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It depends on the type of retail working really. Some places like Wal-Mart and Target generally give you a whole different experience from someplace like Electronics Boutique or another chain of stores. I have friends that work in both types of retail, and frankly, working for a place like EB is not that great unless you know the people working there. I say this because EB (well, Gamestop really) has quotas that have to be met. You have to sell a certain number of preorders, a certain number of subscriptions, a certain number of UPTs (units per transaction), a certain number of "game of the month" titles, a certain number of used games, blah blah blah every week. If you don't meet your numbers, you can be written up. Get written up three times, and your ass is fired... all because you didn't sell enough used games, or get enough people to buy their "discount" cards. And here's the kicker... if you meet every quota, guess what? You get nothing. Not even a "good job". Do well, and you hear nothing. Falter a little in one area, you get your job threatened (be it by your store manager, or a regional one). The company gets the cash from your quotas, and you get to keep your job and not be in trouble as a thank you. Nice huh? Not exactly a good way to make for a great working atmosphere... especially when you're reminded of low numbers every day (again, unless you're friends with the people you work with). Thankfully, I've never had to work in a quota-centric retail job. Retail, yes, but not a quota-based one. Now obviously, Gamestop/EB aren't the only types of retail store that has quotas to meet. There are plenty of them around. Some quota-centric store chains do offer you incentives to meet the quotas (bonuses, extra discounts if you by from the store, etc.), but compared to places that don't require such things, it's not hard to imagine why some people prefer non-quota retail over quota-centric retail. So in your hunt for a retail job, take note of whether or not weekly/monthly quotas are a part of the deal you're trying to be hired into. Do some research if you can, and don't be afraid to ask about them in your interviews. Try not let them think you find quotas horrid (be it vocally, or through body language), as not every place is as big a stickler on them as others (some may just encourage you to try harder, without actually threatening your job). But as the old commercials used to say, "The More You Know"...

I don't make too many threads about celebraties who have passed on. But this time, I feel the need to. Richard Jeni died of a apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head on March 10th. Nothing's been released as to why, or even if it really was suicide. But the comedic world lost a great member in its cast. I remember the first time I saw him was on The Tonight Show long ago when I was younger. He was making fun of the horrid movie "Jaws 4: The Revenge", and I remember laughing at his observations and jokes at that movie's expense. Fast forward a number of years, and after seeing him make quick TV appearance on various shows, I saw Jeni's "A Good Catholic Boy". I laughed my ass off through the entire thing, and laughed a lot at his "A Big Steaming Pile of Me" that came about years later. I've always enjoyed his comedic mixture of sarcasm and commentary as he talked about everything from the absurd, to the every day. While I have negative feelings towards those who choose suicide over trudging through whatever is giving them problems, I still can't help but feel saddened at the loss of a comedian who, while not always in the public eye, was constantly enjoyable to watch and listen to. So rest in peace Richard Jeni. Don't know what brought you to this end, but thanks for all the laughs over the years.

http://www.segagagadomain.com/welcome-news.htm More news. The above site got a hold of the preview disc, and put up a lot of stuff from it. This includes three MP3s, a larger version of the movie, some screen grabs from that movie, and a bunch of CGI images. Just click the "here" at the top of the page. Armoured Priest- This requires more than just playing other shmups. Ten Nintendo fanboys must be sacrificed, along with their systems.

I'm cutting to the chase on this one. Game- Android Assault Spot- Final Boss Problem- $&*#@%!!! After a series of stages that are really quite easy (even on "Hard"), this game pulls a demonic SNK move on you. The final stage ramps the difficulty up considerably, but the final boss takes it even further. First, you have to fight two forms. Form #1 consists of a fast moving bullet spray that tracks you, so there's no "safe spot" to use each time the boss fires. This is fired twice, with a missile shot between each spread. Afterwards, it fires a big, quick laser that also tracks where you are. But guess what? The weak spot on the boss is in its mouth, which only opens when it fires this big laser, and you'll only get a couple seconds to hit that spot. Should you manage to out last this, you encounter form #2. This one has a fleshy set of "arms" above and below you, narrowing your maneuvering room considerably. Various types of bullet and laser shots crop out of the two "arms", and the mouth still fires at you... and you still have to hit it in the mouth. The sad part is, no weapon can seem to make short work of this boss, so the fight lasts a good while. It's a real pain in ass, thanks to this final area being so much harder than the rest of the game. There have been times where I've used every last continue on this final stage and boss just trying to get to the ending. It's a boss that smacks your ass back down to Earth just as you're thinking you're a shmuping god Edit: Typos.

