Best Buy Ad 2/17-2/23: Free Steelbook with Pokémon: Let's Go

tyrok

CAGiversary!
New Releases Available Tuesday:

  • :ps4: Death end re;Quest $59.99
  • :ps4: :switch: Steins;Gate Elite $59.99
  • :switch: V-Rally 4 $59.99
New Releases Available Friday:

  • :xb1: :ps4: :pc: Anthem $59.99
  • :xb1: :ps4: Anthem Legion of Dawn Edition $79.99
    Free Steelbook with purchase of Anthem
  • Anthem will be available for purchase Thursday 2/21 at 9pm local time

Game Deals:

  • :xb1: :ps4: Assassin's Creed Odyssey $29.99 Save $30
  • :xb1: Forza Horizon 4 $34.99 Save $25
  • Free Steelbook with purchase of Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! or Pokémon: Let's Go, Eevee!
Everything Else:

  • Save $50 on select Xbox One Consoles
  • Save $10 on select Xbox One Controller with purchase of an Xbox One Console
  • Save $10 on 3 or 6 Months of Xbox Live with purchase of an Xbox One Console
  • SteelSeries Arctis 7 Wireless DTS Headphone Gaming Headset $119.99 Save $30
New Release Blu-ray Available Tuesday:

  • A Star is Born $24.99
  • A Star is Born Only @ BB Steelbook $29.99
  • A Star is Born 4K $29.99
  • A Star is Born 4K Only @ BB Steelbook $34.99
  • Robin Hood (2018) $19.99 Save $2
  • Robin Hood (2018) 4K $29.99
  • Robin Hood (2018) 4K Only @ BB Steelbook $29.99 Save $5
  • Overlord $22.99 Save $5
  • Overlord 4K $27.99 Save $2
 
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Kind of surprising too as Best Buy usually sends out amiibos and even some standard game cases in boxes to me. Guess they're cutting costs.
Not necessarily, unless we were to start seeing everyone get stuff shipped like that. Even if shipping steelbooks in boxes were to be their official policy, someone can always mess up (or not care) and ship it in a bubble mailer when they pick it and package it at the warehouse. There's so many things that could have happened. Someone's pack station could be out of boxes at that moment, and they just said "Eh, screw it." Could be a new person who doesn't know better yet.

 
Not necessarily, unless we were to start seeing everyone get stuff shipped like that. Even if shipping steelbooks in boxes were to be their official policy, someone can always mess up (or not care) and ship it in a bubble mailer when they pick it and package it at the warehouse. There's so many things that could have happened. Someone's pack station could be out of boxes at that moment, and they just said "Eh, screw it." Could be a new person who doesn't know better yet.
Yeah it was a bubble mailer. Looks like something with a heavy corner was dropped on the corner of the steelbook. It's a long shot, but gonna see if the store will swap it out.

 
Wouldn't call mine crunched but it definitely has more than a couple of dents unfortunately.
Mine has a dent or two in it as well, they've just been sending all my steelbooks lately in just flimsy bubble mailers. I don't know if I want to try online chat to see if I can get them to just send me another one since I have no way of knowing if any stores in my area have one in stock or just using this one since it's mostly OK aside from the dings in the back.

 
Not necessarily, unless we were to start seeing everyone get stuff shipped like that. Even if shipping steelbooks in boxes were to be their official policy, someone can always mess up (or not care) and ship it in a bubble mailer when they pick it and package it at the warehouse. There's so many things that could have happened. Someone's pack station could be out of boxes at that moment, and they just said "Eh, screw it." Could be a new person who doesn't know better yet.
Usually when an amiibo is shipped in a bubble mailer it is because a store is fulfilling the order with their extra stock.

 
so, if I pickup my 2nd pokemon steelbook that is apparently waiting on me, is there a trade thread for physical stuff where I could offer it up for another steelbook?  I searched with google, but didn't see anything that I thought was the correct spot.

Trying to decide to pickup and trade or cancel and let some  other random person get it.

 
Ignoring the fact retail stores toss plenty of shipping boxes everyday, of course.
Stores have boxes to ship orders too but most won't "waste" one on shipping an amiibo when they can be used on things that cost 10 times as much.

 
Local store had 1 Let's Go steelbook left and let me do an exchange.  Anthem shipped today.  I hope it turns out in good shape.  It's really the only trouble I've had with BB even with bubble mailers, but they usually end up USPS and not on a UPS truck.

