Funniest thing you ever saw at a game shop?

[Lightning Count]

Bring it on, badly worded signs, people with no clue about what they are buying, acting unusually, people trying to buy exclusives on the wrong platform then getting mad about it. I want to hear it all.

This was about 2005— 2006, the tale end of the generation, not long before the Xbox and PS3 got released, I was in Pink Planet (a regional UK chain) and two kids walk in they looked about no more than 11 or 12. First thing they do is head straight for the PS2 section and they pick out 50 Cent: Bulletproof, they count out their money between them they have just enough to get it, apparently they have been saving up their allowance to get some games. It seems they have been misled or are clueless, they're under the impression it's an instant classic compared to GTA San Andreas. They sound seriously hyped about the game, I'm tempted to say something about how bad the game is, but I decide to wait and see what they decide to do.

They make their mind up to buy the game and take it over to the counter, the guy takes it away and puts it behind the desk, the game is rated 18 by the BBFC, he refuses to sell it on the basis they are too young and BBFC age ratings are legally binding. We really need to bring that back IMO, because PEGI age ratings are not legally enforceable.

The staff throws out a few suggestions for games they are old enough to buy. The kids ignore him and walk away disappointed. I buy some stuff and leave, the kids are hanging around nearby, they ask me to get the game for them because I am old enough. I tell them I have to go and leave.

I laughed pretty hard once I was out of earshot, I hope they did some research and got something worth their money in the end rather than getting that dire game

 

[Bear]

Counterpoint: Blood in the Sand is not a bad game. Discuss.

Oh you said Bulletproof. Reading, what's that?

 

[LewieP]

Edit: It's HMV.

 

[CloseTalker]

Bulletproof is a pretty solid game, you should have helped them out.

Edit: Oh, wrong 50 Cent game. Bulletproof is quite bad. Oh well, let the kids enjoy what they want

 

[Lightning Count]

Edit: It's HMV.

Click to shrink...

i recognised the style of their price labels, I only buy Blu-Rays from HMV and this is exactly why.

 

[Goldenroad]

Not "funny", but I went into an EB Games to buy an XB1 S one time and the two "cool dudes" working behind the counter were just sitting there discussing the consoles, and as I walk up to the counter the one neckbeard says to his other neckbeard cohort "Yeah, I don't get why anyone in their right mind would buy an Xbox One"...so instead of looking "out of my mind" for wanting to play Forza and Ori and PUBG at the time, I went to another store and picked one up. I'm sure they don't care that they cost their store that sale, and I'm sure they don't care that I've never come into their store again, but it's just one of those things where you probably shouldn't talk trash about the products your selling in front of your customers if you want to, you know, sell your products.

 

[Freezasaurus]

Some Dragonball GT Playstation game pre-owned for $80.

 

[Lightning Count]

Counterpoint: Blood in the Sand is not a bad game. Discuss.

Oh you said Bulletproof. Reading, what's that?

Click to shrink...

Yes, credit to the developers, Blood in the Sand is a big improvement from what I have heard.

 

[TransEuropaExpress]

My local game shop also had Warhammer and comic book rooms in the back. One time while in there with some friends browsing around, there was a commotion so everyone kind of looked over and there was a full nerd-rage meltdown in progress that ended in one of the least violent and funny attempts at fisticuffs I've ever witnessed.

The two rather ahhh...portly...guys ended up on the floor with Warhammer shit everywhere, attempting to hit each other and it just wasn't working out, bless their hearts. The shop owner grabbed them both by the collars, tossed them out and banned them.

 

[JohnnyMoses]

Not "funny", but I went into an EB Games to buy an XB1 S one time and the two "cool dudes" working behind the counter were just sitting there discussing the consoles, and as I walk up to the counter the one neckbeard says to his other neckbeard cohort "Yeah, I don't get why anyone in their right mind would buy an Xbox One"...so instead of looking "out of my mind" for wanting to play Forza and Ori and PUBG at the time, I went to another store and picked one up. I'm sure they don't care that they cost their store that sale, and I'm sure they don't care that I've never come into their store again, but it's just one of those things where you probably shouldn't talk trash about the products your selling in front of your customers if you want to, you know, sell your products.

Click to shrink...

