Yesterday there was a guy waiting outside the store an hour before it opened. It was kind of creepy, because yesterday was Sunday; no new games had launched, there weren't any real hot ticket items available to wait for, and our hours were posted right where he was standing (so unless he was illiterate, it was unlikely that he had our hours of operation confused).
He came into the store when we opened and asked if we had Call of Duty 4 on PS3. I told him we only had new copies, which cost $49.99. Disgusted, he told me he could find it for $28 and left, peeling out in the parking lot as he did.
Let's recap: he waited outside my store for a whole hour to find a game he claims he could have bought cheaper elsewhere, and leaves empty-handed. As the title says, people are weird.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Wal-Mart is PISSED
Before this post begins, I've realized that eventually I will give away which retailer I work for simply by discussing the other retailers I don't work for and leaving it to a simple process of elimination. I won't explicitly call out my employer in the interest of not being "douced" (read: fired for comments made on one's blog). If folks dig a little, it won't be too hard to figure out where I work. I'm not encouraging you to do so, but if you're curious, the information isn't hard to find.
So, Wal-Mart is pissed at the company I work for. Royally pissed. It does help explain one of my earlier posts a little better; after all, it would seem silly for Wal-Mart to match a Best Buy pricing error and advertise it so vigorously if it wasn't for the fact that they were trying to screw us over. Wondering what is going on here? Ready to find out? Read on, freaky followers, read on.
It all started with Madden 2010. Wal-Mart, purveyor of all things American (even in Canada), is used to dominating the market in sports video games around this time of year. Sports game reach a market that aren't always regular gamers; there are fair share of console owners who only buy sports games. They aren't part of our typical customer base, but they do cross over into Wal-Mart's customer base a fair bit. Wal-Mart expected to dominate Madden sales this year, until we threw a curveball. It was a simple trade promotion: trade two games (conditions apply) and get Madden for $10. Or get the Wii version for free, but only one person did that, and he later returned it. Despite it's slow launch at my store, Madden sales were high for our company nationwide, with many thousands taking advantage of our two-for-$10 deal. We must have eaten into Wal-Mart's sales, because this is what started their fury towards us.
Apparently it was this fury that caused them to commit so fully to selling Batman: Arkham Asylum at $38.89. It was not a price they expected us to match. We did (and we're selling it for that price until the end of today). Needless to say, this has made them even more angry. I can just imagine how furious they'll become when they discover that we are also the first Canadian retailer able to sell the PS3 Slim, well before the September 1st street date that applies to all other retailers. I sold my first one on Tuesday.
All this comes from conversation with one of the Vice Presidents of our company, who came in to inspect our store (and reminds me somewhat of a land shark).
There's a Wal-Mart just across the street from my store. I keep expecting to have to open up one day, just to find a Wal-Mart-brand brick thrown through the window. How long before this devolves into gang warfare? I guess we'll see what happens with the NHL 2010 launch.
So, Wal-Mart is pissed at the company I work for. Royally pissed. It does help explain one of my earlier posts a little better; after all, it would seem silly for Wal-Mart to match a Best Buy pricing error and advertise it so vigorously if it wasn't for the fact that they were trying to screw us over. Wondering what is going on here? Ready to find out? Read on, freaky followers, read on.
It all started with Madden 2010. Wal-Mart, purveyor of all things American (even in Canada), is used to dominating the market in sports video games around this time of year. Sports game reach a market that aren't always regular gamers; there are fair share of console owners who only buy sports games. They aren't part of our typical customer base, but they do cross over into Wal-Mart's customer base a fair bit. Wal-Mart expected to dominate Madden sales this year, until we threw a curveball. It was a simple trade promotion: trade two games (conditions apply) and get Madden for $10. Or get the Wii version for free, but only one person did that, and he later returned it. Despite it's slow launch at my store, Madden sales were high for our company nationwide, with many thousands taking advantage of our two-for-$10 deal. We must have eaten into Wal-Mart's sales, because this is what started their fury towards us.
