November 22nd, 360 launch date, now has a special place in my heart as one of my most hated days. I didn't wait overnight to get denied a 360, get kicked out of line, or anything like that. Nope, I was one of those fine folks at Best Buy selling the systems. Hanging out with friends in the freezing Wisconsin weather for hours on end sounds fun in a masochistic way. Instead, I got to wake up at 4:30am, start unpacking boxes at 6:00am, and spend the next six hours giving the same shpeel about controllers and memory cards without a break, food, or even a trip to the bathroom.

Let me say first off, that our location did not do the bundles that many stores did. Instead, we took people one at a time through a series of merchandise tables and employees talking about games and accessories. Everything was controlled so that no one could enter or leave the 360 area until we let them. Here's a little math for you:
50 people + the Best Buy gauntlet = 4 hours
4 hours + food/sleep deprivation = 50 seriously pissed off folks.

I think the most annoying part is that everyone in line tried to ignore us like carnie hawkers. My coworkers and I were picked for one reason; we are lifelong gamers. We weren't there to sell people on things they didn't need. We were there to tell people why they should or should not get something. It amazed me at how little most people actually knew about the system, evidenced by the hordes who came back hours later to purchase more accessories. "See, I told you to get the extra battery pack." At least it's over now, sort of. I still get to tell someone every 15 minutes, for the next month, that there are no more 360's.

I must say though, I'm really not all that enthusiastic about this launch. For one things, almost all of the games are just flashier versions of games that are on other systems. The dripping sweat in NBA Live 06 looks incredibly cool, but how does that improve the gameplay? Did you know that even with the Hard Drive, you need a memory card to get exclusive in-store content? Check the Best Buy and Wal-Mart kiosks and you'll see what I mean. I could go on a long rant about now, but I won't. Suffice to say that today, I realized to what extent Microsoft views us as a profit margin, and not fellow gamers.
I'm tired, I'm hungry, and I'm going to bed.

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Feedback
	honestgamer - November 22, 2005 (10:58 PM) Microsoft has said all along that this is the console that will make them money. Not the successor to the Xbox 360 like some people imagined. Microsoft plans to make money right now. Maybe they should start by meeting the actual demand...
	fighter86 - March 05, 2006 (12:26 AM) No reason why, but I like Nintendo and Sony more than I like Microsoft...... Nobody even cares, do they?