At least, I think I am. They just don't respect me as a person anymore. It's always sad when a relationship dies.

But, really, honestly, it's not sad.

What is sad is how they treat their customers.

Now, while a lot of people think "oh hey game reviewers get all these free games" it's not really true. Most of the games I get I buy myself. I don't buy a TON of games, but I do buy them.

I do get a number of games, though, which is why periodically I'd dispose of my selection of old games down at GameStop. It was as much a "clean out the drawers in my entertainment center" move as anything else - and saves me the hassle of dealing with Craigslist or whatever.

So Halo 3 came out last week. On Monday I called over to the GameStop where I'd pre-ordered my Legendary edition.

"Y'all are opening up at midnight tonight to sell it, right?"
"Yes we are, though the line will probably start forming up at 10."
"Will it be okay if I came a bit after midnight?"
"Sure, but it'll mean you're in the back of a long line."

Note those last two lines.

You see, excited as I may be about Halo 3, I don't see much of the point of sitting in line for hours just to be at the front of the line. They've guaranteed me that I will have a copy ready for me, and even if I got in and out at 12:01 AM it'd be too late to catch the Metro back home. So I'll be cabbing or driving.

And since I was smart enough to pre-order in a mall this time, one with several bars, I took advantage of the opportunity to hang out with a friend of mine and have a couple or ten beers.

I walked by the store the first time at just after 9 PM and the line had already started forming. Wow. Such dedication. There was a kid there with a Nintendo DS, and some people just reading or whatever. I did have a book with me - I almost always have one with me if I think I'm going to be doing sufficient waiting - but we were merely en route between Bailey's and Rock Bottom Brewery.

My friend had to return to his house and his wife, presumably something to do with the fact that she'd been out shopping and he had work to do. I went back to Bailey's, decided that, you know what, that's boring, and headed over just before midnight to GameStop.

Yes, there's quite the line. Whatever - a couple of people walk in and out, I get in the back of the line, it starts moving.

At around 12:30 AM the manager walks by. "Most of you should just go home now," he says. "We're going to close the store at 12:45 AM. If you haven't gotten your receipt verified by now, you can come back tomorrow to buy the game."

That's a seriously Whiskey Tango Foxtrot moment right there. People start getting pissed.

When asked what's going on: "We've been here since 9 PM, and we're tired. We want to go home. We're not going to sit around here while people keep showing up."

Wow.

I mean.

Damn.

Loud arguments with customers ensue, and finally the manager backs down and says everyone in line right now will get their copy, but not anybody who comes later. The cashier, when I talked to him, was empathetic with the customers and didn't agree with what the manager had decreed.

But you know what? I know it's not his fault, but I'm not going back there again. You cannot tell the customer one thing and then do something else.

And you know what else? There are plenty of other stores out there that sell those video games. I'll buy it at Best Buy or off Amazon.com - and I'll sell my games to friends or on Craigslist.

I did complain via the GameStop website; but I got no confirmation that they ever heard my complaint or anything. I think that their submission button was broken (it took me to a survey instead and never even said "thank you").

Call of Duty 4 and Army of Two both come out in November; Mass Effect comes out soon, too, and there are a lot of other cool games either coming out or that I'd planned on buying once I fix my desktop computer (I'm lazy). But none of those will be bought from GameStop or EBGames.