Best Buy Forbids You From Buying Assassin's Creed
 

This is a great little story from a friendly Best Buy near you, and is evidence of how the sales market in general has been going downhill ever since skilled workers left it:

Re: Best Buy Forbids You From Buying Assassin's Creed
 

Wow, thats crazy. What is this world coming to. There is no law that says you cant buy an M-Rated game for a Minor. In fact, im pretty sure that there are no laws that say minors cant buy M-Rated games, its just store policy.

Re: Best Buy Forbids You From Buying Assassin's Creed
 

Nice story, whether it's true or not. :)

Re: Best Buy Forbids You From Buying Assassin's Creed
 

There is no legal enforcement of the ESRB's rating system (even though I believe there should be). Right now all enforcement is up to the store selling the game. As companies I know GameStop, Best Buy, and Walmart are all sticklers on a corporate level.

On top of that, video games are like movies, not cigarettes. If you think they're mature enough to watch/play it, then so be it.

Regardless, the gal obviously had a frustrating time and I sympathize. But I do think she probably embellished the tale a bit.

Re: Best Buy Forbids You From Buying Assassin's Creed
 

While I agree that BB could've handled it a lot better, I think that they did the right thing about not selling the game.

I used to work at a gas station and it would be the same if the little brother handed him money and then he asks for cigarettes. There's no way I would've sold them the cigs. Yes, it may have been his money to start with, but it looks awfully bad when his little brother hands it to him.

I would bet $100 that it wouldn't've gone down like that if he had the gift cards in his own wallet and handed them to the cashier directly.

Sorry, but sometimes you just have to think ahead.

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Yeah, and what about those parents that take their 3 year olds into the liquor store with them because they don't want to leave them alone in the car! They're all buying the booze for their kids to get them drunk and have their cantankerous ways with them! It's so diabolical and non-sensical that it must be true.

It's shit like this that disturbs me terribly. Like someone said, they're not smokes, and it's not booze. Who are you to enforce a make-believe rule on someone else? Maybe his brother is really mature for a 15 year old. Maybe the game could have been for him?

I would have made a gigantic scene if that was me, to be honest with you. Because I find things like that ridiculous. If someone with a "minor" (to do with a movie or game) is renting/buying said game/movie, it is of nobody elses business of the reasoning, who it is for, or anything else.

Re: Best Buy Forbids You From Buying Assassin's Creed
 

Yes, it isn't cigarettes and it isn't against the law. But it is store policy and to many stores, that is as good as law.

I still stand by my opinion that people need to avoid these situations by thinking ahead.

Re: Best Buy Forbids You From Buying Assassin's Creed
 

Store policy that someone of-age can't buy something they want just because they are accompanied by a minor?

I can see where they're coming from. But there's a difference between being skeptical of someone's motives, and being a flat-out unreasonable douche.

Re: Best Buy Forbids You From Buying Assassin's Creed
 

Whatever, Best Buy is an evil corporation anyway.

Re: Best Buy Forbids You From Buying Assassin's Creed
 

I would have mad a scene too. That story really makes Best Buy out to be giant a-holes. And isn't the first 'horror' story I've heard about Best Buy.

Which is a shame, because they have a pretty good selection of merchandise but the company itself and its prices are shitty.

Re: Best Buy Forbids You From Buying Assassin's Creed
 

A movie theater analogy is more appropriate than a cigarette analogy...

What strikes me as interesting is 21 is the legal age for parental consent. So, if I was 21 and my brother was with me I could legally vouch for him as a parent. If you are under 17 and you would like to see an R-rated movie you need to be accompanied by an adult, and said definition of an adult is 21. At least here in Illinois.

I don't think the ESRB should be enforced by law. I think parents should start doing some damn parenting, because that's the underlying problem. I was playing Doom when I was 7, Duke Nukem when I was 9 and I'm fine. I really don't think the government has any business policing the entertainment industry, and I would like it to stay that way.

