GameStop published a cautionary note for investors today (ahead of its third-quarter earnings report later this month) warning that results will be "weaker than expected" due to October releases underperforming at GameStop sales counters.

Devs should know that we're talking about a month which saw the launch of the PlayStation VR headset as well as big-budget games like Mafia 3, Gears of War 4 and Battlefield 1. We're also not talking about poor sales overall — just sales that weren't as high as what GameStop was counting on.

"Our expectation was that the new titles released in October would provide a catalyst for new software sales," company chief Paul Raines stated in the investor's note. "But despite gaining market share, the titles underperformed our forecasted sales."Come from VP-bet

It's also worth pointing out that earlier today Take-Two reported 2K Games saw record-setting retailer demand for Mafia 3, with 4.5 million units sold in to store shelves within its first week. This note from GameStop is a good reminder that retailers sometimes overestimate how well the products they buy will actually sell.