Update #3: It appears that the Collector’s Edition has once again sold out. The store is at least still up this time in both the UK and EU.
Update #2 [Fri 14th Oct, 2022 12:00 BST] After disappearing off the face of the Earth yesterday, the Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Collector’s Edition is now, once again, available on the My Nintendo Store.
Rather than purchasing the full bundle, Nintendo is offering all of the extra contents of the Collector’s Edition (the concept art book and steel case within the larger outer box) without the Xenoblade Chronicles 3 software for £29.99 (or your regional equivalent). Nintendo has stated that the reasoning for the separation is to “give customers the flexibility to purchase and enjoy the game at launch”‘, which we can’t disagree with.
The expected release date (when the bundle ships) is the 21st October, but if you manage to grab a copy, you’ll see the message “This product is available on back order, please expect extended delivery times”, so there’s potential for wait times to be a bit longer with this.
Perhaps we should have seen a move like this coming all along. Back in May, Nintendo announced that those who pre-ordered the Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Collector’s Edition would receive a copy of the game on launch, with all of the extras shipping separately in the Autumn of 2022. While this almost worked for the US pre-orders, Nintendo Europe’s move to just sell the extra content on their own works given the extortionate delays from the game’s launch. We guess it’ll all work out in the end, right?
At the time of writing, the My Nintendo Store is still up and running, with the Collector’s Edition extras still in stock.
Update #1 [Thu 13th Oct, 2022 12:45 BST] The UK and European My Nintendo Store is now back up and running after yesterday’s crash, but the Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Collector’s Edition is nowhere to be seen.
It would be fair to say that yesterday’s pre-orders for the much-delayed title didn’t go exactly to plan. A rushed email release led to the My Nintendo Store crashing due to the influx of customers trying to get a copy of the game in their basket. Browsing through Twitter in the ensuing hours, it is clear that the disappointment was felt by all:
The confusing part is the whereabouts of the release now that the site is once again functional. It is currently unclear as to whether the game actually sold out during the brief moments before the store crashed, or if the release has been pulled completely and will be restructured with better planning.
We have reached out to Nintendo for some clarification on the missing title and are currently awaiting a response. Rest assured, we will update this article as soon as we have more information.
Original article [Wed 12th Oct, 2022 12:50 BST] After hearing that the UK and European releases of the Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Collector’s Edition would be pushed back to the first half of October, it has been an anxious wait to find out when (or, indeed, if) the release would drop. Well, the Collector’s Edition is finally here and, predictably, the My Nintendo Store was not prepared for it.
Nintendo of Europe has today sent an email saying that pre-orders are now open for the game’s special edition and you can visit the My Nintendo Store to bag a copy.
If only it was that simple. With the high volume of customers, it looks like the online store is struggling to cope with all of the traffic, currently displaying the following message:
We’re currently experiencing a high number of customers on the site, please come back later.
It is almost as if pushing back a release date so many times gets people itching to grab their copy as soon as the opportunity arises – who would have thought??
As we cannot access the site, we have no word as to whether the Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Collector’s Edition is still in stock, but we will be eagerly refreshing the online store in an attempt to find out more. In the meantime, if you’ve yet to grab a copy but aren’t fussed about the Collector’s Edition, there are plenty of options available here.
Are you hoping to get your hands on a Collector’s Edition? Let us know if you have been successful in the comments below!
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