Apparently it was this fury that caused them to commit so fully to selling Batman: Arkham Asylum at $38.89. It was not a price they expected us to match. We did (and we're selling it for that price until the end of today). Needless to say, this has made them even more angry. I can just imagine how furious they'll become when they discover that we are also the first Canadian retailer able to sell the PS3 Slim, well before the September 1st street date that applies to all other retailers. I sold my first one on Tuesday.
All this comes from conversation with one of the Vice Presidents of our company, who came in to inspect our store (and reminds me somewhat of a land shark).
There's a Wal-Mart just across the street from my store. I keep expecting to have to open up one day, just to find a Wal-Mart-brand brick thrown through the window. How long before this devolves into gang warfare? I guess we'll see what happens with the NHL 2010 launch.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Three Things I Never Thought I'd Learn Selling Video Games
1) Used Games Are Where The Money Is.
Our store makes anywhere between $1-$2 on the sale of a new game, and maybe $10-$20 on new systems. With margins like that, if we only sold new product, we'd be out of business. In contrast, a used game tends to have 33% to 50% margin, sometimes even higher. For example, inFamous trades in for roughly $40. That's $40 of credit we give to the person trading in the game towards any other purchase in our store. We then turn around and sell the used inFamous for $64.99, making $25. The best are the old PS2 games. Most of them trade in for $1, and we sell them used for $14.99. The profit margin from used games keeps us in business, period.
2. The XBox 360 Failure Rate Is As Bad As They Say It Is.
We sell refurbished XBox 360 units in my store for cheap. Every time I get one in stock, it is almost always set aside for a customer (or employee) in desparate need of a replacement unit for a defective 360. Almost always.
3. There Are A Lot Of Bad Parents Out There.
I've seen parents tell their kids that they are not buying them an M-rated game, only to have that kid argue, plead, or convince them to buy it for them. My favourite was one mother who refused to buy Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas for her twelve-year-old son after I told her that it contained violence, blood & gore, bad language, use of drugs, sexual themes, and partial nudity. The kid looked at her and said "if you don't buy it for me, I'll buy it somewhere else." The mother caved instantly and bought him the game. Never mind the parents who leave their kids unattended in the store for hours, never mind the parents who let their kids tear my store apart; the ones who let their children dictate their purchases absolutely disgust me. You cannot expect anyone to respect you if you cave in to pressure so easily, especially your own children.
Our store makes anywhere between $1-$2 on the sale of a new game, and maybe $10-$20 on new systems. With margins like that, if we only sold new product, we'd be out of business. In contrast, a used game tends to have 33% to 50% margin, sometimes even higher. For example, inFamous trades in for roughly $40. That's $40 of credit we give to the person trading in the game towards any other purchase in our store. We then turn around and sell the used inFamous for $64.99, making $25. The best are the old PS2 games. Most of them trade in for $1, and we sell them used for $14.99. The profit margin from used games keeps us in business, period.
2. The XBox 360 Failure Rate Is As Bad As They Say It Is.
We sell refurbished XBox 360 units in my store for cheap. Every time I get one in stock, it is almost always set aside for a customer (or employee) in desparate need of a replacement unit for a defective 360. Almost always.
3. There Are A Lot Of Bad Parents Out There.
I've seen parents tell their kids that they are not buying them an M-rated game, only to have that kid argue, plead, or convince them to buy it for them. My favourite was one mother who refused to buy Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas for her twelve-year-old son after I told her that it contained violence, blood & gore, bad language, use of drugs, sexual themes, and partial nudity. The kid looked at her and said "if you don't buy it for me, I'll buy it somewhere else." The mother caved instantly and bought him the game. Never mind the parents who leave their kids unattended in the store for hours, never mind the parents who let their kids tear my store apart; the ones who let their children dictate their purchases absolutely disgust me. You cannot expect anyone to respect you if you cave in to pressure so easily, especially your own children.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Bruce Wayne Goes For Cheap
Some interesting details have developed for Batman: Arkham Asylum due to be released next Tuesday. The short and long of it is, it should be priced at $38.83 when it launches 8/25/2009. How does a standard $69.99 game experience such a drastic price drop? There's the interesting story.