Yes, it's that time of year again. Except this time, it's coming early. How early? Well, in about ten hours... all so we can save energy. Although, I don't believe anyone's explained just how this will save us energy. Seems to me, that the sun will still in the sky for same number of hours, and it'll still be down the same number of hours. As such, you'll still have to run everything that's "time of day" dependent for the same length of time. And if it's hot or cold where you are, you'll still be running the heaters and air conditioners for the same length of time. Brilliant way to save energy, yes? Anyway, here's a handy little tip for those who either weren't aware of DST's early arrival, or aren't aware that not everything will be done for you... -Clocks- Watches, clocks in your home/car/microwave/VCR/etc.- Reset them manually. -Computers- Windows- For Vista, it will update itself. For 2000/XP, make sure you have automatic updates turned on. If it doesn't update, go to here and follow the instructions. For 98, 95 and ME, you'll have to change it manually. Mac- For Tiger/Panther, it'll update itself. For older OSes, you'll have to change it manually. For stuff like time dependent software (MS Outlook calenders, stock market software, etc.), they should update with your computer. But make sure of this, as things like appointments might be an hour off. So double check them. For things like PDAs, fax machines, and iPods, you'll have to fix it manually. For stuff like mobile phones, TiVo, etc., companies have been saying that they'll be updated automatically for you. Just thought I'd give a heads up for those not completely aware of what needed to be done, and maybe get someone to explain how GWB's seemingly idiotic idea is going to save anyone energy.

If this turns out to be for real and not some cruel joke, you bet your ass I am Thanks for the translation, Evilhead.

With the exception of the Wii, there's not a lot to do with the system you bought unless you fork out more dough (except browse, but your PC does that already). That's probably the biggest thing I miss about pack-in games. I mean sure, Altered Beast wasn't exactly ground breaking, and neither was Sol-Feace or even Super Mario World. But they were fun, "free", and made your new game system usable before you even got it out of the box with no extra cash having to be handed over. I miss that kind of thing. ... I'm reiterating again, aren't I? Time for bed I think.

Um, weren't we in another thread just a few minutes ago? If it's a preorder bonus, then it isn't much of a pack-in at all. Though I think the preorders are a great idea in the way the Japanese has done that even with their music CDs such as limited edition or limited print casing and small trite goodies that would be further the incentive to get it early while supplies last (as they don't last long. Music CD, DVD and Game editions sell out within days even if they're not that good). I think you took that a bit too literally I didn't mean a direct comparison to a pre-order bonus, but rather the concept behind it... getting something extra that may not be needed, but it's nice to get and adds more value and entertainment (and usefulness?) to what you bought. System pack-ins and pre-order bonuses are different by nature and how you get them, but they're at least somewhat similar in purpose. That's what I was getting at.

You obviously haven't hung around game stores much, have you? Anyway, it has nothing to do with consumer intelligence, consumer age, gaming press levels, or game sales. It was simply a way of giving the consumer something to actually use with their new system, without charging them another sixty dollars. It was pure gravy, and the pack-in was usually chosen carefully to boot so that it would be seen as a perk. It put a game in peoples' hands (one that might not be available for sale right away, if at all, which made it look like even more of a perk), showing them what the system could do with a full fledged game instead of some crummy demo, and giving them a use for that nifty new system (remember, not everyone can buy a system and five games with it... or even one game these days). No offense to you I-n-j-i-n, or anyone else, but I'm not sure why the pack-in subject keeps bouncing around to things other than what it seems to be at its core... giving the consumer more for their money (something that hasn't been done in the game system world for a long time). If it helps, think of it along the same lines as a pre-order bonus. Is it needed for sales? Not really. Would it help sales? To at least some degree, yes. Would it be appreciated by the people buying the system? If it's chosen wisely, most likely (you can apply this to the "sales" part too). It's an idea that used to work, and it worked on several levels. And frankly, as long as the pack-in wasn't something akin to Mortal Kombat Advance or Total Recall in quality, it would again. I'll stop beating you guys over the head with my babbling now

Please God, have Metroid Prime 3 and SSB. be good! ...and I don't mean The Coop being God unless I missed soemthing in the book of Revolation.

But that's on both the Wii and the Gamecube... and it was mostly made for the Gamecube. So really, the Wii has yet to get its first truly exclusive killer app. That's likely to change later this year though.

Wouldn't it be nice to at least see them try the idea though? Can't say it won't work if no one even tries it out. And remember, the GameBoy, Genesis, Master System, NES, Atari 2600/7800/XE/Jaguar, 3DO and Sega CD had no real iconic mascot when they launched, but they all had games with them. You don't need a mascot really. All you need is a good (hear that 3DO?) game

That's kind of how it read going through Babelfish, but I was hoping someone would clarify it more. Thanks. Since that was first posted... http://d.hatena.ne.jp/kaihi/20070219/1171898049 http://b.hatena.ne.jp/entry/4012546 ... a poster named ED-057 found those two pages talking a bit about the "game". Anything of importance in there?

