Circuit City
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HD DVD looks Circuit City's way, compels independent filmmakers
Although the most recent reports (well, in the US, anyway) have insinuated that Blu-ray disc sales are claiming the lead over HD DVDs, you can bet the (currently) losing side isn't sitting around idly. While various parties have claimed victory over the other, it looks like the HD DVD camp is opening up a previously closed door by pushing Toshiba players into Circuit City stores. Apparently, Circuit City hasn't been exactly fond of carrying Tosh's HD DVD units up until now (or vice-versa), but getting the devices in front of hordes of potential buyers has reportedly enticed a myriad of HD addicts to pick up said units. While a spokesperson for Toshiba declined to get specific, she hinted that having its second-generation players in the big box retailer's store for just a few months allowed them to "eclipse the lifetime sales of the company's first-generation players." On a not-so-surprising note, it seems like consumers might see even steeper price drops sooner due to the newfound BD pressure, and in a presumed attempt to find yet another genre to grab tight to HD DVD, Microsoft is joining the team in order to persuade independent filmmakers to consider the format. Of course, only time will tell if the little guys can actually make it on the high-definition format, but you won't see us complaining with HD DVD titles hitting stores whilst never making their silver screen debut.
Deal of the Day: Circuit City's UMD blowout
Circuit City is finally getting rid of those dusty UMDs sitting on its shelves: this week, you can buy 2 selected UMD titles for only $10. The partial list includes titles such as: Bad Boys Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Once Upon a Time in Mexico Black Hawk Down Jerry Meguire Men in Black There are 16 titles to choose from. At this price, the UMD format almost seems quite viable.[Via IGN]
Free Halo faceplate with Crackdown purchase
If you are going to be purchasing Crackdown this Tuesday, then you may want to head over to your local Circuit City. Since Crackdown comes with the Halo 3 beta invite, Circuit City is offering a free Halo faceplate (a $20 value) with the purchase of Crackdown. Free stuff always makes us happy, especially free Halo merchandise. And speaking of which, shouldn't it be a mandate that every new Xbox 360 game release has to include a free faceplate? It's a great idea and something we'll be pitching to Microsoft and their lovely marketing team.
Get free stuff when buying Battlestations: Midway
Looking through our Sunday paper, in between all the Windows Vista hoopla, we found a few cool offers for those of you who are going to purchase Battlestations: Midway. You get a free $5 gift card at Best Buy this week when you purchase the game, and over at Circuit City they are offering a free poster. We're thinking a $5 gift card is a little better deal so we recommend shopping at Best Buy. Do you know of another retailer or website offering better goods with the purchase of Battlestations: Midway?
My sister's quest for a Wii
I was rubbing the sleep from my eyes after waking up way too early for a Sunday morning when I got a call from my 13-year-old sister, Paige (pictured to the right). "How's it going?" I asked. "Not good," she said.Paige wasn't that excited about the Wii when it first came out, but sometime in mid-December the hype (and the promise of a new Wario Ware game) hit her like a ton of bricks. Since then, she's been clamoring for the hard-to-find system in a big way, constantly working the phones to nearby Rockville, Md., retailers and scanning sites like iTrackr in the hopes of catching a shipment. After a few weeks of fruitless hunting, Paige was begging me to ask my "Nintendo girlfriend" (a.k.a. my PR contact) to send her a system. When I told her it doesn't quite work that way, she told me to use my "sexy looks" to sway her. Apparently the search for a Wii had made her delusional.I knew I probably shouldn't be encouraging my sister's compulsion, but when I saw all the chatter on Joystiq about retailers holding Wii systems for sale, I had to tell her. After poring over the available data Saturday night, we developed a plan to wake up early and stake out the most likely candidates before they opened on Sunday morning. Paige and my mom would hit the Rockville stores, I would try the retailers in my local Laurel, about an hour away (yes, I got recruited into camping for my sister. Yes, I am a sucker.)
