Mere moments after Nintendo opened pre-orders for the special edition version of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 on the My Nintendo Store on Wednesday morning, the site went down as hundreds of hopeful buyers flocked to it. Nintendo of America issued an apology on Twitter 30 minutes after pre-orders began, stating that the site’s servers were unable to accommodate the intense traffic. The issue was apparently exclusive to buyers in North America, as the game was readily purchasable in Australia and New Zealand without any hassle.
Many fans were understandably upset when they were unable to preorder the game, especially those who spent nearly six hours waiting for the My Nintendo Store page to load. Some who took to Twitter criticized Nintendo for failing to make the special edition available on multiple platforms. Others were quick to point out that scalping bots may have been responsible for overloading the servers; later, those suspicions were confirmed when listings for the game began appearing on eBay at a staggering markup.
Nearly 11 hours after the store page went up, Nintendo took it down and issued a statement on Twitter announcing that Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Special Edition would be made available for pre-order at a later date. At press time, it is unclear when the game will be made available again or for how long.