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| For Those About to Brawl, We Salute
You |
| February 28, 2008 at 4:52pm |
Click on the picture for further details on our
biggest, brawling-est tournament ever.
To celebrate the March 9 release of Super
Smash Bros. Brawl for Wii, we're gearing up for our biggest on-site
tournament ever. If you prove yourself to be the smashing-est,
brawling-est bro on the planet, you could win an LCD TV with a Wii
system, a library of Nintendo games and $5,000 cash!
How to qualify for Round 1: Be at least 13 and show up on time.
To give us all something to do while we're waiting for the midnight
launch of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the tournament will kick off
at 10 pm on Saturday, March 8 at a ton of participating stores.
Click here to find the store nearest you. Don't worry about whether you'll be
good enough to compete. If you're coming to the midnight launch, you
might as well have some fun and give it a shot, right? You'll need to show up at
least 30 minutes before start time to sign up and be
assigned a slot in the tournament.You also should not play any
video games within 30 minutes of eating. Oh wait, that's for
swimming.
To qualify, you need to be 13 or older. If you're a minor, and that definition
varies from state to state, you'll need to bring along a parent or guardian to sign the paperwork.
If you're a miner, there's no need to bring your helmet light
or pick-axe. Your store will provide controllers; so you shouldn't
bring those, either.
How to qualify for Round 2: Be better than the guys you face in Round 1.
To save everyone from waiting a long time for their turn to come,
Round 1 will be quick and dirty. When your name is called you'll
face a random opponent in a one-minute round. After that round is
over, the game's Tourney-Mode point system will determine the winner. Because the game
hasn't been released yet, we're not sure exactly what that will look
like, but if your controller is rumbling and your character is
celebrating at the end of the round, then it's probably safe to say
you won. This process will be repeated until there is one player left standing at each
participating store. Those players will move on to the District
Finals on March 15 at one of these participating stores.
Sorry, but you'll be responsible for getting yourself there, or
getting a parent or guardian to drive you there if you're a minor.
Round 2 will consist of longer, three-minute rounds, but the results
will be determined in the same way (rumbling controller, celebrating
character, etc.).
How to qualify for Round 3: Do not be worse than the guys you face in Round 2.
Winners of Round 2 will be named the District Winners, and they qualify to move on to
the Round 3
Regional Finals on March 29 at these participating stores.
Once again, you'll be responsible for your own transportation.
You'll face other District Winners in five-minute rounds to
determine who moves on.
How to qualify for Round 4: Crush all who stand in your way.
The eight top-scoring Regional Winners in the 26 regions will be declared the
semifinalists, and they will have the opportunity to
compete in The Grand Final Round 4. This is where the VIP-treatment
kicks in. These semifinalists will be flown to our GameStop store in
San Jose, California to duke it out for the coveted title of Grand
Prize Winner on April 12. The two semifinalists who score the most
points in two
five-minute rounds will move on to the finals, and the finalist with
the most points in a best-of-three rounds bout will be
declared the winner.
See how simple it is? It's only fitting that our biggest tournament ever
requires the longest blog entry ever. There's still lots more you
can read about the tournament. You can find the official rules,
prize information and other details here.
Good luck, and good brawling!
|
| East Meets West: Extreme Edition |
| February 26, 2008 at 5:21pm |
David Ehrenreich (left) and Kim Na-Hyun (right)
face off in the NBA 2K8 All-Star Challenge finals.
Someone took the "East meets West" concept to
the extreme during the NBA All-Star Weekend last week. Not only did NBA All-Stars from the Eastern and Western conferences meet for the
All-Star Game in New Orleans, but
NBA 2K8 All-Star Challenge
champions from
the Eastern and Western hemispheres also met to determine the
undisputed, worldwide champion of NBA 2K8.
After a couple of months of intense online NBA 2K8
competition, the finalists were finally culled down to
Eastern champion Kim Na-Hyun from Korea and Western champion David Ehrenreich from
Orlando, Florida. Much like Apollo Creed vs. Drago in Rocky IV, the
two faced off in an East vs. West showdown. However, we have it on good
authority that David was not clad in U.S. flag shorts and an Uncle
Sam top hat; and Kim was never heard to utter the phrase, "I must
break you." This challenge was in the spirit of fun and
international brotherhood. When the din of squeaky sneakers abated,
Kim Na-Hyun emerged the victor.
NBA stars Chris Paul, Rudy Gay and Mike Conley, who are also
NBA 2K8 players, were on hand to witness the championship and to challenge
David, Kim and U.S. runner-up Isaac Alvarez from Brooklyn, New York
to a friendly 3-on-3 game. In fact, 85% of all NBA players are avid gamers,
which means most of them can dunk on you from either the free-throw line or
the living-room sofa. However, it was our finalists who pulled off a
fourth-quarter rally to eke out a victory in overtime.
