Curmudgeon Gamer
27 August 2008
GameStop sells returned games as new
Welcome to another Tales of Teh Suck! with JohnH.
I recently managed to find a copy of Geometry Wars Galaxies for Wii at a Circuit City for what turned out to be $17, even though it was marked $50. It was $17 of the best bucks I've spent on my Wii, an absolutely awesome game, arguably a better sequel to Geometry Wars Retro Evolved, from what I've seen, than the official sequel on Xbox Live Arcade.
It was good enough that I immediately started looking with interest at the copy of Geometry Wars Galaxies DS that had long been on the shelf at the local GameStop, the only place I had ever seen a physical copy of the game. Now this GameStop has, as one of its managers, an acquaintance of mine I knew from college. I don't know him really well, but he's always been pretty decent, and he's actually fairly knowledgeable about games and game accessories.
ASIDE: The thing about game store employees, and this is nearly a constant, is that the moment you're hired to stand behind the counter and accept money for software it's mandated that you consider yourself an expert in all things gamish. The way that the most spurious rumor will get accepted as fact is worse than sixth-graders at recess speculating about sex. Today I heard, in that store, that bluetooth controllers are super-easy to fry by disconnecting them, and that connecting a MadCatz controller, in addition to the usual problems with the discount accessory company's wares, could irreparably damage your console. Ahem.
In any event, I bought that copy of Geometry Wars DS for $19.99, new, from the New rack, and with a white price sticker on it attesting newness, and took it home to discover that there was a save file already on it! Someone named "ABC" had played and unlocked the first few planets already.
What would you do in a situation like this? By rights I should have taken it back and raised hell (and probably be branded Unmutual by doing so), but such was, and is, my mania for Geometry Wars that I didn't. I could just erase the created profile after all and the game would be as good as new.
But I was still bothered by it. Geometry Wars Galaxies DS is easy to revert to a new state by deleting all the profiles, but not all games are so easy. Some can only be reset by entering a special code, one that's almost never printed in the manual. And further, it was sold as a new game. They sell used games at a (often pitiful) discount after all. And I couldn't go back and demand a shrink-wrapped copy because, it seems, none of their DS games are shrink-wrapped. They keep the case on the shelf but the game cards in a drawer, it would seem, as an anti-theft measure. (This may also be true for console games, but I have not made any inquiries or rigorous observations on the subject.)
So anyway, I was in the store today in a bid to rid myself, at last, of CrossworDS, and I saw my manager friend in there, so I brought up the save file. What he told me right there in the store defies belief. He said that "if I'd look up" chain policy on the matter, that they reserve the right to sell returned games as new. While the policy pages on their website do stipulate that returned games must be in saleable condition, it makes no mention that I could find of how they are to be sold, as "used," "returned," or "refurbished." When I bought GWG DS, they didn't tell me that it was a returned copy. Since wear on a game disk or cart is invisible in small doses, it would have been undetectable. I only happened to notice it in this case because they hadn't erased the save file. For console games, which these days are all sold on disk, it would be universally undetectable unless the disk had actually been scratched.
GameStop, you suck.
I recently managed to find a copy of Geometry Wars Galaxies for Wii at a Circuit City for what turned out to be $17, even though it was marked $50. It was $17 of the best bucks I've spent on my Wii, an absolutely awesome game, arguably a better sequel to Geometry Wars Retro Evolved, from what I've seen, than the official sequel on Xbox Live Arcade.
It was good enough that I immediately started looking with interest at the copy of Geometry Wars Galaxies DS that had long been on the shelf at the local GameStop, the only place I had ever seen a physical copy of the game. Now this GameStop has, as one of its managers, an acquaintance of mine I knew from college. I don't know him really well, but he's always been pretty decent, and he's actually fairly knowledgeable about games and game accessories.
ASIDE: The thing about game store employees, and this is nearly a constant, is that the moment you're hired to stand behind the counter and accept money for software it's mandated that you consider yourself an expert in all things gamish. The way that the most spurious rumor will get accepted as fact is worse than sixth-graders at recess speculating about sex. Today I heard, in that store, that bluetooth controllers are super-easy to fry by disconnecting them, and that connecting a MadCatz controller, in addition to the usual problems with the discount accessory company's wares, could irreparably damage your console. Ahem.
In any event, I bought that copy of Geometry Wars DS for $19.99, new, from the New rack, and with a white price sticker on it attesting newness, and took it home to discover that there was a save file already on it! Someone named "ABC" had played and unlocked the first few planets already.
What would you do in a situation like this? By rights I should have taken it back and raised hell (and probably be branded Unmutual by doing so), but such was, and is, my mania for Geometry Wars that I didn't. I could just erase the created profile after all and the game would be as good as new.
