Cheapskate: Buy 2 Get 1 Free + Free Shipping at Gamestop/EB

Well, that title really sums it up, doesn’t it? The offer expires on July 21st, so jump on it. There were 394 used Xbox 360 titles/accessories to choose from when I did my shopping. As you can see from my picture above, I finally gave in to Oblivion (GOTY edition, at that), re-bought Crackdown, and got the newest Scene It? game for the next time we have guests at the house. As in, never.

I noticed a couple hefty price drops, too: Dead Space for $27 and Gears of War 2 for $35. Not bad! The coupon codes are B2G1FREE and SAVER.

Totally unrelated but somewhat funny picture after the break.

Somebody Get Webster On The Phone

The other day I took my first trip in a long time to a Continental U.S. GameStop (which are significantly nerdier than Hawaii ones), and picked up a copy of Rock Band: Unplugged for the PSP. I haven’t had any time with it yet, but my girlfriend and Tyler seem to like it, which is a good sign.

But what bugged me about the purchase was that it was the last copy in the store, which had been opened and played for demo purposes, I assume, but they still charged me the full price as if it were still sealed in its wrapper. I shouldn’t have to pay full price for a game that has been used already. Even stores like Best Buy will sell you “floor model” items at a discounted price because they know the true meaning of “new.”

I’m not asking for a %50 price slash, but come on, the game has already been opened, would a few bucks off kill you?

Cheapskate: GameStop Deals This Weekend

Just read a tip-off from Joystiq that GameStop is having a “buy two, get one free” deal on used games and accessories. The code is “BUY2GET1″. What’s nice is that you can buy them online, and there’s a code for free shipping: “SAVER”.

I just bought Mirror’s Edge, Far Cry 2, and Rainbow Six Vegas 2 for $60 total. Not bad, considering that’s how much I would have paid for EACH of them when they first came out.

This Is What You Get For Not Being Fun

During a routine trip to GameStop today (the second one of the day, actually) I saw that they are offering $50 towards the trade-in of Wii Fit and the Balance Board. To me, that seems like an almost too-good-to-be-true deal, seeing as how it currently sits under my TV stand with a half-inch thick layer of dust on it.

I really wish it would have provided me with a little more entertainment with the money that I paid for it, but it just really never took off. Right now they are going for about 80 bucks on Half.com, so maybe I’ll go that route instead. Either way, it’s time for it to go.

Wait, What Happened To The Mellow Yellow Car?

The #20 GameStop car, driven by the youngster Joey Logano, just won today’s NASCAR race in Nashville, which was his first win since last November. How do I know this? Because I just watched the last 17 laps of the race, and I was actually mildly interested.

I know, I’m scared, too. I don’t know what’s heppening to me. Maybe I should go buy a NASCAR game.

An Offer I May Not Be Able To Refuse

Speaking of the DSi launching tonight/tomorrow, I find it very curious that GameStop is offering 75% off of all of their Game Boy and Game Boy Color games and accessories. Very curious indeed.

Also, they are offering $70(!) towards the purchase of a DSi if you trade in your now-old DS Lite, bringing the out-of-coin purse cost down to $99. That just might get me to buy one.

Hope I Don’t Shadaloo-se

Update: Well, I had a good showing, but ultimately didn’t have the chops. I had a good start though, in winning the first round against a guy that said, “I just learned how to play this last night.” Yeah right, buddy, like you just figured out how to push buttons on a controller yesterday? I don’t buy it. Apparently, there will be another one in a couple weeks, so I have to get back to the dojo (couch) for more training.

Sorry, guys, I have to make this quick. For you see I signed up for a Street Fighter 4 tournament at one of my local GameStops yesterday, and judging by the gold medal beatdown Russ put on me last night, I have some training to do before I go. I was embarrassed at a Guitar Hero 2 tournament a couple years ago, and I don’t want that happening again.

The winner will receive a $25 GameStop giftcard, and the love and admiration of 14 year old Asian boys the world over (which is the true prize). If I win, which I won’t, I’ll give the giftcard away on the site in the future. If you happen to read this and are in Honolulu, go to the new Kapahulu GameStop and try to join in. Wish me luck.