I was at a GameStop when a father and son walked in and asked the dude at the front if they should get an Xbox One X or a PS4 Pro because they had just bought a 4K tv. The dude says "well, the PS4 Pro can't do 4K. It just upscales". I hopped right out of the shadows to correct the employee and explain the real differences. He hated me.

 

[Deleted member 6263]

I dropped my wife off at a Gamestop while I looked for a place to park and she was apparently greeted by two GAs almost immediately upon entering. They kind of surrounded her, asking her questions about how they could help. She doesn't know much about video games so this made it even easier for them to ask more questions. I don't think I've ever seen two Gamestop dudes so helpful to someone (or so eager to see a lady) because they didn't even notice me walk in a minute later.

I still laugh remembering her face of panic when I walked in like, "Help. Me."

 

[Goldenroad]

I was at a GameStop when a father and son walked in and asked the dude at the front if they should get an Xbox One X or a PS4 Pro because they had just bought a 4K tv. The dude says "well, the PS4 Pro can't do 4K. It just upscales". I hopped right out of the shadows to correct the employee and explain the real differences. He hated me.

Click to shrink...

I mean in that situation, that dude's probably just trying to boost his numbers (XB1X being the more expensive console). I'm guessing he knew what he was doing, but still good on you for stepping in. But the situation I'm talking about would be like the guy saying to them "I don't get why anyone would want a 4K console". Like at that point you're like "Just go get a different job. Clearly you're not good at selling things"

 

[Lightning Count]

I was at a GameStop when a father and son walked in and asked the dude at the front if they should get an Xbox One X or a PS4 Pro because they had just bought a 4K tv. The dude says "well, the PS4 Pro can't do 4K. It just upscales". I hopped right out of the shadows to correct the employee and explain the real differences. He hated me.

Click to shrink...

Heh, also some games do run at native 4K on PS4. It's always funny when those situations backfire.

 

[DrKelpo]

Fifa 08 for 50 bucks.
Fifa 07 for 60 bucks... right next to it.

 

[hikarutilmitt]

Some Dragonball GT Playstation game pre-owned for $80.

Click to shrink...

The US release for GT was initially super, super low print and that's the only reason why. Later once DBZ actually became popular they reissued that as well as some other random crap like UB22 and such as $20 titles.

I laughed really, really hard.

 

[Deleted member 51248]

Once in a HMV I noticed a Halo novel (Bad Blood) was positioned right in the middle of a aisle of manga (mostly Naruto), had the funny image in my head of a bunch of Spartans being swarmed by an army of that yellow spikey haired anime dude from Naruto like some crossover fan art. It had to be intentional because near that isle was the sci-fi books which had a different Halo novel there and the books were organised the same the next few times I was in the store.

 

[ctj]

Before NBA 2K19 came out, a GameStop near me had a cardboard cutout of LeBron in a Cavs jersey and someone had written "Lakers lol" on a piece of paper and taped it to the front of the jersey.

 

[JohnnyMoses]

I mean in that situation, that dude's probably just trying to boost his numbers (XB1X being the more expensive console). I'm guessing he knew what he was doing, but still good on you for stepping in. But the situation I'm talking about would be like the guy saying to them "I don't get why anyone would want a 4K console". Like at that point you're like "Just go get a different job. Clearly you're not good at selling things"

Click to shrink...

Yeah, I get they're different situations. Both examples of being a terrible salesperson though!

Heh, also some games do run at native 4K on PS4. It's always when those situations backfire.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, one of my first examples was that Skyrim is native 4K on Pro. He didn't agree. lol

 

[painey]

Gamestop manager passionately arguing with a small (10 years old or younger) child that while Breath of the Wild was a great game, it wasn't a great Zelda game.

