I remember back when I was living in Miami we became friends with the guy who managed the Gamestop, which means we got pre-order bonuses pretty much guaranteed every time (sometimes without pre-ordering the game), we'd get extra offers just because, and one time he even broke street date and gave us the Nintendo DS like a week before it came out. It was really wrong, but super awesome.
Nowadays it's more of the case that it's a hassle. I don't drive so getting to a gamestop is something I have to plan for and go out of my way to do. Not only that, but gamestops in the region haven't given me a reason to shop there as they never have anything I'm looking for, have super difficult hours, and just pale in comparison to the joy of ordering stuff on Amazon Prime and getting it when it releases just like that. Or the even greater option for me right now, buy digital hours before it's even released.
Exclusivity deals are just archaic stuff that benefits no one but that company. And I personally do want Shulk since it's a newcomer character (means I use him frequently) and a character from a series not likely to see Mario/Zelda levels of merchandise in the US. So yea, I want that. But now the gamestop thing scares me because I most definitely won't be able to get it as soon as it releases, and it is altogether possible they'll run out super fast due to rarity. And that just sucks.