Learn How To Treat Customers

Today was the day that GameStops got the new Xbox 360 S in stock. I called once early today and then a little later to see if it was in stock. I was told it was in stock so I rushed over to GameStop and found out they had just sold out -- or almost.

At first I figured it was just the way of things and I was going to put a reserve on a new Xbox 360 S. Then at the counter next to me there was a guy, we'll call him Jack, and Jack was trading in an old Xbox 360 in order to afford the new one, much like I did a week ago. However, it turned out he didn't have any video cables with his system so they wouldn't take it. The cashier ringing up Jack suggested to my cashier that if Jack didn't have everything they could let me buy the Xbox 360 S.

At this point I was pretty excited knowing their strict policy on trading in systems. However, then my cashier crushed my dreams. He asked Jack, "Can you run to your house and get it in like 10 minutes?", obviously not trying to help me. Jack said "Yeah" (of course), and then my cashier, you know the person is supposed to help you said "Or we could get a used one and pair it up with your system but you would have to buy it."

Well that is just great, all the meanwhile the other cashier was trying to help me and obviously saw that I should be the one who should get the system. It ended up going so they found a cable, Jack had to buy so he could trade in, and I ended up with no system. However I did get a reserved one for July 9th.

Still, that is no way to treat your customers, and on "tellgamestop.com" I left feedback that showed how I felt. I mean, if you have a guy who is ready to purchase the console right now and you have someone who it is very iffy on if they can even get it, are you really going to hold a console, which it was said that they wouldn't do, for some guy who has the possibility of not being able to get it? I wouldn't, I would have given it to the guy who had the cash right then.

People sometimes, you know?

Electronic Entertainment Expo

Also known as: e3.

The one big thing for everyone seemed to be "motion." We have to get our gamers up and moving, give them that next element! It actually is a pretty neat concept, and we can debate who started it all. PS2 had EyeToy which was an early idea of how you can use your body to game. Then the Wii came along with its WiiMote and let you really "control" those in the game.

Sony came back with the "PlayStation Move." This instead of having a camera on the end of a controller has a camera on the TV and it tracks a light. In #e3 on Neowin we were joking about how you could just use a lightbulb except it wouldn't have buttons. Sony stressed "buttons" greatly, we got a good laugh out of that. It actually looked like a neat product except for the 1 second lag time in the demos.

Then of course there was Microsoft's Kinect which is like a sophisticated EyeToy. Much more meticulous in tracking of the person and more than just "Oh you moved over here so now this board will bust." This is different, here you can interact with animals, become your character and determine how you move, or even simply use it as a controller free control station for the Xbox.

Can't forget the announcement of the new Xbox either, which I am getting. I figure someday I'll want a Kinect game and may as well have a "Kinect Ready" Xbox. Plus it is quiet and has a much larger hard drive. Now before any of you say, "Kinect works on all forms of the Xbox," yes and I know this, however I would like everything to just work better if it could. Which should happen for the internal wireless as well. If I had Kinect + Wireless N hooked up to the old Xbox Pro I doubt I would have space for much else.

I also got pretty jazzed up about Fable III and Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit. I love the Fable series and then I loved the older NFS games which is what this game seems to go back to.

Anyway, couple of fun things at e3. And I had a great time watching e3 with Neowin, we should do that again sometime!

Call of Duty: MW2

MW2 for those of you who don't know is "Modern Warfare 2", the second installment of the "Modern Warfare" series.

Many of us have played the game, most have seemed to like it. I didn't really have too much time to play it until just recently, and it is pretty good for multiplayer. I have it on the 360, and was used to FPSs on the computer, but finally got over that barrier.

But then I wanted more of a challenge, even though I didn't have a great K/D ratio or had that high of a level, I just wanted to enjoy it more. I had a few of the speed 'perks' unlocked, as well as "Commando Pro", so I figured I would make someone who can essentially outrun bullets and leap out of nowhere onto people and knife them. I created that guy, and honestly you feel like a super hero.

Jumping from building to building reminds you of either super hero movies, or maybe Assassin's Creed, but you really can get going fast. The hardest part is aiming where you are knifing and judging how far away from an enemy before knifing can you be with "Commando Pro".

It is insane the specialties you can create in the game if you use all of a certain type, or even certain combos, lots of fun too. So go home and try it if nothing else, then for poops and giggles: Marathon (Pro), Lightweight (Pro), and Commando (Pro). If you have the pro version of Commando then you have no fear when leaping from building to building as you can't get hurt.

Also, I found that different weapons (as I had guessed) would slow you down. I stick to a machine pistol and assault riffle, just for the light weight even though I do not use them, they are just light. FYI, a riot shield, while may protect your back, slows you down greatly.

I apologize if you found the post dry, I had some great idea of what to write about, but then went to dinner, came back, and started playing - you guessed it, CoD MW2.