Having finished all my holiday shopping and wrapping a week ago, and having stayed at work after everyone else went home for their vacations tonight, I decided to stop by a nearby GameStop to pick up Dawn of War.
The line was over ten patrons long, and wasn’t moving too fast. This is in Emeryville. I remember the EB Games in San Leandro where I live also was constantly swamped… Also they had a single sad rack of PC games, none of which was Dawn of War.
I asked the counter guy where their PC games were stocked. He pointed to a shelf behind the counter- there were like five of them. Not five games. Five boxes. They weren’t sold out. They just don’t sell PC games.
I left to pick up some dumplings from Shan Dong in Oakland. I wondered, while I drove from Lake Merrit (around 1st Ave on East 14th) to San Leandro (past 98th Ave on East 14th), why there were no PC games at these stores.
Over 80% of the storefronts I drove past were churches, funeral homes, car parts supply stores, or liquor stores, with a few bars thrown in. 90% even. No houses. No “shopping” stores. No foot traffic. No restaurants.
Maybe poor area = no computers = no PC games in stock.
Bummer. Bummer for me. Bummer for them.