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Today I Looted Game.
Mar. 18th, 2012 10:15 pmYeah, that pretty much covers it... Game and Gamestation (who are both owned by the same parent company) are in deep do-do financially at the moment, with Gamestation stores being closed down completely. They are still holding out hope that there will be a buyer for Game, possibly Gamestop or Tescos, but no-one really knows. It's all a bit of a mess, and both stores are having a blow-out 'spring clearance' sale in order to drop as much stock as possible and get in as much money as they can before everything falls to bits. If they don't get bought out, then it will pretty much be the end of non-independent computer game shops on the highstreet here in the UK.... sure, HMV and video shops often have a games section, but they tend to be small in most branches, and they rarely offer the same good deals and prices as dedicated gaming shops. It will be a strange place without them if they go, although there will always be the online shops to keep us going, naturally. ^__-.
The small upside is, they are selling off all their traded-in stock at extremely low prices.
My friend Charlie and I went into Southampton for a day of window shopping, and being happy little nerds we naturally gravitated towards the big 'SALE' signs. ^__^ And we were in luck- even though Gamestation had been picked clean long before we got there (I'm not even joking- there were empty racks and displays everywhere), Game still had a decent amount of stuff for us to sift through. Charlie picked up a bunch of DS and X-box 360 games for 99p each (normally £5-10, depending on the title), and I decided to splash out a bit more than that, seeing as they had no PC games that I wanted, even though the ones they did have were very well priced.
Instead, I got this:
(Yes, it's a pink PSP, stop sniggering... it was the only one they had and OMG PINK!)
These are both second hand, and they cost me £30 each. The DS is a DS Lite, and it is in pristine condition- it doesn't even have light scratches on it anywhere. O_o If I didn't know better (and if the charging cable wasn't tied in knots in the box) I would say that it hadn't been used at all. I got it so I can play 'Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow' again, because I have had the game cartridge sitting in my desk drawer for ages, but haven't had anything to play it on. XD It might seem a bit strange to buy a console just for one game.... but damn... it's one of my favourites. ^__^ I mean, I have it tattooed on my arm, I like it so much!
The PSP... well, I'll admit I completely don't need one, but it was pretty, and cheap, and limited edition pink. >_>; It's a basic one, so not the latest one or even a slim-line one, but really- seeing as I don't need one at all, I hardly need a really fancy one! XD I mean, it's not like I haven't owned PSPs before (this will be my third), so I know what I use and what I enjoy, and all the flashy extras and slightly reduced size mean naff all. Also, it was literally the last one they had in stock. Some-one has really taken care of it, too- it's not quite as pristine as the DS, but the scratches on it are light and are mainly on the bumpers and silver bits. The screen has some very, very light scratches (I had to squint in a certain light to find them), but other than that, it looks great. It also came with not one but two carry cases (the last owner was paranoid, apparently), a screen cloth, the original headphones and connector (still in their original packet), the original white wrist strap, a spare battery, and even the promotional umd disk! The only thing it's missing is a memory stick, which I will eventually buy online when I can be arsed and have a bit more spare cash.
The only slightly weird thing about it is that I found a wallpaper on it that is a photograph or a girl and a guy- presumably the last owner and their other half. And I can't work out how to erase it, so I have just set it back to the basic wallpaper. >_>; I don't know who these people are. I don't want to look at them every time I switch the PSP on....
I bought the games just on a whim- I have never heard of 'Lunar Genesis', and it looked cute, and I have always been a fan of 'Ratchet and Clank'... which cost me the princely sum of £1.49. Since getting in I have also jumped on e-bay and snatched up a copy of 'LocoRoco', which is, as far as I am concerned, the only real reason why anyone should own a PSP. ^__^ I will probably pick up a few other titles for it too (I know I can get 2 out of the 3 Prince of Persia games for it), but I have no idea when I will get a chance to play them, so I am in no hurry.
But yeah, I feel that this was a pretty good haul, all things considered.
In Other News:
Interestingly, I am under no illusion as to why I gave in to a spending spree today when I basically don't have much money to spare. >_>; It's Mother's Day today, and that is a hard one for me. It's only my second Mother's Day without Mum, and I was on the phone twice with Dad- more for him than for me, to be honest. I often find myself reassuring and supporting him when actually, I feel like I need supporting myself. It seems to help, but I'm not sure why.
It's also been a rough day for Charlie, too. She got a call in the middle of last night saying that her father (who lives in Australia) has been rushed into hospital. He is a diabetic and a long-term, semi-functioning alcoholic, and a combination of not bothering to ever keep an eye on his blood sugars and his excessive drinking has finally knackered his body. His heart is giving out, his kidneys are fried, and her liver is shot too. We are all hoping he will recover, but it seems unlikely. And the worst thing is, Charlie has no idea how to feel about it, because this man walked out on her and her little brother when their mum tried to get him to address his drinking, moved half way around the world and promptly re-married without so much as a goodbye. Since then, he has periodically sent them both money for birthdays and Christmases, and she has visited him twice- where he proceeded to be rude, aggressive, belittling and threatened to beat her up if she carried on with her transition. >_<; This is not a man that she either likes or is close to.... but he's still her dad. I can't even imagine what she is going through. It was one of the reasons why we both decided to have a 'sod it all let's have fun' day, because actually, we're both feeling quite anxious and shitty right now. -__-;
I will be saying some prayers after I finish posting this, which isn't always something I feel compelled to do. But yeah... 'special' occasions, I suppose. -__-.
