It's totally possible at this point that a strange ploy to keep us writing about Modern Warfare 2 at least four to five times per day exists. WPXI in Pittsburgh today reports that Western Pennsylvanian police are still looking for a man who robbed a Meadville, Pa. GameStop of 100 copies of the game (and "a few other items") last Tuesday evening. According to the report, the man told the store clerks that his friend outside would shoot them if they called the police.
Okay, first things first – how did he carry them out? 100 copies of the game, all by himself?! Those cellophane-covered boxes can get slippery when they're all stacked up! Assuming the games are in a box, that'd still be awfully cumbersome to maneuver out of a store. Second of all, where is this GameStop that has plenty of extra copies of any game on launch day? This whole thing stinks! Stinks, we say!
[Thanks, Yahya]
Reader Comments (71)
Posted: Nov 13th 2009 2:58PM TRTX said
When I worked jobs that involved me being at a counter or register, I was actually told by management that if somebody actually threatened to do something unless I handed over product/cash...I was supposed to just go ahead and do it.
The idea being that they'd rather lose product/cash than have an employee getting hurt.
A friend of mine that works the counter at a bank is under similiar instructions. You could theoretically rob the place by saying "I will shoot you if you don't hand over $1000" and they will simply hand it over without protest.
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The idea being that they'd rather lose product/cash than have an employee getting hurt.
A friend of mine that works the counter at a bank is under similiar instructions. You could theoretically rob the place by saying "I will shoot you if you don't hand over $1000" and they will simply hand it over without protest.
Posted: Nov 13th 2009 2:05PM (Unverified) said
That makes it 4.7million copies - 100. Still is a lot.
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Posted: Nov 13th 2009 2:15PM Captain Planet Planeteer Power said
Someone is not good at teh mathz.
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Posted: Nov 13th 2009 10:55PM (Unverified) said
At least someone does not spend his lifetime in Joystiq. =] no troll intended since you started it.
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Posted: Nov 13th 2009 2:09PM Faceless Troll said
Maybe this is a silly question, but if this happened at a Pittsburgh store, how come the picture in the OP is from a EUROPEAN Gamestop?
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Posted: Nov 13th 2009 2:17PM Pepperpwni said
..its just a picture..
did you want Joystiq to go to the actual GameStop and shoot a pic for ya?
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did you want Joystiq to go to the actual GameStop and shoot a pic for ya?
Posted: Nov 13th 2009 2:19PM Faceless Troll said
It's a consistency thing. The least they could have done was make sure it was an American Gamestop.
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Posted: Nov 13th 2009 2:22PM Pepperpwni said
This is a video game blog, not CNN, or Hannity (get it.. get it?) or whatever. Its a picture of A GameStop somewhere. If it were a GameCrazy or K-Mart or something, that would make no sense. But, damn, give them a break dude.
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Posted: Nov 13th 2009 2:26PM Faceless Troll said
@JustAn0th3rFace: We get it. You're easily butthurt. If you can't handle people pointing out inconsistencies maybe you should stay off the internet.
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Posted: Nov 13th 2009 2:34PM Benjamin Gilbert said
You're right. I honestly didn't see the difference, but it's a good catch. The reason I chose the picture was because there's only a handful of pics available in the right size and I picked one we hadn't used in a little while. A better story would be to say that this is a particularly cultural GameStop in Pittsburgh. Duh! :)
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Posted: Nov 13th 2009 2:44PM (Unverified) said
Actually, it was about 90 miles north of Pittsburgh, closer to Erie. But thanks for playing.
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Posted: Nov 13th 2009 2:40PM RageOverdose said
If you can't handle irrelevant inconsistencies, then maybe you should...
Uh...
I have no wit.
Still, the point of the picture is GameStop, not a nation, to fall in line with a GameStop being robbed.
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Uh...
I have no wit.
Still, the point of the picture is GameStop, not a nation, to fall in line with a GameStop being robbed.
Posted: Nov 13th 2009 2:45PM (Unverified) said
You have a good eye, but jeez, Joystiq just needed a pic of a Gamestop
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Posted: Nov 13th 2009 2:54PM GewurztraminerX said
Euros are the new Dead Space Girl.
Didn't you know?
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Didn't you know?
Posted: Nov 13th 2009 3:02PM Faceless Troll said
Turns out pointing out facts is the best way to troll Joystiq? WHO KNEW!
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Posted: Nov 13th 2009 3:02PM eugaet said
Sir Lancelot: Look, my liege!
[trumpets play a fanfare as the camera cuts briefly to the sight of a majestic castle]
King Arthur: [in awe] Camelot!
Sir Galahad: [in awe] Camelot!
Sir Lancelot: [in awe] Camelot!
