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EB Games: PSP is pass, DS Lite is the future
Wait, you didn't know? The future is where all the fun is. It's where children laugh in unceasing delight, merrily skipping through the radioactive wastelands with their DS Lites held tightly in at least one of their seven hands. Indeed, a copy of Hotel Dusk is just the thing to idle the day away and distract from the impending threat of multi-headed toaster beasts roaming the world.Thus is the picture painted by a recent EB Games flyer posted in the NeoGAF forums, urging consumers to trade in the past and embrace a more touchy-feely sort of future. As if hurling the PSP into "the past" wasn't confusing enough, the original version of the DS also finds itself traveling through time. Doesn't that create some sort of inconceivable time paradox?
DS is the future, PSP is the past, says EB
GamersReports has found an EB Games ad that tells you to trade your old systems from the past, such as the original "Phat" DS, the GBA SP ... and the PSP? While Nintendo and EB may want you to think that the DS Lite is the "future," it's everything but: the system is based on tech comparable to the N64 era. Where's the PS2-quality graphics? Or the ability to play multimedia and browse the web? While the games can be quite good, to think of the DS Lite as a "future" tech device would be akin to calling the Commodore 64 a "next-gen" system.[Thanks, Chi!]
MLB 2K7 coming earlier than expected?
According to SportsGamer.com, MLB 2K7 appears to be releasing a week earlier to compete with the Playstation's MLB 07: The Show. Gamestop changed the shipping date for MLB 2K7 to 2/26/07 which is the same release date as MLB 07: The Show. 2K Sports wants their MLB gem to be a success and maybe by moving the release date up a week will help deter possible MLB 07: The Show purchases. Cross your fingers and watch for the release of MLB 2K7 towards the end of the month.[Via Game Stooge]
Police investigate EB Games slaying
San Antonio Police are investigating the tragic murder of an EB Games employee. The unidentified woman was found dead inside an EB Games store along San Pedro Ave around 2 p.m. today. Two store managers made the gruesome discovery upon arriving at the store, following failed attempts to contact the victim by phone.Police believe the slaying occurred during a robbery, despite no obvious signs of a break-in. Sgt. Edward Wise confirmed that the front door was locked and that the store never opened this morning. Wise declined to detail the woman's injuries or give insight into why police believe a robbery took place. It's unclear how long the body had been inside the store.[Thanks, Super-Jesse-Mario]
Deal of the Day: Sid Meier's Pirates! for cheap
Sid Meier's Pirates! is available for the PSP today and it's available for only $20 at EB Games and Gamestop ... that's $10 less than MSRP. With coupon code "SAVER," you'll be able to get free shipping, making it an even sweeter deal.Considering how IGN recently gave the game a whopping 9.0 out of 10, this might be the deal you've been looking for. From their review: "Everything that makes Pirates! what it is is here and in fantastic form. The most important elements, like ship battles, exploration and such are identical to what you 'd find on the PC, which is really what matters. If you own a PSP, head to the nearest port and hand over some booty for this one."[Via IGN]
If customer previews were all you had to go on
Imagine if video game sites and magazines didn't do previews on upcoming games. That'd be a terrible world. But just think of an even more hellish existence, where these customer previews were all you had to go on before buying a game: Ghost Rider "This game looks stupid, if this game is as good as the movie, it will still suck! " Call of Duty 3: Roads to Victory "Call of Duty is so cool for the PSP. It has great graphics and is a best shooter and war game for the PSP. It has great leavels and they aren't to hard and they aren't to easy. You will all be exited when it comes out." Continued after the jump ...
Retail sucks, customer demands Mario on the 360
Over at Retail-Sucks.com AndrewDB posted an account of his experience working for EB Games and dealing with a crazed mother. The quick and dirty version of the story is an overly aggressive mother stormed into their store and demanded a Mario game for the Xbox 360. We know what you're thinking, but don't worry, her eleven year old son told her that the Mario game was available for his Xbox. In the end she throws a fit when they calmly tell her Mario is only available for Nintendo systems, extrudes a bunch of curse words, calls up corporate, throws her Razr, and acts like a nine year old child. Retail, the one job where you have to put on a friendly smile when dealing with unruly customers. We know there are a lot of fanboy readers who work at video game stores or other retailers that sells games, do you have a crazy customer story to tell?[Via Digg]
My Burning Crusade launch experience
If you're tired of reading about midnight launches and what people would do to get a Collector's Edition, then move along. If instead you want to read about the trials and tribulations of a man who's closer to the arctic circle than is necessary, stay with me. So, being in Saskatoon, we didn't get a midnight launch. Maybe it's because both of our EB Games locations are in malls and our Walmarts close at 10pm like everything else in the city, and that's it really is too dark and too cold for people to be out that late on a Monday night. Whatever the reason, a midnight launch was a no-go. I watched my guildies leap through the Dark Portal with the giddy giggles of four-year olds at Christmas. I kept saying "Grats" to every ding from a newly created Draenei. And then I went to bed, falling asleep in a puddle of tears. No, not really. Earlier on Monday evening, five of us had piled into my car to hit every shop in town to see a) If they had any Collector's Editions in stock and b) If they could be bribed to sell them to us a little early. While a fun experience, it proved unfruitful. It seemed like hope was dwindling for me and my dashed dreams of a Collector's Edition.
