A Short Break

Hey all, just want to update you on a quick break that I will be taking. My creative juices are flowing over a contest online. So, needless to say I will be taking a short break to brainstorm and type up the treatment of the story.

Hopefully I will win, but that's a longshot right? lol Anywho, here's to hoping the treatment is good and I will see you in a few weeks hopefully.

Once I am done with the piece, I'll put it up here for you to enjoy.

March's Flame of the Month: GAMESTOP

Back to doing these, I really miss doing these. Basically, this is where I let loose, albeit the only posts where I will cuss like a sailor. This month is about the greatness known as Gamestop.

I remember when Funcoland was in business along with Gamestop, back when it was a little store chain, EB and Software Etc. In the later part of the 21st century, Gamestop had acquired ALL of the game companies in the nation. A fuckin Gamestop on every corner. Ok fine. Now that there is a problem. A BIG problem....doesn't this make it a monopoly since there are no other game stores like a Gamestop on the east coast besides a damn Gamestop?

Maybe the reason the economy is down in the shitter is because a fucking Gamestop and a Wal-Mart on every corner is KILLING mom and pop stores out there. Hell, I'd rather go to a corner store that sells games than go to a Gamestop ever.....but I have no choice but to go to a Gamestop nowadays. Especially for the unheard of games like Persona in which a Target or Wal-Mart will never sell since it isn't mainstream.

I went to Gamestop to cancel a pre-order on Guild Wars: Factions becuase the store didn't have the pre-order box...I got hassled into trying to keep it, I felt offended but I felt great cancelling the pre-order. I really hate the fact that they force you to reserve games, but they use the 3 question limit. Jeez, I just want to buy 1 game please can I leave?

Back in the day, they had action figures, card games and video games....it's a win win! But now since it's gone, I don't have any care for the stores anymore. Another goddamn thing is selling the game. What the fuck seriously. I go and sell some stuff and I try to sell a rare skinny green GameBoy Pocket. Thinking they don't have these anymore.....THEY WANT TO BUY IT FOR 2 CENTS......2 MOTHERFUCKING CENTS. It's sooo pathetic that they want to insult me with their prices. And they will sell it for $30 bucks if I gave it to them....what the fuck is up with that shit?

Another goddamn thing is this whole unsealed new games. I get a game in its package WITH some stickers on it AND they put the disc in the game along with the instructions..I can see if it's used but come on Gaystop, I want a game sealed!!!! Why would I pay full price for an opened game? Doesn't this entitle me to force you to cut the price by 20%? Hell even 10%?

And one more thing....I feel sorry for the companies out there who make these game only to be undermined by Gamestop's used game black market. Yeah it's a black market. None of the revenue gained from these used games are going to the game companies themselves. It's highway robbery and Gamestop is guilty as charged. Is this why a majority of smaller game companies went under? It's not a big factor, but if you think about all the money that they could have made off it, they would still be in business. Instead of Midway paying $200 million in debt they could have payed $100 million...still in a shit hole? yes but...oh nevermind they killed Mortal Kombat by making it 3-D. Hell if I had a game company right now, I'd pull all my games off their sales floors and make them beg for it. If they are still around 20 years from now, I will only sell to retail stores that have class, Gamestop does not have any class and no custome service....they are like the retarted kid at school, nobody wants to be around them and nobody cares about them.

So what do we do about the company? Sue them for selling used games, from a game company standpoint, but as their motto says, "power to the players" maybe the players should take the power away by boycotting the store and going to other retail stores, hell even mom and pop stores in your local town. I doubt they are around anymore, but at least you can get a warm, fuzzy feeling when you go in and talk to the guy behind the desk and request for something personal instead of getting asked 3 times on a reserve on a game. It's basic business model I understand, but most of these kids are anti-social and lack confidance so asking them 3 times is an insult to their knowledge to the industry.

I'm only going to Gamestop for the hard to get games. You know it makes me wonder why there are so many casual gamers nowadays. It's because nobody will dare travel to a Gamestop to grab the latest installation on Ponyz becuase Wal-Mart and Target have em there. I've downgraded my play time massively as well, dare I say I'm casual now for the simple fact of the economy, the higher prices on games, and for Gamestop for treating me and many others like shit. The only real way we will get outta this hole is by reducing the number of these mass monopoly stores and building mom and pop stores and hiring people for a ton of positions.

But yeah I rather walk down to St. Charles Place, down commoner ave, and pick up a game then to go to Park Place and buy a game new and then return it for a fucking lame $10.

What a Long Strange Trip It's Been...

It's been a while. A long while since I had ever written a blog on here. So I say hello to all lurkers and writers who are viewing this entry. I took a hiatus from blogging because I became tired of posting and I didn't have the time, the only thing I could have done was comment on Jaffe's blog here and there. I seriously thought of just stopping with blogs and the idea of puting random stuff on here. I then remembered the old days of ModBlog and what it meant to me. All the entries I use to do, I had a number of posters on there who would post some good things and enjoy the posts I made. I really miss them and the old days of ModBlog before they decided to shut it down permantly. First by removing their buttons, then ultimately their website after many complained on what was going on with the numberous site shut downs and missing images.

There, was the start of me posting on David Jaffe's blog and Cory Balrog's blog, both viewed my blogs so I guess I should be excited which I still am all these years. No matter how small time you are, you always have a chance to be spotted not just by some famous people but from your peers as well giving you that radical push you need in posting whatever the comment is.

A whole year has gone by...I just can't believe a year has passed that quickly. A lot in the industry has changed and our economy has taken the roller coaster ride to hell in several months. It's almost astonishing to see the crime rate rise becuase of these troubled times. I thought I might see people jumping out of their buildings which would be very reminicient of the Great Depression during the 1930's. But I see people are not doing so, I guess people have learned that a tarnished living is not a reason to kill yourself, espeically if you can start from the ground running again. I have been very frugal with my money and I'm not that afraid to admit it. I got my government check today so I bought a few things and I threw the rest of the check in the bank along with my pay. My greatest advice to saving? Buy the essentials, don't go crazy shopping buying uneeded items. If you have to write it down and cross it off, go ahead and do so.

Woah, I'm looking like an advisor on CNN or something, seriously they can hire me for some money, I'll spit out my opinion for dough. Speaking of spitting out an opinion, don't tell me how this transitions into this, but I've been wondering about getting a Twitter but is it worth getting? I mean one sentence status updates sound spiffy, but I'm just not sold on the idea of it. Hey, I can give into peer pressure if needed.

'Life, Love, Games' was the title of my old blog and I really want to go back to those days where I can write anything I can about what I'm doing and what I feel about the industry as a whole from a semi-gamer's perspective. I've actually stopped playing so many games since I feel my eyes are straining out from the graphics and the longplays I have done in the past. My 'Flame of the Month' entries will make a comeback where I just whine and complain about one thing, it's also where I cuss up a storm and you will see it too. It's such a great way to vent out any fustration I currently have bottled up in me. I think it's a good entry and I think I have a few entries in this blog site as well.

I will see by the weekend if I can get a flame entry out and I think I have a great entry for that. I am also looking foward to playing Resident Evil 5 soon. It looks amazing for a next gen game along with Killzone 2 and Fallout 3. All great games however, I am uneasy with Halo Wars. I just have a gut feeling that the company is attempting to break the FPS mold they revolutionalized for the X-Box. Ironically, Command and Conquer is one of my favorite series for a RTS and they also did a FPS. What a vicious cycle.

I will do a review of RE5, early impressions and no spoliers at all becuase I don't want to ruin a great gameplay and storyline experience for anyone else. Until next blog I will see you soon!