Anyway, Best Buy is a horrible horrible place to shop. I refuse to shop there unless there is some amazing sale. I know a few people that work at Best Buy, it's a shady business.

Re: Best Buy Forbids You From Buying Assassin's Creed
 

If my dad and I were shopping at Best Buy, and he was 21+ and I was young, and he was buying me an M-rated game and the store refused to sell it to him, you might be able to file a complaint under similar circumstances as discrimination because my dad is able to consent for me.

The store has a right to deny the sale to a minor, and technically they can deny the right to sell the game to anyone. They could choose not to sell games to black people one day. But that's just bad publicity.

Although Best Buy still is thriving and they have tons of bad publicity....

I agree with thatmariolover...this whole story does seem embellished. It probably wouldn't have taken much to talk this over with the manager, especially if there was a long line. I worked in retail for a year and a half and the goal is usually to make the customer happy. Still, Best Buy is a cesspool of corporate evil, so it's easy to take sides.

Re: Best Buy Forbids You From Buying Assassin's Creed
 

On the other hand, if the game was something like Manhunt and you were buying it for your kid (under age 13) I would try to slap your ass with a lawsuit if I had any proof.

This is such a great topic for debate. I really wish politicians would educate themselves and get involved in the discussion

Re: Best Buy Forbids You From Buying Assassin's Creed
 

Well... if Best Buy wants to abid by the ESRB reccomendations they are allowed to, but I think the issue here is Best Buy's selective enforcement of that policy. Best Buy is corporately owned, so it's not as if there are individual owners of each store, so a company wide policy on the sale of videogames should be enforced - not a different policy at each store. I mean, that is the point of chains, so that you know what to expect at one wherever you are.

This story may have been embellished, but I think it makes a point of a larger issue of those who work in sales jobs. They're young, or old, have little to no training in what they're doing, and really shouldn't be doing that job. Whenever I go to Best Buy, I spend more time trying to avoid the people there to "help me" than doing anything else. Of course, I am generalizing, and there are wonderful exceptions.

Re: Best Buy Forbids You From Buying Assassin's Creed
 

Last Friday I was at Sam's ogling the HDTVs on my way to pick up a desk chair, and a Sam's employee from that section saw me looking at one and came and asked if I needed help. I said, "No, thanks, I'm just looking around." He stood there and contemplated for a few seconds, while I nervously hoped he would get my drift and just move on. Then he piped up again and asked, "Would you like to know the difference between LCDs and plasmas?"

I wish I had had some funny retort, instead all I could do was stifle my laughter. I appreciate his trying to help, but jeez man, that's a bit presumptuous. I told him again, "No I'm just looking," and he walked off saying to ask him if I needed any more help.

The Best Buy could have handled it a lot better, but from the sounds of it, so could have the customer guy/lady. I agree with Yoda, some stores/people are gung-ho about such policies, whether it's cigarettes/alcohol/R-movies/porn or whatever. The fact is it looks bad when you're at the register about to pay for whatever adult thing you're getting, and you have to turn to the minor with you and ask for the money to pay for it. Be a little smarter about it. Plus, unless you're willing to go full out and make a huge scene about it and keep it going until they'd be more willing to have you leave the store than not let you buy whatever you want, getting angry with the cashier and manager never helps.

Re: Best Buy Forbids You From Buying Assassin's Creed
 

Instead of asking the cashier to hold the Xbox Live card for him, he should have asked his brother. Would have been interesting to see the reaction. :D

Re: Best Buy Forbids You From Buying Assassin's Creed
 

I do hate Best Buy...but on an unrelated note I hate Best Buy's alliance with Bose. Bose charges a premium price and tries to maintain a premium reputation and sells a crap product. And the worst part is Bose has slowly converted people into believers. I know a few people with Bose cans, if you try to explain to them that their headphones blow for the price range that they paid...well they get upset. They even have these Bose infomercials on TV now. Ugghhh. Why would you buy Bose...