Survey shows HDTV preferred over live Super Bowl experience
Unsurprisingly, surveys these days can often have very interesting results, which may not necessarily represent the general population in a factual manner, but nonetheless, if the "Big Game Survey" is to be believed, more people would rather watch the Super Bowl on an HDTV than actually going to the event in-person. Conducted on behalf of Circuit City, the survey found that 48-percent of all respondents would rather catch the big game from the comforts of their couch compared to just 26-percent who would rather cheer from the nosebleed seats. While it wasn't directly stated where the other 26-percent fell, we can only assume that those were the folks who'd rather pressure-wash their entire house than suffer through four hours of non-stop partying over a game of pigskin. Nevertheless, it's certainly not a surprise to find that sports offerings glue Americans to their couches like no other type of programming can, and the survey also found that around 60-percent of men (and 49-percent of women) were more likely to throw down for an HD set solely because of the Super Bowl (and hosting a subsequent party). While we'd probably have no qualms accepting an all-expenses-paid trip to see the biggest NFL game of the year, we have to assume that folks were taking total cost into account when answering the questions, and considering the dough you'd likely lay down just to get a seat for this primetime event, wouldn't you rather bring home a svelte HDTV instead?
Deals of the Day: even more cheap software
Although this week's PSP releases aren't too exciting, don't fret. I'm sure you've missed a couple of high profile games that hit the PSP in the past few months. Best Buy and Circuit City seem to be busy competing each other for your holiday dollar. Here are a few of the highlights for PSP owners:Best BuyKillzone Liberation for $40 $30Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories for $50 $30Luxor for $30 $20Circuit CityATV Offroad Fury for $40 $30Killzone Liberation for $40 $30Gangs of London for $40 $30SOCOM Fireteam Bravo 2 for $40 $30[Via IGN Boards]
Don't have Gears yet? Get it for only $44.99
Haven't picked up Gears of War yet due to insufficient funds? Don't sweat it, we still like you even though you don't have the killer app for the Xbox 360 (you loser!). But now you have no excuse, because in this Sunday's ad Circuit City is offering a sweet $15 discount on Gears making it available for purchase at a very reasonable $44.99. You can choose to pick it up online and have it shipped to your doorstep or just head down to your local Circuit City to get it now. So, don't be the only kid on the block without Gears, because you'll just be ridiculed and have absolutely zero friends if you don't get this game ... oh yeah, I'm laying the peer pressure on pretty thick.
Circuit City false or stupid advertising -- you decide
Reader Audioeric sent in a couple issues he had with the latest Circuit City catalog. For starters, the catalog says "Playstation 3: Ready to rumble. It's hot." The first joke here is obvious considering the PS3 is the only next-gen console without a rumble feature to speak of. Then there is the awkward choice of using the word "hot" to describe any Sony product currently. Does Circuit City mean the PS3 is like Sony exploding battery hot? Jury is still out if these word choices were awkward mistake or if a Microsoft/Nintendo fanboy designer put together the page.The other weird thing is the turned-off Xbox 360 controllers playing, what is not a Xbox 360 Madden, on a projection television supposedly attached to the Xbox 360 by a USB cable ... say what? You can't plug an Xbox 360 to any display device through USB. That's just wrong.[Thanks Audioeric]
Circuit City resorts to irony to move PS3 units
Oh is it really? Wait here, let's check. Nope, no dice. Maybe Circuit City got a Super Special Shipment with PS2 controllers instead.[Via PS3 Fanboy]
Deals of the Day: cheap Memory Sticks and more
There are a ton of great post-Thanksgiving deals at retailers everywhere. 2GB Memory Stick for $40 at Target[Via PlayStation Forums] 4GB Memory Stick for $70 at Buy.comAfter rebate, and Google Checkout discount.[Via IGN Boards] Medal of Honor: Heroes for $33 at Circuit CityThat's $7 cheaper than MSRP.[Via IGN Boards] It's a little depressing for people like myself who remember how costly Memory Sticks were at the PSP launch. My measly 256MB card cost as much as the 2GB does now!