When it was time to go home, Kim was loaded down with prizes, including
NBA apparel, autographed memorabilia and a $1000 GameStop
gift card. The two U.S. finalists did not go away empty-handed,
however. Their prizes included games from 2K Sports and $500 GameStop gift
cards. It pays to be good at stuff.
Keep an eye on our tournaments page for your chance to show off your
mad skills. |
| Congratulations to Our Winningest Wii
Winner |
| February 22, 2008 at 9:37am |
Here's a sampling of our Mii
Sweepstakes entries. Click on the picture to view more of them.
We sent out a call on January14 urging
everyone to enter our Mii Sweepstakes, and we'd like to thank
all of you who entered, especially those of you who sent us pictures
of your Mii character.
Although we can only award the grand prize to one person, we'd like
to think of all of you as winners, or at least we'd like to think of
you as winners that we don't have to give anything to. Allow us to extend our
congratulations to our grand-prize winner Eddie T. from Los Angeles. Eddie scored a Nintendo Wii console, an extra Wii remote,
a Wii Nunchuk controller, a Wii Classic controller and a 2,000-point Wii Points Card.
For the rest of you winners who didn't actually win anything in the
material sense of the word, you can try again just by signing up for
our e-mail updates here. You'll automatically be entered for a
chance to win a PlayStation 3 80GB and a Nintendo Wii! If you like
reading our blog, you'll love our weekly newsletter.
|
| One-Hit Wonders Quiz Answers |
| February 20, 2008 at 11:01am |
If you cram too much music trivia into
your brain, you might forget where you left your car keys.
As promised, here are the answers to
yesterday's One-Hit Wonders Quiz.
Artists:
1. Billy Paul - C. Me & Mrs. Jones
2. Carl Douglas - J. Kung Fu Fighting
3. Men Without Hats - A. The Safety Dance
4. Lipps, Inc. - D. Funkytown
5. Tommy Tutone - B. 867-5309/Jenny
6. The Proclaimers - F. I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)
7. Starland Vocal Band - H. Afternoon Delight
8. Nena - G. 99 Luftballoons
9. Baha Men - E. Who Let The Dogs Out
10. Toni Basil - I. Mickey
Also, give yourself a million bonus points if you recognized Dexy's
Midnight Runners as the band responsible for Come On, Eileen,
or if you knew The Knack recorded My Sharona.
If you remembered that Billy, Don't Be a Hero was actually a hit for two different
bands in the same year, (Paper Lace in the U.K. and Bo Donaldson & the
Heywoods in the U.S.) then that's just kind of sad.
And if you knew
that Paper Lace topped the U.S. charts the following year with The Night Chicago Died,
your car keys might still be in your ignition. |
| Aerosmith: They Just Might Make it |
| February 19, 2008 at 1:25pm |
They can probably quit their day jobs
now.
Few bands have the longevity and the
cultural relevance to have a Guitar Hero game built entirely around them.
Aerosmith is certainly one of those bands that has stood the test of
time.
That's probably the reason that Activision chose to go with
Guitar
Hero: Aerosmith, instead of Guitar Hero: Dexy's Midnight Runners or
Guitar Hero: The Knack.
Although we've heard that yodeling Slim Whitman topped the charts in
England longer than the
Beatles and Elvis combined, it was probably a good idea to skip him, as well.
Speaking of "where-are-they-now?" bands, we'd
like to test your music-trivia knowledge. See how many of these hits you
can match up with the one-hit wonders:
Artists:
1. Billy Paul 2. Carl Douglas 3. Men Without Hats
4. Lipps, Inc. 5. Tommy Tutone
6. The Proclaimers
7. Starland Vocal Band 8. Nena 9. Baha Men 10. Toni Basil
Songs:
A. The Safety Dance B. 867-5309/Jenny C. Me & Mrs. Jones
D. Funkytown
E. Who Let The Dogs Out F. I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)
G. 99 Luftballoons H. Afternoon Delight
I. Mickey
J. Kung Fu Fighting
We should point out that the human brain can only hold so much information.
So if you know who sang Billy, Don't Be a Hero, that bit of trivia probably shoved out something important,
like where you put your car keys.
We'll post the answers tomorrow. Guitar Hero: Aerosmith
is scheduled
for a June 30 release. |
| The Long Wait for Spore Gets
Relatively Shorter |
| February 15, 2008 at 10:29am |
We're not sure what's going on here, but we
probably should give them their privacy.
Those of you who have been patiently awaiting
the release of
Spore
can at least see the primordial ooze at the end of the tunnel now. A
September 7 release date has been announced for the
PC game.