Patsy: [derisively] It's only a model!
King Arthur: Shh!
Reply
[trumpets play a fanfare as the camera cuts briefly to the sight of a majestic castle]
King Arthur: [in awe] Camelot!
Sir Galahad: [in awe] Camelot!
Sir Lancelot: [in awe] Camelot!
Patsy: [derisively] It's only a model!
King Arthur: Shh!
Posted: Nov 13th 2009 2:12PM Kagiroi said
I'm stumped on how a person could say "my friend outside the store would shoot you". How on earth would someone outside - in plain sight of others - shoot me. He'd better have some good aim, or be really fast, or something. That would have prompted an eyebrow raise from me. Likely would've still handed them over - but the eyebrow - still up.
Yeah - "give me all the money in the safe - or my friend outside the bank will shoot you".
Seriously?
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Yeah - "give me all the money in the safe - or my friend outside the bank will shoot you".
Seriously?
Posted: Nov 13th 2009 2:17PM RanWitScissorz said
He loaded out with FMJ so he could pierce walls.
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Posted: Nov 13th 2009 2:26PM Pepperpwni said
When your a part-time employee at a retail chain and dont exactly care. You hand over the merchandise or whatever else the person wants. They even train you to do this at every retail chain ive worked at atleast.
You think GameStop is flinching at this loss in merchandise? 100 copies in the grand scheme is less than pennies of what they made alone in preorders.
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You think GameStop is flinching at this loss in merchandise? 100 copies in the grand scheme is less than pennies of what they made alone in preorders.
Posted: Nov 13th 2009 2:58PM TRTX said
It doesn't matter what the threat is. Cashiers are instructed to comply with any demands that come with a threat of harm.
If somebody said "I will shoot you if you don't give me this game." I would rather hand them over and find out I was duped as opposed to calling it BS and getting rewarded with a bullet in the head.
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If somebody said "I will shoot you if you don't give me this game." I would rather hand them over and find out I was duped as opposed to calling it BS and getting rewarded with a bullet in the head.
Posted: Nov 13th 2009 2:13PM Captain Planet Planeteer Power said
It was Kotick. He sells them to little kids after school.
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Posted: Nov 13th 2009 2:15PM Stevetrop Man of Mystery said
He is slinging stolen games to kids outside of their school when they get out.
For shame
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For shame
Posted: Nov 13th 2009 3:29PM Uncle Jesse said
So if you see Kotick all alone in an unmarked, white van, parked by the school, just open the sliding door and hop in. He promised he'd give you a copy of Modern Warfare 2. He just has to drive you to it, that's all. It's fine. No need to tell your parents...
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Posted: Nov 13th 2009 2:56PM That Burning Sensation said
Were the words, "Louie Vill Slugger" on wood?
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Posted: Nov 13th 2009 2:17PM That Burning Sensation said
"the man told the store clerks that his friend outside would shoot them if they called the police."
... cause that's what 'friends' are for.
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... cause that's what 'friends' are for.
Posted: Nov 14th 2009 8:47PM (Unverified) said
Friends are actually like banks, except you only make withdrawals.
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Posted: Nov 13th 2009 2:18PM ThornedVenom said
Looks like someone had really high charisma stats.
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Posted: Nov 13th 2009 2:19PM B3astofthe3ast said
No doubt inspired by the pulp fiction scene where "ringo" talks about robbing a bank with nothing but a phone and a threat to shoot a little girl, who probably never existed.
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Posted: Nov 13th 2009 2:21PM (Unverified) said
Question is how did he know they had a hundred copies?
Hmmm Ebay probably has them all LOL.
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Hmmm Ebay probably has them all LOL.
Posted: Nov 13th 2009 4:29PM (Unverified) said
Safe to say there wasn't one for long, nor will there ever be one again.
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Posted: Nov 13th 2009 2:44PM (Unverified) said
I'm not surprised. Gamestop employees are the most apathetic breed of peoples roaming this planet.
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Posted: Nov 13th 2009 3:01PM TRTX said
Moron, most employees that work the counters/registers are under direct instruction to obey any demands that involve the threat of harm.
They'd rather lose the money/merch vs. the life of an employee. And that's fine with me, because I'd much rather go look for a new job than get shot.
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They'd rather lose the money/merch vs. the life of an employee. And that's fine with me, because I'd much rather go look for a new job than get shot.
Posted: Nov 13th 2009 2:47PM (Unverified) said
Sounds like a replay of the Elk Grove, CA Gamestop PS3 theft if you ask me.
http://www.joystiq.com/2006/11/24/gamestop-employees-fake-ps3-theft-face-charges/
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http://www.joystiq.com/2006/11/24/gamestop-employees-fake-ps3-theft-face-charges/
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