The small upside is, they are selling off all their traded-in stock at extremely low prices.
My friend Charlie and I went into Southampton for a day of window shopping, and being happy little nerds we naturally gravitated towards the big 'SALE' signs. ^__^ And we were in luck- even though Gamestation had been picked clean long before we got there (I'm not even joking- there were empty racks and displays everywhere), Game still had a decent amount of stuff for us to sift through. Charlie picked up a bunch of DS and X-box 360 games for 99p each (normally £5-10, depending on the title), and I decided to splash out a bit more than that, seeing as they had no PC games that I wanted, even though the ones they did have were very well priced.
Instead, I got this:
(Yes, it's a pink PSP, stop sniggering... it was the only one they had and OMG PINK!)
These are both second hand, and they cost me £30 each. The DS is a DS Lite, and it is in pristine condition- it doesn't even have light scratches on it anywhere. O_o If I didn't know better (and if the charging cable wasn't tied in knots in the box) I would say that it hadn't been used at all. I got it so I can play 'Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow' again, because I have had the game cartridge sitting in my desk drawer for ages, but haven't had anything to play it on. XD It might seem a bit strange to buy a console just for one game.... but damn... it's one of my favourites. ^__^ I mean, I have it tattooed on my arm, I like it so much!
The PSP... well, I'll admit I completely don't need one, but it was pretty, and cheap, and limited edition pink. >_>; It's a basic one, so not the latest one or even a slim-line one, but really- seeing as I don't need one at all, I hardly need a really fancy one! XD I mean, it's not like I haven't owned PSPs before (this will be my third), so I know what I use and what I enjoy, and all the flashy extras and slightly reduced size mean naff all. Also, it was literally the last one they had in stock. Some-one has really taken care of it, too- it's not quite as pristine as the DS, but the scratches on it are light and are mainly on the bumpers and silver bits. The screen has some very, very light scratches (I had to squint in a certain light to find them), but other than that, it looks great. It also came with not one but two carry cases (the last owner was paranoid, apparently), a screen cloth, the original headphones and connector (still in their original packet), the original white wrist strap, a spare battery, and even the promotional umd disk! The only thing it's missing is a memory stick, which I will eventually buy online when I can be arsed and have a bit more spare cash.
The only slightly weird thing about it is that I found a wallpaper on it that is a photograph or a girl and a guy- presumably the last owner and their other half. And I can't work out how to erase it, so I have just set it back to the basic wallpaper. >_>; I don't know who these people are. I don't want to look at them every time I switch the PSP on....
I bought the games just on a whim- I have never heard of 'Lunar Genesis', and it looked cute, and I have always been a fan of 'Ratchet and Clank'... which cost me the princely sum of £1.49. Since getting in I have also jumped on e-bay and snatched up a copy of 'LocoRoco', which is, as far as I am concerned, the only real reason why anyone should own a PSP. ^__^ I will probably pick up a few other titles for it too (I know I can get 2 out of the 3 Prince of Persia games for it), but I have no idea when I will get a chance to play them, so I am in no hurry.
But yeah, I feel that this was a pretty good haul, all things considered.
In Other News:
Interestingly, I am under no illusion as to why I gave in to a spending spree today when I basically don't have much money to spare. >_>; It's Mother's Day today, and that is a hard one for me. It's only my second Mother's Day without Mum, and I was on the phone twice with Dad- more for him than for me, to be honest. I often find myself reassuring and supporting him when actually, I feel like I need supporting myself. It seems to help, but I'm not sure why.
It's also been a rough day for Charlie, too. She got a call in the middle of last night saying that her father (who lives in Australia) has been rushed into hospital. He is a diabetic and a long-term, semi-functioning alcoholic, and a combination of not bothering to ever keep an eye on his blood sugars and his excessive drinking has finally knackered his body. His heart is giving out, his kidneys are fried, and her liver is shot too. We are all hoping he will recover, but it seems unlikely. And the worst thing is, Charlie has no idea how to feel about it, because this man walked out on her and her little brother when their mum tried to get him to address his drinking, moved half way around the world and promptly re-married without so much as a goodbye. Since then, he has periodically sent them both money for birthdays and Christmases, and she has visited him twice- where he proceeded to be rude, aggressive, belittling and threatened to beat her up if she carried on with her transition. >_<; This is not a man that she either likes or is close to.... but he's still her dad. I can't even imagine what she is going through. It was one of the reasons why we both decided to have a 'sod it all let's have fun' day, because actually, we're both feeling quite anxious and shitty right now. -__-;
I will be saying some prayers after I finish posting this, which isn't always something I feel compelled to do. But yeah... 'special' occasions, I suppose. -__-.