While your wait may seem like a long one, if you consider the fact that
many scholars believe it took us about 13 billion years to get from
space dust to the invention of The Clapper™, then waiting a couple of
years for the release of a game doesn't even measure as a blip on the
geologic timeline.
However, Albert Einstein once said as he was explaining
relativity, "When a man sits with a pretty girl for an hour, it seems like a minute.
But let him sit on a hot stove for a minute and it's longer than any hour."
So perhaps it all depends on how you look at it.
While you're waiting for Spore, which allows you to create and guide
the evolution of your own civilization from spore to space travel,
you can make the time pass relatively quickly by checking out the
trailer, screen shots and previews here.
We'll leave it up to you to
decide whether you'd like do that while sitting on a hot stove or
while sitting with a pretty girl. |
| There's Still Hope for Valentine's
Procrastinators |
| February 14, 2008 at 11:04am |
You still have time to show how you
feel.
So Valentine's Day has sort of sneaked up on
you, and you suddenly find yourself without a gift for your
sweetheart. You could try running by the grocery store after work,
but by then all of the good cards, candy and flowers will be gone.
And nobody wants to get an Aloe Vera plant, a pack of gum and a "Get
Well Soon" card for Valentine's Day.
We're here to help. Why not go for the charm of a homemade Valentine
card? Just fold a piece of paper, draw some hearts on it, and you're
halfway there. Here are a few suggestions for the romantic greeting.
Dear Valentine,
I know you said no presents this year, and that my love would be enough.
But rather than wasting that kind of time and energy, here is a card.
Dear Sweetheart,
Although the court order keeps me at least 200 yards away, my love still reaches you.
Dearest Snugglekins,
Why are you mad at me? Most people would be thrilled to get a treadmill for
Valentine's Day. And sugar-free chocolate tastes just as good.
Dear Babycakes,
This year I wanted to get you something that I know you would really like,
and I promise I will get it for you if I ever figure out what you like.
In the meantime, here is a card.
Dear Valentinian Carbon-Based Life Form,
Your eyes are like two hollow structures located in bony sockets of the skull,
functioning together or independently, each having a lens capable of focusing
incident light on an internal photosensitive retina from which nerve impulses
are sent to the brain.
Dear Valentine Who Needs to Lighten Up a Little,
If you think about it, it’s kind of a compliment that you caught me
with someone who looks just like you.
While some of these may be a little too specific for your particular romantic situation,
we hope this gets the creative juices flowing for you. Good Luck!
|
| America's Love Affair with the Bobble-head
Continues |
| February 12, 2008 at 5:10pm |
Cute and lovable, or just weird? You
be the judge.
What, exactly, is behind our fascination with bobble-head
dolls?
After all, if you were walking down the street, and you happened
upon an unfortunate soul with a huge noggin flailing about uncontrollably on a spring, you'd probably be a bit frightened,
or perhaps even repulsed. However, if someone recreates that exact scenario on
a doll, we simply can't get enough of them.
The same goes for the free Big Willy bobble-head you'll receive when your pre-order
the Wii version of Destroy All Humans: Big Willy Unleashed.
The bobble-head sits harmlessly on your desk, but the real
Big Willy shoots lasers out of his eyes and vaporizes people, which is
frowned upon in most societies.
Even weirder is the Jose Reyes bobble-head you can get for
pre-ordering Major League Baseball 2K8
for Xbox 360,
Wii
or PS3.
Imagine if the real Jose Reyes' head were on the same scale as the
bobble-head. He'd barely be able to swing the bat around, but he'd
probably have a great on-base percentage due to getting beaned all
of the time.
So why are bobble-heads so appealing to us? The ancient Greeks
studied aesthetics, and the answer probably has something to do with
phi. Until we figure that one out, you can round out your
bobble-head collection by pre-ordering
Destroy All Humans: Big Willy Unleashed
for Wii, which ships February 25, or Major League Baseball 2K8
for Xbox 360,
Wii
or PS3,
which ships March 3.
|
| Outstanding Achievement in the Field
of Gaming Excellence |
| February 8, 2008 at 5:35pm |
We couldn't find a good picture of an Interactive Achievement Award;
so here's a T-Ball trophy.
So if we repeat the words enough times, will
the blog turn up in a search for "outstanding achievement?" That
would be kind of like winning an award, right? We'll find out as we
ride on the coat-tails of a few games that cleaned up at the 11th
Annual Interactive Achievement Awards this week.
Although we were always taught that it's nice to share, Call of Duty
4: Modern Warfare didn't heed that advice and scooped up many of the awards, including Overall Game of the Year, Console
Game of the Year,
Action Game of the Year, and Outstanding Achievement in Online Game
Play.