Midnight launch event: The Freezing Crusade
We braved the elements here in Ithaca, NY to join with our WoW-besotted brethren and sistren (sistren? it's a word now.) for our local launch event, and while the expansion is installing (disc 3 of 4!) we're updating you on our launch experience. Check after the break for what went down.
Deal of the Day: Rockstar goes budget
Gamers looking for deals on Rockstar's finest need look no further. It appears that the excellent Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories has dropped in price to a very reasonable $30. Considering how much content the game has, this is certainly quite a bargain.Looking forward, you'll see that Gamestop is also listing the upcoming PSP port of The Warriors at a budget price of $20. The PS2 version of the game wasn't too bad at all, so you may want to pick it up as well.Use coupon code "SAVER" to get free shipping.[Via CAG & PlayStation]
Rumor: GameStop Corp to absorb Rhino
Over on the Cheap Ass Gamer forums panic has begun to take hold. Poster 'FSUEagles' claims that in no less than ten days Rhino Video Games will be officially converted to a GameStop property. While it's hard to imagine the transition would occur that quickly (especially when store managers are allegedly being told today), the acquisition would not be unprecedented.Aside from the GameStop brand, the corporate umbrella encompasses EB Games, FuncoLand, and Software Etc., and governs 4,592 retail stores throughout the U.S. Adding Rhino, which has fewer than 100 locations, is small potatoes -- the move would be similar to GameStop's 2002 Gamesworld buyout in Ireland -- but still an important step in controlling the used game market. Rhino currently promotes a popular 2-for-1 deal, whereby patrons can trade two qualifying used titles for any one game priced under $50 (a difference must be paid on games that exceed the price restriction). If GameStop does acquire Rhino from Blockbuster then expect trade-in values to diminish overnight.
Gran Turismo's constantly shifting "release date"
The potentially canceled, or un-canceled, PSP version of Gran Turismo 4 has just shifted its release date once again on the GameStop website. The retailer is notorious for accidentally revealing crucial release info, but in this case, we're willing to bet that they're simply moving the date so that they can still hold on to pre-orders (some undoubtedly made nearly two years ago!).The game is now listed as to come out on July 2nd. While that may seem like an eternity away, it'll be the slight glimmer of hope for those of you that don't want to believe in its vaporware status.[Via PlayStation]
Preorder Justice for All, get swag
GameStop is offering a Phoenix Wright stylus as a bonus if you preorder Justice For All. We're so there. We were, in fact, already there, before it happened, because we are psychically attuned to all the world's lawyery* goodness. Or maybe it's just that we're obsessed. We'd probably pick up special edition Phoenix Wright diapers and spend the day trying to wrap them around the cat.*Lawyery can so be a word.
Is EB/Gamestop hoarding the PS3-love?
I did my weekly "can Nick find a PS3 in Athens?" search yesterday. The result is the same as always: no. Not just no, but no employees/managers seem to know when the next shipment is coming in. Perhaps whilst in Atlanta next few weeks, we'll find me some sexy console to waste my time on. Anywho, with that recent failure in my mind, we've got a tipster who spotted some "familiar" boxes -- the 2-quantity, PS3-sized shipping boxes to be exact. Assumption? Yeah. Angry? You bet, 'specially since the one in Athens "sold out this morning"... a common response mechanism this blogger used to use at his old job at OfficeMax. Especially if he didn't want to seek out a gigantic desk in the back... they're heavy! What were we saying? Oh. Boxes. So, this may mean nothing and the boxes may include nothing but two new robotic employee's per box, but it's worth giving your local store a call this weekend to see if another shipment popped in.[tanx brunches, WheelSee!]