The rumour is that this whole thing started with a Best Buy pricing error. From there, it moved to Wal-Mart. They may have started with a mistake, but Wal-Mart seems to have decided to run with it in order to compete with the trade deals offered by my store. Wal-Mart has since started heavily advertising the new price in-store, and one customer has even told me the ads have shown up on XBox Live. Our store has to follow suit.
Why? Won't my store, and the company that owns it, be taking a huge loss? HELL YES. All stores make a minimal margin on new games (and by marginal I mean within the margin of $1 to $2). Selling Batman for $30 less than suggested retail price means a literal $30 loss on every copy sold. The problem is perception. The company I work for deems that if it is seen to not provide deals at least as good, if not better, than the competition at any given time, it may lose future customers. Take a loss now, keep a customer forever (or at least for another week; consumers are justifiably fickle).
So, Batman: Arkham Asylum will be pretty damn cheap when it comes out, thanks to pricing errors and anti-competitive practices. Reap the rewards, folks! And seriously, get Batman. It looks freaking sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet.
The rumour is that this whole thing started with a Best Buy pricing error. From there, it moved to Wal-Mart. They may have started with a mistake, but Wal-Mart seems to have decided to run with it in order to compete with the trade deals offered by my store. Wal-Mart has since started heavily advertising the new price in-store, and one customer has even told me the ads have shown up on XBox Live. Our store has to follow suit.
Why? Won't my store, and the company that owns it, be taking a huge loss? HELL YES. All stores make a minimal margin on new games (and by marginal I mean within the margin of $1 to $2). Selling Batman for $30 less than suggested retail price means a literal $30 loss on every copy sold. The problem is perception. The company I work for deems that if it is seen to not provide deals at least as good, if not better, than the competition at any given time, it may lose future customers. Take a loss now, keep a customer forever (or at least for another week; consumers are justifiably fickle).
So, Batman: Arkham Asylum will be pretty damn cheap when it comes out, thanks to pricing errors and anti-competitive practices. Reap the rewards, folks! And seriously, get Batman. It looks freaking sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Maddenocalypse Lost
Last Friday was Launch Day for Madden 2010. This is, as they say, a "Very Big Deal." Sports games are among the top-selling video games every year, and Madden has the benefit of almost zero competition (EA owns exclusive rights to the NFL).
For some reason, it was pretty tame. Maybe less people are buying new video games this year. Maybe more people are refusing to spend another $70 for incremental upgrades to last year's game. Or maybe Canadians are more apt to turn out in droves for NHL 2010 instead. Either way, the Madden launch was surprisingly calm.
For some reason, it was pretty tame. Maybe less people are buying new video games this year. Maybe more people are refusing to spend another $70 for incremental upgrades to last year's game. Or maybe Canadians are more apt to turn out in droves for NHL 2010 instead. Either way, the Madden launch was surprisingly calm.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Responsibility
This entry will be less informative than my previous posts and more of a rant. See, where I work, I'm what you call a "keyholder." I'm technically a part-timer, but I hold a key to the store and am able to open or close the store if scheduled to (which I often am). It's a pretty big responsibility, because both opening and closing duties involve important business like counting items in inventory and making cash deposits. There's a lot one can do during an open or a close to seriously screw up my store's business.
The most important keyholder responsibilities during a closing shift (in my manager's eyes) are to leave the store in absolute perfect condition and be finished and clocked out on the hour you were scheduled to do so. See, this company runs tight with hours. Every business does, but this company chooses to manage its time by alloting each store a certain number of hours per week it can distribute amongst all employees. When I'm scheduled to close by 9:30pm, it means that if I finish later than 9:30pm, I have added additional time to our weekly hours and possibly caused the store to exceed its weekly allotment. This is bad.
I've been getting a lot of closing shifts lately. I've also been getting a lot of stern words from my boss each afternoon about the previous night's close. Some days, it's because there was a flaw in the store's perfect appearance. Some days, it's because we finished too late. Yesterday it was both. It doesn't help that she uses the maternal "why was this place left a mess?" approach. I really hate being spoken to like that. It's not professional at all.
