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advertising
This is the first (and I hope the last) senseless advertisement to try and ride the coattails of Grand Theft Auto IV's tremendous success to get people to buy things totally unrelated.
Target knows, the ad says, that you're spending all of your time playing GTA, but don't forget Mother's Day. That's right: GTA and Mother's Day in the same sentence. Classy.
independent gaming
[EGP T-shirts] sold slightly less then what Target views as good enough to keep in store. But [the distributors] are going to try the line out at places like Hot Topic and Urban Outfitters in the coming months. We will see how it goes.Hot Topic? Surely things haven't gotten that dire, have they?
Kotakuite Michael N. sends in this humorous and rather sad photo from his local Target. It seems that this particular Target had a surfeit of copies of Crackdown and is now offering them all up on an endcap for $15 a piece. Michael claims he checked and each and every one of those is a copy of Crackdown. Even for a large retail outlet like Target this seems like a ridiculous amount of copies to have of one game. It's also a bit of a shame considering I really liked Crackdown. It was one of the first games I got for my 360 and I thoroughly enjoyed it. On the other hand, it's a perfect opportunity for those of you who haven't tried it out yet to get it for a cheap price.
independent gaming
playstation 2
Target's weekly ad has some pretty sweet deals this time around. The Rock Band Special Edition bundle for both PS3 and 360 is going for $149 (in store only) which is about $20 off the usual price. Also featured is a $40 gift card with the purchase of the 40GB PS3 and a $10 gift card with the purchase of one of eleven different games. Here's some of the highlights:
Devil May Cry 4 (PS3, 360)
Heavenly Sword (PS3)
Assassin's Creed (PS3, 360)
Call of Duty 4 (PS3, 360)
Halo 3 (360)
Mass Effect (360)
Lost Odyssey (360)
If you're feeling like a shopping spree you could pick up a couple games and use those gift cards to put towards that Rock Band bundle bringing the price down to a comfortable $129.
Best of the Sunday Ad Video Game Deals (2/17 - 2/23) [CheapAssGamer]
Good news and bad news from the retail front. The recently released and uncharacteristically edgy Advance Wars: Days of Ruin is sold out at at least one Target store, which is a good thing for sales. The bad news? Target is suggesting to unsuspecting gamers—or God forbid, their parents, friends and loved ones—that an acceptable substitution for the game is the Game Boy Advance version of High School Musical. Proof that Target is run by sadists.
Reader William was there to capture the tragedy, for this we thank him.
If you missed out on Assassin's Creed when it first came out and have been looking for an excuse to pick it up, this might be your chance. Target is offering Ubisoft's latest for $38 on both Xbox 360 and PS3. This deal is not available online so you'll have to haul your can down to the store if you want to get your hands on this one. Also available at the same price is that other Ubisoft game, Raving Rabbids 2. Hmmmm, rough choice...
Best of the Sunday Ad Video Game Deals (1/13 - 1/19) [CheapAssGamer]
wii
I think it's probably safe to assume that most stores sold of out their Wii pretty damn quickly yesterday. I haven't yet tried calling around, but on Sunday I did swing by one of the local Targets to pick up some non-game related stuff for an upcoming trip. Just for fun I hopped on by the game section to see how things were going. Not only had the store sold out of their Wii stock, they had sold out of Remotes and Nunchucks. One of the employees I talked to said they had an amazing 160 Wii in stock Sunday morning. All of them were gone by 8:15 a.m., he said.
I overheard him talking to two parents, tragically late to the Wii consumer bloodbath earlier that day. They first tentatively asked about the Wii and then, when they found out they missed the boat, said they weren't even sure their son wanted a Wii. The sales clerk dove right in.
"How old is your son?"
"16"
Slight grimace
"I'm 18 and I have a Wii and a 360. The Wii is fun for when friends come over, but I usually play my 360."
