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Twas a few days before Christmas, and all through the mall, all creatures were stirring, including a Nintendo World Report writer
OK, OK, leaving the tired Christmas Story clichés aside, I have a fun story to share. Last Monday I went to the mall to hang out with my nephew and enjoy all the holiday shopping madness. As always, we went to Gamestop to see what they had to offer. As we expected it was filled with last-minute shoppers and clueless parents about to buy their children's presents.
While my nephew and I were looking at the PlayStation 3 games on display, a gentleman approached me and asked me if I was a gaming fanatic. I kindly replied, "Yes." He then proceeded to ask me about the PlayStation Portable Go (PSP Go).
He said that his daughter wanted one for Christmas, but he wasn't so sure about the purchase since he didn't know much about the system. I proceeded to explain to him about how different the new model is from previous PSP models, placing emphasis on the fact that the system lacks a UMD drive, making it heavily reliant on the internet for maximum enjoyment. The gentleman then said that they don't have internet. I explained that if he bought a PSP Go, not only would he be spending over 250 dollars, but that the device would also be useless since it requires an internet connection in order to download games. Knowing this, he then asked me if there was a new DS system that was an upgrade to the original DS yet similar to the PSP Go. I confirmed that there was indeed an update called the Nintendo DSi. I explained that the DSi was a superior DS system in terms of technology, due to it having two cameras, an SD card slot, and the ability to download games directly to it. But most importantly, it was compatible with all existing DS titles. With this in mind, he wrote down all of the information, including the name and price of the system. He thanked me for the help and went in search of a DSi.
Pedro offers cheap gaming advice
Me and my nephew then left the store and had lunch at the nearby food court. After some exploration we decide to go back to Gamestop and look some more. I met a distant relative of mine as I entered the store. She needed help looking for a budget DS or Wii title for her grandson. I looked at all the titles they had available, while asking about her grandson. She eventually decided on a Wii title. She thanked me and left to pay for it.
After I was done with her, another gentleman approached me, assuming I was a Gamestop employee. I told him that while I wasn't an employee, I was more than willing to help him out. He was looking for an old Xbox 360 game for his grandson. I did my Solid Snake impression and started crawling all around the store looking for it (with the help of my nephew of course). After a few minutes I finally found it and quickly approached the gentleman before he left the store. He was so happy he actually gave me some mints with a "thank you" on them.
After I helped him, it seemed that word of the "special Gamestop employee" was going around. A few moments later I went back to the Wii section and found a couple looking somewhat confused at the game selection. When I got there they immediately approached me for help. They had already bought a Wii for their daughter and were looking for games for her. I first explained to them what the system actually had, and if they wanted more controllers for her friends and relatives they needed to buy some more. I pointed them to where they could buy additional controllers and Nunchuks. They then asked for ideas for games. I began by asking them what she was into, like animals, horses, fashion, racing, dancing, music, etc. They confirmed that she was into music and dancing, and I said that the Wii is an excellent system for music games. I showed them all the music games she could enjoy at an affordable price. Once they decided what games to get they thanked me for my help and went to the counter to pay.
Soon after, a lady and her daughter were looking for Wii Guitar Hero band games. By this I was an honorary Gamestop employee, so I decided to search high and low for them. I didn't have any luck, but I did tell them that there was a chance stores like Wal-Mart and other Gamestop stores could have them. While I was looking at DS games, another lady came away disappointed because she couldn't find Super Paper Mario on Wii. I told her that even if this specific store didn't have the game, there was a good chance that other Gamestop stores as well as Wal-Mart could have the game cheap, and to not give up on her hunt.
My day of selfless assistance ended with helping another gentleman look for Wii games for his daughter. With him done, I felt like leaving the store in fear of me doing the work of the actual employees.
I should state that my help wasn't given in order to screw Gamestop and its employees over. I also didn't expect anything in return; I understand what it's like to go shopping a few days before Christmas, facing chaos and confusion. These are the sorts of things that tend to make parents buy the wrong present, creating bad memories and sadness on Christmas morning. Since I have all this useless information about gaming I might as well put it to good use. And you know what? It felt good.
I know that you shouldn't brag or even feel good about helping others. But I truly do feel good knowing that my knowledge of games helped people out during one of the most hectic shopping seasons of the year. I just pray that all those people I helped have a very happy Christmas.
I hope YOU enjoyed this story and learned something from it. Not every Gamestop employee is a heartless jerk, or every customer an annoying bag of hot air. If you are given the opportunity to help someone, do so. You might feel good afterwards.
The Nintendo World Report staff would like to wish everyone the happiest of Holidays and a great new year! May your days be filled with laughter, merriment and lots of Nintendo games!
Image credit: Zachary Miller with apologies to Charles Schulz.
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