Damn You, Marcus!
January 02, 2007
I've come to a point in my life where I really don't want to buy used games from GameStop or Electronics Boutique ever again. While the prices are alright, the condition of the used games being offered is typically, well, crap. I demand ongoing well-kept quality from my possessions, so buying a game that's missing a case and has a torn manual just isn't something I'm happy about (especially if for $5 more I can get a new copy of the game). While reading the NeoGAF forums I came across this anecdote from Z_Y about poor quality used games and just had to share it.
This sort of reminds me of the time when I stumbled upon a near mint copy of VF4 used for $6 at a Gamestop. This wasn't Evo either. Other than the ugly ass sticker...the box was in perfect shape and I decided to pick it up. I took it up to the register to buy it and the clerk reaches back in the drawer and pulls out this mangled VF4 box with the insert all ripped down one side and "MARCUS" written on the back in big black magic marker fat letters which appeared to be put on there by a 5-year old. I then watched in horror as the disc he pulled out also had "MARCUS" written across the disc. I asked the guy politely if I could possibly have the display box and the disc that belonged to it. He hesitated and then checked with his manager who then gave me this look as if to say "WTF is my problem?" Made me feel like an asshat but I did get the near mint copy.
Marcus. Marcus! Damn you, Marcus! Don't you know that you're supposed to treasure video games and that you're not supposed to write on the cases or discs in black marker? I have two similarly defiled games in my collection that I bought in a moment of weakness: Banjo-Tooie that has a big Blockbuster Video label on the back of the game pak and Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando that doesn't have a proper case (the GameStop clerk couldn't be bothered to find the case for the game and didn't understand why I had a problem with taking a blank generic one instead). One of these days I'll print out the cover art from the Internet and slide it into the blank case, but until then it serves to remind me not to settle for crappy quality any longer.