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[novery]

First of all, thanks to all the GAFers who contributed their game counselor horror stories for my EGM piece a few months ago. The article is now in the August issue of EGM and can be read on 1UP right now: http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3130212

And we're back again for another round.

---------------------------------------------------------------

All you EB, Gamestop, Gamecrazy current and ex-employees, share your best stories of stupid customers. Moms calling in for "Merrio Bros Sunshine?" Kids calling five times a day for any word on "POP2?" Spill your best/worst stories.

And how about us poor customers? Got any stories about stupid game clerks? My personal favorite:

Software Etc: "Software etc. You can now pre-order..." (I stop listening)

Me: "Hey, I'm looking for 'METAL Combat' for Super Nintendo. Do you have it yet?"

Software Etc: "Yup, we sure do!"

Me: "Great. Now every place I call gets it confused with 'MORTAL Kombat.' I'm looking for 'Metal Combat.' M-E-T-A-L."

Software Etc: "Yeah, Metal Combat. I'll hold a copy for you."

Me: "Awesome! I'll be right there!."

[Drive fifteen minutes to the store]

Software Etc: "Here ya go!"

[Hands me Mortal Kombat for SNES]

Me: .....

(In retrospect, maybe he was doing me a favor.)

Share your stories! (Or email them to me at ryan_payton@hotmail.com)

-rp

 

[Wario64]

Software Etc. employee: "You sure you don't want a strategy guide? Devil May Cry 2 is on two discs now, which means it's gonna be twice as hard than the first one."

 

[DarienA]

New EBGames near the house so I walked in today... the manager is telling a customer he bought two copies of Madden and he's going to keep one locked away wrapped because this is the last Madden... I nearly had a fit..... the same friggin conversation we had on GA... how long ago?!?!?! God it was hard to keep quiet....

 

[ManaByte]

'If you don't pre-order [insert game name here] you will NEVER EVER be able to buy a copy ANYWHERE! D000000MED!"

 

[Traumahound]

Somebody post the magazine rack story.

Somebody must have that archived from the old board. Right? Right???

 

[Gek54]

Gamestop- Manager and clerks coudlnt understand why I was buying the GT Force Pro.

Manager - "You know this only works with GT4".

Me - No, it says right on the box that it will work with every other TFF game.

Manager - Oh, well that is not what they told us.

Me - I am pretty sure it does but I really want to use it with my copy of GT4 Prologue.

Manager - I dont think that is comming to the US.

Me - .....I have a copy.

Manager - (In a snide voice) Oh yeah?, where did you get it.

Me - Some online import store.

Manager - Oh...

Hate game shops!

 

[novery]

Somebody post the magazine rack story.

Somebody must have that archived from the old board. Right? Right???

Wario64 referenced it in this thread: http://www.ga-forum.com/showthread.php?t=3433

What's the story?!

-rp

 

[Rodriguez]

It was a few days before Christmas 1995. I was anticipating the release of Quarterback Club '96 for the Saturn. I called Toys R Us (which was about 20 minutes away) and asked the associate "Do you have Quarterback Club for Sega Saturn?". They guy left to check, and after about 5 minutes, he comes back and assures me that they have it in stock. I was able to convince my brother take me there. It was snowing pretty heavily, so the trip took about an hour. We get there, I ask for Quarterback Club for Saturn and the guy hands me a copy of Quarterback Attack featuring Mike Ditka. I tell him it's the wrong game and he says that is all they have.

Every Christmas, me and my bro joke about that incident. That, and that one time we were looking out the window and saw some old lady driving during a heavy snowstorm and crash into a ditch. HAHAHA!!!!

 

[JackFrost2012]

When I preordered Final Fantasy VIII at my local Electronics Boutique, they made fun of me and told me that the series sucked. One of them added that the series "hasn't been good since it was on the Genesis." I mentioned, fairly politely, that the Final Fantasy series had never been on Genesis, and the clerk gave me a somewhat scathing look, and said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "the Genesis Final Fantasies only came out in Japan."

I'm pretty sure I couldn't help laughing at that point.

