Tag: exclusive

WBX: WinBreak Exclusive
After our special report yesterday, Special Events reporter ButtonMasher79 decided to follow up to see how the launch went. She followed up with a few pictures, as well as the following report.

A full 100 people were expected and received for the Gears2 launch party at Game Crazy in Lakewood, CA. Gaming began at 9pm with a LAN-style player vs. player tournament with a total of four systems operating simultaneously. Customers were adding funds to their accounts so the transactions would flow smoothly and quickly. “The turnout is what we expected, it’s great for a weeknight and we’ll get more coming in tomorrow,” said Store Director Stephanie Armstrong. Game trivia, balloons, and giveaways peppered the evening and proved entertaining for all.

Down the street, GameStop had closed their doors and posted a sign that read “midnight launch tonight.” There were about thirty people waiting in the 55 degree ocean-cooled air in their fold-out chairs on the dark sidewalk.

A 20-minute drive from Lakewood is Universal CityWalk where a GameStop hosting Major Nelson and representatives from Microsoft. GameCrazy customer and editor-in-chief of BreakingTheGame.com Andrew Carr (pictured above with store manager Stephanie Armstrong) said he preferred this venue because he wouldn’t be guaranteed access to the dignitaries and thought that this location would be “a lot more fun.”

District manager Juan Rodriguez was working the sales floor and offering the strategy guide for 20% off with purchase of the game. “We overcame a lot of challenges to get here tonight but we’re glad to be here now,” he said, having arrived from the airport with the copies in-hand at 11:15PM. The existing copies will probably sell out by tomorrow at noon but the store anticipates replenishment as soon as Saturday.

Sara Culver, Special Events Reporter for WinBreak.com

You can view a few more pictures in the Gears 2 Lakewood Launch photo album.

In the darkness of a Federal Express warehouse, a crime affecting LA area gamers is alleged to have occurred. “I awoke to a call from my district manager saying all my Gears of War 2 copies had been stolen,” said Stephanie Armstrong, Game Crazy Store Director in Lakewood, California. Investigation is pending with Federal Express and law enforcement but it appears likely that a warehouse worker has absconded with the property. “We wondered why we didn’t get the shipment yesterday, but some companies will only ship overnight for delivery on release day.” She says this is sometimes done to maintain street date.

An anonymous source has indicated that he purchased a copy of Gears2 at a 7-Eleven convenience store. “They didn’t scan my game, they just scanned a generic bar code they had on a piece of paper and took my money.” The bar code is a unique product identifier that would electronically reflect the date and time that particular product was being sold, “by using a generic code it would be possible to circumvent the street date and the store can just scan them all out after midnight,” said the buyer.

Juan Rodriguez, District Manger for the LA Market, Game Crazy intends to pick up an emergency shipment at the airport this evening to make copies available for customers at the midnight launch. No word on the Collectors Edition copies yet but Game Crazy will do their best to make things right for their customers despite the malicious acts of a third party criminal.

Sara Culver, ButtonMasher79 and LA Special Event Reporter for WinBreak.com.