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Gamers angry as GameStop cancels ‘Kingdom Hearts 3’ PlayStation 4 Pro pre-orders

Aaron Mamiit
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Some players are upset over GameStop’s cancellation of their pre-order for the Kingdom Hearts 3 PlayStation 4 Pro, as the video game retailer claimed that it sold too many units of the limited edition console.

For $400, the limited edition Kingdom Hearts 3 bundle includes a copy of the game, exclusive digital content, and a PlayStation 4 Pro with intricate designs on the console and the matching controller.

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At the same price as the regular PlayStation 4 Pro, the bundle was a great way of finally upgrading to the more powerful version of Sony’s console. In the U.S. and Canada, GameStop is the only retailer where the Kingdom Hearts 3 bundle will be sold.

Unfortunately some gamers have been kicked out of their Kingdom Hearts 3 PlayStation 4 Pro pre-orders, raising the likelihood that they will no longer have the opportunity to purchase the bundle.

Due to an error, we oversold on pre-orders for the LE Kingdom Hearts 3 PlayStation 4 Pro and, unfortunately, some orders had to be canceled. Guests who had an order canceled will receive a $25 Gift Coupon. We apologize for the inconvenience and frustration this has caused.

— GameStop (@GameStop) January 25, 2019

GameStop sent emails concerning the cancelled pre-orders just days before the Kingdom Hearts 3 release date of January 29 for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The retailer has told customers that it will not be receiving any more units of the bundle.

The pre-order refund that includes a $25 gift coupon is apparently not enough to appease gamers who were looking forward to acquiring the limited edition console. GameStop’s tweet received replies that challenged the company’s incentive scheme for its employees, who were thought to have sold as many preo-rders for the Kingdom Hearts 3 bundle as possible.

A Reddit user who goes by the handle MiiQ wrote in a post on the online forum that he talked to a GameStop employee regarding what happened. According to the employee, the distributor of the Kingdom Hearts 3 bundle only gave GameStop a rough estimate on how many units the retailer would receive. GameStop accepted a number of pre-orders near the upper end of the estimate, but unfortunately, it only received units of the bundle near the lower end. As this is a limited edition bundle, GameStop will not be able to ask for more units to meet all of the pre-orders, forcing the retailer to cancel some of them.

Kingdom Hearts 3 is the long-awaited latest installment to the popular Square Enix franchise. Even with some gamers missing out on the limited edition PlayStation 4 Pro, the game is still expected to be an epic adventure.

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