 

[Okabe]

Anthem

 

[CRIMSON-XIII]

I was told at gamestop in the year that Battlefront 2... I was asked if I ordered it already, i said yeah. they asked through gamestop? i said , nah amazon, ... she said "you should consider cancelling it there in favor of the pre order here because you get some cool bonuses"

I said i am okay,

 

[AltissimaRatio]

the funnies thing i ever saw in a game shop was some buying a Copy of Mass Effect Andromeda. And no i dont made this up for topic purposes .. he actually bought one copy..
lmao

 

[BlakeofT]

Not "funny", but I went into an EB Games to buy an XB1 S one time and the two "cool dudes" working behind the counter were just sitting there discussing the consoles, and as I walk up to the counter the one neckbeard says to his other neckbeard cohort "Yeah, I don't get why anyone in their right mind would buy an Xbox One"...so instead of looking "out of my mind" for wanting to play Forza and Ori and PUBG at the time, I went to another store and picked one up. I'm sure they don't care that they cost their store that sale, and I'm sure they don't care that I've never come into their store again, but it's just one of those things where you probably shouldn't talk trash about the products your selling in front of your customers if you want to, you know, sell your products.

Click to shrink...

When I was a kid, a couple of my close friends and I made fun of the original Xbox because we were Nintendo fanboys. One of my closest friends had a birthday come along and I made him a card. The card basically just said "Xbox sucks, happy birthday". His mother was standing right there when he read the card out loud. Guess what she got for his birthday... I felt pretty bad haha. Of course it turns out he wanted that Xbox for Halo. We also happily played his JSRF.

I know it's unrelated to this topic, but I wanted to share because I was reminded of this story.

 

[Iori Fuyusaka]

I was told at gamestop in the year that Battlefront 2... I was asked if I ordered it already, i said yeah. they asked through gamestop? i said , nah amazon, ... she said "you should consider cancelling it there in favor of the pre order here because you get some cool bonuses"

I said i am okay,

Click to shrink...

And now they're going out of business.

You monster!

 

[Bill S. Preston Esq.]

When I worked at Gamestop a mother came in looking for Mario and Sonic at the Special Olympics. It was fucking hilarious. I felt bad laughing but maaaaaaaaan! Everyone in earshot were pissing themselves

 

[Goldenroad]

When I was a kid, a couple of my close friends and I made fun of the original Xbox because we were Nintendo fanboys. One of my closest friends had a birthday come along and I made him a card. The card basically just said "Xbox sucks, happy birthday". His mother was standing right there when he read the card out loud. Guess what she got for his birthday... I felt pretty bad haha. Of course it turns out he wanted that Xbox for Halo. We also happily played his JSRF.

I know it's unrelated to this topic, but I wanted to share because I was reminded of this story.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, that's always the worse feeling. The family and I got together for my Birthday this December and my brother was talking to me about the new Star Wars movie and, in so many words, I was like "I haven't seen it, and probably won't go to the theater to, because I really am not that big of a Star Wars fan"...well, of course his gift for me was this Star Wars Battle Drone. Kind of felt shitty after that one.

 

[Het_Nkik]

I once made a poor GameStop clerk look for WarioWare Snapped when picking up my DSi on launch because I didn't realize it wasa DSiWare-only game. I laughed about what a dummy I was when I got home and looked it up.

 

[Pankratous]

I got knocked back from buying a copy of FF8 that was 11+ on the case when I was 13. Didn't have ID because I was a fucking child. Weird.

Weirdly enough, this was in the UK and my current copy of FF8 doesn't have the age rating on it, and it took a fair bit of Googling to find a picture of one that did.

 

[TickleMeElbow]

There used to be this shop called Crazy Burt's Games or some shit, and the dude there was actually kinda crazy lol.

 

[djinn]

Gamestop manager passionately arguing with a small (10 years old or younger) child that while Breath of the Wild was a great game, it wasn't a great Zelda game.

Click to shrink...

This had me laughing for a few minutes. Thanks!

 

[A Grizzly Bear]

Gamestop manager passionately arguing with a small (10 years old or younger) child that while Breath of the Wild was a great game, it wasn't a great Zelda game.

Click to shrink...

AzerPhire and I used to work at EB Games together. I feel like this is something that may or may not have happened to him once regarding DBZ or Pokemon.