But I was still bothered by it. Geometry Wars Galaxies DS is easy to revert to a new state by deleting all the profiles, but not all games are so easy. Some can only be reset by entering a special code, one that's almost never printed in the manual. And further, it was sold as a new game. They sell used games at a (often pitiful) discount after all. And I couldn't go back and demand a shrink-wrapped copy because, it seems, none of their DS games are shrink-wrapped. They keep the case on the shelf but the game cards in a drawer, it would seem, as an anti-theft measure. (This may also be true for console games, but I have not made any inquiries or rigorous observations on the subject.)
So anyway, I was in the store today in a bid to rid myself, at last, of CrossworDS, and I saw my manager friend in there, so I brought up the save file. What he told me right there in the store defies belief. He said that "if I'd look up" chain policy on the matter, that they reserve the right to sell returned games as new. While the policy pages on their website do stipulate that returned games must be in saleable condition, it makes no mention that I could find of how they are to be sold, as "used," "returned," or "refurbished." When I bought GWG DS, they didn't tell me that it was a returned copy. Since wear on a game disk or cart is invisible in small doses, it would have been undetectable. I only happened to notice it in this case because they hadn't erased the save file. For console games, which these days are all sold on disk, it would be universally undetectable unless the disk had actually been scratched.
GameStop, you suck.
--JohnH at 17:31
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[ 5 ]
18 August 2008
Super Mario Bros. 3 Skillz
My son and I recently began playing Super Mario Bros. 3 on the Game Boy Advance. He's found it much easier than Super Mario World.
After his first day of kindergarten, I found him hanging around in the gymnasium with all the other kids in the after-school program. They'd set up a lot of different things to do, one of which was an old-style NES with several games -- including Super Mario Bros. 3.
And there he was, holding one of the controllers, and watching this other kid -- slightly older than my son -- struggle to figure out the NES controller and understand SMB3. The other kid would hold the controller with one hand (not unlike a Wii controller, but I am not sure there's a connection there) and press the directional pad and then press the jump button, all with his pointer finger. Sort of like holding a calculator in one hand and pressing the buttons with one finger of your other hand.
To his credit, my son stood silently watching the other kid struggle and made no comment on the lack of understanding or skills. Once the other kid lost his turn, my son very competently finished a level. Not perfect -- I also made no comments -- but still showing some poise. The other kids, to this father's eyes, seemed somewhat impressed.
Then I told him we had to leave and we took off. He put the controller in someone else's hand and off we went. I think I'm beginning to understand that even though I wince when my son doesn't do well playing games at home, he's getting an education playing games around me that other kids simply won't get.
Then again, I don't play sports games, and that will no doubt be a blind spot for him. Oh well.
---
Then today my son completed his first save-point-to-save-point section of SMB3 nearly by himself. Most of the time I've had to do a level for him, usually after he's spent a good time trying and failing on his own, but he surprised me by showing me that he'd reached the mini-boss and asked me to do the honors of finishing it off. He's still intimidated by the bigger enemies, but I suspect he'll eventually manage his anxiety after he learns that these things inevitably are simple after a bit more practice.
After his first day of kindergarten, I found him hanging around in the gymnasium with all the other kids in the after-school program. They'd set up a lot of different things to do, one of which was an old-style NES with several games -- including Super Mario Bros. 3.
And there he was, holding one of the controllers, and watching this other kid -- slightly older than my son -- struggle to figure out the NES controller and understand SMB3. The other kid would hold the controller with one hand (not unlike a Wii controller, but I am not sure there's a connection there) and press the directional pad and then press the jump button, all with his pointer finger. Sort of like holding a calculator in one hand and pressing the buttons with one finger of your other hand.
To his credit, my son stood silently watching the other kid struggle and made no comment on the lack of understanding or skills. Once the other kid lost his turn, my son very competently finished a level. Not perfect -- I also made no comments -- but still showing some poise. The other kids, to this father's eyes, seemed somewhat impressed.
Then I told him we had to leave and we took off. He put the controller in someone else's hand and off we went. I think I'm beginning to understand that even though I wince when my son doesn't do well playing games at home, he's getting an education playing games around me that other kids simply won't get.
Then again, I don't play sports games, and that will no doubt be a blind spot for him. Oh well.
---
Then today my son completed his first save-point-to-save-point section of SMB3 nearly by himself. Most of the time I've had to do a level for him, usually after he's spent a good time trying and failing on his own, but he surprised me by showing me that he'd reached the mini-boss and asked me to do the honors of finishing it off. He's still intimidated by the bigger enemies, but I suspect he'll eventually manage his anxiety after he learns that these things inevitably are simple after a bit more practice.
Labels: parenting
--jvm at 21:21
Comment
[ 1 ]
07 August 2008
Madden Curse Strikes Again
It's once again a bad thing (John Clayton at ESPN) to be on the cover of Madden:
Ah, and again we see the workings of the Madden Curse. The only thing worse would be an ACL while playing for the Jets, or to somehow get beaten out by Kellen Clemens for the starting job.
