So my 27th birthday is coming up in September and yesterday, my girlfriend asked me if I just wanted to pick out my gifts myself, since she was itching to go pick up the new William Gibson novel. I said sure, figuring I'd either load up on used games or snag a copy of BioShock. We headed over to Game Trader, which is one of the few indie game shops in the area. It's run by a Korean family, most of whom seem a little spaced out much of the time, especially the ancient-looking owner.
We walk in and I'm browsing a bit. I grab a cheap copy of Crimson Sea 2 and start scanning the wall again when my girlfriend asks, "what's that Tekken 5 thing?" I'm not a massive fan of Tekken, having ignored the series since Tekken 2, but I glance up anyway.
Much to my surprise, it's a Tekken 5 Collector's Editon box for $49.99. I've been fiending for an arcade stick, but too broke to shell out for an imported HRAP and I don't have the facilities to make my own, being an apartment-dweller. After scanning the wall again, I decided to give in and check it out, since I've been fed up with trying to play fighters with pads. I also grabbed a copy of the Resident Evil remake on GameCube, along with DOA 2: Hardcore, which the girlfriend had been itching for.
We took our haul up to the counter and the clerk was some Korean guy I hadn't seen before. We'd been chatting a bit periodically while I was browsing, mostly bemoaning the lack of hardcore 2D fighters and reminiscing about everything from SNK to the SNES vs. Genesis days. After about 30 minutes of back-and-forth, realizing that we both know what the fuck is up, he says, "tell ya what, I'll knock $10 off the price because I like ya." Turns out this guy is the owner's son and he's being groomed to run the place. As a result, they've started carrying a few import titles and he set up a JAMMA cabinet in one corner, which is a very nice addition to the already-cramped building.
I'd also grabbed a 20% coupon off the website, so after 4 games and a $50 arcade stick, my total price came to only $37.
This, my friends, is one of the many reasons why I no longer shop at GameStop. It also makes for a pretty damn awesome birthday present.