P.S. This would probably have more resonance if you mentioned my name, so, feel free.

 

[Traumahound]

Wario64 referenced it in this thread: http://www.ga-forum.com/showthread.php?t=3433

What's the story?!

-rp

This is just from my memory, so the details are a little fuzzy...

I think it was Kinesis that went to an EB and got pissed at the clerks (does anybody know if he was trying to return something?). So, in an impotent fit of rage, he pushed over one of their magazine racks, ran away, and came to the board to boast about his mad revenge skeelz.

That's the executive summary. The original was longer and in his own words, but it remains one of GAF's longest running in-jokes.

 

[DCharlie]

dc : *hands over Dreamcast game to clerk, don't remember what*
eb : pff - ha ha - you know you can preorder the PS2 right here now!
dc : Um - no thanks.
eb : what ? you are going to play dreamcast instead? They aren't even bringing out a fifa game.
dc : no, it's okay, i already have a PS2.
eb : ... It's not even out yet!!
dc : I bought an import machine.
eb : oh yeah? what games have you got ?
dc : um - tekken tag, Ridge , .... fifa.
eb : OH MY GOD, what's it like.
dc : pretty average.
eb : YOU LIE! My mate says he's PLAYED fifa and that it just looked like watching a game on television...
dc: well, it isn't...
eb : look, i know why you are doing this - to put people off buying a machine you don't even have... *goes off on a rant*
dc : *laugh* ha ha - whatever you say
eb : If you have one - PROVE IT - go home and bring it here NOW.
dc : Why would i want to do that?
eb : Ha - because you HAVENT got one, you are a LIAR.
dc : .... jesus. *leaves - buys game at HMV instead*

 

[drohne]

something very similar happened to me when best buy was selling certain games for $9.99. i called a bunch of locations looking for a copy of wario world, and was very careful to insist that i wanted wario world rather than wario ware. a clerk at a store about 20 minutes away assured me that he had wario world, and said he'd hold a copy. i drove over. it was wario ware. i was in no way surprised. wheeeeeeeeeee.

edit: i called a bunch of best buys that day, so i'm not sure if it was the same clerk, but i remember that i had a really hard time convincing one of them that it was "wario" rather than "mario."

"you mean mario world?"

"no, it's wario world."

"i have mario kart here..."

"no: wario, like mario, but with a 'w' at the beginning. wario world."

"wario?"

"wario."

"..."

"hello?"

"could you hold, please?"

DROHNE dies

 

[JackFrost2012]

Over Christmas break. I bought some games at FuncoLand, and of course as soon as I was being rung up, the clerk launched into his interminable Game Informer schpiel.

Clerk: Can I interest you in a subscription to Game Informer? You --
Me: No, thank you.
Clerk: Just listen a sec! It's a great deal! You get a 10% discount on all used game--
Me: I live in Japan.
Clerk: Oh. Uh. ...okay.

His pre-pathed conversation tree was clearly missing the "customer lives overseas" branch.

 

[NotMSRP]

Tomb Raider AOD strategy guide as a deadly weapon

 

[FortNinety]

Just the other day, I was at a Gamestop and there's this gooney kid asking the sales people questions. The kid obvioulsy didn't know much about the current state of games, with questions like if SOCOM was coming out for GameCube and the such. The whole time, the sales people are smirking and rolling their eyes (God forbid that a customer has questions). The minute he leaves, they all bust out laughing. One employee who had just come from the back asked the others, "Who was that dorky looking kid?" and they all bust out laughing. They were also all wearing the same Zelda shirt, and at least three of them had different kinds of food stains on them. Then they all looked at us, the other customers, to share in the joke, and I don't think any of us wanted to get involved.

 

[fart]

no offense to the wage slaves here, but game store clerks are truly the dregs of humanity

 

[The Fronde]

This is according to a friend of mine, who heard this part of a conversation between two 10 year old kids while I was buying a game.

Ten Year Old : "You're looking at GameCube games? You know what they call it, don't you? GayCube. You know why? 'Cause the games are gay."

I'm almost glad I didn't hear.

