It may be hard to believe but there are still some Blockbuster video and game rental stores operating in the U.S. and U.K. Indeed, the U.K. version started taking pre-orders for both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles in late May. It later sent out a press release stating that its orders for the Xbox One console had broken all of its previous pre-order records in the 24-year history of the company.
But now it seems that those "record" pre-orders, along with any placed for the PS4, are apparently null and void. According to Reuters, Blockbuster UK announced today that it was entering into administration for the second time in less than a year. While the company claims it will continue to operate its 264 stores in the UK, it is also telling customers on their Twitter account that they will be unable to fulfil any pre-orders for the Xbox One or the PS4.
@spudnick20 We are sorry that you will be disappointed that we can’t fulfil your orders for the PS4 & Xbox1.
— Blockbuster UK (@Blockbuster_UK) October 29, 2013
There is also a post on the Blockbuster UK Facebook page that offers information on how customers who have pre-ordered the Xbox One and PS4 from the retailer can get a refund.
While Blockbuster UK wasn"t the biggest retailer in that country, this new situation means that both Microsoft and Sony could be dealing with the prospect of thousands of units of their next generation consoles that were previously pre-ordered by customers that won"t be shipped in time for their respective launch dates in November.
We have emailed both Microsoft and Sony to find out if they will be able to help these UK residents with this last minute issue, so stay tuned to Neowin for the latest developments.
Source: Blockbuster UK on Twitter