Crime spree hits New England game stores
Investigators believe that the theft of $20,000 in systems and games from a Hooksett, N.H., EBGames could be connected to a string of similar thefts across Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The thieves are targeting Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 systems because intense interest is driving high resale values according to a report from the Concord Monitor.Detective Matt Fleming warned that thieves may soon expand their focus from stores to homes with new systems, warning owners to "secure them in your homes as best you can." We wouldn't be too worried though -- according to an AP report the thieves in Hooksett "tried to steal the floor model PlayStation 3 ... but couldn't get into the metal cabinet housing it." Foiled... by a kiosk!Read - Concord Monitor reportRead - AP Report
GameStop already resupplied with PS3's?
Half of this will be news, half of this will be a personal request. You can skip the latter if you want, but I'd like you to at least hear me out. First, the news. GameStop executives have confirmed that they have already been resupplied with both the Wii and PS3, expecting more of each on a weekly basis. This is good -- the people who were shunned a system due to preorder over-order madness will get their system pretty quickly and then it's free game for those of us who had a string of unfortunate PS3 events (Ed and myself... so, PS3Fanboy). This is also good since you don't have to try to get a "deal" on eBay anymore -- let them sit and in a few months (especially after Christmahannukwanzakah) the prices will probably drop below retail if you keep your eyes peeled.Now for my plea. When I got this tip from Colin, he said something about wanting to have more people to shoot in Resistance. That gave me an idea. Who would be in support of a sort of... PS3Fanboy group? Online, I mean? So we can all get together for multi-player bouts and such? It could be a lot of fun! Let me know what you think of that. Also, I recently was able to get online with Phantasy Star Universe along with a friend of mine. Anyone want to play that with us? Drop me a comment (@ndoerr) and we'll have a good time. Of course, I'll probably be horribly under-leveled.[thanks, Colin!]
Rumor: EB and GameStop to stock up for Black Friday
Crushed because you came away from the Wii launch empty handed? Dealing with waffling salespeople at your favorite retail outlets? Concerned that it may be a while before you can get your hands on one? Relax, dearest fanboys, because a little birdie told us that GameStop and EB are getting in new shipments for this Friday and they're going to open up a few hours early -- we're hearing 7AM. There's no word on the number of units allocated for the forthcoming madness on the year's biggest shopping day, but we expect no less than preorder numbers and likely more.On a related note -- we spoke with some folks at Best Buy also, and while they couldn't give us a firm date on when they would receive their next shipment, the did tell us that several shipments arrive at stores each week, with games, accessories, and yes, more consoles. So if you're trying to find an extra nunchuk (like we are), a Wiimote, or even to find out when your Best Buy will receive more Wii units, give them a call in the mornings -- keep fishing and you'll catch one.1UP is also reporting that new shipments are expected, and it seems some of the commenters talked to our little birdie or one of his co-workers, as the 7AM story is repeated there.So who's camping this week to remedy the lack of Wii?
Wii in the house
And then the bad news: EB Games sold my nunchuk. The glee of bringing home a spankin' new Wii at midnight is somewhat marred by the fact that there will be no boxing in this house until at least tomorrow morning, because the guy at EB Games broke street date and sold off my preordered nunchuk. He didn't even have the grace to lie like any sane human being and try to play it off like they hadn't received them. Who wants to be he sold it off to himself or another employee?Lame.But the lameness is overwhelmed by the presence of Wii, in all its glory. And of course, there's all sorts of box debris. Check out a second photo after the jump.
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.
GameStop/EB Games not getting as many PS3's as thought
Egads! The numbers just keep crunching into smaller and smaller amounts! If numbers were air, we'd probably be suffocating under the pressure of all these crunched, decreasing numbers. That really made more sense in my head. But the underlying message is the same -- GameStop isn't getting as many PS3's in to match the preorders they took. Not that we expected them to, honestly. Wal*Mart has bought up so darn many (approximately 10 for every single store, which brings the total to about 412 million... joking, joking...) that it isn't surprising the electronic entertainment store won't get their initial allocation.Some of you who did preorder your system may have gotten a call from your friendly neighborhood gaming store saying that your PS3 will be available and waiting for you. You get excited, pumped, whatever. A few hours roll past and just as you break out that special bottle of champagne, you get another call. "Oh, nevermind," the GameStop employee says matter-of-factly, "you're going to have to wait until the next shipment. We're not getting as many as we thought." Then, you drink the champagne. Not out of celebration, but out of the biting realization that not only will you not get your system, but the champagne will go bad unless you drink it. As Lucille Bluth says about wine, "It only becomes alcohol if you let it sit." Go ahead, fellow readers, now is the time to sit in a hypothetical circle and crack a hypothetical brew... give us your sob story, or your celebratory story. Cheers![thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