 

[Claus]

Needs more Acts of Gord.

 

[belgurdo]

Needs more Acts of Gord.

Gord is the epitome of what fart just mentioned

 

[sprsk]

no offense to the wage slaves here, but game store clerks are truly the dregs of humanity

as a newly hired game store clerk i have to say our store has the most non retards of any gaming store ive been in. the customers we get can be pretty dumb though.

 

[belgurdo]

as a newly hired game store clerk i have to say our store has the most non retards of any gaming store ive been in. the customers we get can be pretty dumb though.

examples plz

 

[drohne]

stupid customer story in which the stupid customer is, er, me:

whenever a game store clerk recommends a game, which is invariably either final fantasy or metal gear solid, i make a point of wincing slightly, and then smiling and saying patronizingly: "oh, uh...i don't play those games." of course i do play those games occasionally. but it brightens my day when i can make other people feel slightly bad about doing so.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

is it just me, or is it that EVERYTIME i go to Gamestop/EBs, inevitably some old lady comes in asking for SNES or Genesis games?

 

[Matlock]

"Xbox has the best graphics on all games, because it's the most powerful console ever."

\===/

"I'm sorry, we can only sell this game to you if you'd preordered."
"Not all those games have preorder slips on them."
"..."

/===\

*Looking at NGPC*
"Neo Geo rocks! I have a 50 inch screen and a Neo Geo at home for playing Metal Slug 5!"
"...then why are you working in a gamestore?"
"..."

 

[Belfast]

Gord's stories are funny, but he's known to be a chronic liar so I doubt most of them are true and many are certainly exaggerated. He was pretty much laughed off of SA.

 

[Soul4ger]

Oh, you wanna hear a fucking STUPID CUSTOMER story? Here's one for you.

I don't know how recently it started, but we've started getting in display boxes that have all the consoles a specific title will be available for on a single box. That way, we don't have to make a couple for Xbox, a couple for GameCube, and a couple for PS2, but we just put a single sleeve in a case and use it anywhere. It's less work, it's great.

WELL, apparently, a customer took that to mean that ANY copy of the game would work on ANY system. That is to say, it was a multi-console title; the Xbox disc would work on a PS2 or GameCube, the GC version on an Xbox or PS2, etc. We had some Spider-Man 2 boxes that displayed as such. I didn't sell it to him, but my manager told me the story. He bought the game the day it came out, and when asked which system he needed it for, he asked, simply, which one was the best. The seller said simply that the Xbox version would likely have the best graphics, but aside from that the games would be the same. So, says the customer, give me the Xbox version. It didn't really matter to him.

A couple hours later, he came BACK in and said it wasn't working with his system. When asked what was happening, he said his console was giving him a DRE. The manager asked if he had any prior problems with his system, all that stuff, and tried to figure out if maybe he had a defective console instead of the disc. My manager gave him another copy of the game, and told him to try it out. If it didn't work, he said it would probably be a problem with the system, and he should try to get another one.

The guy came back the next day with the game, and he had his system. The game still didn't work, he said, so he wanted to trade in the console and get another one. The console that "didn't work" just so happened to be a PlayStation 2. As it turns out, the guy saw the box with all the different logos and just assumed that any version of the game worked on whatever system. When my boss pointed out that there was also a GBA logo on it, and asked how that would possibly work, the customer just said that he never thought of that. They exchanged it for an Xbox version, and he hasn't had any problems.

DON'T EVER say that the salespeople are bad. You have NO IDEA what we deal with.

 

[fart]

my little brother got played by some fag clerk a while ago. the clerk wouldn't sell him a black SP on release day unless he pre-ordered ffx-2. we all know how that turned out.

i almost punched the clerk in the face when i saw him. instead i pushed over his magazine rack

CLERK OWNED


ps, gord has no friends

 

[Matlock]

DON'T EVER say that the salespeople are bad. You have NO IDEA what we deal with.

I think it's fair to say that there's shitheads on both sides of the counter here. Not a rule on either side, mind you, but they do exist.

