Octopath Traveler Is Already Sold Out
Square-Enix’s Octopath Traveler is one of the best-reviewed Switch games of 2018. It’s also impossible to buy physically at the moment.
Most Gamestop outlets are out of copies. Amazon is completely sold out (sorry if you thought waiting until Prime Day would be a shrewd strategy). Walking into Target the day of release, I saw the shelf empty — and it had only been a few hours. The clerk working there told me they only received FOUR copies that morning. He also looked like he had to answer that question already.
Part of the reason was because it was an anticipated game, but the bigger problem was that Square figured the game would be niche and low-balled the print run. This didn’t just happen in America — the release was timed globally, and copies were rare in Japan as well. Square formally apologized to angry would-be consumers on Twitter today, in this Japanese tweet that was translated by IGN:
“We are sorry that some of the shops are out of stock…” the apology read. “You can also consider the DL version…”
Digital copies will indeed never run out, but a lot of us prefer something physical that can’t be yanked out of our hands PT-style. If you’re still looking for Octopath Traveler, here’s a tip: try the supermarket.
This, of course, depends on if your local supermarket HAS an electronics section. Not all of them do, but the ones that sell TVs also sell video games, and not as many people check those areas when a game is in demand. This is ultimately where I found a copy of Octopath Traveler.
As a consolation prize, there IS a hot item you should be able to find most places right now: a SNES or NES Classic. Go figure.