Math fun with the PS3 and GameStop [Update]
by Ed Stasick 
{ Oct 10th 2006 at 10:00PM }
I read a disturbing comment today that GameStop's PS3 pre-order fiasco had depleted up to 80% of the available launch day consoles available in North America. Aside from being completely illogical (as many other retailers will surely be getting their fair share of PS3s), the comment did inspire me to do a little math to estimate how many consoles GameStop may have actually pre-sold (and how many would be left for me to hunt down at other retailers on launch day). After whipping out my handy solar-powered calculator, I came up with the following figures:- 400,000: number of PS3s that Sony has stated that they've allocated for North America to all retailers
- 3600: approximate number of GameStop stores in North America (according to their website they have 4400 stores globally)
- 12: average allotment of PS3s per GameStop on launch day (based on their publically announced allotments of between 8 and 16 units per store. Of course, actual per store allotments may vary, but this is their baseline estimate.)
- 3600 x 12 = 43,200 PS3s pre-ordered today via GameStop
- 400,000 - (3600 x 12) = 356,800 PS3s that are unaccounted for and will be sold by other retailers. In other words, despite the usilly 80% rumor, you'll get your chance for a PS3 at other stores.
- 3600 x 2 = 7200. That's the number of all available GameStop PS3 preorders today that went to GameStop employees (based on their cap of allowing 2 PS3s to be sold to employees per store). That represents nearly 17% of GameStops total allotment. Thanks for putting the customer first, GameStop.
- 43,200 x $100 = $4,320,000. That's the approximate number of dollars ($$$) that GameStop earned today and will be collecting interest on for the next month-and-half. I wish I could be collecting interest on somebody else's $4.5 million dollars for a few weeks for doing nothing and promising nothing.
Safe Harbor Statement: The above information is based on published information, logical assumptions, a dash of creativity and a healthy dose of voodoo witchcraft. I am in no way claiming that I know how to add or subtract, much less multiply and divide. And the batteries on my solar-powered calculator were running pretty low.
[Update: Two rogue GameSpots changed to GameStops.]
[Update 2: Tweaked some verbiage to better explain a couple of the calculations (no numbers or calculations were altered).]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
The Fifth @ Oct 10th 2006 10:13PM
seems my last post didn't go through...
btw its spelled witchcraft*
also, did you account for eb games?
Andir2.0 @ Oct 10th 2006 10:14PM
I somehow doubt Gamestop is going to be the sole provider (80%) of all PS3s. Your not counting Walmart, Meijer, Toys R Us, and all the other big name stores.
Ed @ Oct 10th 2006 10:19PM
#1, yes, that's eb and gamestop stores. The word is spelled correctly
#2, yeah, that's the point of the entire post.
Will @ Oct 10th 2006 10:38PM
Half of your GameStops are GameSpots. Just thought I'd point that out.
Robert @ Oct 11th 2006 12:29AM
Is that all people do is complain. Don't they see a joke when they see one. This is some great stuff.
PS3fanboy BLOG READER all the way.
I hope the posts get better as the launch comes closer.
alienclay @ Oct 11th 2006 2:01AM
well, given that they said that "select" gamestops get the 16 ps3 allotment then conceveably the number is somewhere between 28808 and 57592 based on the 3600 stores number. if by select they mean 400 of the 3200 stores get 16 PS3s (and not including online sales) than for a total of 32000 PS3s gamestop would have a 8.0% (not 80%) of the US launch number.
a sizeable chunk, but assuming 50% of gamestops retail outlets get the 16 like you are doing, and about 2000 more for online than the percentage chunk is about 8.84% or nearly 9% of launch numbers.
brunstar @ Oct 11th 2006 12:25PM
exactly alienclay, i was reading this and thinking this kid is not serious....he even listed all the math and just got it backwards...eb/gamestop will have 43k roughly, out of the 400k expected..
alienclay @ Oct 11th 2006 5:35AM
unless we take into account the gamestops that only got "two"
duh duh duuuhhh!
http://nintendo.joystiq.com/2006/10/10/observational-standpoint-ps3-preordering/
Ed @ Oct 11th 2006 8:43AM
#7, brunstar... I'm pretty sure that your math and the post's math are the same. you say GameStop will have approximately 43k out of 400k. That's exactly what the post says. What's backwards?
Carnie @ Oct 11th 2006 9:48AM
#6 well it isn't like there have been missprints on the net, news or reports ya know...but I don't think that they would make a big deal of it was just and 8%....
brunstar @ Oct 11th 2006 2:40PM
43k is not 90% of 400,000 ---thats my point
Ed @ Oct 11th 2006 1:42PM
who said 43k was 90% of 400,000?
Joe Mama @ Oct 11th 2006 2:07PM
This is hilarious. Do any of you bother to read and comprehend a post before you start "correcting" it?
#2 - The word is "you're".
#6 - The word is "then".
#9 - The word is... well, I'm not exactly sure what that sentence was trying to say ;)
Joe Mama @ Oct 11th 2006 2:09PM
Oh yeah, and #1, it's spelled "it's", not the possessive "its".
:P
brunstar @ Oct 11th 2006 2:46PM
Sorry my last comment was rushed. The point of this article was to stimulate conversation that eb/gamestop could not fullfill there preorders for the ps3. The author of this article tried to mathmatically convince us that eb/gamestop claimed to have 80% of the 400,000 ps3s that were available.
He did the math of 3600 x 12(average) = 43,200 then he wrote it backwards by subtracting that from 400,000 and then claiming that the result of that equation was what eb/gamestop had. This article wants to claim that eb/gamestop can not fullfill there preorders, when they just merely have 20% of the 400,000 that are going to be released in America.
How hard is that to understand? This article is just lame and trying to trick you into believing that eb/gamestop are not going to be able to fullfill their preorders and that they somehow claim to have 80% of th shipments...
Joe Mama @ Oct 11th 2006 2:51PM
#15 - Dude, are you completely braindead? His point was that there's no way that 80% of the U.S. PS3 allotment can be accounted for by GS/EBG pre-orders.
"How hard is that to understand?"
Very, apparently. Go back and re-read the article, or have someone read it to you.
Ed @ Oct 11th 2006 3:58PM
brunstar, you are way off here. The post was written to estimate how many PS3s were sold and how much money that meant for GameStop. What gave me the idea was seeing a silly rumor about about how GameStop supposedly had 80% of the launch allocations. Clearly, the calculations speak for themselves. GameSpot sold approximately 42k PS3s. That leaves 350k for other retailers. It's all pretty simple.
I'm not sure where you are getting conspiracy theories about the post meaning that GS can't cover their preorders. That's just no where in the post.
Bucket @ Oct 11th 2006 9:59PM
If the only pleasure that some loser employee gets from working at a dumpy GameStop is that he gets first dibs on a PS3, then God bless his petty soul.
Myself, I'm still trying to find the time to play through Final Fantasy IX.
mr.aaron @ Oct 12th 2006 10:24AM
i know one of the gamestops in my area was doing another type of pre-order
if you bring in $50 worth of items in to sell. They give you a preorder for a ps3
when you think that some games only get 5$ worth, thats about 10 games to bring in. then slap on the used game price at 60% profit, thats alot of income.
denise @ Nov 13th 2006 7:51PM
maybe one should not assume that every employee preorder slot was taken. at my store, not one of us reserved a ps3. not a one. so theoretically, that's 4 more that went to the customers, meaning that if at least two or so per store were given to the customers, then hey, the math gets further and further off.
also, gamestop made it clear that they were not promising systems on launch day. that statement was never made. if you're going to blame somebody for short supplying, blame the people actually making the hardware itself. you know. sony.