…and you too can speak awful white street talk too!
It’s been about a minute since my last article on Pop Culture Retrorama!
I didn’t realize I hadn’t published anything since my article in May. No particular reason for why I’ve been absent from the site, but I’ve always stepped back on writing a little bit. There’s been a few things going on in my personal life, some good, some crappy, but things have been improving. Plus, it is summer, and a one that I have been able to enjoy so far. Work and life keep my plenty busy, but the wonderful high of words never quite goes away for me.
Hence, today’s article, a follow up to my previous training video foray. We’re back in familiar territory, the video game store for this one!
Previously, On Pop Culture Retrorama…
ESPN-style play-by-play commentary comingles with the training that comes with working in a video game store.
Hollywood Video answered the unnecessary call to create their own video game chain to lure in soccer moms, those nervous about used games, Soul Caliber fans, and chicks who apparently like Final Fantasy. Oh, and a redheaded woman delivers her “woman on the sidelines” commentary in some of the most awful street talk I’ve ever heard.
The result was GameCrazy, and its Keys to the Game (of selling!) were decidedly legit, but their training video…not so much.
Honestly, as soon as Zelda Scott opens her mouth, I’m embarrassed for her total whiteness, but my husband, whom I watched this with several years ago, was…in love.
Not with her goofy dialogue, but with her.
Ugh!
Anyway, GameCrazy was less than successful at being the next big chain of video game sellers, and by 2009, they were falling short in a market dominated by the big box stores they tried to compete with, as well as some other video game store. Can’t figure out the name, but it also has “Game” in it.
But before they went under completely, they put out one last training video. You could feel the desperation in this one, and even though it is from 13 years ago, the nostalgia is felt equally.
Mostly because it looks like the original video.
Can you tell the difference?
As the video begins, we’re welcomed by Greg Beck, and…wait a minute!
That’s the Soul Caliber guy!
Mr. Can’t Sell Me On the MVP Card works for GameCrazy, which means…everyone else in the video did too?
Man, I need to keep going, and see where the ends up.
Anyway, after a Standard Video Game Store Montage plays under distinctly early 2000s music, we’re introduced to the GameCrazy Experience. He seems soooo excited about the whole thing, as he explains The Experience and what the store has to offer.
And by watching this video, he says you’ll understand why the GameCrazy Experience is catching fire!
Marc Mondhaschen chimes in to discuss the used game market, and why selling used games is more profitable than selling full-priced new games. He says it has to do with shipping and overall costs.
Used Games must be cleanly displayed, organized alphabetically, and marked with the updated price.
Several store directors and shift leads chime in to ensure new hires that GameCrazy stands by their used stock, and allows customers to try game if they’re apprehensive, as well as offering a 90-day guarantee on the games.
The Trade Zone lets guests know the trade value on games, and also introduces guests to the idea of making money off of their used games.
Then there’s the MVP Program!
Aside from the upcoming Soul Caliber tournament, members get ten percent off the purchase of used games, as well as ten percent more value on their trade ins. It all comes back to educating the guests on the value of used and trade in games. This is especially important, since those guests spend up to eight times more at GameCrazy, as well as visit up to six times more than the average guest, they are valuable.
Next up – Pre Orders!
Partners should be educated on new and upcoming titles – read magazines, search online, and talk about them with staff and customers. Staff should always be aware of what the customer needs or wants.
Getting a guaranteed copy of a game takes just five dollars!
You’ve got the game and the console, but you need the correct peripherals to make it work!
Accessories ensure the best setup to get gaming going! Controllers, memory cards, online play, strategy guides helps guests have the most fun they can have from their newly purchased consoles and games!
Games and consoles should always be taken care of, but what if something beyond your control happens? That’s where a guarantee of replacement comes into play!
(No pun intended, of course.)
Game Guard and Purchase Protection ensures games and consoles can be replaced if they break or get scratched for one year. Having Purchase Protection ensures that a console has coverage beyond that one-year warranty a console usually has.
And after all is said and done, Soul Caliber – er, Greg Beck – comes back with “The Rundow,” which recaps everything, and reminds us that a smile, positive attitude, and game knowledge are the true experience of working at GameCrazy. And he wraps up with the fact that the GameCrazy Experience all starts with…
YOU!
Yes, YOU!
Oh, and there’s outtakes at the end, which seem super staged and ridiculous.
I can’t even begin to figure out how this company didn’t last. I know it has everything to do with market oversaturation, but seriously, can a training video be the death knell of a company? I thought that would have been the case with Zelda Scott, but apparently, not having her helps. The seemingly most counterproductive person ever to appear in a training video was actually the key to a better training experience for a company that probably never had much of a shot in the market.
She certainly didn’t hurt.
And honestly, aside from the products in the background, doesn’t this feel more like the early 2000s? Couple that with a serious lack of, well, everyone who made the original video great cheese gives this company that final nail in the coffin.
Not even Soul Caliber Guy’s presence as the real head honcho could save this!
Live and Work The GameCrazy Experience!
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This was basically the end of GameCrazy, as well as Hollywood Video, the company responsible for the whole GameCrazy Experience. Both companies, which were owned by Movie Gallery, ceased operations in mid-2010, as the video store concept was fading away in a world dominated by Netflix, big box stores, and some other video game store that I work a few doors away from. Even the video store I worked for in the early 2000s was a victim of the times, closing pretty much around the same time as GameCrazy and Hollywood Video.
I’d like to think GameCrazy has some training video clout, but sadly, that rested in the bizarre hands of the 2003 training video.
I can’t believe I’ll ever believe having Zelda Scott in your training video, calling you names like “Ry-Dawg” and “G-Unit” could possibly save the day.
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