 

[Soul4ger]

I think it's fair to say that there's shitheads on both sides of the counter here. Not a rule on either side, mind you, but they do exist.

Yeah, there definitely are, I've worked with a bunch of them, and dealt with a bunch of them. It's not really fair to say that EVERY salesperson is bad, though. I ACTUALLY CARE!

 

[belgurdo]

Gord's stories are funny, but he's known to be a chronic liar so I doubt most of them are true and many are certainly exaggerated. He was pretty much laughed off of SA.

Some of the ones where he's fighting/attacking people over stealing N64 games or some other nonsense are obviously bullshit written to fulfill some kind of odd wish fulfillment fantasy of doing away with lousy customers

 

[JackFrost2012]

DON'T EVER say that the salespeople are bad. You have NO IDEA what we deal with.

That's not really fair. I mean, I think it's more fair to say there's a lot of stupid salespeople AND a lot of stupid customers, just cause there's a lot of stupid people in the world. I think the reason there's more stupid salespeople stories is just because more of the GAFfers see things from the customer's perspective. And I think most people here know that most salespeople are trying hard and doing a decent job - it's just that one idiot who sticks with you for ten years.

Maybe you can suggest this as a followup to Ryan, tho: sales clerk's revenge, where a bunch of clerks send in stories about their worst customer experiences? (The last one of this sort, with the customers, was also making fun of the customers, not those on the "working" side). Still, I think we should keep this thread focused on the stupid-clerk stories so as not to derail it.

 

[fart]

Oh, you wanna hear a fucking STUPID CUSTOMER story? Here's one for you.

I don't know how recently it started, but we've started getting in display boxes that have all the consoles a specific title will be available for on a single box. That way, we don't have to make a couple for Xbox, a couple for GameCube, and a couple for PS2, but we just put a single sleeve in a case and use it anywhere. It's less work, it's great.

WELL, apparently, a customer took that to mean that ANY copy of the game would work on ANY system. That is to say, it was a multi-console title; the Xbox disc would work on a PS2 or GameCube, the GC version on an Xbox or PS2, etc. We had some Spider-Man 2 boxes that displayed as such. I didn't sell it to him, but my manager told me the story. He bought the game the day it came out, and when asked which system he needed it for, he asked, simply, which one was the best. The seller said simply that the Xbox version would likely have the best graphics, but aside from that the games would be the same. So, says the customer, give me the Xbox version. It didn't really matter to him.

A couple hours later, he came BACK in and said it wasn't working with his system. When asked what was happening, he said his console was giving him a DRE. The manager asked if he had any prior problems with his system, all that stuff, and tried to figure out if maybe he had a defective console instead of the disc. My manager gave him another copy of the game, and told him to try it out. If it didn't work, he said it would probably be a problem with the system, and he should try to get another one.

The guy came back the next day with the game, and he had his system. The game still didn't work, he said, so he wanted to trade in the console and get another one. The console that "didn't work" just so happened to be a PlayStation 2. As it turns out, the guy saw the box with all the different logos and just assumed that any version of the game worked on whatever system. When my boss pointed out that there was also a GBA logo on it, and asked how that would possibly work, the customer just said that he never thought of that. They exchanged it for an Xbox version, and he hasn't had any problems.

DON'T EVER say that the salespeople are bad. You have NO IDEA what we deal with.

your boss seems like a nice guy. also i'm sorry but all you do is sell games. i'd say the migrant worker picking strawberries in the fields for less than minimum wage has it worse.

 

[Thaedolus]

This reminds me of the time I went to Gamestop in search of some classic NES action. I find myself some Blaster Master, Jackal and Metal Gear carts and bring them to the counter. The total came out to like 8 bucks, but what was amazing was the guy just stared at Blaster Master....

Guy: Blaster Master for $2.99, what a damn shame...
Me: Uh...yeah it's a good one
Guy: It's a fricken classic man, I almost don't want to sell it to you
Me: Well, that's the price, and I think I saw another one over there for the same...
Guy: You play treat well OK?
Me: ....

I guess there's a metaphysical side to gaming I haven't been made aware of yet...

