Not to beat on a dead horse, but I went at lunch to grab a copy of GTA IV for my Xbox 360, yes I am hopefully that the DLC will be worth it in the future and hearing that it is already being worked on and could be out as soon as the summer also helped push me over the edge. So I walk into the local Gamestop and my experience goes a little something like this…
Me (well dressed upstanding citizen): Good day sir, I will take your finest copy of GTA IV for the 360.
Ass Clerk (yes I am almost positive this was his name): Do you have your copy reserved?
Me: Of course not.
AC: Sorry I can’t sell you a copy then.
Me: Are you kidding me?
AC: No. Try Babbages down the street.
Me: This is why this store sucks.
This is not a dramatization, it is verbatim what transpired, why in the world would Gamestop limit themselves to sell only pre-orders on the largest title of the year, shiet of the decade possibly?! What is their obsession with pre-orders?
So I went down the hall of the mall to Target and seeing that they had a bunch on the shelf asked a clerk to unlock the cabinet so I could get a copy and he told me there was no need as he had a ton behind the register. He showed me full boxes of games for both systems along with collectors editions, how is it Gamestop can only sell pre-orders, yet Target has a cornucopia of games? Needless to say I got my copy of GTA and went back to the Gamestop and showed them proudly.
As if Gamestop doesn’t do enough things to look stupid… I was picking up my copy of GTA IV Special Edition this morning for PS3 at my local Gamestop. Another guy was there buying the game off the shelf. Both of us got ID’d to buy the game. I look nowhere near 17, but whatever. The guy next to me asks “Are you kidding?” The follow up reply from the old guy behind the counter waiting on me was “We’re not taking any chances with this game.”
Ok, you might say. As soon as the other guy leaves, a kid walks up to the counter to buy a used copy of Call of Duty 4. The kid was no more than 4 feet tall and couldn’t have been older than 13 or 14. Did he get ID’d? Nope. When I asked the guy behind the counter why not, I was told “We’re only worried about GTA.”
Wow. So let me get this straight. Gamestop doesn’t care about the ESRB “M” rating and will sell these games to minors as long as it’s not GTA? What kind of bull is that? I shook my head, took my copy of the game and went home. Still baffled over this one. It’s this kind of crap that fuels people like Chuckles.
If you’re in the market for any PS3 games, it might benefit you to grab a used copy at Gamestop. Right now, you can get any used PS3 game for 25% off with coupon. Head on over to PS3 Fanboy to get your coupon.
The deal is running until 4/17, so you only have a few days left. I’m going to be picking up a copy of Burnout Paradise on the cheap. What will you be getting?
Its hard to trade games in and expect anything close to what you paid, but there are sometimes you acquire games that you will never play again. If you can get some compensation, I suppose its beneficial. Gamestop is having a trade-in promotion. Its simple. Trade in any two of the games listed after the jump, and its 10 bucks for Mario Kart. Click more for the complete list.
If you stumbled into a Gamestop lately, God knows why, you might have caught a glimpse of a recent “commercial” for GTA IV. This was made exclusively for the store, but by magic and the will of the people, it leaked its way out. Check it out.
If you happened to try to fire up Gamestop’s website this weekend, you would have been graced with a landing page showing the site being down. A lot of behind the scenes updates went into the site to add some cool functionality.
The best part, in my opinion, is the ability to preorder games online for in-store pickup. Saves me the hassle of going down there and dealing with those idiots who have absolutely no idea what they’re talking about.
Other cool features include the ability to check gift card balance and things of that nature. Hell, just check it all out yourself.
A few astute readers have found that Gamestop has priced Wii Fit. Guess how much losing weight is going to cost you? That’s right, you read the topic and the game with balance board will run you a cool $90. Seems pretty steep considering how the game is targeting the casual market.
A couple calls to local Gamestop stores confirms the price, as well as preorder deposits of $10. I have a feeling that, just like the Wii, if you want this one, a preorder might be necessary.
I’m not sure I’m willing to shell out just under $100 to use the Wii to try and get myself in shape. That’s why I pay for the gym membership.
Want to know what $85 will get you for a Metal Gear Solid 4 Limited Edition in North America? A Gamestop employee over at NeoGaf found out and posted the details. Here’s what you’ll get:
A Blu-ray containing
2 making of documentaries, and interview with Kojima
4 chapters of the graphic novel
Metal Gear Import Soundtrack CD
Also, as a bonus for Gamestop only, those who preorder the Limited Edition will get a nice Metal Gear Solid 4 art book. I think it’s worth the extra money and will be putting my preorder down pretty soon. Don’t forget, people that drop a bit of cash now will get into the Metal Gear Online Beta for the PS3.
The anti-Gamestop sentiments seem to be reaching ever farther. Our EIC, Matt, discussed a recent unpleasant experience at a local Gamestop on our last podcast. It turns out, the bullshit spreads. I came across an interesting story from Sarcasticgamer. The story goes like this: He is in a local store and sees behind the counter some of the new Halo 3 figures. He asked to check out the Master Chief and is not impressed. The manager adds that the Cortana figure was extremely badass, but he bought the only one that they got before it even hit the shelves. Puzzled, the author replies to something like, “Way to leave the good stuff for your paying customers”. Another employee tells him that its a perk for working at Gamestop.
So on top of your $9 an hour wage, you get to pilfer all of the limited edition swag and all the consoles you can handle? There are widespread reports of Gamestop employees buying up all the Wii’s and flooding them on eBay to make a quick buck while fucking both the corporation they work for and the customer at the same time. I for one could care less what happens in a Gamestop, but find it amusing that these so-called gaming experts continue to alienate the casual gamer that makes up a huge share of the market. It sort of makes you not want to shop there. On the contrary, if I worked at Victoria’s Secret, we would have a merchandise page filled with more thongs than the eye could see.
We got the official press note letting us know that EA’s newest Burnout iteration will be in our hands first thing next year, January 22 to be exact in North America. Expect a demo for this sockem racer this December to try out some fast paced action and also if you pre-order your copy at Gamestop you can expect an exclusive car download. Some are saying that EA pushed the envelope to try and re-invent this series, I just hope that the great sense of speed and crashbreakers stays untouched.
From the official press release:
Redwood City, CA – October 26, 2007 – Mark your calendars! Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced that Burnout™ Paradise will be in stores January 22, 2008 in North America. Experience a piece of Paradise City by downloading the demo this December on the PlayStation®Network and Xbox LIVE™ Marketplace. Designed specifically for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360™ videogame system, Burnout Paradise delivers true open world freedom and sets a new standard for online* social gameplay. Brought to you by EA Criterion, Burnout Paradise is redefining the open world experience with Paradise City, a freshly designed playground filled with the most exciting jumps, gripping races and unrivalled excitement at every intersection. Players will have total freedom to explore and discover the world at their leisure, just pull up to any stoplight and spin your wheels to enter five high speed action challenges. Slam, shunt and wreck rivals in these cross-town driving challenges, where players decide the fastest route to the finish line. Read More »
We're like Spaceballs... we're making Loot Ninja everything. Coming soon we'll have hats, shirts, hoodies, possibly banana hammocks if one Editor has his way...
Check out the shirt prototypes here and the hats here
We got the official press note letting us know that EA’s newest Burnout iteration will be in our hands first thing next year, January 22 to be exact in North America. Expect a demo for this sockem racer this December to try out some fast paced action and also if you pre-order your copy at Gamestop you can expect an exclusive car download. Some are saying that EA pushed the envelope to try and re-invent this series, I just hope that the great sense of speed and crashbreakers stays untouched.