In the end I think the parents decided to leave empty handed. I almost told them about the GameStop rain checks, but changed my mind. Who wants a piece of paper for Christmas?
original
Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime confirmed today what we first broke earlier this week, Best Buy and six other national retailers will be stocking Wii this weekend. And by stocking I mean they will be advertising the console in their weekly circulars (except Wal-Mart) and then throwing the consoles up on the shelves come the weekend and then running away.
Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart, Sears, Kmart, Toys R Us and Circuit City are all stocking the Wii this weekend for those still on the hunt. We had several tips after our rumor story ran about the stock issue.
According to Best Buy tipsters it sounds like all stores will have at least 21 of the consoles with some carrying as many as 100. I've also heard that Best Buy is expecting a second shipment next week which is supposed to go straight to shelves. Most stores will get them sometimes before noon. The bad news is that rumor has it that that will be the last pre-Christmas shipment for Best Buy, though they expect more in early January.
Target, another tipster tells me, has a big stockpile as well, some stores have more than 100. So this weekend sounds like your best chance to pick up a Wii, unless you don't mind buying a raincheck.
censorship
"Target strives to provide merchandise that will appeal to a wide variety of guests. We also want guests to be comfortable with the purchasing decisions they make at Target. All video games and computer software sold at Target currently carry ratings by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB)—from early childhood through mature audiences. While Manhunt 2 was given a Mature rating by the ERSB, we received additional information that players can potentially view previously filtered content by altering the game code. As a result, we have decided not to carry the game."Note that I am no longer finding the game on Target's web site either, but they do still sell the guide in case you suck that badly. More »
If you're one of the few PlayStation 2 stragglers who haven't already picked up a pair of Guitar Hero controllers via a previous installment of the game, you might want to hit up your local Target store on the 28th. They'll have a special exclusive Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock bundle available for the PS2, including the game and two specially designed guitar controllers, along with the standard guitar strap and sticker combo package. The whole deal runs for $109.99, which considering one guitar controller adds $40 to the game's retail price ends up saving you $20 or so if you purchased the whole shebang separately. Seeing as I already have four guitar controllers in my living room, I'll pass on this one, but it's a hell of a good deal all things considered.
More »
not cheap
The latest CAGcast brings word that electronics retailer Circuit City has served CAG Productions with a subpoena. CAG Productions is responsible for popular video game shopping community CheapAssGamer.com, which has 100,000 registered members. The retail giant wants CAG to turn over all personal information about registered forum member Speedy1961, who has been posting weekly CC ads prior to their release on the site. Speedy has also posted them on DVDtalk.com, and that site appears to have received legal action as well. The subpoena mentions one CheapAssGamer thread in particular, which prior to E3, revealed that the PS3 would get a price drop. That same thread also included pricing for games at Circuit City as well as game prices at Target and Best Buy. From the thread:
* GAMERS / MOVIE AFFICIANADOS: Please note $100 Price Break on Playstation 3 Game System which brings the price down to $499.99 // Remember that you can get 5 free Blu-Ray DVDs with purchase of any Blu-Ray Player / Game system by going here: http://www.bluraysavings.com/
This was wedged in between details about the Wii and other details. As mentioned aboved, information about Best Buy and Target was also noted. CAG Productions CEO David Abrams (AKA "CheapyD") has hired a lawyer. "The CAG community's trust and respect is very important to me, so I've hired legal representation to deal with the situation," Abrams tells Kotaku.
blu christmas
early release
Sony President Ryoji Chubachi may be denying any Playstation 3 price cut, but that's not stopping the retail moles from saying that they're true.
The $100 price drop started yesterday when a Circuit City ad surfaced saying the PS3 was going to be selling for $499. Then GameDaily confirmed with "a merchandising manager at one of the world's biggest retailers" that the price drop was true.
Today we've received word from moles at both Best Buy and Target that they too have word of a price drop. Our Target mole reports that the retail chain's inventory tracking program is listing retail for the 60GB PS3 at $499.99. And a mole at Best Buy tells us they just received their upcoming ads and that they all list the PS3 price at $499.99 as well.
Great conspiracy? Lots of lying moles? A fact-spinning Sony president? Only time will tell.
rumor
sales
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