I really think that my local Toys R Us must have pissed off the video game distributors community somewhere along the line. I've already complained here many times that they get nothing on time, unless it's a presell game. Sure, they had Pokemon Sapphire and Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker right on time, but anything else? Forget it. Fatal Frame? No. Sonic Adventure 2 Battle? Nope. Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance? No way. The Three Stooges? Nuh uh. Weeks can go by before some games will hit the York store racks.
(Meanwhile, the Lancaster store some 30 minutes away is like fucking gaming Valhalla, with all the games on time and all promo materials displayed prominently.)
Listen to this. Metroid Prime... without a doubt Nintendo's biggest game last fall/winter. I stop by on launch day... nothing. I know, I know, launch day is often actually get-the-damn-games-in-the-semi day, so I can't fault them for that. I stop by on launch day+1. Nothing. I call the store on launch day+2. "Oh yeah, we have that." As if it was nothing more than the daily shipment of Mary Kate and Ashley Bicycle Baskets.
The guy then goes to double-check that the Metroid Prime tickets were indeed out on the floor. And they were not. Metroid Goddamn Prime was sitting in the back of the warehouse because no one had bothered to print up the flippin' yellow tickets.
So last night we run out to get Wind Waker, and I stop by the display for the GBA SPs. They have little signs up reading "The Nintendo eReader is not compatible with the Game Boy Advance SP." Bullshit! Wrong! Incorrect! Every website and magazine asked this question months ago, and Nintendo has repeatedly assured us that the eReader does work with the SP. I was going to tear the little signs down, but I figured that would just look like simple vandalism and not conscientious objection, so I wrote "YES, IT DOES!" on the bottom of every sign.
I'll be watching to see if that lasts. And as you might imagine, I'm in Toys R Us quite a bit.