 

[fart]

This reminds me of the time I went to Gamestop in search of some classic NES action. I find myself some Blaster Master, Jackal and Metal Gear carts and bring them to the counter. The total came out to like 8 bucks, but what was amazing was the guy just stared at Blaster Master....

Guy: Blaster Master for $2.99, what a damn shame...
Me: Uh...yeah it's a good one
Guy: It's a fricken classic man, I almost don't want to sell it to you
Me: Well, that's the price, and I think I saw another one over there for the same...
Guy: You play treat well OK?
Me: ....

I guess there's a metaphysical side to gaming I haven't been made aware of yet...

woah, i like this guy.

 

[anotheriori]

Family comes in and buys a couple xbox games and a ps2 game, wife later comes back bitching at me and makes a huge scene how it is my fault that I didn't tell them which games to buy (I had no idea what systems they have, i'm not going to verify everyone has the system the for games they purchased) and demands some kind of reinbursement for her wasting gas to return the game.

Working at Gamecrazy and random people asking where they can find a certain movie title.. ya' know.. we're kinda fenced off for a reason.

Little kids calling to check trade in prices or look for games and don't know what they want, "uh... can I... what the.... how much can i get for... " or asking questions under parental guidence.

 

[Soul4ger]

your boss seems like a nice guy. also i'm sorry but all you do is sell games. i'd say the migrant worker picking strawberries in the fields for less than minimum wage has it worse.

I'm only gonna reply once more, because I don't want to derail the thread (if it hasn't been already), but I'd like to respond!

First, my manager is a decent guy. All the guys that work in my store are, and even if they don't know a lot about all the products, they do try to genuinely help people find things that they'd like. I know it seems like it might be impossible when their knowledge is limited, but they give it what they've got.

And I never said my job was HARD. In fact, it's the easiest job I've ever had, and I actually like it. There are things I'd rather do, but talking about games, or gutting pre-owned stuff, or changing trash, it doesn't take a genius. You're right. But that doesn't mean I can't get frustrated by stupid people, just as you get frustrated by stupid employees.

In the end, though, I think the employees are generally WORSE, despite what I said. They're getting paid to know what they're doing. Customers aren't. There are so many people who honestly think they're elite, just because they manage to get a job at GameStop or EB, and as a result act like haughty bitches even when they're embarassingly wrong. Needless to say, not every one is bad. That is all.

 

[Hellraizah]

Stupid customers stories......... damn, I won't even know where to start.

Ok, here's one :

Little red haired guy : "Do you have an adapter to play on Xbox Live everywhere ?"

Me : "Huh ? What do you mean, play everywhere ?"

LRHG : "You know, like cellular phones that can go on the internet, there's an adapter, and you can play everywhere, you just bring your Xbox"

Me : "I'm not sure I understand, but my guess is that you're speaking about this device, the Wireless-G adapter for Xbox. With this you can connect to the internet from anywhere there's a wireless network nearby."

LRHG : "But can you play everywhere with this ?"

Me : "Well, everywhere there's a wireless router plugged into a broadband connection nearby."

LRHG : "Broadband ?"

Me : "Let's just say cable internet connection, but, what do you want to do exactly with this ?"

LRHG : "I want to play on Xbox Live at my friend's house, but he is already using Xbox Live so I need something like a cellular phone"

Me : "Why don't you just bring your Xbox, and plug it in your friend's router, it'll work"

LRHG : "Router ?"

Me : ".................... ask your friend about it.................."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Retarded girl : "Hi, my boyfriend bought this the other day (network adapter for PS2), and it doesn't work"

Me : "Ok, what's the problem with it ?"

RG : "Well, it was working, and now it doesn't work anymore."

Me : "Ok, so, over night, something went wrong with the network adapter ....?"

RG : "Was working, now it doesn't work anymore"

Me : "Hmmmmmm.... ok, everything seems OK, do you have the boot up disc ?"

RG : "disc ???"

Me : "Yeah, the disc that came with the network adapter ?"

RG : "I don't have it."