Closes are frantic things where I work. We take trades. I think I've established this. We're also a busy store; we take more trades than most stores in our district. We get a lot of these at night, especially within our last hour. As the keyholder, I have certain reports to fill out and cash tills to count, as well as a deposit to prepare. This takes roughly 30 minutes, less if I can prepare some of it prior to the time when we lock our doors. I typically have another part-timer closing with me, who takes care of re-arranging the store so it doesn't look like it was trampled by a ravenous herd of wildebeast toddlers. The store itself closes at 9:00pm (6:00pm Saturdays, 5:00pm Sundays), giving me and my co-worker just enough time to accomplish all our closing tasks before we have to clock out. This is assuming that all things go well. They never do.
Two common obstacles invariably emerge: we get too busy for me to prep any of the closing materials beforehand, and there are customers still in the store after we have locked the doors (often browsing the shelves, unsure of what to fucking buy). Over the past seven consecutive closing shifts I have worked this week, five of them ended with the last customer leaving the store 15-20 minutes after the doors had been locked. That left me with TEN GODDAMNED MINUTES to complete a half-hour's work, which I naturally failed to accomplish in that timeframe. Hence, the stern words from the boss the next day.
My other problem (and we are finally coming to the crux of this post, "responsibility") is that while I am performing the "important" closing tasks, my co-woker is supposed to be putting the store back in tip-top shape. I have a lot of respect for my co-workers, even the ones I don't like very much, and I put my faith in them that they will do at least an adequate job of tidying the store. Turns out my faith is misplaced.
The first time I got the "why was this store left in a mess?" speech, I vowed that I would not leave the store until I had conducted a personal inspection of every shelf, gondola, display, and standee on the floor. This is a great thing to promise during a peaceful and quiet afternoon shift, but come closing time, when we are already running fifteen minutes late and the deposit isn't balancing and I have to triple-count it, the idea of taking more time to inspect the store kind of flies right out the damn window. Yes, that was a run-on sentence, and yes, I do have a Bachelor's degree in English. Blow me. Back to the point, it doesn't help that I have some co-workers who intentionally try to do as little as possible while I am occupied with "closing duties" and who also put pressure on me to be done as fast as possible. Because of certain reporting requirements, both the keyholder and the other part-timer need to be present in the store until the very end. I couldn't let the co-worker go early even if I wanted to. Basically, to ensure I don't get any more stern speeches, I have to play babysitter, keeping an eye on the part-timers to make sure they aren't slacking off during the close or forgetting to tidy any sections.
Tonight was the worst. A giant trade came half an hour before closing time, with a line of other customers behind it, so neither me nor my co-worker had any time to put it away (BTW, I ended up throwing almost the entire batch of games into the defective bin because they were in shit shape, so if you're reading this, co-worker, thanks a fucking lot and go suck a cock). I basically had to ask one customer politely to wait as I raced to lock the doors and turn off the open sign, just to keep more customers from waltzing in. I flew through my reports and managed to get everything done by 9:37pm (thank the gods our timeclock rounded down to 9:30pm). During those 40 minutes, I asked my co-worker to ignore the trades sitting on the counter and just tidy the store itself. That's all he did, and even after getting him to quadruple-check his work, I still found obvious things I needed to clean up once he was gone. I let him go home after we were clocked out. Then I stayed and dealt with all the trades myself. It was 10:40pm by the time I had finished putting everything away and locking the store up for the night. I don't intend to tell my boss about this, because if she hears of it, she'll have stern words for me about being in the store when not clocked it.
I obviously have a lot of frustration about the situation I'm in. I just can't win here; I either screw up one way or I screw up another. Normally I'd have no problem letting my boss know how I feel, except that right now, there's a slim chance that I might get promoted. I'll be 100% honest: I could care less about the added responsibility. It's my current responsibilities that have left me in these no-win scenarios, so I don't relish taking on more. I just need the pay increase. I'm living paycheck-to-paycheck and trying to get married next month.
Sorry for the vent session. It's been a frustrating day, and the back room has a few more fist-shaped dents in the walls to show for it.
