Nerd Mentality

A Rockin' Disappointment

Posted October 29th 2007 by Curtis Brunet.

Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock went on sale Sunday morning, and if launch parties are any indication, the game was going to be huge. Sales were expected to be bigger then ever, as interest grew and grew. I myself, am an avid Guitar Hero, and was highly expecting to be rocking out Through the Fire and Flames by Sunday evening.

Alas, Wal-Mart, along with my paltry town of 75000 people plotted against me to not let me play the game.

Oh Pembroke Ontario, how I loathe the sometimes.

For the record, Wal-Mart does indeed currently have, by my rough estimate, 40 or so copies of Guitar Hero 3 for the Xbox 360. Great I thought, and Sunday I rushed in and grabbed a copy. Seeing the Xbox 360 logo, I grabbed my case, paid for it, and walked out the door. It was when I arrived at home that I became unsettled... why was there a picture of an X-Plorer guitar adorning my case? What black magic is this? My next stop was Joystiq.com, and to my horror, this story was the one that greeted my eyes. Apparently Wal-Mart has an exclusive on an unannounced wired bundle that they just so happened to sell to everyone unnassuming wanna-be Guitar Hero who would be foolish enough to purchase (accidentally or otherwise).

I really have no one to blame except myself.

Regardless, I realized my error, and during my lunch break casually walked into my Wal-Mart and informed them that I was returning the worthless Guitar Hero 3 version they sold me, and would like to purchase the "actual" copy of the game. I guess the clerk I spoke to didn't get the joke. She walked me over to the display case and showed me the copies of Guitar Hero 3, which I politely informed her was the exclusive bundle Wal-Mart was attempting to pass off as the real thing.

Well, she was unsure what I was looking for, and assured me that this was the only type of Guitar Hero 3 for the Xbox 360 they had, and also could not tell me when they could expect the actual title (for the record, they also did not have the title for the PlayStation 3, or the Wii). With sadness in my heart, I then asked her the last question on my mind: "Can I even return the copy I got?" My heart sunk when she replied with a resounding "No". Luck was not on my side. Finally, after a bit of discussion, I convinced the Customer Service clerk to take the unopened box back, but that still didn't help me: Where could I buy Guitar Hero 3?

I arrived back at work and immediately hit the phones: Blockbuster, Zellers, CD-Plus, every single store that I could think of that possibly sold video games I called; nothing. Blockbuster had received 6 copies on Sunday, but sold out quickly and did not anticipate receiving anything shortly. Zellers and all other stores hadn't received anything at all. So in total, in my large enough town (population of roughly 75000), there were a total of six copies of Guitar Hero 3 with the proper controller. Six. Not anticipating any soon, I am now forced to drive 150KM just to purchase a video game.

Sometimes I hate living in a small town. This weekend I am heading to Boston to take in the Ottawa Senators VS the Boston Bruins, and I think I plan on taking The Ottawa Citizen's advice and do my shopping in the states.

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