(Aside: The commercial where Maurice Jones-Drew says to take Favre off the cover and slap him on is hilarious. Good job, EA.)
What is the price to be paid for waffling on retirement? Former Packers quarterback Brett Favre learned the consequences Wednesday night when he was traded to the New York Jets -- his least preferred destination.
Favre took on Packers management and lost. Now, he must try to rediscover the itch to play football in the AFC.
Ah, and again we see the workings of the Madden Curse. The only thing worse would be an ACL while playing for the Jets, or to somehow get beaten out by Kellen Clemens for the starting job.
(Aside: The commercial where Maurice Jones-Drew says to take Favre off the cover and slap him on is hilarious. Good job, EA.)
--ruffin at 08:37
Comment
[ 2 ]
06 August 2008
Hear it here too: johnC hates Apple.
No, no, Carmack doesn't really hate Apple, but he is willing to be on Jobs' "s***head list" to say Jobs doesn't get gaming. You've read it on every other site, and I'd be remiss if I didn't post it here. From Eurogamer.net:
Apple has flubbed gaming several times. I don't get it, and Carmack doesn't really go into why Apple's cried gaming "wolf" at least twice now. Jobs might not get games, but he does seem to understand business. The implication here is that Jobs doesn't understand he's tarnished Apple's reputation by exploiting Carmack a couple of times. We don't have a hint beyond naivety why Jobs doesn't ignore but, instead, botches gaming, and naivety doesn't seem like a fitting answer.
It could just be that, as a gamer once upon a time, I've had a difficult time understanding who is really in the driver's seat. I have no reason not to think Carmack's a nice guy, but I think we can read a bit into quick make-up session after the "s***head list" text-byte.
I also know that Carmack would be programming for portable platforms right now if it wouldn't disrupt id, so this isn't just brown-nosing, but there is a little, "Steve, you're an idiot. But only in a small portion of the market that you don't care about anyway. iPhone? That's great!" in there, don't you think?
Why alienate one of your bigger proponents for the iPhone as gaming platform (heck, Carmack wonders on the record if the PSP is in trouble; regardless of if he thinks it's likely, that's good for Apple) who lives in the gaming world by screwing games over on your PC platform several times? You got me. All it tells me is that in the world of personal computing, Jobs means something and Carmack is, regardless of my particular bias, just playing games.
The truth is Steve Jobs doesn't care about games. This is going to be one of those things that I say something in an interview and it gets fed back to him and I'm on his s***head list for a while on that, until he needs me to do something else there. But I think that that's my general opinion. He's not a gamer. It's difficult to ask somebody to get behind something they don't really believe in. I mean obviously he believes in the music and the iTunes and that whole side of things, and the media side of things, and he gets it and he pushes it and they do wonderful things with that, but he's not a gamer. That's just the bottom line about it. [emph mine]
Apple has flubbed gaming several times. I don't get it, and Carmack doesn't really go into why Apple's cried gaming "wolf" at least twice now. Jobs might not get games, but he does seem to understand business. The implication here is that Jobs doesn't understand he's tarnished Apple's reputation by exploiting Carmack a couple of times. We don't have a hint beyond naivety why Jobs doesn't ignore but, instead, botches gaming, and naivety doesn't seem like a fitting answer.
It could just be that, as a gamer once upon a time, I've had a difficult time understanding who is really in the driver's seat. I have no reason not to think Carmack's a nice guy, but I think we can read a bit into quick make-up session after the "s***head list" text-byte.
But I think the iPhone is a potentially extremely important platform for a lot of reasons, and I think it could be the type of thing that really makes inroads into...does it kill the PSP. [sic]
...
One of the best opportunities for years right now is for two guys to make a project - you know, an artist and a programmer - to go make something on the iPhone, and I think there are people that can make a couple of million dollars probably by having some breakout success that nobody's ever heard of, and I think that that's a really awesome opportunity right now.
I also know that Carmack would be programming for portable platforms right now if it wouldn't disrupt id, so this isn't just brown-nosing, but there is a little, "Steve, you're an idiot. But only in a small portion of the market that you don't care about anyway. iPhone? That's great!" in there, don't you think?
Why alienate one of your bigger proponents for the iPhone as gaming platform (heck, Carmack wonders on the record if the PSP is in trouble; regardless of if he thinks it's likely, that's good for Apple) who lives in the gaming world by screwing games over on your PC platform several times? You got me. All it tells me is that in the world of personal computing, Jobs means something and Carmack is, regardless of my particular bias, just playing games.
Labels: apple, business, developers, id, mobile, PC, ports, psp
--ruffin at 11:08
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