I want to cure all GBAs... amongst other things

[cinabar]

Now, I recently had an Afterburner from Xyramax installed... and it turned my dark - squinty - annoying GBA into the perfect handheld... it truly is a miracle product. Yep, I love my Afterburner....

Now, here is the thing.... I have a bizarre desire to go up to people and tell them about it... I saw this guy sitting there leaning near a window, with a light beaming down on him, and his GBA held at the perfect awkward angle... and there it was, I had to fight this urge to tell him about it.... but perhaps I should have?

I had a similar feeling when a guy an gal where looking to buy a ps2 game to play together and ended up getting Who Wants To Be A Millionaire... and I was fighting back shouting: "Buy Balders Gate Dark Aliance..... for heaven's sake!"

But what do you do?

I will look like a nutter, or a sales girl, or like I am chatting them up...

Is it socially acceptable to go up to people you don't know and recommend game stuff to them, you know.. gamer to gamer???? Does anybody out there actually do it... and is anybody thankful for the advice???

[Garibaldi Biscuit]

An interesting question, and unfortunatly one that has, IMO, no straight answer. If someone looked to be in considerable distress with a gaming product, as you mentioned with the gent angling his GBA, I prob would be tempted to suggest the Afterburner to him - yet you have no guarantee he won't see you as a smug git rubbing his face in it, you really need to assess the person before you make the suggestion and, therefore, it is just easier not to risk it.

I think it would be a brave thing to do, myself, as too many people are still flailing around in the gaming pool, inevitably making mistakes as they try to grab hold of a title and/or product. Your instance involving the WWTBAM game is a good example as it can cut both ways, the couple may know exactly what they want and therefore find your subtle suggestion that they don't offensive. Yet if you approached it in a polite and casual way and they were reasonable people it's unlikely they'd look poorly on your input, even if they decide not to go by it.

If you do find the courage to graciously intervene in such situations then I commend you, and it would be very interesting to see what kind of a response you recieved each time ( we'll need an average of course, so I recommend you bother at least ten people and then report back )

[Sigur]

In a word: No. I'd tell them where to go (to GAME) if someone came up to me and started telling me what or what not to buy. Unless it was a hot chick, then I may listen, or at least pretend to.

[John Beaulieu]

once i was in Game buying a memory card when some peeps were discussing the merits of various footie games on the psx - now being something of a connesieur in the genre i pointed out to the that ISS Pro Evolution was the best footie game available at the time (this was many years ago btw) --- i then proceeded to give them a 10 minute discourse about the game, answering all the questions they had to ask and explaining the perfect mechanics of the game compared to its rivals

thinking i had done my good deed for the day i then proceeded to hunt out the memory card i needed.

being a saturday Game was crowded so i spent some time getting my mem card and when i finally got to the checkout the peeps who i had advised were buying their game

imagine my surprise and disgust when i noticed that they had taken all my good advice and proceeded to buy Adidas Power Soccer --- which i expect they returned before the ink was dry on their receipt

camps

[saif]

To be fair, both the games mentioned here WWTBAM and power soccer are fine games if you want games like that. We don't and so they are not great. I can totally see how WWTABM could be good fun for those people, even though it is a ****e game. |People do want different things out of games.
I think some people need to remember tha. It is a shame they missed out on some pro evo action as hat would have sorted them out forever but you did what you could.

[Firsty]

A GIRL!!11!
It's a GIRL!!1!
We don't get many of those!
GET IN THERE GARI!

*ahem*
Hi, welcome
I think you should have told the guy about the afterburner.
And chatted him up...

[phillai]

once i was in Game buying a memory card when some peeps were discussing the merits of various footie games on the psx - now being something of a connesieur in the genre i pointed out to the that ISS Pro Evolution was the best footie game available at the time (this was many years ago btw) --- i then proceeded to give them a 10 minute discourse about the game, answering all the questions they had to ask and explaining the perfect mechanics of the game compared to its rivals

thinking i had done my good deed for the day i then proceeded to hunt out the memory card i needed.

being a saturday Game was crowded so i spent some time getting my mem card and when i finally got to the checkout the peeps who i had advised were buying their game

imagine my surprise and disgust when i noticed that they had taken all my good advice and proceeded to buy Adidas Power Soccer --- which i expect they returned before the ink was dry on their receipt

camps

So flipping funny mate!

I get this sort of **** all the time as I run CEX and it pisses me off more so when people forever think that Fifa is better than PE2...

