L2P-USA

Not a full post or update, but Penny Arcade's hot topic seems to be the re-sale of video games and I have a few things to say along those line.

Basically screw Game Stop: rot and die you outdated leeches.

When stores are buying second hand games for minimum store credit and then re-selling them at 90% of the retail price at 100% profit, the issue seems very simple. And I believe it is. If merchants undercut the profits of the companies actually making the product to a point of serious detriment, how can that be anything but bad? Games Companies are not the enemies of gamers, they make the god damned wine! The relationship is symbiotic with the retailers sucking parasitically at either end. I suppose the counter-argument is that some people can't afford games upon release and that it's everyone's free right to re-sell their assets. But Game Stop is not an individual selling off single copies of old games they're done with. It's like a store selling DVDs or CDs that are barely weeks old second hand right next to the new ones. I'm curious, would you buy them? Or is the lower price of a dvd or cd enough that it becomes incidental?
Game Stop (because in America and Australia they are pretty much monopolising the product)exist because they offer distribution and advertising for games. But when I buy a product from any other retailer I am not offered scratch guard, extended warranties, pre-orders, peripherals, VIP cards that do nothing, fucking strategy guides! it just goes on to the point of insanity. I just went and bought Mafia II for Chris, which I am about to sit down and lose an afternoon* with, and the guy at Game Stop offered me the strategy guide for 'half price when you buy the game' which is basically bullshit to begin with as they can set the price wherever they want. I firmly said 'no' with the seasoned tone of someone that runs afoul of all too many Game Stop employees and homeless beggars. He then decided to 'get fresh' and spin an anecdote about how he got stuck on the first mission and was going to check out the strategy guide on his lunch break. Okay stop right there guy, 'Don't you have the internet?' I prodded. No response there. That's right, strategy guides are redundant. I tried to console him with a little anecdote about getting stuck on Discworld 2 as a child and having no recourse but an old issue of hyper I found in an op-shop but even that turned bitter as I related the redundancy of strategy guides to the inevitable redundancy of his shitty store.
Having played MMOs and a variety of XBoxLive/PSNetwork titles I have no fear of paying for games that are pure download with no physical box or disc. I long for the emerging technology. Game Stop isn't a place to meet or an enjoyable experience. It's just a place where, if you want to buy games, you have to routinely go to be offended and ripped off. Anyone who whines about trade ins and pre-owned games should check ebay, you'll find that second-hand games can be bought for less and sold for more than Game Stop and delivered to your door.

Also Daelmans Delicious Caramel Bites are delicious.

*A girl who gave me a taste of Slam Poetry in Portland asked me, 'Don't videogames take up too much time and get in the way?' In the way of what exactly? I can't think of a better use of my time.

Chris, Luke and I didn't get up to much this time around. We bought an entire box of M11 and spent the whole weekend drafting. Stopping only to clock Castle Crashers, which was brilliant. Again I went to Monday Night sketch group at Blizzard. This time I filmed a bit of general randomness. It's mainly for my own enjoyment although it could be B-roll stuff if none of them are keen to sue me. Perhaps a few shots for the MG interview? All of a sudden I'm off again. Hopefully I get to extend my stay and enjoy a final week or two with my bestest bud Luke and new bestest bud Chris.