So it's my day off from work today ... nice day out, no games I really feel like playing, nothing good on TV. What better to do than to see if WoW is still available for preorder!

First stop: GameStop. I walked in, 2 gentlemen behind the counter with a couple people in line. I found it odd that I could not find any WoW pre-order boxes on the shelves so figured I'd just ask the guy behind the counter. When I walked up, he looked down at my hands, apparently hoping I was buying something and not asking any questions. With nothing in my hands, he got a blank look on his face, almost like he was in trouble. I ask him if I was still able to pre-order World of Warcraft. He types on the computer for a minute and gives a "ya". Ok great! So far so good .... "so, you will have it in stock on the 23rd when the game comes out, right?". "Nope, we will have it on the 24th". I called a friend to definitely confirm the 23rd was the date it was coming out (just to make sure I wasn't out of my mind). I asked the store clerk one more time if he could please doublecheck for me. He did, and again, I got the 24th as an answer. At this point, I told him I would be going to EB to see if they will have the game available on the 23rd. My last question to him was "It really doesn't matter if I purchase it here or not because you all will be selling the game for $49.99, right?". He said he wasn't really sure of the price that they were selling it for. Now, call me ignorant, but even if you are a die-hard console gamer and know nothing about PC gaming, wouldn't you at least know the release date for such a huge game?!?!

Second Stop: EB in the local mall. One guy behind the counter, about a million people in the store (I stopped counting, but it was quite a few). This time I FIND the boxes for WoW Pre-order. BINGO!!! This can't go any worse than GameStop! So I finally get up to the counter (and while in line conversed with a man purchasing EQ2 CE, nice little tin can it comes in!), and when I once again asked if there were any available for preorder, the answer is a swift "No". I then questioned the boxes on the display, he said he was not sure why they were still there.

Walking through the mall, dejected over the fact that I'll have to probably run around like a chicken with my head cut off on release day to get the game, I drown my sorrows in some pretzels. I forget the name of the place i got them from, but they are the goooood pretzels, the ones that cost a lot cause they make them in-store. Headed toward the escalator to go down to the first floor and get in my car, i find ....

Third Stop: EB Games (once again, in the mall). Now, I always thought this was a smaller version of EB and was wondering why it was in the same mall. I guess anything is possible when there were 2 Nextel kiosks almost in viewing distance of each other. Anyways, I go in, get greeted with a smile, and ask again .... this time, I get a very fast "Sure, we have the regular version available, but not the CE". That's fine, I really don't want to spend $30 extra for a pet who's novelty will wear off in a few weeks anyway. So I pre-order and ask if they'll have the game on the 23rd. The guy says that they definitely will. Since I work 11:30a-8p I then ask if it will be available when the doors open Tuesday morning or if it would be better to stop by that night. He tells me that they actually have the game in stock already but are not able to sell it yet. WOOHOOO!!!! I then badmouth GameStop a little bit and then realize, right there on the counter, are GameStop gift cards. I'm such a n00b, did not realize they were part of the same chain. The manager (i'm assuming, he was dressed a bit nicer than the other employee there) told me that they in-fact almost definitely have the game in stock and will have it on the 23rd also.

So here i sit with my receipt .... Paid in full, just waiting for Tuesday.

One last thing, while I was at EB Games I did pick up Parrappa 2 which is pretty catchy despite being a kids game. My brother hijacked my memory card so I was not able to save the game, but will probably post a write up on that later =)