The most important keyholder responsibilities during a closing shift (in my manager's eyes) are to leave the store in absolute perfect condition and be finished and clocked out on the hour you were scheduled to do so. See, this company runs tight with hours. Every business does, but this company chooses to manage its time by alloting each store a certain number of hours per week it can distribute amongst all employees. When I'm scheduled to close by 9:30pm, it means that if I finish later than 9:30pm, I have added additional time to our weekly hours and possibly caused the store to exceed its weekly allotment. This is bad.
I've been getting a lot of closing shifts lately. I've also been getting a lot of stern words from my boss each afternoon about the previous night's close. Some days, it's because there was a flaw in the store's perfect appearance. Some days, it's because we finished too late. Yesterday it was both. It doesn't help that she uses the maternal "why was this place left a mess?" approach. I really hate being spoken to like that. It's not professional at all.
Closes are frantic things where I work. We take trades. I think I've established this. We're also a busy store; we take more trades than most stores in our district. We get a lot of these at night, especially within our last hour. As the keyholder, I have certain reports to fill out and cash tills to count, as well as a deposit to prepare. This takes roughly 30 minutes, less if I can prepare some of it prior to the time when we lock our doors. I typically have another part-timer closing with me, who takes care of re-arranging the store so it doesn't look like it was trampled by a ravenous herd of wildebeast toddlers. The store itself closes at 9:00pm (6:00pm Saturdays, 5:00pm Sundays), giving me and my co-worker just enough time to accomplish all our closing tasks before we have to clock out. This is assuming that all things go well. They never do.
Two common obstacles invariably emerge: we get too busy for me to prep any of the closing materials beforehand, and there are customers still in the store after we have locked the doors (often browsing the shelves, unsure of what to fucking buy). Over the past seven consecutive closing shifts I have worked this week, five of them ended with the last customer leaving the store 15-20 minutes after the doors had been locked. That left me with TEN GODDAMNED MINUTES to complete a half-hour's work, which I naturally failed to accomplish in that timeframe. Hence, the stern words from the boss the next day.
My other problem (and we are finally coming to the crux of this post, "responsibility") is that while I am performing the "important" closing tasks, my co-woker is supposed to be putting the store back in tip-top shape. I have a lot of respect for my co-workers, even the ones I don't like very much, and I put my faith in them that they will do at least an adequate job of tidying the store. Turns out my faith is misplaced.
The first time I got the "why was this store left in a mess?" speech, I vowed that I would not leave the store until I had conducted a personal inspection of every shelf, gondola, display, and standee on the floor. This is a great thing to promise during a peaceful and quiet afternoon shift, but come closing time, when we are already running fifteen minutes late and the deposit isn't balancing and I have to triple-count it, the idea of taking more time to inspect the store kind of flies right out the damn window. Yes, that was a run-on sentence, and yes, I do have a Bachelor's degree in English. Blow me. Back to the point, it doesn't help that I have some co-workers who intentionally try to do as little as possible while I am occupied with "closing duties" and who also put pressure on me to be done as fast as possible. Because of certain reporting requirements, both the keyholder and the other part-timer need to be present in the store until the very end. I couldn't let the co-worker go early even if I wanted to. Basically, to ensure I don't get any more stern speeches, I have to play babysitter, keeping an eye on the part-timers to make sure they aren't slacking off during the close or forgetting to tidy any sections.
Tonight was the worst. A giant trade came half an hour before closing time, with a line of other customers behind it, so neither me nor my co-worker had any time to put it away (BTW, I ended up throwing almost the entire batch of games into the defective bin because they were in shit shape, so if you're reading this, co-worker, thanks a fucking lot and go suck a cock). I basically had to ask one customer politely to wait as I raced to lock the doors and turn off the open sign, just to keep more customers from waltzing in. I flew through my reports and managed to get everything done by 9:37pm (thank the gods our timeclock rounded down to 9:30pm). During those 40 minutes, I asked my co-worker to ignore the trades sitting on the counter and just tidy the store itself. That's all he did, and even after getting him to quadruple-check his work, I still found obvious things I needed to clean up once he was gone. I let him go home after we were clocked out. Then I stayed and dealt with all the trades myself. It was 10:40pm by the time I had finished putting everything away and locking the store up for the night. I don't intend to tell my boss about this, because if she hears of it, she'll have stern words for me about being in the store when not clocked it.