Black Friday deals: get a PSP for only $150! [Update 1]
Cheapassgamer has rounded up the deals you can get today on Black Friday. So, get off the bed, ignore the tryptophan, and start shopping, like a true American. Here are some of the PSP deals:AmazonPSP system only $170. With free shipping.Circuit CityGrand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories for only $30. That's $20 less than MSRP!Free Pelican kit with purchase of PSP.ATV Offroad, Ape Escape, Infected and Hot Shots Golf are all $10 each.Pirates of the Caribbean 2 is only $17.Wal-MartGrand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories for only $15.PSP system only $170. That's $30 less than MSRP!MeijerPSP system only $150. That's $50 less than MSRP!
Circuit City to sell $100 Compaq laptop on Black Friday
With all this talk about OLPC's mythical $100 laptop, it was only a matter of time before a more established brand-name company tried its hand at pulling off a similar trick without NickNeg and company. CNET reports that Circuit City will be selling a Compaq Presario model on Black Friday (that's the day after Thanksgiving, or November 24, for you non-Yanks) for $100, sorta. If you agree to get a Vonage subscription for a year and can handle the assorted rebates, then this lappy is yours for a Benjamin. That's not such a bad deal, considering it comes with a Celeron M 420 CPU, 15-inch screen, DVD and CD burner, 512MB RAM and a 60GB hard drive. Of course this isn't the first time that we've seen rebates drive down computer prices so much -- there was the HP setup that we saw over Labor Day, which included a CRT, and a burner for the same price after rebates too -- but a laptop is something to take stock of. It's very tempting, but we'll wait until the price drops that low organically, sans rebates and subscription plans, thanks. [Via TechDirt]Read - CNETRead - Black Friday 2006
PS3 launch shipments restricted to top 5 retailers?
According to a memo obtained by GameDaily BIZ from smaller video game chain Rhino Video Games, Sony has "decided to limit the supply of hardware (systems and accessories) to its top five volume retailers (Wal-Mart, Target, etc.)" on the November 17 launch day. However, we know of at least seven major retailers receiving PlayStation 3 units on launch day. In addition to Target and Wal-Mart, we know GameStop / EB Games, Best Buy, Circuit City, Sears and Toys 'R' Us are having PS3s on launch day. We know supplies will be very limited and GameStop won't be fulfilling all of its PS3 pre-orders (already conservative figures).That smaller retail chains will not have PS3s on launch day is not that surprising, but only the "top five retailers" is wrong and makes the memo a bit suspect. Rhino Video Games will not be getting PS3s on launch day -- a fact reaffirmed on its website -- the rest is not true. Rest assured, there will be PS3s for sale at all retailers by the end of 2007. We hope.
150 line up for PS3 in Rockville, MD
Washington's Fox 5 News has the video of approximately 150 people waiting in a line that "grows by the hour" outside the Rockville, MD Circuit City last night in advance of Friday's PS3 launch. The story also shows that the store has only 100 consoles in the storeroom, leaving us to worry about the countless people who will likely wait for two days only to go home empty handed.The pole position in line goes to a father purchasing the system for a son to "let him know how much love I have for him." We should all have such fathers. Not all the line-goers are so selfless though -- one waiter said point blank that it was "more economical for us to stand in line and do nothing for three days, [then] turn around and sell it on eBay for two grand." The free market ... ya gotta love it.
Black Friday megadeals for Xbox 360
Sister site Xbox 360 Fanboy got the goods on some upcoming Black Friday deals yesterday. For those of you who may not know, Black Friday (so very appropriately named) is the Friday immediately after Thanksgiving, when stores feature gargantuan sales in an effort to suck shoppers in and kick-start the Christmas shopping season.Best Buy is having an $18.99 sale featuring: Amped 3 Condemned NBA Live '06 Rockstar Games Presents: Table Tennis The Outfit (apparently you can score this one for only $9.99 if you buy it in-store before noon) Circuit City offers a different set at $16.99: Full Auto Gun Perfect Dark Zero Quake 4 Tony Hawk's American Wasteland Our advice is to call the stores to find out if these deals will be available online and stay inside. Black Friday is normally a hellish experience with a lot of pushing, shoving and greed. In fact, we're surprised Rockstar hasn't made a video game version yet. Your mission: take out other shoppers before they can get your sale items.