Re: Best Buy Forbids You From Buying Assassin's Creed
 

The fun thing about discretion though, is that it's disctretional. If I want to buy Manhunt for my 13 year old because I know he knows it's just a game, and isn't stupid enough to confuse fantasy with reality and go out and try kill people with chainsaws, much like he didn't want to throw someone out of an Airlock after seeing various space movies - Who is anyone to deny me the fact that I think my son can handle a game/movie like that?

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Frankly, I think there's a time for Manhunt, and that age 13 is not it. Grand Theft Auto is one thing. There are missions, objectives, and exploration goals layered in with the possible harm you could do. But Manhunt is a disgusting murder simulator and honestly I don't even think it should have been released (but that's another topic altogether). Regardless, if you want to play it, I think 16 is more than young enough.

I know people here will disagree with me on censorship complaints, but I really think there needs to be an intervention at some point. And ManHunt is it for me - it pricked my comfort bubble.

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The thing that bugs me, is who are they (the ESRB, or the people who make movie ratings, maybe it's the same people) to tell me how old my kids have to be before they watch something? Maturity isn't age-defined, and neither is confusion on fact and fiction, or reality vs. make-believe. I know a lot more 23 year-olds who will try something they see on TV, a game, or a movie, more than I do people under 18.

What bugs me about it, is as soon as they hit 18 - or whatever it may be - suddenly it's not an issue. At 15, they cannot figure out that it's just a movie or a game. Yet a mere 2 years later it doesn't matter at all.

The reason I think it's so silly is because they're just games and movies. The kids who actually do these things they see in the games or movies clearly haven't been brought up right, or just plain aren't right in the head - but that's another topic alltogether.

Basically, in my mind - it clearly comes down to parenting. If you've raised your kid right, he/she should know not to try dangerous things that they see on TV in any medium. The only reason it's such a big deal, is because the people who set these rules know nothing about anything relevant anymore. They're all older-than-middle aged people who grew up in the 60's when care-free-ness ran rampant. And they think it still does, so that leads to rules and regulations that serve no entire purpose at all - especially with a frickin' video game or movie.

Personally, I've never once had a problem with getting a game, or getting a movie. I've never had a problem with buying my nephew a game, or taking him to a movie, either. The only type of anything I can see this being enforced, and agreeing with it - is obviously porn. But hell, they'll get that at home for free when they're 12 anyways.

Re: Best Buy Forbids You From Buying Assassin's Creed
 

Well, I think the bottom line is that there needs to be a ratings system. The way it's implemented right now is bad, but it needs to exist. I think that ratings need to be legally enforced on the purchaser. If a kid is constantly showing signs of violence and it's learned an adult allowed or facilitated them to play games like Manhunt, the blame needs to go back to the adults and not the game studios.

Warnings could go out with consoles that state that it is a parents legal obligation to configure the V-Chip functionality to their satisfaction before allowing a minor to use the system.

Re: Best Buy Forbids You From Buying Assassin's Creed
 

After reading all of these experience's all I ca say is that you guys need to go shopping for a mattress. My wife and I went to a Sleepy's near us and it was the worst sales experience of my life. The sales person would not leave us alone even after we aquiesced to some weird "pressure point measurer" to see what kind of mattress we would like. We asked that she let us look around, and she literally followed us around, never more than 10 feet from us, and would pipe is with some useless bullshit about "coil systems" every time we laid down.

We finally asked for some literature, and she started the hard sell talking about how how great of a deal we would get if we bought today. I re-iterated that we were doing reserach and looking around, and she started in again. Finally I just interrupted her and flat out said "We're not buying a mattress today. You can stop now." and she rolled her eyes and walked away. We then went to JC Penny's where the salesperson told us to look around and ask him if we had any questions. We bought a mattress.

Much of these troubles can be chalked up to inexperience, but in the end capitalism works everything out. The bitch got nothing and the good salesperson got the sale.

The guy in the Best Buy story made his first mistake by accepting such poor service and continuing to try and spend his gift card there. The better solution would have been to tell the manager and attendant to fuck off, leave and then go to the other Best Buy (like he ended up doing anyway) and buy both products from them.