 

[Barrel Cannon]

EBgames held a halo anniversary tournament to celebrate its launch a week after. Me and some friends signed up m23 . Two of our friends didn't have enough for their team of 4 so they filled their positions with a little child(who was barely tall enough to hold the controller) and a random bum off the street. Both of their teammated were horrible and my friends somehow made it into the semi finals and got demolished by another team. All the EB employees were betting on that other team to win the tourney and then me, m23 and two other friends slaughtered them with like 50 to 4 in the finals. When we saw the postgame scoreboard we had to hold in our laughter and show good sportsmanship but dayum man. It's so hard to read competition in casual tournaments

 

[Lightning Count]

I once made a poor GameStop clerk look for WarioWare Snapped when picking up my DSi on launch because I didn't realize it wasa DSiWare-only game. I laughed about what a dummy I was when I got home and looked it up.

Click to shrink...

I did this with Ace Attorney Dual Destinies, I thought it was a physical release so I went down to the game shop day one to buy it, after they checked all their 3DS and DS stock, I found out it's an eShop only release after looking it up.

 

[Rotobit]

I pre-ordered a copy of The Force Unleashed for the PSP (I think my reasoning was that it had the versus mode from the Wii version without the waggle). The GameStation people behind the till looked at me bemused, laughed it off, but I stood there with the receipt in hand which kinda forced them to look. Lo and behold there were like five copies inside a box.

The PSP wasn't that dead in 2008

also for some reason last year GAME was selling ancient roll-back Pokémon toys from the initial merchandising wave that were covered in dust. I was seriously wondering if they were found buried under years of other products in a warehouse somewhere.

 

[Rirse]

Since nobody had this mentioned yet, when I used to work at Toys R Us I would get the customers who would ask for "Mario on the Playstation" and have to correct them.

Not long ago I walked into the local Gamestop I am a regular at and they had the posters behind the counter for the new releases. All the posters all nice and tiddy looking, except the WWE2020 one which had two big holes in it. It was already out at the time and I pointed out how it a buggy mess and they had a good laugh about the poster. Poster was still like that until it got replaced by something else.

Also at the same Gamestop I had something similar to the OP happen where two kids tried to buy GTA5 (might been another game) and got rejected for being underaged. This time however they did convince someone to buy the game for them, which the store manager saw them making the deal outside and refused to sell the game. Kid bought something else, but later the two kids came back with that game and wanted the money back. Not really a funny story, but what a mess.

 

[Fizzgig]

I saw some parents in GAME paying full price for games. Funniest shit ever.

 

[GamerJM]

One time in like 2006 there was a guy who asked an GameStop clerk for a strategy guide for Spider-Man 2. He checked their stock, said they didn't have it. Then the dude proceeded to go on a rant for well over ten minutes about how he needed a strategy guide because he couldn't beat Doc-Ock. He was basically asking the GameStop guy for tips himself, just went on and on about how hard Doc-Ock was. Then finally the GameStop guy leaned in and said "Okay, so there's this website called GameFAQs dot com. That's spelled Game F A Q S. You can find free guides for just about any video game there. Check that site." The guy then thanked the clerk and left empty handed.

I thought it was funny because I figured there was probably an unspoken policy among GameStop clerks that you generally shouldn't mention GameFAQs because it could hurt sales of strategy guides, so the guy had to lean in and be all hush-hush about it, but he still just wanted the doc-ock guy out of his face. I also thought it was funny because the guy going on the rant about Doc-Ock looked like he was in his 20s and it was just an awkward conversation to have with a game store clerk.

 

[Azurik]

Staff members at GAME pretending to know what they are talking about

 

[Transistor]

Years ago I worked at a Hollywood Video / Game Crazy. It was a slow day so I was hanging out at the GC talking to my friends who worked there and they popped into one of the demo machines the new Punisher game for PS2 (this one). It may have actually been just a demo disc with it on there, I can't remember, but my buddy goes off to help a customer and this little girl who was maybe 6 or 7 picks up the controller and starts to play. We instantly hear loudly hear "OH LOOK, IT'S THE FUCKING PUNISHER. NO SHIT!" blaring from the TV while this child proceeds to play a horribly violent video game. If memory serves, she didn't play it long, but the situation had me in tears at the time.

 

[Cloud-Hidden]

I live in Epic Games country, in North Carolina.

A couple of months ago I was in line to trade in some games, and there was a kid (probably 10 or 11) at the counter, and then a young man about my age (31) in front of me. The young man my age was with his wife or gf. The kid was buying a Fortnite figurine. Some kind of pop figure or something.