Me : "Ok, just tell your boyfriend to come by himself, ok ?"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Casual mother : "I'll take this game"

Me : "Ok, did you check out the specifications to be sure that your computer will be able to run it ?"

CM : "Oh, it's OK, there's nothing that won't work, we got a XP"

Me : "............................ what are you running on, Pentium 3, Pentium 4, Athlon, AMD, Celeron ?"

CM : "XP"

Me : "Ok, when did you buy the computer ?"

CM : "About 4 years ago."

Me : "Sorry, but I'm pretty sure Unreal Tournament 2004 won't fit on that PC"

CM : "But I got XP"

Me : "..............................."

 

[IAmtheFMan]

I can't remember where I read this (or it may have even been my friend that used to work at EB that told me this) but anyways, it definitely stuck:

Apparently, there was a little kid about 10 years old looking at the video game selection at EB. His older sister, a teenager was there with him. He finds a copy of GTA:VC, and runs to his sister.

Kid: I want this game.
Sister: ... I dunno. I don't think this is the kind of game mom wants you to get.
Kid: No it's okay, I want this one.
Sister: I'm not sure.
Kid: I want this one!

The sister buys it and the two leave the store. About 10 minutes later, the mom, a middle-aged woman, is dragging the kid, now screaming and crying at the top of his lungs into the store to return the game. Apparently, he was putting up a real tantrum, but his mom was pretty pissed going "No! You're not gonna play this game and learn how to steal cars, and end up in jail like your brother!"

I thought it was pretty funny.

 

[Traumahound]

Tomb Raider AOD strategy guide as a deadly weapon

That was a good one too.

 

[Suikoguy]

LMAO @ XP Comment,
I see that ALL THE TIME, its scarry
People think "I have XP, my computer should have no problem with this game"
Most of the time if they have no clue I reccomend they download the demo, or a similar game if the game does not have a demo.

 

[ninvampire]

I have some fun stories from when I managed a Gamestop store:

After Kirby's Nightmare in Dreamland came out (and sold out ... over and over again) a kid came in after checking out the Target in the shopping center. He was on the verge of tears and between his sniffling asked if we had it in stock. Unfortunately for him my store had been out of stock for about a week and when we broke the news to him he started bawling and screamed as he ran out the door. My ASM and I looked at each other and shared a "Did that just happen?" look.

This next story I wasn't at my store when it happened, but I got filled in by my ASM on the phone shortly after it happened.

Apparently a lady of middle-eastern descent (why I made the distinction will be clear shortly) came in to buy a GBA game for her son to give his friend for a birthday party. It happened to be the last copy of the game so my employees volunteered to shrink-wrap the case since it was being given as a present. The lady was in a bit of a hurry so in the confusion (my ASM told me it was pretty busy when she came in) the wrong game got placed inside the case.

A little while later the lady called the store absolutely furious with the mistake (an honest one) and my ASM apologized and told her that they'd obviously exchange the game for the correct one. This didn't satisfy her and she came in tossing around her attitude and general bitchiness.

She demanded a full refund (along with the correct game) and when my ASM refused to give her a full refund she became beligerant and started throwing out racial slurs (my ASM was white). She called the store a honkey-establishment and with that my ASM asked her to leave the store and never come back.

The most hilarious thing about this story is that the employee that made the mistake and helped the lady was Persian.

 

[FortNinety]

Speaking as a former sales person, I know how ultimately easy it is to be kind, considerate, and knowlegable. It's as simple as taking pride in what you do.

Too bad most sales people have to no regard for their customers or themselves, hence why I have so much contempt for shitty customer serivce.

Sorry, but I've been there and have had some shitty jobs, but I still knew back then it wasn't rocket science, so no offense to anyone here who seems to act like it is, because it really isn't.

 

[Grimlock]

This happened earlier today, actually. I've only recently noted that my local Media Play was now buying used games. In-between runs from a local Game Rush to a local Gamestop, I walked in to see what I could get with NFS: Underground for PS2 (no instructions or box) and Mario Party 5 (complete).

Clerk looks at NFS and says he can't take it without the instructions or case (kinda resonable, really) but Gamestop won't care about that, so I was fine with it. Then he scans Mario Party 5 and says:

$13 for trade. Or you could get $11 cash.

