Tuesday, October 3, 2006

The Japanese are Coming! The Japanese are Coming!

The consoles, that is.

I went into two different EBGames stores today (if you must know, I was looking for a new or used copy of Dora the Explorer for the kids, and failed on all counts), and the stores are in total disarray as they re-rack and compress inventory in order to make room for arrival of not one, but TWO new consoles from our friends in Japan.

Looks like my bets are *really* unlikely going to fall in my favor :-( [So far I'm only 1-for-5 and will not likely even receive a passing grade!]

Interesting conversation overheard in one of the two EB games stores I went to:

Fast-&-Furious-Style-Kid-With-Well-Sculpted-Hair: "Hey, are you guys taking pre-orders on PS3 yet? I'd like to order one!"

Me: "So, THIS is what an insane person looks like!"

No, not really, it was more like this:

Fast-&-Furious-Style-Kid-With-Well-Sculpted-Hair: "Hey, are you guys taking pre-orders on PS3 yet? I'd like to order one!"
Disinterested-Milk-n-Cookie-Fed-SNES-Honed-Physique-Clerk: "No, we're not taking pre-orders"

FFSKWWSH: "When?"
DMCFSPC: "Never. We are getting so few units that we don't want to have people not get their pre-order."

FFSKWWSH: "How many are you getting?"
DMCFSPC: [types at computer] "At most, ten. Likely less than that."

FFSKWWSH: "Wow."
DMCFSPC: "It's gonna suck anyway. They built some kind of tech that locks any game you buy to that one machine"

FFSKWWSH: "What does that mean?"
DMCFSPC: "Means you can't trade or resell the games, or loan them to your friends".

FFSKWWSH: "Wow. No second hand games? What are you going to do?"
DMCFSPC: "Well, I don't know about what EB games is going to do, but me, I'm going to NOT buy one!"

4 comments:

archie4oz said...

Ugh... I hate retarded game store retail workers...

Anonymous said...

Ugh, I hate retarded game console manufacturers. Another reason why MS (if they aren;t retarded enough to follow Sony's lead) will have a better go of it.

I guess Sony finally decided for everyone what "fair use" means.

So a game is completely unlike a book, CD, or movie... all of which can be loaned to others. Bullrcap.

Anonymous said...

John, I'm pretty sure that was only a rumor at some point that the clerk hadn't done any checking up on. As far as I know this isn't being implemented. Still, you won't see me buying a ps3 (or 360) until I see some great game for either.

The Wii on the other hand has that great game for me, Zelda. I'll be trying getting one of those on day one.

Anonymous said...

Normally Kim would have qualified the comment about PS3 games and "locked-to-console" DRM, but apparently he has been completely comsumed by MS-ooze. So sad to see macular viewpoint degeneration occuring in one such as Kim.

I have a 360.. I like racing games and PGR3 rocks.

Plus, many of my friends have them and we can do a chat, play a game and hang, even through we are spread out over the entire continent.