A tale of ignorance.

Let me paint you a picture dear readers.

I recently tried my best to swear off purchasing anything from EB Games. The overpricing on their games was enough to turn me off but occasionally, I do drop in from time to time to look at the older, cheaper Ps2 games and such. Just yesterday, I walked through the doors on a mission to track down any decent Gamecube titles. Luckily, this particular store had quite a few in stock and excitedly, I perused their small collection. As I was inspecting, I saw this scene unfold...


INT. DAY

A suburban mother and father approach the counter with a happy and excited young boy in tow. In the mother's hand, is a Nintendo Wii. She plonks it on the counter.

MOTHER

Yeah, um I want ah, the get fit game.

.

EB CLERK

You mean Wii Fit?

.

MOTHER

(blank stare)

.

EB CLERK

This one?

Clerk holds up Wii Fit box.

.

MOTHER

Yep. How much?

.

EB CLERK

You'll need controllers for the Wii.

.

MOTHER

(blank stare)

.
.

EB CLERK

If you want to play any games, you'll need these.

.

.

Clerk produces both Wii Remote and Nunchuck controllers.

.

.

MOTHER

(blank stare)

.

.

EB CLERK

You play the games with these two controllers. Like this.

.

.

Clerk gives brief demonstration of how to hold controllers. The young boy is excited. The mother looks down at another product next to the counter.

.

MOTHER

What about that?

Mother points to cheap 7-in-1 Nintendo Wii accessories box. On the front of the packet are pictures of the contents including tennis racket attachment, light gun attachment & steering wheel attachment.

EB CLERK

Yes, you could get that. That's for all the sports games and you could probably use them in other games.

.

.

MOTHER

Well, I won't get those. (points to controllers) I'll get this instead (points to accessories pack).

EB CLERK

Uh. Well, those are just accessories. They're just for the controllers to fit into. You'll actually need these controllers to play anything on the Wii.

.

MOTHER

(blank stare)

.

EB CLERK

The accessories are just pieces of plastic.

.

MOTHER

(exasperated) Okay right. Well, just those then.

.

EB CLERK

Okay.

Purchase is made. Young boy is excited. Father reaches for purchases.

EB CLERK

Wii Fit is really fun. You might actually find yourself playing it.

MOTHER

(blank stare)

.

.

FATHER

(slightly insulted) Yeah, I don't think so.

Mother and father leave. Young boy runs behind trying his best to look in the bags.

Now, I want to make a point here. Currently at EB Games, the Nintendo Wii console retails for a price of $399.95. With a copy of Wii Fit thrown in (priced at $149.95), the total price comes to about $550.00.

Think about this for a minute. When was the last time you spent $550? And on top of that, when was the last time you spent $550 with a 'yeah whatever' attitude towards the purchase?

It was obvious these parents could care less about this product but were happy enough to shell out hundreds of dollars for it. Fascinating. They didn't look like millionaires.

In all seriousness, the mother and father were clueless scum. The kind of blissfully ignorant parent who has bugger-all idea about what their child was so excited about. The gaming consoles will only garner attention when they're looking for something to blame when their ignored, lonely and depressed child flips out and rebels against them as a result of their ineffectual parenting skills. For Christ's sake, the father was actually pissed off that the clerk suggested that he may enjoy playing video games. And not even proper video games! Just fucking Wii Fit!

Keep your eye on the news for a 'Nintendo's Wii Fit Turns Child Into Monster' story.