I somehow managed to keep a straight face, said "Nevermind" and started to walk away, when he says (sounding somewhat desperate, I must add):

But $11 is a good deal for that!

How I didn't laugh myself sick walking out is a mystery beyond my comprehension. Gamestop later affirmed my decision with $27 in trade ($57 total) with that $3 coupon they're doing.

 

[novery]

I sympathize with game clerks to a degree. When my little brother was working at EB he was required to give the "Buy a Game Doctor! Clean your discs!" pitch with every sale. That would kill me.

"Nobody wanted that POS.." - Novery's Little Bro


-rp

 

[Prince of Space]

Hmm...

Customer: "Y'all got Ninja Gaiden in yet?"
Me: "No, but you can pre-order it if you want."
Him: "Ninja Gaiden for the GameCube, right?"
Me: "Ye-wait, what?"
Him: "For GameCube, right?"
Me: "No, it's only on Xbox."
Him: "Naw man, I saw it in this magazine here that it was on the Cube."
Me: "Which one?"
*holds up a copy of PSM*
Me:"........um, that would be Nightshade."
Him: "Oh. But it's on Cube, right?"
Me: ".....Sure. Wanna pre-order it?"


There are MANY more, but that's all that's coming to mind.

 

[Flynn]

One of the main things that these (mostly funny) stories communicate is how non-mainstream gaming really is. It really does require a bit of intellectual effort to know the ins and outs of video games in a multi-console world.

People have a hard enough time undertanding DVDs and VHS.

I don't blame the average Joe for not wanting to engage the quagmire of complexity that the video game player has foisted on its consumers.

 

[novery]

One of the main things that these (mostly funny) stories communicate is how non-mainstream gaming really is. It really does require a bit of intellectual effort to know the ins and outs of video games in a multi-console world.

People have a hard enough time undertanding DVDs and VHS.

I don't blame the average Joe for not wanting to engage the quagmire of complexity that the video game player has foisted on its consumers.

I've found this to be true as well. I used to work at a call center for a game company and some of the questions consumers had were legit. For hardcore gamers these things make sense, but who's to say that these people are stupid for assuming the GBA-GC link cable allows you to play Game Boy games on your TV?

It taught me a lot about good and bad product design.

-rp

 

[Flynn]

It taught me a lot about good and bad product design.

Not to mention the beauty of areas where competing formats aren't an issue. The only field worse than video games in this regard is cell phones.

 

[Suikoguy]

Someone once wanted Tigerwoods for the Playboxcubestation, which she later called the Stationcubeplaybox, and before she left, the Cubestationplaybox

Yep, and i'm not joking either

 

[TheDiave]

I don't have any play-by-plays, but I can recap some of the most retarded things I've ever been asked:

"Yeah, hey... Do you guys have Halo for PS2?"

"Someone told me you can play PS2 games on the Xbox... Is that true?"

"When is Grand Theft Auto coming out for the GameCube?"

"Wait, Nintendo has a system like the PS2, too?"

"Do Advance games work in the SP?"

"There's a nude code for Dead or Alive 3. My friend showed me it."

"So wait, Resident Evil 4 isn't coming out for PlayStation 2, only that GameCube system? Hmm, maybe I should think about getting a GameCube."

(on the phone) "You've heard about Nintendo and Microsoft collaborating for their next system, right? I heard about it at the E3 I just attended. You have no idea, man... Xbox is going to take the industry by storm later this year with all the enhancements to Xbox Live. ...do you have Live? You really should get it..." and the rant went on for five more minutes.

"Man, I really wish they'd release the Dragonball Z Budokai games on the Xbox. I loved the first two on PS2, I have them both. They're awesome!"

"So these new Game Boy Advance videos... They play in the normal Game Boy Advance or do I need to buy one of those SP's?

"Man, these TV games are cool... Ya know, I saw one at the mall the other day that had like the entire library from the original Nintendo on it."

"...so PlayStation games work in the PlayStation 2, right?"