The young man turns around and gives his gf a knowing smirk, then turns back toward the kid buying the figure and says, in the swankiest way, "Hey, would it blow your mind if I told you that I work on that game?" The kid forced out a kind of half-chuckle and said "Yeah I guess" and wrapped up his purchase. He left the store without another word or look back at the Epic dude, who still looked rather pleased with himself. It was all I could do not to bust out laughing.

A couple of bartenders around here have rolled their eyes and told stories about the Epic Games folks rolling up in Teslas and acting like bros, but in my experience, they've all seemed really nice. I think the stories are largely bitter exaggerations at the expense of a very successful company and its young employees, but that one dude at Game Stop definitely thought he was on another level.

 

[Symphony]

A couple of guys walked into a Gamestation branch shortly after the PS3 launch, wanting to trade theirs in. Obviously the staff were interested because they'd be getting a used one in stock so soon, they open up the box to see.... the console had a MASSIVE hole in the shell where the Spiderman font would be. Literally looked like someone had hit it with a sledgehammer, it wasn't even in a way that could have happened if it were dropped, they had literally smashed it on purpose. Cue the staff looked at each other awkwardly and said "errr, we can't take this in", probably too shocked to laugh at how dumb the situation was.

 

[Green Mario]

Years ago I worked at a Hollywood Video / Game Crazy. It was a slow day so I was hanging out at the GC talking to my friends who worked there and they popped into one of the demo machines the new Punisher game for PS2 (this one). It may have actually been just a demo disc with it on there, I can't remember, but my buddy goes off to help a customer and this little girl who was maybe 6 or 7 picks up the controller and starts to play. We instantly hear loudly hear "OH LOOK, IT'S THE FUCKING PUNISHER. NO SHIT!" blaring from the TV while this child proceeds to play a horribly violent video game. If memory serves, she didn't play it long, but the situation had me in tears at the time.

Click to shrink...

Holy shit, this cracked me up lmao

 

[djplaeskool]

Maybe 10 or so years ago, there was a small chain of mom and pop game stores in Atlanta called Game Swap USA.
They used to think that just because a game was imported, it must be expensive.
The store on Roswell road was trying to sell an import Saturn copy of Virtual Hydlide for $90.

 

[Strat]

When I was in high school there was this little local game store across the street from my place and a friend and I would get out of classes and go every single day. The guy who owned the place was super chill, had an outrageous Indian accent and would tell us stories about his pet monkey Dede. We'd hang out with him, play games and just generally fuck around. The dude would also try to sell Tetrisphere constantly.

I have to stress that we visited this place nearly every day and that it was a fairly busy spot, so he would try and sell Tetrisphere at LEAST twice a day for about two years. This was a long ass fucking shtick. I recall so clearly a kid asking for Ready 2 Rumble and the dude going "Yes, boxing is quite fun, but what about Tetrisphere?"

Anyways, one time a dad came in looking for a game for his daughter, the dude swore up and down that the hottest item for the N64 was, in fact, Tetrisphere and FINALLY this dad ended up being the one to buy the game.

Less than an hour later, I shit you fucking not, another guy comes in and ASKS if he has Tetrisphere. After that I just remember a fucking blur, because dude had this completely blank look on his face and we were fucking roaring. I can't even remember what the guy who asked for the game DID after that. He must have just left and been like "what the fuck?" cause I don't even know if he got a response.

Man, I miss that store. :(

 

[Zombine]

When I worked at GameStop, there was a guy who we called "the hobbit" who would come in and try to quiz us on obscure video game titles and ask us if they were in stock. When we said no but talked to him about the game (usually some Japanese import) he would smirk and walk away.

 

[Fonst]

the funnies thing i ever saw in a game shop was some buying a Copy of Mass Effect Andromeda. And no i dont made this up for topic purposes .. he actually bought one copy..
lmao

Click to shrink...

This story sounds like the kind of people the people in this thread are complaining/making fun of...

 

[Kyrios]

I was in line at a GameStop and this guy walks into the store and tells the cashier that his son won a 360 from a Coca Cola sweepstakes and it broke and was wondering if he could return it and exchange for a new one since he only had it for like a week. Cashier explained to him that it doesn't work that way and the guy goes "This is why I don't like Coca Cola" and I just remember trying so hard not to laugh and then the cashier looks at me with the biggest "What the fuck just happened" face and we just start cracking up after the guy left.

