers and only after that do they get to control their own stock.

    It proves a point that I have been trying to prove positive over nearly the last two decades which is, generally Indies don't break street; National do! Indies just do what they always do (and do best) react to the market with great effect.

    I would hazzard a guess that some one will lose their job over this one, as the industry standard bearer has blighted an otherwise text book release.

    I can't wait to write my next articles for Indie and MCV.

  • #16 7 years ago

    Who the feck cares if a game arrives a day early? So bloody what? Good grief, if they post them on a thursday, how long do you think it will be before the games arrive here, in Northern Ireland?

    The reason I don't buy new releases online is because there is always the chance it will arrive late, which is much more depressing than it arriving early. Now, isn't late games something worth moaning about?

    I'm too old for this sh*t..........

  • Shivoa #17 7 years ago

    >Arguments regarding Royal Mail are negated by all etailers live by the same sword and shipping today would have been more than adequate.

    Well if you look at a very similar situation, the release fo GCSE and A-level results (some schools are collect only but others still post them to students) then that is something where everyone MUST get them on the same day. Late or early is a disaster.

    What happens is the schools post the results in the few days up to the release (usually not posting the day before just in case so two and three days before they need to arrive is common) and then the post office move them to the local distribution point asap and have them with instructions to deliver on the set day that results are given out.

    If Game/gameplay used the same holding system and the Post Office screwed up (and can anyone in the UK not think Post Office screw up as a very likely event) then there is nothing they could have done about it. Posting two days before delivery for a national distribution is the best way of ensuring the most people get the game on release date as there are a lot of us who like in 2 day first class areas, we don't all live in the city.

  • Spike3 #18 7 years ago

    Like wanderer said, in most cases the descision to buy online or not has already been made before the game hits the shelves for most people. So it doesnt matter if i recieve my copy from gameplay on the day of release or the day before, im still not going to go into a highstreet store and buy it.

    Online retail is fucked either way, the publishers dont want stuff getting out early, but the customers will go elsewhere in a hurry if they dont get their goods by the release date at the latest.

    Personally i buy all of my stuff online, usually because the 3 or 4 (at least) quid i save per game adds up to a fair amount per year. The fact that i get the stuff the day before release on most occasions is just an added bonus. But if the publishers got their way, and retailers couldnt post goods until the release date, itd likley be at least monday before i got my copy in the post. By that point id rather have spent the extra fiver and gone to a highstreet store over the weekend.

    Like Shivoa said, it only adds further insult to injury that the fans have to wait (granted only a few days in the case of GTA:SA, but weve all seen it take a LOT longer, im looking at you Nintendo Europe) after the US release before we get to purchase it in Europe. We arent isolated little communities here, when i go online i have to listen to all the US fans of whichever game im waiting for talking about it, posting spoilers and screenshots etc.

  • Clive_Dunn #19 7 years ago

    Very harsh article if you ask me ( which you didn't obviously ). Online retailers have no choice but to post Wednesday first class and a significant percentage won't arrive until 2 days after posting.

    I don't think this is a concerted effort to break street, more an effort to keep their customers happy. I think you are over-reacting KOTI.

  • Clive_Dunn #20 7 years ago

    Gameplay are owned by Game.

  • firefly #21 7 years ago

    It would have been funny if Nintendo had gotten annoyed about online retailers sending Animal Crossing out early!!!

    "Animal Crossing is a fantastic game and it's release marks Nintendo's clear commitment to the European games market but some selfish individuals have to ruin things for everybody else by getting the game a day early even though America got it two years early."

  • Polyphonic #22 7 years ago

    I have a trade account at Gem. Why didn't I think of buying the game for myself early?


    /is slow

  • moggsy #23 7 years ago

    Went to Tesco's at lunch on the off chance they were selling it early - they weren't. It was a case of so near and yet so far however as they were stacking the shelves at the time and San Andreas was ready to put out but the 2 Tesco bods debated over whether to put it on the shelf and decided not to. Rats cocks!

  • #24 7 years ago

    If single store outlets (indies) are prepared to lose market share by standing by release date in the face of any possibility of others breaking early then e-tailers should be made to stand by the outside possibilty that posting out day one on the day before just might not get there until a day late.

    After all, most purchasers on-line (according to this forum) are price driven not date!....most are at work on day 1

    If High street is told 'Reaction to others breaking street will not be upheld as justification of reaction' then e-tailers surely cannot hide behind royal mail.

    My Cheques always seem to get there on time.

    If the WHOLE of the UK high street remained firm and e-tail didn't they must be held to book, made accountable and ultimately pay the penalty OR any future sanctions proposed to other sectors of the industry could be ignored and generally constituted as restraint in favour of another.

