When it comes to buying stuff, I'm pretty impulsive. Most of the time I try to find the best deal, but sometimes I don't. I decided today to pick up ESPN NFL 2K5 for the Xbox which was released earlier in the week. I don't normally buy that many games for the Xbox (because I don't play it that much), but when I do it's normally very close to the release date and it's totally on impulse.

ESPN NFL 2K5 is made by Sega Sports and I've always really enjoyed its sports games. They do a better job than EA Sports in my opinion. EA Sports' games use to be the best, but the company got lazy. EA Sports is finally improving their games though and its catching up as far as quality goes. Regardless of the fact that Sega Sports/ESPN games are better than EA Sports (it's not just my opinion; the games get better reviews from gaming publications), EA Sports still outsells all other sporting titles by a LARGE margin. No one comes even close to EA Sports. This huge advantage has led to a big shake up this season. Microsoft and Sony both decided to not ship their own sports titles this year. Sega responded by teaming up with Take Two, publisher of the popular Grand Theft Auto, for marketing assistance. One of the key results was the lowering of the price of their sports releases to $19.99. They didn't drop any features and still produced a quality game, but they aren't charging the normal $50 price. excellent move for consumers and I'm sure it will help them sell some extra games. [funny side note: when i bought the game, the previous year's edition was also for sale at a reduced price of $39.99. $19.99 for the new version or $39.99 for the outdated old version. no doubt i was temporarily conflicted.]

So anyways, back to my point....

I called up my local GameStop store today and asked them if they had the game in stock. They said no and then gave me the typical attitude I've come to expect from employees of video game stores. The guy on the phone lectured me about pre-ordering. He was rude and snotty. I've honestly rarely ever had a good experience with employees from video game stores. They have this level of arrogance, which would be amusing if it wasn't so annoying. It's taken a lot of effort on my part not to shout: “Newsflash, jackass: you are working in a video game stores. You don't know everything and if I didn't ask you for your opinion, you should keep it to yourself, k? You are here to serve me in a friendly and polite fashion. I, in turn, will be respectful and polite as well. That's how this whole retail experience is suppose to work.”

When I bought a Xbox game once a clerk actually had a enough nerve to tell me I shouldn't own a Xbox, rather I should own a PlayStation 2. I bit my tongue and left after the transaction.

I decided to try the other shop in my town, Sam Goody, to see if they had the game. Right away I should I known what shopping experience I was in for when they answered the phone and politely informed me they were home to the American Idol cell phone as part of their hello. I think I might start doing that when I answer my phone from now on.

“Hello, I ate pasta and chicken for dinner last night.”

“Hello, I've got a bad rash I can't seem to get rid of.”

“Hello, do you get a burning sensation when you take a piss too? Is that normal?” 

Yah, i think I'll use the last one. It's more interactive and will spark an exciting conversation, no doubt.

The woman who answered the phone informed me that they had the game and it was only $19.99. I knew that, but it was a nice touch. I took a walk down the street and found the title on the shelf. It was an empty box tho, which is kinda annoying, and I was a little worried after being informed from GameStop they were sold out, that I might run into the same fate when I went to pay for the game. I was in luck tho, because they had a few copies of the game.

Here's where more fun starts. The store employee spent the next few minutes telling me about all sorts of exciting offers. Did I want to reserve Halo 2? Did I want to reserve any other music or movies? Did I want to join their rewards program? I could save money. Did I know all the details of the program? Would I like a free trial subscription to Entertainment Weekly? I politely declined all the offers, even tho some of them maybe could have changed my life forever. I chuckled tho and said, “wow, they really make you try to sell a lot more stuff.” My comment was ignored tho. I think she might have been upset I wasn't helping her with her quota. oh well.

I'm waiting for the day I visit my local bagel store and they try to convince me to buy other stuff with my bagels. Would I maybe like a muffin? A newspaper? Condoms?

You don't necessary avoid sales pitches during the checkout process online, but it is so much easier to ignore and quickly skip over. Computers rarely give you much attitude during the shopping process either. The one disadvantage tho is you don't get an opportunity to see hottie clerks and other cute customers, but there are sites on the Internet for that and the attire they wear (or don't) in many cases are more enjoyable.