Today’s comic was a bit of my crazed desire to play Super Mario Galaxy 2 coming back to the surface. After the first comic, I thought this was a good follow up on what would likely happen should I try and get the game for anything less than cold hard cash.

The comic actually brings me to a great topic regarding a certain stores policy about selling opened floor copies as new games. Now in theory there is nothing wrong with the practice. It is, after all, nice to have the real boxes of the games to look at. But seriously, why is it that every time I go to buy a game from them I am always presented with the floor copy? This is especially true when I don’t get a game right at launch though I have had this happen on launch day games also.

In my twisted neurosis I have to believe that this is just a veiled way for the store to sell used games at new prices. Why would I say such a thing? Well let's think about it. With the advent of disc based games, there is nothing stored on the disc itself and usually the disks are kept in a decent condition. So what is preventing them from pawning off old games as new? It is in their financial best interest to do so. I am quite sure that the store employees are instructed to get rid of floor copies before anything else for those who would not scrutinize the policy.

Regardless, I don’t have too big an issue with this. I’m sure parents buying for their kids aren’t going to care one bit. But for me, the joy of breaking open that seal and smelling the freshness of the game as if it were the unsoiled fruit of some tropical island is part of the experience. That sweet, sweet nectar of satisfaction gets me drooling just thinking about it. Nothing can beat the good ol' days of getting that fresh SNES game, and taking a whiff of that new game smell. Nothing was quite like it for a kid who rarely got his hands on new games and cherished every bit of finally getting one.

The thing I DO take issue with though is this: If you are going to sell a floor copy, how about giving the customer a god damn discount? I wouldn’t go to the electronics store and get handed a floor model of a TV and get charged full price. So why should I get handed a full priced bill for your essentially used game, Mr. Game Store? Also, why do you sell the floor copy when UNOPENED copies of the game are readily available? You sell the opened floor copy of the game to some unsuspecting buyer, then turn around and OPEN another copy of the game and claim it as another floor copy…or perhaps you simply sell a used game as new? Am I far off base? You tell me….for now, I’m going back to cuddling up in my blankie dreaming of what could have been.