I hope my frustrations can bring you some entertainment. Please don’t take this too seriously. I can only take so much.
A new console launch is always an exciting time. Since the 3DS launched in 2011, I have pre-ordered every new console from GameStop and have had zero issues. I have fond memories of picking up those consoles, bringing them home, and checking out the new games with my friends. I was able to rely on GameStop again to get an in-store Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order when online pre-order attempts failed, and I have been anxiously awaiting launch day like millions of other Nintendo fans. Unfortunately, actually picking up my Switch 2 pre-order proved to be a bit of a disaster.
Earlier this week, I received a call from my local GameStop explaining that since my pre-order was paid in full, I would be in the express line at the midnight launch. The whole thing would take no more than 15 minutes, the GameStop employee claimed. I could show up right at 12am EST and would hardly have to wait, I was assured. Now, my wife has been working late, and so we didn’t have supper until about 30 minutes before I needed to leave. I wolfed down a pork chop, mashed potatoes with gravy, steamed broccoli, a dinner roll, and chugged a Mountain Dew.
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IMAGINE MY SURPRISE when I arrived at GameStop and found out the person I spoke to before was WRONG and you could only get in the prioritized, speedy-quick line if you showed up earlier that day and got a special “finalized” receipt. So I stood there, at the back of the slow line, for over an hour. Bladder screaming. Kidneys probably failing. Surrounded by BO and anime accent. And one of the people speaking in the anime accent was talking, and I don’t know the context, but apparently they don’t know what Cowboy Bebop is? Talking like they are from the Hidden Leaf Village but don’t know Cowboy Bebop?
See you space cowboy
I finally got to the front of the line and there was an employee holding the door open. He had been making small talk with everyone as they waited for their turn to go in. I have social anxiety and one-on-one talks with people in-person are honestly pure hell for me, but I figured it would just be a couple of minutes like it was with everyone else.
IMAGINE MY SURPRISE when the people ahead of me start browsing in the store for games, and I have to stand there and talk to the guy for like 15 minutes. Which, I mean, he was a nice guy, but I had a gut full of chop and pop, and it felt like bugs were crawling under my skin and I needed it to be over.
Mercifully, it was finally my turn to go in. I went through the schpeel with the person behind the counter, and they practically came to tears begging me to sign up for their warranty and credit card. I declined. They started getting my stuff together.
IMAGINE MY SURPRISE when they tell me that they SOLD the Switch 2 Pro Controller that I pre-ordered along with the console. They didn’t even lie and say, oh, Nintendo short-changed us and didn’t send enough units. Nope. They said they sold the controller to someone else.
I was the second person in line to pre-order the Switch 2 back in April. And for my efforts, I was lied to, had my stuff sold out from under me, and nearly died from holding my bladder. Mario Kart World and killer app Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour better be worth it.
- Brand
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Nintendo
- Operating System
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Proprietary
- Storage
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256GB internal / MicroSD
- Resolution
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1080p (handheld) / 4K (docked)
- App Store
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Nintendo eShop
- Wi-Fi
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Yes