Wii preorders start tomorrow at EB Games and Gamestop

Culver City (CA) - Hardcore Nintendo fans will probably want to skip school and call in sick from work tomorrow because EB Games and GameStop will start offering pre-orders on the upcoming Nintendo Wii console. Customers will be able to reserve the new console for a $50 deposit, but they better line up quick because it’s first come, first serve.

Click here for pictures of the Nintendo Wii console...

The ground rules for tomorrow were laid out in an email from management to store employees. Stores have been directed to open at normal hours and have been prohibited from having midnite or early opening hours. In addition, in response to last Tuesdays PlayStation 3 pre-order event, stores must give priority to customers that stand in line.

Some customers standing in line for the PlayStation 3 pre-order were told that the reservations had sold out. Traditionally some stores have given reservations to store employees, friends and high-volume buyers, but management is now discouraging that practice.

"If your store is allotted 12 units for customer reservation, and there are 12 customers waiting in front of the store at opening time, those customers must be given priority to reserve," management said in a letter to employees.

Store also cannot customers to buy other products to guarantee a reservation, which in effect forces a bundle on the customer. EB Games employees in three Southern California stores confirmed that customers must stand in line and extra purchases won’t be required.

Nintendo expects to ship four million Wii consoles this year.