[Sieg]

Is it socially acceptable to go up to people you don't know and recommend game stuff to them, you know.. gamer to gamer???? Does anybody out there actually do it... and is anybody thankful for the advice???

Well, I wouldn't do it personally - impose on someone with my advice - - but if they happened to ask my opinion, then I'd be quite happy to give it. Then again, being mostly an importer, I don't find myself in the local gaming chain-stores very often these days ...

Interestingly though - when I was in the US a while back, I was surprised at how open folks were in stores there. I was standing in an EB pondering RPGs - when this guy out of the blue gave me an appraisal of a particular title, and his friend joined in - and we ended up having an enjoyable conversation. It was all very casual and relaxed, and I was glad of the advice. A little later on in another place pretty much the same thing happened and I was able to save some money on a recommendation made to me ... again, mutual understanding of the matters being discussed ... it was great.

Perhaps this friendly indentification of a 'fellow gamer' is due to the wider acceptability of gaming as an adult pastime over there ? I certainly couldn't imagine that sort of situation here in New Zealand ...

S.

[bowser123]

I don't think you should say anything. Sometimes when Im at work at telling people about a game they have asked me about some customer jumps in and offers advice. About 80% of the time they are totally unwelcome, with the original customer just standing on looking a little uncomfortable.
If the people are too stupid not too read reviews from the 6 million sources available then leave them to buy a crap game. I only offer an opinion at work when I'm asked so I don't think a complete stranger would get a good response.
Unless you are hot, of course....

[cinabar]

I know it isn't really socially acceptable.... thats probably why, as yet, I haven't done it!

But i still can't help wanting to... The guy witht he GBA was struggling, I could have solved his problems... *sigh*

At some point I will try helping... and let you know how I get on...

[Firsty]

YES! The US was so bizzare!
I couldn't get used to it. I was out shopping with my US friends in stores. And we'd be looking at stuff, and they'd just start converstations. All I could do was blush and look uncomfortably British. They do it everywhere! On the subway, in the cinema (they also clap there, wtf?) in museums. Took me a while to adjust.

After getting used to it on my second visit I tried giving it a go.
In an import games store some kid came in looking. He saw a US copy of DBGT Real Bout or something and was all "WOW $400 for that" and the clerk guy was all "yeah, it's R@RE!" I just had to step in, afterall I'd just bought Sonic 3 and Knuckles and the Clerk guy had the audacity to ask "is this a game?". I let them know how rediculous that price was. Asked how if it's so rare why they had about 30 copies of it in the glass counter. And pointed out that they weren't even sealed, and that the Jap version is even more rare but can be picked up for a fraction of the price. Also said how the UK version which had a limited run only costs $20. Hehe. The clerk guy just shut up. Then the kid asked me about some PS2 fighters and decided he'd get CvsSNK2, which I had to point out to him on the shelf 'cos the shop guy couldn't find it.

So yeah it can be quite fun. Just gotta pick your moment and sell your point I guess.

[Spectre]

I guess it's not that bad to go up to someone and give them advice. If it's just a friendly gesture, hopefully they might thank you... either that or just ignore you, think it's a come on or think you're a sales girl!

Isn't it more fun to see someone struggle?

Although I recently showed a kid in a toy store how to use a battery powered Thomas The Tank Engine train! It was rather amusing when her father returned from the cash desk with huge boxes and bags of stuff to see the girl more interested in something else...

Maybe I'm just a sadist?! 8)

[evilmatt]

I get this sort of **** all the time as I run CEX and it pisses me off more so when people forever think that Fifa is better than PE2...

Depends. I consider myself a pretty hardcore gamer (eurgh horrible term) but more of a football fan. For me, I would rather play a pretty good game with the real teams and players, than an excellent game with made up players. Without the real teams, it takes away all the meaning and passion that my real-world football loyalties bring to a game of FIFA, and so despite the shortcomings of the FIFA game engine, the game is more fun.

[dgnr7982]

This is a similar situation I have all the time in the gym - do I point out to people that they are on the verge on wrecking their knees/back if they continute to exercise in such a manner or do I just leave them to get on with it.
So far I have always just left them to it - I don't want to appear arrogant and if they don't take the time to do the research then its their fault what happens to them.
Offering advice to complete strangers is just not something I would do.
The only time I have ever intervened was when a bloke couldn't quite re-rack the bar during a bench press and was just about to be crushed as his left arm buckled.

[Sarkster]

I like to think that during my time working for EB (several years ago) I talked many people out of buying FIFA rehashes. In fact I toyed with the idea of refusing to serve people **** games (IMHO)

Im obviously not cut out for retail!