Ahhhh, an interesting kick in the pants by retailers to my plan of going all-digital in this Sony portable generation.
Well Target it looks like you have my software money this week!
"And the book says: 'We may be through with the past, but the past ain't through with us.'"
I'm a lifelong gamer, and I'M callous and non-understanding of the whole 'I can't wait a second longer than I need to' mentality of gamers over the age of 10. I'm not knocking anyone for being passionate (or obsessive), I'm just saying that I honestly don't understand the emphasis on immediacy. I know people who literally refuse to play a game they're never played before if it's more than 3 months old. I use to think that this was an isolated thing, but I hear and see more and more of it all the time.
Unless there is some worthwhile bonus swag, is there really a reason to pre-order systems and games at all? I'm not suggesting there's none, I'm honestly asking if you find that these things are difficult to acquire if you don't pre-order them, or if the benefit of having it all squared away when you go to get it is worth the risk of there being some dramatic bullshit like what you had to go through with this. I've heard literally hundreds of stories on forums over the years of people pre-ordering and prepaying in full and having retailers sell their copies anyway. It's almost never hard to find a copy of whatever it was at another location, but you have to go through the trouble of getting a refund (if they let you).
The whole pre-order thing is really lost on me. People don't do it for anything else that I know of (at least not to the extent). Movies, books, music, etc.. Why so with games?
I'm sort of on the same page.
I think it's extreme to say that he/she has "NO respect" for those who work in retail. Some of the products he mentioned have manufacturer's return policies if I understand it correctly, and I certainly understand why someone would want to return a terrible game that they paid upwards of $70 for, especially in the 90s. Walmart has (or had) a policy about returns where as there/were certain types that you can only do so many times per year. There could be something similar in place to prevent people from use their outlet as a free game rental service.
Again, I feel this way. But I admit, I don't understand the gotta have it ASAP mentality. It reminds me of something that mainly young children do. I have a friend who's youngest child always wants something if his older sister has it. It's not that he's even that jazzed about whatever it is, he just doesn't like the idea of her having something he doesn't have, or doesn't have yet.
There's no reason for retailers to be rude to customers, I'm not excusing that in any way, but I really don't get the foaming mouth fervor of some people when it comes to needing a new game or system on day one.
@emperor megas: I don't really get the "must have it on day one mentality either.". I was just butthurt because I put money down for it and the deal was not totally honored. And the response I got from them when I brought it to their attention was atrocious.
But yeah, GameStop shreds and tosses strategy guides for games that are only 6 months old. That's silly to me but there must be enough people out there who think a 3 month old game is obsolete that the chances of them selling those to a mainstream audience are pretty low. I think we're in the minority, sadly.
My Gaming Collection (Now at Google Drive!)
Legal tender for all DEBTS. Buying a DVD is not a debt. This is why stores are allowed to refuse to accept hundred dollar bills.
That said, I've never seen this bit of "no cash" nonsense at any Best Buy I've ever been to. I always pay cash everywhere except when buying online.