I obviously have a lot of frustration about the situation I'm in. I just can't win here; I either screw up one way or I screw up another. Normally I'd have no problem letting my boss know how I feel, except that right now, there's a slim chance that I might get promoted. I'll be 100% honest: I could care less about the added responsibility. It's my current responsibilities that have left me in these no-win scenarios, so I don't relish taking on more. I just need the pay increase. I'm living paycheck-to-paycheck and trying to get married next month.
Sorry for the vent session. It's been a frustrating day, and the back room has a few more fist-shaped dents in the walls to show for it.
Monday, August 10, 2009
The Dumbest Question
In retail, you get asked a lot of stupid questions. It's something you learn to deal with; you try not to laugh and you help the customer as best you can. However, it's not always easy to help customers with some of their dumbest, least thought out questions. Case in point (and a question I hear at least once, if not ten, times a day):
"What's the best game?"
This question infuriates me. It's like the people who ask me have no concept of subjective opinion. "Best" in video games is not an objective quality. If it were, my store's product presentation would make it blindingly obvious which games were best to buy, with a pricing scheme to match. In retail, when something is objectively the best, it costs more than the stuff like it that is not as good. When quality can be measured, price reflects that measurement.
If someone asks me "which is the best shooter?" I can at least produce an easy answer. When comparing similar types of games, one can make an objective statement of quality (or at least reflect my own subjective assessment as well as subjective reviews). But I am not often asked "what's the best shooter?" or "what's the best racing game?" This is retail, after all, and you can't expect to get off easy. Ever.
When I'm asked the dumbest question, "what is the best game?" I usually try to narrow down the kind of games the customer enjoys playing. This invariably fails. I get answers like "I don't know, action games" or "good graphics" or "with the animals." The problem is that most people who ask me the dumbest question are almost always buying the game for someone else. A word of advice: if you are buying games for someone and they didn't tell you what game they wanted, or you're buying it as a gift, buy them a damn gift card and save the both of us the unnecessary hassle of trying to figure out what game to get. Seriously, if you buy them a game you think they like, the odds are good that you're just going to have to return it when it turns out they either don't like it or already have it. Of course, if they open the game first... good luck returning it, sucker.
I think next time I'm asked "what's the best game?" I'm just going to ask how much they'd like to load on a gift card. See how that goes.
"What's the best game?"
This question infuriates me. It's like the people who ask me have no concept of subjective opinion. "Best" in video games is not an objective quality. If it were, my store's product presentation would make it blindingly obvious which games were best to buy, with a pricing scheme to match. In retail, when something is objectively the best, it costs more than the stuff like it that is not as good. When quality can be measured, price reflects that measurement.
If someone asks me "which is the best shooter?" I can at least produce an easy answer. When comparing similar types of games, one can make an objective statement of quality (or at least reflect my own subjective assessment as well as subjective reviews). But I am not often asked "what's the best shooter?" or "what's the best racing game?" This is retail, after all, and you can't expect to get off easy. Ever.
When I'm asked the dumbest question, "what is the best game?" I usually try to narrow down the kind of games the customer enjoys playing. This invariably fails. I get answers like "I don't know, action games" or "good graphics" or "with the animals." The problem is that most people who ask me the dumbest question are almost always buying the game for someone else. A word of advice: if you are buying games for someone and they didn't tell you what game they wanted, or you're buying it as a gift, buy them a damn gift card and save the both of us the unnecessary hassle of trying to figure out what game to get. Seriously, if you buy them a game you think they like, the odds are good that you're just going to have to return it when it turns out they either don't like it or already have it. Of course, if they open the game first... good luck returning it, sucker.
I think next time I'm asked "what's the best game?" I'm just going to ask how much they'd like to load on a gift card. See how that goes.
Friday, August 7, 2009
The Digital Divide
The other day a guy came into my store looking for a Wii game. "I've been to three stores already," he told me, "and no one can find it."
"What's the game?" I asked.