Profitability over Quality. That’s the Gamestop way!

See, Gamestop!? This is why I drink. Who’s in charge of pricing these games? How come you have three different prices for a used copy of Bioshock? Is the $24.99 copy less scratched than the $12.99 one? And why would you put the box for Killzone out there if you didn’t have the game behind the counter? Ugh! Frustrating. Thank Allah I have Gamefly.

Wrath Of The Line King

Here is a picture from the scene of the midnight launch of WoW: Wrath of the Lich King the other night at the Ala Moana GameStop in Honolulu, the same one in which Tyler and I waited in line for the Halo 3 launch last year. I wasn’t there, as I don’t play WoW, and I saw this on Honoluluadvertiser.com, where the reporter, Ryan Senaga, thought it would be funny to say, “…video game dorks hibernated their computers and shuffled out of their bedroom basements to stand in line for the video game they’ve been waiting months for…”

Millions of people across the planet play games, WoW being one of the premier ones. True as it may be for some, this “basement-dwelling burnout” stereotype is getting tired. I can’t wait for the day when video game players are seen as international sex symbols and the objects of affection for supermodels and Hollywood starlets alike. I can’t be the only one.

I Do Like the Brown One, Though

I just read on MSNBC.com that Gamestop is about to stop selling Microsoft’s wannabe iPod killer the Zune. Gamestop says that decision comes because of the mp3 playa’s weak link to gaming. I tend to think that it has more to do with it’s weak link to selling and making money.

The Zune has some good ideas, like wireless music sharing and its emphasis on social music networking, but I don’t know anybody that has one, and I’ve never even considered buying one. How about yous guys? Are you Zune friendly, or iPod committed?

please forgive me

I would like to issue a public apology to a certain Gamestop employee that helped me last night. You see, I thought we were just having a regular video game conversation, but on the way out my girlfriend said she thought that I was very rude to him. Here’s what went down. I traded in some games, and actually got a good amount of credit for them ($39 for Super Mario Galaxy!), so much so that I didn’t have to pay anything out of pocket for a copy of Rock Band (just the game, not the whole bundle). He did his job and asked me if I was sure that I didn’t want the bundle. I said that my friend is getting me the drums, and I already have two Guitar Hero guitars. He told me that you can’t play Rock Band with the GH guitar, which anyone in the world will tell you, you most certainly can. I told him you actually could, and he backtracked a little and said the he couldn’t play it with his guitar. Alright fine, I was a little annoyed, but I let it go.  After that we were just casually conversing and he said that he likes the GH2 guitar so much better “because it is wired, and because the strum bar is so much better.” This is where the problem arrived. I replied, “I feel the exact opposite of everything you just said.” I had no malicious intent when I said it, I didn’t think I was being rude, but in retrospect, like my girlfriend said, if some one had said that to me, I would have been pretty angry.

So, Mr. Gamestop, I don’t know what your name is (you probably know him, Tyler), but I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be a jerk. Just for that, next time I’m in, I’ll reserve something from you.

I, Gamestop employee. Chapter 3: Black Friday and Playtesting

Day 2: Black Friday

So there I am, my second day on the job and it’s the busiest shopping day of the year at one of the busiest Gamestops in the world. But did I worry? Heck no. Because I know what anyone receiving the minimum of OJT knows, and that is that I could always fall back on those four words that sound so sweet to the ears of any new hire: “It’s my first day”. Technically a lie, but effective enough to warrant usage.

I, Gamestop Employee. Chapter 2: Pre-orders and Box Art.

DAY 1

Me: Hello, thanks for calling Gamestop where we… uh.. we buy games. We buy used games, and… we trade you. Money? This is Tyler.

BT2-Fan: (pause) Yeah, I want to pre-order Battle Toads 2…

Me: Uh, one second please. (To T00thdecay) This guy wants Battle Toads 2.

T00thdecay: Hang up.

I, Gamestop employee. Chapter 1: Beginnings

Never mind my usual derisive manner, dear reader, for this is a post of the utmost sincerity… and questionable importance. Today was my first day in the employ of the video game merchant known as Gamestop. My business is selling games, and business is good.