 

[fixurheartordie]

Disregard

 

[Booya_base]

Maybe 10 or so years ago, there was a small chain of mom and pop game stores in Atlanta called Game Swap USA.
They used to think that just because a game was imported, it must be expensive.
The store on Roswell road was trying to sell an import Saturn copy of Virtual Hydlide for $90.

Click to shrink...

Hahaha this is amazing. I am one of the select group of weirdos who loves that game but even I would've felt ripped off by that!

 

[Prygelknabe]

Went to gamestop today to pick up Altirera Roronoa Xtrme deluxe ver.2 (this one includes bikinis for all the female assistants and a cat outfit for Reiko-chan). Anyway I had my pre-order and went to pick it up during lunch break. I had the standard edition ordered at amazon but I couldn't wait and wanted something to stare at at work. I decided to browse what else they had in stock (lol yearly sports games) when I heard a mother buying call of duty on the xbone. Can't stand annual sequels let alone dudebro of duty but I was shocked she was considering this. I had to let her know.

She said it was for her 10 year old son which I guess explains it as kids mostly play it. Anyways I politely informed her how the xbone ver. Is capped at 30fps and 720p. She didn't know what I meant so I explained how resolution and framerate effect games. I showed her the digital foundry article comparing the ps4 ver along with side by side videos. She was still set on getting the xbone ver. Which left me mad. Here I was presenting her with PROOF of how the ps4 ver is superior but she wouldn't listen. Oh well, I don't care but let's see what her stupid son thinks when he sees that. Lol and I know GameStop offed no refunds on unsealed games lol!

Anyways. I got to the counter and there was this obnoxious worker chatting to a female worker. I already hated him since he looked like a douche and was womanising at work. He kept smiling at people which was uncomfortable to watch. I told him about my preorder of Roronoa and he said "WHAT, can u speak more loudly sir" ummm I have aspergers/add/ocd/korn so that's how I speak. I don't need no douche who's probably a high school drop out tell me now to speak. Anyway the female worker begins to prepare my game and slightly laughs when she sees it. There's a reason why I don't date 3D human girls and that's why. It's pretty pathetic how Mieko-chama from the horrible hyper Neptune has a better personality then her. And she's a 6th tier maho shoujo in that game :lol.

So the douche asks me if id like to pre-order last of us remastered. I was completely enraged. How dare he ask me to pre Oder something. I'm only here for Roronoa. If I wanted to make conversation id speak with my FRIENDS (on IRC) and this just makes me feel awkward. I twitched and mumbled no. After 10 seconds he asked if I wanted to pre order Titan fall. At this point I lost it (mentally inside) do I look like I fucking have an xbone? Why the fuck would I pay $500 for inferior hardware, inferior ports, no Japanese support and worst of all, support M$. Argghggh. Anyway I mumbled no again and after paying made a for a quick exit.

As I was leaving I bumped into a young woman. I quickly tried moving so not to be a burden but she utters "sorry?" In a condenscending voice, as if I owe her something. It was an ACCIDENT and we were both at fault. Why the fuck do I have to apologise and waste breathe. I awkwardly mumbled something and moved. At that point her douche of a bf appeared and shouted "u better walk away!"........."The last person who said that ended up in hospital" is what I should have said, but I quickly apologised and made for my office. God this country is so fucked. Counting the days till I move Asakusa (20 mins on the hibiya line from Akihabara!)

I'm sitting here now in my office reading the Roronoa manual along with the artbook and I'm still shaking. First it appears they've changed Hinata-chans age from 13 to 16......ummmmmm ok.....? Wish this was announced beforehand but whatever. This is why I never shop at GameStop as it's not the first time I've had a bad experience. but the ver.2 Xtrme edition was exclusive to them.....
I'm not sure what to do at this point. I'm considering calling up his boss and telling him what happened today. Anyway, gotta get back to work, sorry, just had to get this off my chest. I'll post screens and leave impressions of Roronoa after work! Used my vacation time so I have the whole week off for this!