    We have all made massive strides today on an issue that has been talked about at length, argued and paid lip service to over the years. It would almost be criminal to allow the perpetrators and instigators of poor procedures, shoddy malpractice and under handed tactics triumph over the majority of industry professionals who have done their best to further, improve and stabilise this industry today.

    To the majority we deserve a pat on the back. To the perpetrators I trust your sanctions will be equal and reformative.

  • infoxicated #25 7 years ago

    Any chance we could leave the slow news day non-story's up to Spong in future?

  • Dom's ass #26 7 years ago

    rang 'GAME' yesterday said all copies had been pre-ordered, don't expect copies until next week, so ordered from GAME.net arrived today at 1pm delivered to my work. yes, its the best £32.98 ever spent. Why does anyone shop one the high street?? They obviously give shops hardly any copies, the local GAME said they had 37 copies
    Edited by 1 at 28/10/04 @ 22:54

  • Shivoa #27 7 years ago

    >If the WHOLE of the UK high street remained firm and e-tail didn't they must be held to book

    And if the distributor do act on this then the biggest culprit seems to be Game(play) which would mean the next title they release will not be distributed to the largest bricks and mortar gaming store in the UK. Or they can not replenish their SA stock for a week. Or they can decide not to take on the biggest retailer in the UK and let it go. That is the kind of war that neither company will win.

    But as I've said, I think this is accademic and the Royal Mail argument will probably stand up to the distributor's scrunity and they'll be a few press releases complaining about it and everything will go back to normal (well, it could easily go the other way and we go back to no breaking of release date but I personally can't see that as a global shift at this time).

  • Feanor #28 7 years ago

    Thanks for the spoiler, jok, you cunt. If what you say is true, I hope you die horribly in the near future.

  • pinhead #29 7 years ago

    Anyone else thinking about planting spoilers in random threads about halo2 (jok) or any other game jokingly or otherwise. Fook off. Go and get a girlfriend or something.

  • gizmo #30 7 years ago

    Well I got mine a day early, but my excitement was curtailed by going to bed ill with a headache before even opening the package! Hows that for shitty luck?

  • Communal Toilet #31 7 years ago

    Looks like Simply are annoyed they didn't receive there stock till Thursday then..
    Strange how they comment now after sending out new releases up to 4 days early....

  • Aga #32 7 years ago

    So you have to wait another day, buuhuu, its not like you waited months before is it?

  • Blerk #33 7 years ago

    I got a 'shipped' email from Simply yesterday evening - I'm guessing it'll turn up today, the mail's not half as bad as some of you make out. :-)

    But... I think it's a little harsh to talk of 'a day early' being a 'broken release date', especially where online retailers are concerned. If it'd been a week early I could've understood, but posting Wednesday to ensure delivery by Friday is surely just 'good customer service' rather than a purposeful breaking of the date.

    I mean... it's not as if they advertised it as being delivered to you the day before release, is it?

  • ssuellid #34 7 years ago

    Its a bit of a piss take this. The retailers usually say something like 'we will get this to you on the day of release' but the Royal Mail states that for first class delivery 'most mail delivered next working day'. So the retailers send it out 2 days early to make sure it turns up on release day at the latest.

    Like a lot of other people I use SimplyGames because the orders turn up early or on release day. But GTA SA was only shipped yesterday by SimplyGames and if it does not turn up today I will be a bit pissed off.

  • markypants #35 7 years ago

    I'm a little pissed because my game hasn't arrived from Simply on day of release (unless it turns up later?) and I've ordered it to arrive at work!!! So I won't get to play it now until Monday!!!

  • Blerk #36 7 years ago

    You expect the mail to arrive before 3pm? :-)

  • Tyronne #37 7 years ago

    Well it does have to be said that I honestly have been losing so much sleep over all this...its only a bloody game not something awe inspiring like ufos over westminster or the 2nd coming of jesus playing a banjo..what a waste of time.

  • Garwoofoo #38 7 years ago

    Has *anyone* received their stock from Simply? Mine hasn't shown up either.

  • ssuellid #39 7 years ago

    Garwoofoo, my copy from Simply Games has turned up at home.

  • pjmaybe #40 7 years ago

    Markypants, you live in Oxfordshite don't you - your copy is probably sitting in a postie's PS2 at this very moment, being played by his two 8 year old chavkids....

    Peej

  • Boundy #41 7 years ago

    well i got mine from play.com

    and it was only £29.99 with free delivery

    posted tuesday and arrived today, im pleased i got in on relase day, i expected it yesterdy and was a bit pissed off when it didnt arrive but got it now.

    i alsmot got pissed of today when the post came and thewre was no game, had me thinking the postie nicked it, but then 5 minutes later he knocks the door and says he forgot about it.

    thank go for that.
    Edited by 1 at 29/10/04 @ 19:37