He responded "World of Goo."
Internally, I rolled my eyes. "You won't find it here," I said matter-of-factly. Disappointment covered his face.
"So you don't have it either?"
"Nope," I replied, "and no other store will. World of Goo is only available as a downloadable game."
I went on to explain that it was only available on WiiWare, and thank the gods he knew what the internet was. His Wii was already online and he was familiar with purchasing games from the Wii Shop Channel, so I sold him a Nintendo Points card and he went on his merry way. He was lucky; with many customers I still have to explain the process of getting their consoles online, even to customers who already have internet in their homes.
What troubles me is that this customer went to three other stores like mine (same company) and three different clerks had no idea that World of Goo was a downloadable title. According to the customer, they each searched their inventories for it and couldn't find a listing for the game (pro tip: if a game is never released for boxed retail, then it never has a SKU). Frankly, I was embarrassed to work for the same company as those clerks for being completely ignorant about one of the most critically lauded and awarded games of 2008.
I can't really fault them. Unless you're like me, whose homepage is set to Kotaku, salespeople can really only rely on their employers and peers for information about video games. Downloadable titles & expansions are rarely sold at retail, so information about them is rarely readily available. There is no box I can look at to tell me the features of World of Goo (and honestly, most of what I know about 360 games comes from reading their boxes) or most other digital-only games. Unfortunately, we are being asked more and more questions from customers pertaining to these types of games. A week ago, a customer over the phone asked me the trade value of Patapon 2 (pro tip: even though it's sold as a retail box, Patapon 2 is a digital-only game; the box contains only a download code). Once again, I had to stifle laughter as I told him it had no trade value as it was not a physical game. The customer was actually surprised to hear this, which makes me wonder if he had even opened the box for the game.
Will a time come when digital games can be trades as easily as physical media? With the wealth of awesome games available on XBLA, PSN, Wii Shop, and Steam, and with digital games driving the focus of new gaming hardware (like the upcoming PSPgo), I think it's just a matter of time before I have to start sticking virtual yellow stickers to used copies of Braid.
"What's the game?" I asked.
He responded "World of Goo."
Internally, I rolled my eyes. "You won't find it here," I said matter-of-factly. Disappointment covered his face.
"So you don't have it either?"
"Nope," I replied, "and no other store will. World of Goo is only available as a downloadable game."
I went on to explain that it was only available on WiiWare, and thank the gods he knew what the internet was. His Wii was already online and he was familiar with purchasing games from the Wii Shop Channel, so I sold him a Nintendo Points card and he went on his merry way. He was lucky; with many customers I still have to explain the process of getting their consoles online, even to customers who already have internet in their homes.
What troubles me is that this customer went to three other stores like mine (same company) and three different clerks had no idea that World of Goo was a downloadable title. According to the customer, they each searched their inventories for it and couldn't find a listing for the game (pro tip: if a game is never released for boxed retail, then it never has a SKU). Frankly, I was embarrassed to work for the same company as those clerks for being completely ignorant about one of the most critically lauded and awarded games of 2008.
I can't really fault them. Unless you're like me, whose homepage is set to Kotaku, salespeople can really only rely on their employers and peers for information about video games. Downloadable titles & expansions are rarely sold at retail, so information about them is rarely readily available. There is no box I can look at to tell me the features of World of Goo (and honestly, most of what I know about 360 games comes from reading their boxes) or most other digital-only games. Unfortunately, we are being asked more and more questions from customers pertaining to these types of games. A week ago, a customer over the phone asked me the trade value of Patapon 2 (pro tip: even though it's sold as a retail box, Patapon 2 is a digital-only game; the box contains only a download code). Once again, I had to stifle laughter as I told him it had no trade value as it was not a physical game. The customer was actually surprised to hear this, which makes me wonder if he had even opened the box for the game.
Will a time come when digital games can be trades as easily as physical media? With the wealth of awesome games available on XBLA, PSN, Wii Shop, and Steam, and with digital games driving the focus of new gaming hardware (like the upcoming PSPgo), I think it's just a matter of time before I have to start sticking virtual yellow stickers to used copies of Braid.
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