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Is it just me?
The gaming industry, we are told, is a multi-million dollar money making machine. Games are not just games anymore, they are franchises to be milked and exploited until the Next Big Thing comes along, they make big bucks is what I'm saying.
Why, then, is it that the people who sell is game software and hardware, have absolutely no idea what they are talking about?
I have noticed this on a number of occasions, but it stuck out more so today as I fought my way through hordes of mothers in HMV and Electronics Boutique just to browse the shelves.
My undercover observations revealed that these people, who at this time, mothers are trusting with upwards of £100 - £300 pounds (depending on if little Jhonny gets a GBA or a PS2 this crimbo) have little or no idea what they are selling.
They don't know launch dates for software, they don't know the spec of the hardware, they can barely recall what special offers they have on, lets face it, when it comes to high-street gaming retail, we buy from the least-trained shop-assistants of any industry!
There is a ray of light though, (excluding SR of course, mail / internet order you see, exempt from this argument), you see those little independent shops? Struggling down the little back-alleys of your towns and cities, support them! Please!
If we boycot the major high street branches in favour of local shops (and SR, of course), hopefully they will get the message and tighten up thier act, 'cos as it stands, I'm not one iota impressed with 'em.
The gaming industry, we are told, is a multi-million dollar money making machine. Games are not just games anymore, they are franchises to be milked and exploited until the Next Big Thing comes along, they make big bucks is what I'm saying.
Why, then, is it that the people who sell is game software and hardware, have absolutely no idea what they are talking about?
I have noticed this on a number of occasions, but it stuck out more so today as I fought my way through hordes of mothers in HMV and Electronics Boutique just to browse the shelves.
My undercover observations revealed that these people, who at this time, mothers are trusting with upwards of £100 - £300 pounds (depending on if little Jhonny gets a GBA or a PS2 this crimbo) have little or no idea what they are selling.
They don't know launch dates for software, they don't know the spec of the hardware, they can barely recall what special offers they have on, lets face it, when it comes to high-street gaming retail, we buy from the least-trained shop-assistants of any industry!
There is a ray of light though, (excluding SR of course, mail / internet order you see, exempt from this argument), you see those little independent shops? Struggling down the little back-alleys of your towns and cities, support them! Please!
If we boycot the major high street branches in favour of local shops (and SR, of course), hopefully they will get the message and tighten up thier act, 'cos as it stands, I'm not one iota impressed with 'em.
Can I just point out here that the first Army Men game on the PSX was actually quite fun; original gameplay, easy to pick up and play, challenging missions (until you got to know your way around), and quite addictive to boot. The only thing I had against it was it was very quick to finish the first time around.
Staying with the topic, I agree that the major high street stores don't have the kind of staff knowledge regarding gaming that the small independants have. But then, the major high street stores generally employ staff for their retail and cash handling skills rather than their product knowledge whereas your small independants are generally run by gaming fans who have gaming in their blood.
It's always nice to hand a game over to the guy behind the till and hear the words 'Great game, that's a good one, I'm still playing it..' and so on, because we all like reassurance that our £39.99 isn't going to waste. My local independant even has a release date list posted up next to the PS2 games' shelf, presumably because he's fed up of getting asked when MGS2 is coming out all the time.
Staying with the topic, I agree that the major high street stores don't have the kind of staff knowledge regarding gaming that the small independants have. But then, the major high street stores generally employ staff for their retail and cash handling skills rather than their product knowledge whereas your small independants are generally run by gaming fans who have gaming in their blood.
It's always nice to hand a game over to the guy behind the till and hear the words 'Great game, that's a good one, I'm still playing it..' and so on, because we all like reassurance that our £39.99 isn't going to waste. My local independant even has a release date list posted up next to the PS2 games' shelf, presumably because he's fed up of getting asked when MGS2 is coming out all the time.
Lots of shops sell games, we the consumer are supposed to have the knowledge of what we want to buy, then we take our money to the shop that sells it for the least amount or the shop that will give us the most "points" on our loyalty cards.
When I go games shopping, I don't want the spotty oik offering his opinion on the game I'm buying from him, I want him to serve me quickly and approve my signature, I don't want to talk about my purchase, I don't need/ trust his advice, it matters not that he has no idea what he's selling me, the till is the only thing that needs to know what special offers are on.
If the independant games shop offers me 3 for the price of 2 near christmas, i'll go to them if its cheaper than the handful of big name shops with 3 for 2 offers and retarded counter assistants, and thats final!
If little jimmy doesn't have the decency to give his mother strict instructions on what to buy him then he deserves the bagful of Army men games he's likely to recieve!
When I go games shopping, I don't want the spotty oik offering his opinion on the game I'm buying from him, I want him to serve me quickly and approve my signature, I don't want to talk about my purchase, I don't need/ trust his advice, it matters not that he has no idea what he's selling me, the till is the only thing that needs to know what special offers are on.
If the independant games shop offers me 3 for the price of 2 near christmas, i'll go to them if its cheaper than the handful of big name shops with 3 for 2 offers and retarded counter assistants, and thats final!
If little jimmy doesn't have the decency to give his mother strict instructions on what to buy him then he deserves the bagful of Army men games he's likely to recieve!
Is it just me?
The gaming industry, we are told, is a multi-million dollar money making machine. Games are not just games anymore, they are franchises to be milked and exploited until the Next Big Thing comes along, they make big bucks is what I'm saying.
Why, then, is it that the people who sell is game software and hardware, have absolutely no idea what they are talking about?
I have noticed this on a number of occasions, but it stuck out more so today as I fought my way through hordes of mothers in HMV and Electronics Boutique just to browse the shelves.
My undercover observations revealed that these people, who at this time, mothers are trusting with upwards of £100 - £300 pounds (depending on if little Jhonny gets a GBA or a PS2 this crimbo) have little or no idea what they are selling.
They don't know launch dates for software, they don't know the spec of the hardware, they can barely recall what special offers they have on, lets face it, when it comes to high-street gaming retail, we buy from the least-trained shop-assistants of any industry!
There is a ray of light though, (excluding SR of course, mail / internet order you see, exempt from this argument), you see those little independent shops? Struggling down the little back-alleys of your towns and cities, support them! Please!
If we boycot the major high street branches in favour of local shops (and SR, of course), hopefully they will get the message and tighten up thier act, 'cos as it stands, I'm not one iota impressed with 'em.
The gaming industry, we are told, is a multi-million dollar money making machine. Games are not just games anymore, they are franchises to be milked and exploited until the Next Big Thing comes along, they make big bucks is what I'm saying.
Why, then, is it that the people who sell is game software and hardware, have absolutely no idea what they are talking about?
I have noticed this on a number of occasions, but it stuck out more so today as I fought my way through hordes of mothers in HMV and Electronics Boutique just to browse the shelves.
My undercover observations revealed that these people, who at this time, mothers are trusting with upwards of £100 - £300 pounds (depending on if little Jhonny gets a GBA or a PS2 this crimbo) have little or no idea what they are selling.
They don't know launch dates for software, they don't know the spec of the hardware, they can barely recall what special offers they have on, lets face it, when it comes to high-street gaming retail, we buy from the least-trained shop-assistants of any industry!
There is a ray of light though, (excluding SR of course, mail / internet order you see, exempt from this argument), you see those little independent shops? Struggling down the little back-alleys of your towns and cities, support them! Please!
If we boycot the major high street branches in favour of local shops (and SR, of course), hopefully they will get the message and tighten up thier act, 'cos as it stands, I'm not one iota impressed with 'em.