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My First GameSpot Tournament


Darth Groovy

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Technically it was my second since becoming and assistant manager for GameStop, however the last tournament was for NCAA '06, for which nobody showed up. (possibley due to the fact that it was the day before July 4)

 

Today the tournament was for Madden '05, grand prise was a free copy of Madden '06 (which will be available for pick up on Aug 9)

 

It was kind of fun actually. We had about 13 sign ups, and 10 people actually showed up to participate, which made it even teams. Two of the competitors were actually brothers which made things kind of interesting. I don't know beans from apple sauce about Football, but we had 2 min quarters, with weather conditions turned off. The whole lasted about 3 hours, twice two opponents went into overtime. Most of the final scores were really close, so alot of spectators made this seem alot of fun, and most of these kids had either practiced and/or knew the game quite well. I supervised the tournament, (called up names, filled out the tournament sheet....etc) under some great supervision from my store manager, who is a long time veteran of Game Crazy(a subsidiary of Hollywood Entertainment CO). The winner had already reserved his copy of Madden '06, but now since he won, he is considered a "VIP" customer. (our term for those who have the game paid in full, and get to cut in front of the line during out midnight release date.)

 

I have to admit, this WAS alot of fun, and I look forward to doing it again for future events.

 

Anybody else attend one of these types of in-store tournaments?

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I've visted Game Crazy on occasion when they had tournaments, but I was usually on duty at Hollywood so couldn't take part in any of them.

 

A bit off topic, I find it wierd for a midnight opening for a football game. (our Game Crazy is doing that too) I could see GTA and Halo, those don't get a new version every year. What's the big deal with this one? Is it an anniversary or what?

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I've visted Game Crazy on occasion when they had tournaments, but I was usually on duty at Hollywood so couldn't take part in any of them.

 

A bit off topic, I find it wierd for a midnight opening for a football game. (our Game Crazy is doing that too) I could see GTA and Halo, those don't get a new version every year. What's the big deal with this one? Is it an anniversary or what?

 

Madden is basically the largest and most popular release title all year for GameStop. It also coincides with the last fiscal year, and means big money for GameStop. This year, since our merge with EB Games will be finalized by the end of the summer, it means even more. This is the case were numbers matter the most. Actually, I am SICK TO DEATH of hearing about Madden '06 since our superiors have been running this thing down our throats since early May. I see where they are coming from...but every day it's Madden this, and Madden that. Also, because of that EA Sports thing....it's going to be the only other football video game released all year. Trust me on this, we have nearly a hundred reservations for this thing....we even have a budget for snacks and balloons to highten the madness. I actually cannot wait until it is over.

 

It's hard for me to get excited about Madden '06, because we have thousands of copies of Madden '05 used hogging up space in our stock drawers, and I know that 3 months from now, we'll be desperately trying to allocate space for Madden '06. Sports games as a whole don't generate alot of profit too far past the release date, because each year there is yet another sports game released. Sports games are worse than foreign cars...basically, once you shell out your $50 plus tax at the register, the trade in value starts to depreciate before you even walk out the door. :(

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yeah, Tourneys are cool, as you can finally do something constructive with all that time you waste gaming and win some crash/prizes !!

 

Ive played in one run by EA/EB for the aussie release of FIFA 2005.....Came 4th, got a copy of FIFA 2005 and a soccer shirt. Sold the game on ebay as I already had it :( It actually wasnt run in store, but an an expo, whch is why the prize money for 1st place was $1000. That guy who came first also got to be the state representative on the national comp, the prize money being for $10,000.

 

Those kids(between 16-18) who came 1-3rd were damn good tho...

 

mtfbwya

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Is gamestop related to gamespot? Or just a typo waiting to happen? *confused*

 

GameStop is a store, also related to Funcoland, Babbages....etc. Gamespot is the website that has great news and solid reviews on games. I used to go there all the time, to see if a game is worth buying or renting. I tell my customers to use it all the time. I also check it alot to let the customers know how a game is doing. Most customers are under the impression that since we work in a video game store, we have played every game that exists and own every system. :( The truth is, we have a diverse crew of people that work there, we all own different systems, and we are all diverse in what kind of games we play. I'm pretty well versed in the pc (mainly RTS), XBOX, and actions games. My boss is more into PS2, comic, anime and sims. This other guy is very much into RPGs, and the other guy is a sports nut. Most of our girls are into game cube and GBA/DS games. We balance it out that way. Most of what we get is what we hear from other people, from each other, and then what we read in reviews. The ultimate, is if the game is selling well, and how soon they start trading in. Two good examples: Fantastic Four (all platforms), and Delta Force: Black Hawk Down (xbox). If we start getting these games traded in to us less than a week after they come out(and they have), that usually means they suck. We are brutally honest with our customers. :)

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