The Last Battle

DISCLAIMER:

IF YOU HAVEN'T BEATEN FINAL FANTASY 7, JUST SKIP TODAY'S COMIC. SERIOUSLY.

Final Fantasy 7. What more could be said about this staple of gaming as we know it today. Just the fact that I finally got around to playing it about two months ago (yes, I know that's pathetic, being FIVE whole sequels behind in the series........). This game was so monumental that I had to be briefed by Hunter before playing it.

"By today's standards, the graphics might be a bit dated, but you have to remember the FMV and transitions were groundbreaking for the time." Ok, so when I played through I put myself in the headset of being back in 1997. "You need to pay attention to the story and characters, it gets pretty deep." No kidding. "Sepiroth is a total badass." Yep. So much that I'll bet he'd complain about something he bought in our store.

Posted by:

- Postman

Thanks, Nintendo

Nintendo is a great little video game company. They manufacture the consoles with the lowest failure rate in the business (*this statement isn't very scientific. I don't have any concrete data to back this up, but only personal experience. I hear about hundreds of 360s and basically ANYTHING on Sony's product list either overheating or bursting into flame if you stare at it too long. There are NES systems still working to this day.......). They gave us some of the fondest memories during the most awkward period of our thirty-something lives: Zelda, Metroid, Mario Brothers, etc. They paved the way for gaming as we know it, and now I HATE them.

Ok, hate is too strong a word. I'm annoyed with them. There is a so called "parts shortage" when it comes to manufacturing their little golden child, the Wii. This rumor, smeared in with the over-hype division of the PR machine, has created a fervor among consumers, the Wii-fever. I get at least 3-4 calles per shift asking if we have a Wii, and the answer is always NO. It's impossible for a small, indy store like us to get them in new, so that leaves only the used market, and the only used Wiis that show up now are most likely stolen. And everyone uses the phrase "Nintendo Wii", as if some other competitor has accidently come up with the same name.

People, Nintendo is yanking your collective chains. I find it hard to believe that a company with enough video game industry experience to level Link up to a 20 heart life gauge and enough money to earn x99 free Mario lives is having trouble "meeting customer demand". Now the latest word is that the shortage will extend past the holiday. So now all the frustrated, store hopping parents will be taking their anger out on game store clerks, who collectively pay the price for Nindendo's sins. Wii calls are distracting and tie up the phone when I need to run credit cards. Besides, most stores will tell you they are sold out over the phone, becuase the next logical step in the process is "OH, hold one for me!!!!" which is a no win situation. If you say no, they have a meltdown. If you hold one, you are turning down the 10 people in the store who want one and are willing to pay right now, hoping that this caller will actually show up. Nintendo, stop this phoney drought and let your console sell itself once enough people get to actually come in contact with it.

Posted by:

- Postman

The Surprise

Working at the store has its perks: I can borrow used games/movies for a day or two and try them out. The boss usually springs for meals. I'm the first one on the block to try out a new game. Someone will trade in a game I've been searching out for a while. But all that doesn't negate what I had to deal with one fatuful day. It's what I like to call the WTF moment of the year, and it's only January 6th.

There's a pile of games to be stocked on the shelves, and the boss and I are processing them: cleaning discs, checking for instruction books, pricing, etc. I come across a MLB06 The Show, and on top of the instructions is a white card. Many times people will jam receipts in a game, so I figured that's what it was. I turn it over, and to my complete dismay, it's a picture of two naked guys in a hotel room.

Now stop and read that last sentence over again. Yes, you read it right. I've read stories of traded PSPs having porn on them, but at least that make sense......it's a device that plays movies, so the media fits. Finding that picture is F'ed up on so many levels. I tried to think of every possible scenario of how it got there, and came up with these theories:

1) Someone has a grudge against the store, and was trying to sabotage us. Imagine if hadn't caught that, and little Jimmy finds it in his PS2 game?

2) They were transporting the picture to somewhere else, forgot about it, and traded the game in.

Talk about something being completely out of place......anyway after the initial shock, I got a pretty good laugh out of it. Only now I'm afraid to open game cases without parental supervision. Should MLB06 now get an AO rating?

I considered for a second being a total jerk and posting the picture. That will teach you to trade in games with naughty surprises! But common sense got the best of me, and I don't want to subject the readers to the same "easter egg" that I got. Hot coffee, eat your heart out.

Posted by:

- Postman