Not to be outdone,
BioShock
picked up awards for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design,
Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition,
Outstanding Achievement in Story Development, and Outstanding Achievement in
Art Direction.
Rockband was recognized for Outstanding Innovation in Gaming, Outstanding
Achievement in Soundtrack, and Family Game of the Year. And the
5-in-1 game The Orange Box won Computer Game of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in
Game Play Engineering, and Outstanding Character Performance.
We don't know whether Joe Frazier was there to present the Award for Outstanding Achievement
in the Field of Excellence, but there were plenty of outstanding
achievements for one night without it.
If you haven't already, you should check out some of these award-winning titles.
Not only are they outstandingly achievable, they just happen to be fun to play,
as well. |
| Who's Your Video-Game Twin? |
| February 7, 2008 at 3:29pm |
Amanda in our Merchandising Department
bears a striking resemblance to Kaim in Lost Odyssey.
We were hard at work here getting ready for
the February 12 release of Lost Odyssey,
when someone held up a display box
and proclaimed that the main character Kaim bore a striking resemblance to Amanda in our
Merchandising Department.
In Lost Odyssey, Kaim is a 1,000-year-old, immortal warrior
who must piece together memories from his
past to fight for his future. Along the way, he proves himself quite
handy at wiping out anyone who stands against him. Although Amanda is much younger and
much nicer than Kaim, some of us are kind of scared of her now. So
we respond to her e-mails a lot sooner, just in case she's keeping a
sword in her file cabinet.
Some people subscribe to the theory that, in a world of almost 6.7
billion people, most of us certainly have an exact duplicate of
ourselves walking around somewhere. It only stands to reason that,
with the myriad of game characters in existence, there's bound to
be one that looks like you.
If you think you have a video-game twin, send us your picture at
editor@gamestop.com, and
you may see your smiling face next to your gaming look-alike here on
our blog. |
| Games for Animal Lovers Abound this
Week |
| February 5, 2008 at 5:29pm |
This week we have everything from
vicious velociraptors
to terrifying terrier-suaruses.
If you're into animals, then this week holds
a lot of promise for you, with choices ranging from domesticated
dogs, cats and horses to wild lions, tigers and giant
prehistoric scorpions, oh my!
Of course, we can only assume that prehistoric animals were not domesticated.
If The Flintstones have taught us anything, it's that dinosaurs
can be easily trained to lift rocks, do the dishes or serve as a mass-transit
system. However, we don't think the Hanna-Barbera team was ever widely recognized
in the field of paleontological research.
If cute and cuddly is your preference, you can pamper your pets with
Puppy Palace
or Paws & Claws Pet Resort,
both of which released for DS this week. Or you can opt for the exotic animals and manage your own zoo with
Zoo Tycoon 2 for DS, which
is available online and in stores.
If you're a ten-year-old girl, we think you may be bound by law in some states to purchase a copy of
My Horse and Me for Wii and
DS. If you're a ten-year-old,
computer-savvy girl, you'll have to wait
until next week to get it for the PC.
All of these titles carry an
"E" rating.
Finally, if you're 17-years old or older, and you love
dinosaurs so much that you just have to shoot them with high-powered
assault rifles, then "M"-rated Turok
might be more your speed. You
can still order My Horse and Me if you want. We won't tell anyone. |
| The Best Way to Win Giant Novelty
Checks |
| February 1, 2008 at 5:32pm |
Jamiah "J-Swith" Anderson is one step
closer to having his name put on the oversized check.
Out of all the ways to be presented with a
giant novelty check, winning a video-game tournament has to be the
best. Sure, you could get a giant check by entering a sweepstakes or
starting a charity, but then you have to rely on random chance or
the generosity of another.
If you're serious about getting your hands on one of those giant
checks, you should take the "proactive" approach by becoming really
good at a video game, entering a tournament and grabbing that
coveted foam-board bank note. Jamiah "J-Swith" Anderson
came one step closer to having an oversized $10,000 check made out
to him when he became the Dallas regional champ in the
NBA
Live Challenge, hosted at our Plano, TX GameStop. We suppose the check has to be that big to
make room for
all of the "zeroes" on it. J-Swith earned himself a spot in
NBA Live Challenge Finals at the NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans, where
he has a chance to win and cash that giant check.
Oversized NBA legend Sam Perkins was on hand to dish out encouragement and autographs.
Speaking of oversized things, NBA legend Sam Perkins dropped by the Dallas Regionals
to cheer on the players, and to sign a few autographs. You never know who you'll
run into at your local GameStop. So pick your favorite game, start practicing, and
keep your eye on our Tournaments
page. It could be your key to meeting large people
and collecting checks that won't fit in your bank's night deposit box. |
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