In our world you get the exactly the level of service that you demand. If you are willing to accept less, you will get less.

Re: Best Buy Forbids You From Buying Assassin's Creed
 

I bought a mattress a few years ago. I bought one of the more expensive ones, partly because I should be careful with my back. The salesman told me how great that mattress was.
Then he started about one of those things you put under your mattress, the pieces of wood. He had a very luxurious one. I asked him if I needed such an expensive one, because I already have such a good mattress. He admitted I didn't need it. :)

Hehe, back then I was afraid I invested in a 1 person mattress while I would be needing a 2 persons mattress pretty soon. :doh:

Re: Best Buy Forbids You From Buying Assassin's Creed
 

I think the box mattress is what you're referring to. Also known as 'the floor' to some people. :)

Re: Best Buy Forbids You From Buying Assassin's Creed
 

Damn, I feel like a fool now. I bought a pair of Bose Triport headphones a year or two ago. I use them nearly every day to watch shows and movies on my computer. They sound good and they're really comfortable too but now I fear I payed too much. Any recommendations for replacement headphones when the time comes?

Re: Best Buy Forbids You From Buying Assassin's Creed
 

The Triports are actually a decent sounding pair of Bose headphones, although I've heard that the build-quality is so-so. How much did you pay for them when you bought them? If you're just using them for home use I'm sure they will hold up for another few years. Do you need headphones for home use or portable use? Do you listen to a lot of music or mostly game and watch movies? Do you prefer headphones with a lot of bass? The Triports are alright, although a little overpriced. Bose has a viral marketing campaign, those brilliant bastards.

Re: Best Buy Forbids You From Buying Assassin's Creed
 

On the topic of the ESRB...
I like the ESRB because they protect the freedom to make whatever you want. And that is something that is nice to have. I have absolutely zero interest in playing the 'controversial' Manhunt because I don't think I would have fun. However, when I was 13 me and my friends spent WEEKS playing Grand Theft Auto 3. We played the game endlessly, and it was awesome. Games like Grand Theft Auto 3, which also is considered 'controversial' by some, are fun to play. So, I respect the ESRB in the sense that because of them developers and producers are allowed to make whatever they want. Developers don't make whatever they want, and there are limitations (you don't see Adult games in stores), but it's a pretty decent system. Yeah, the ESRB is flawed. So is the store policy...

I just wish we could establish, as a society, that video games don't make people kill people. That's the hard work of poor upbringing combined with numerous sources. And by numerous sources I mean to say Video Games are no worse than Movies. I understand that the difference between a movie and a game is that in a game you are in control. I also understand that there is a large list of movies that are very violent and probably on par with some of the worst video games.

Also, in an ironic twist, the MPAA (motion picture association of america) gives harsher ratings to movies with BAD WORDS than movies with VIOLENCE. What the hell?

Back when I was playing Doom, a pixelated fantasy game, movies like Braveheart were out. I remember watching Braveheart before ever picking up Grand Theft Auto 3. If you haven't seen Braveheart - don't - because Mel Gibson is a twat. But, note that Braveheart has realistic violence that in my opinion is far worse than any of the pixelated violence portrayed in Grand Theft Auto. Thematically, Grand Theft Auto is MUCH MORE VIOLENT. But, the comparisson is still valid. And this is just one example.

It would be interesting to test something in a documentary. They should have two underaged kids go from store to store, and see if stores will sell them R-rated movies but not M-rated games. I think it would be very interesting. If I was a film major I would get on that.

I blame the media and Columbine for a lot of this. I remember watching some interviews pinning Doom and Marilyn Manson as a possible reason the kids shot up the school. You know, why not just go to the source and expose the TERRIBLE PARENTING. If your kid shoots up the school you should get life in prison for being a shitty parent. If you don't notice your kids building pipe bombs in your garage you deserve to rot in a cell. If I was a parent of the victims I would have pressed charges against the parents.