Deal of the Day: Free 256MB Memory Stick Pro Duo at Circuit City
While a 256MB Memory Stick may not hold a lot of data, especially if you're trying to play full-resolution movies on your PSP, it's hard to argue about something's worth when it's free. And right now Circuit City is offering a 256MB SanDisk Memory Stick Pro Duo for $30 with a $30 mail-in rebate.All you have to do is buy the Memory Stick, fill out the form and mail it in. Not too hard, eh?There's a one-rebate limit here so don't get any funny ideas of buying tons of these and unloading them on ebay.[Via Joystiq]
Want a Wii on launch day? Here's how.
Want to be able to stroll into a store on launch day, and come back out with a hot Wii in your hands? Check out the guide that Wiiloaded has up. Of course, if everyone reads this thing, then you'll be screwed. Cross your fingers and take some of their helpful advice like: find a 24 Wal-Mart to camp out in because it'll be warm, check out who is jumping on the midnight release bandwagon (Circuit City, Wal-Mart, probably more to come) and get there early, or visit a Sam's or Costco because they are frequently overlooked during console launches. Also helpful is the Target Wii allocation list that was dropped online. It hasn't been verified, but if the info is true then it will help you choose which Target to, er ... target. Here's a helpful online doohickey that you can use to search and find out how many Wiis your Target will get. Apparently our local store is getting 220, when they got zero on Xbox 360 launch day. Plus the sheer size of the Target Wii areas and the amount of accessories they have been offering for more than a month before launch make us think they'll be getting quite a few.With one million plus Wiis to be made available on launch day, and three million more available by Christmas, we don't think you'll have problems getting one. People are going to be divided between the Wii and the PS3, and that's going to hurt sales of both consoles while buyers try and decide what to get. Because Nintendo will have scads of Wiis in the stores, it'll make it that much easier to get one without resorting to eBay, Canada, or the black market. Only turn to those options if you're seeking a PlayStation3. Those are gonna be hard to come by.[Thanks, Marko K. and Rob Templin]
Shots of the Zune in-store kiosk
One of our many thoughtful readers sent us a few snaps of a Circuit City Zune kiosk with a design that makes it clear to us that Microsoft's new packaging ethos hasn't manifested itself in every area of the Zune's marketing department. Although the kiosk is restrained in the sense that it doesn't scream for attention -- the brown Zune sees to that -- the dark shades and annoying marketing slogans don't compare to the iPod's minimalist Apple Store surroundings. Despite the kiosk's staid design, you can bet your shuffle that Microsoft will work its corporate ass off to get these things into as many gadget stores as possible.[Thanks, John Matthews]
6 Circuit City stores with PS3 midnight launch and 100 units
Circuit City is laying some cards out on the table, while most stores are messing with minds and not giving numbers or launch details. 6 Circuit City stores will have a midnight launch on November 16 with 100 units up for grabs. The events officially start at 8PM, but if you want to be positive that you'll get one of the 100 units you should plan to arrive early -- by about a day, if not more, once this info gets out.The six stores are: Union Square: New York, NY - Store 3679 Torrance: Hawthourne, Los Angeles - Store 404 Cherry Hill: Mount Laurel, NJ - Store 0734 Schaumburn: Schaumburg, IL - Store 3111 Rockville: Rockville, MD - Store 866 Short Pump: Richmond, VA - Store 3549 At 10PM vouchers will be given to the first 100 people in line and at midnight you'll be the proud owner of a PS3. Circuit City also says, in what can only be considered a sign of an impending disaster, that five stores will be "giving away" five PS3s each to "win," and the Union Square store will be "giving away" 100. No details on what that specifically means, but there better be cops with an ambulance present and waiting.[Thanks TopaZ -- Sorry, look on the bright side, you'll have company out there now]
