Alright I visited a videogame store today (my local EB) just to have a check round (bought some screen protectors which I promptly got covered in dust and hair and had to throw out XD) and things occured which made my ears bleed. For obvious reasons this is the season (to be Jolly) where those who know nothing about video games come out to buy games for their relatives.

In my trip to EBGames I heard somebody deciding which game to buy their child and looking at average to bad games not based on quality but on the blurb on the back and whether their child likes the series (including king kong...) and eventually deciding on Brain Training for their 7 year old. (Although the salesperson was very honest and told them exactly what it was and didn't make it sound like a game for 7 year olds)

Next I heard what has to be the worst quote of the year 'Because its expensive it must be good' from a teenager. NO JUST NO! He deserves whatever he gets, but I feel sorry for the poor bugger he was buying the game for.

Urgh, next time I go to a gamestore before Christmas I am wearing earmuffs.

Anybody else have problems with people at Christmas? I bet videogame store clerks have the time of their life around now =P 

Good thing I don't celebrate Christmas...

Do you not buy games either? Jahova's Witness or not, I think the point of Rath's post is that this season is crazy because of Christmas, not crazy if you celebrate Christmas.

Also, OT, I've never worked retail before at Christmas time, but I've worked fast food at Christmas time. For the workers of every industry, this time of year is a total bitch.

 At least in the fast food industry everybody knows what a big mac is. I imagine that working in a game shop around this time would involve a lot of people passing over Pokemon (after an extended conversation over the phone about which version would be better and then deciding against it because of the cover art) and almost buying High School Musical 'Because she liked the movie didnt she?'.

Just spending 20mins in the store looking around almost gave me an ear infection, I feel sorry for the poor sods who actually work there. 

The christmas season makes me crazy.

I tend to conduct my shopping like surgical strikes. I know what I want. I know where I want to go. I walk in, buy it, and leave. Meandering window shoppers, long queues and congested parking lots full of idling cars because wimps can't handle coming out to a cold car all get in my way and on my nerves.

There are lots of great things about christmas, but the rampant, desperate consumerism makes me want to puke.

I am currently working at EB through the Holiday season. The tales I could tale.

The one thing above all that pisses me off are the irresponsible parents.

The other day a 9 or 10 year old brings Vice City up and tries to purchase it. I tell him I can't sell it to him because he's too youg to play it. So he goes and gets his mom. I explain to her that the game is rated M for violence, gore, sexual content and "cop-killing". She tells me "Just give the damn game. It's not like he's not watching that shit on television." I was dumbfounded but I had to sell her the game anyways.

The worst part is that this is not an isolated incident. Something similar happens 6 or 7 times a day, and those are just the people I check out.

Holiday related:

I get people asking if we have any Wii's in stock about 90 times a day.

One guy said. "This is probably a crazy question but..." and I told him.

"If you mean driving me crazy from hearing it all the time then you are correct. No we don't."

I can understand the mother. You see voilence on TV everyday and no one is complaining. But videogames, oh my.

I was in GameStop the other day, and while I didn't hear anything particularly offensive, there was the entertaining sight of angry and confused children surrounding the Mario Galaxy station. The Wiimote had stopped working for whatever reason and watching each individual child try to figure it out was humorous.

I was in Toys R Us last week though, and remember some poor old father doing his Xmas shopping in the games section (he had a list) and asking the old woman at the counter for SSB Brawl. She told him it was for DS.

If you guys think its just christmas when this happens then unfortunately youre mistaken. I was in GAME and had a father picking out some PS3 games for his kid. He looked at Ninja Gaiden and then spiderman 3. I was mentally begging him not to choose spider man, but he did it anyone, ON ADVICE from the staff who had no idea what the game was actually like.

"Er, Ive never played any of these but ive heard spiderman is pretty good." I nearly stabbed him.