It's not about you, my friend. Nor is it about me. It's about the general populous as a whole, and giving them more than just the bare bones minimum for their money... like they used to do. Sweetening the deal for a little more money is always a good second option to give people, and a game is a great way to do it. It may not be a selling point to you or possibly me, but it'll be one to a lot of folks if the game isn't a polished turd. Sega, Nintendo, SNK and others did it before with success, so there's no reason for Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo to not do it now. And while I know this is the age of charging people for every last little thing a game/system maker can think of, that doesn't change how bogus the current setup comes across as being when you look back.

Actually, that was a port of Thunder Force AC... except they made things look and sound worse than the arcade game (and the Genesis game for that matter), replaced a couple levels over what the arcade game did, and mushed up the controls. Basically, it wasn't worth mentioning

No one said you'd have to buy the pack-in version, Evilhead, and that's the beauty of it. You had a choice in the 80's and the first half of the 90's whether you just wanted the system, or the system and a game. You don't have that now, and that's been my point. If I recall, some systems used to debut with a game, and then the core system came later. Now it's reversed, except the pack-in version rarely comes along later... and if it does, it's very short lived.

Which brings me back to the notion of "They're stiffing you". Consumer demand for popular items is always high. The original GameBoy had nigh demand, as did the Genesis, the SNES, the NES, the PS1, the PS2, and other assorted systems. But somewhere along the way, game companies decided to stop including something for you to do. Instead, you're left having to shell out extra cash to actually be able to use your system as something beyond a paper weight. Remember the 8bit and 16bit eras? Remember how people had a choice of either a system with a pack-in game, or just a core system? Usually the choice with the pack-in cost about $20 or so more, but even that price difference was still less than what you'd pay to get a game off the shelf (and the pack in was usually a good game). You were actually saving money buying the pack-in version. But right about the time the Saturn and PS1 hit, this option vanished, and all you had was the "core" system. Your choices were cut in half, and these days, a system is out for quite a while before it gets a pack-in to try and ramp up sales (and that's assuming it ever gets a pack-in). All the financial models in the world can't hide the fact that this reads as simply a way for a given console manufacturer to get more cash out of consumer pockets. After all, why give someone a game for half the price that it would normally cost, when you can force them to pay full price? And why take a chance of loosing third party licensing income, when you could force people to buy a game that the console maker gets a sales percentage of? But to address the consumer demand part again, that's always been a factor in the gaming world. A system maker relied on not just giving you a new system, but also giving you "more for your money" to make their system look more attractive. That usually meant extras in the form of a game, or even several games (anyone remember the 6-in-1 cart for the Genesis?). This went on from the 2600 right up the Neo-Geo and the Sega CD. After that, this sales model vanished, and only seems to resurface when sales have gone stagnant (or at least seem stagnant compared to a couple months earlier). And once the sales are up again, that pack-in or "buy this and get a free game" promotion is discontinued. Call it whatever financial model you like, but at its core, it's still a cheap way to get more money from the consumer by giving them less, while still charging them a lot of cash. Console makers these days just come off as wanting to suck every last dime form you that they can, without giving you anything extra. Sure, they had the same outlook then too, but they hid it a lot better I mean, the Nintendo Wii is the first mainstream system in a long time to actually go back to that old pack-in model, and look how well that concept was received. That says something pretty important to me.

Hardware companies used to use killer aps as selling points, but they now have sufficient product differentiation to generally lean on their brand name. aka They're determined to suck more money from you right off the bat, and refuse to give you "something for nothing" as it were.

Neo-Geo - $649.99 Of course, that came with a game (Magician Lord), two controllers and a memory card. Which begs the question... what the hell is up with game companies no longer offering pack-in games with systems when they launch (save for the Wii)? $400-$600 is a lot to pay and not get a damn game (and no, demos don't count).

SHOOSH! Or we'll turn this project around and go home. I MEAN IT!

If I say "Happy Birthday" again, can I also say "In before lock"?

Phantasy Star Universe's Alcoholics Anonymous?

Better still, get utterly shit faced, and post while in that condition. It'll be fun... for us.

TF1- Sharp X1, Sharp MZ-1500, NEC PC-6001 mkII, and NEC PC-8801 mkII TF1 Construction- Fujitsu FM-7 and NEC PC-9801 TF2- X68000 Sharp, Genesis, Saturn TF3- Genesis, Saturn TF AC- Arcade, Saturn TF4- Genesis, Saturn TF5- Saturn, PS1