 
People I work with are claiming they haven't seen anything negative about anthem. I wonder what they are smoking or if they are just plain stupid or what lol
 
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People I work with are claiming they haven't seen anything negative about anthem. I wonder what they are smoking or if they are just plain stupid or what lol
The top 5 complaints are: load times, worthless narrative (atypical of a BioWare game), repetitive mission types, boring loot, and finally bugs. The javelins themselves are fun to pilot and are overall fulfilling, but the problem (as is all too common) is that the game mechanics themselves are just poorly designed and make the game a chore to play at times. There's a lot of schoolboy mistakes that veterans of open world, online games easily spot before they should ever be implemented and that's why it's frustrating to see such idiotic design repeated when a game in development for six years should have known better.

Things like being downed and unable to do anything but hard exit the game unless a teammate bothers to revive you. I can tell you from experience, if you're playing with a group of trolls who think you suck or are holding the team back; they will leave your ass behind for the rest of the mission. Or being able to AFK the entire mission and unable to be kicked. HAVE THEY NEVER HEARD OF BOOSTING LOL?

I mean, see for yourself since the review scores are rolling out. It's getting mediocre reviews OUTSIDE the fact EA is publishing. In fact, I've not seen a single negative thing about EA in all this; the game is just unfinished and people are calling them out for it.

 
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I played the beta demo for Anthem and saw all I needed to see. The load times at unexpected intervals was definitely shocking to me. The only other online-only loot shooter I played was Destiny (and Division, I guess).

Besides that, the gameplay was boring. Enemies are boring fodder. Environments all the same. I'll be glad to see the death of these soulless games designed by committee.

BTW I played the private beta (that you get for preordering) of The Division 2 and that game is gonna bomb, too. Nothing interesting or new from what we've already seen.
 
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Anthem has its flaws, but combat is fun.  Sometimes I get pulled into buying games to support developers.  Being in the software development field, I get tired of hearing about layoffs in my company as well as gaming companies.  Maybe my one sale won't keep their doors open, but I try to help.  Publishers probably drag some developers down with their requirements these days.

I was surprised when I heard Blizzard was doing a massive layoff, since overwatch is apparently still making a ton of money.

 
Damn, bestbuy splitting my steelbook from the game and shipping separately.  Was hoping they'd come together where it'd be protected in a box.

 
I played the beta demo for Anthem and saw all I needed to see. The load times at unexpected intervals was definitely shocking to me. The only other online-only loot shooter I played was Destiny (and Division, I guess).

Besides that, the gameplay was boring. Enemies are boring fodder. Environments all the same. I'll be glad to see the death of these soulless games designed by committee.

BTW I played the private beta (that you get for preordering) of The Division 2 and that game is gonna bomb, too. Nothing interesting or new from what we've already seen.
There's a significant day one patch coming that is allegedly fixing the loading time issues and several other complaints that were common. I personally never played Destiny or Destiny 2, and haven't really done a loot shooter outside of BL & BL2. That said, the criticisms nowdays of loot fest games are a little strange to me. Diablo 2 (and hell, even 3) don't really offer some super varied experience outside of the classes/powers you can play with. Running Baal or Diablo for the 192nd time isn't any different than the previous but it's still fun. I feel like what happened is when loot fest games entered into the shooter realm, the people who actually liked loot fest games still enjoy them, but those who prefer more the shooting mechanics and games don't.

 
There's a significant day one patch coming that is allegedly fixing the loading time issues and several other complaints that were common. I personally never played Destiny or Destiny 2, and haven't really done a loot shooter outside of BL & BL2. That said, the criticisms nowdays of loot fest games are a little strange to me. Diablo 2 (and hell, even 3) don't really offer some super varied experience outside of the classes/powers you can play with. Running Baal or Diablo for the 192nd time isn't any different than the previous but it's still fun. I feel like what happened is when loot fest games entered into the shooter realm, the people who actually liked loot fest games still enjoy them, but those who prefer more the shooting mechanics and games don't.
All the looter games run their course for me, it's the mechanics and combat that keep me around. Fallout 76 was pretty bad with bugs, just awful, but at the end of the day being able to build a house and revising my build/gear until it was absolutely dominating was the staying power through hundreds of hours. Anthem I already know will not have that staying power, but the javelins are refreshing and feel fun to pilot so that's the hook for me. I enjoy the meta-challenges presented of refining my gear until it's a powerhouse and I feel I have nowhere to go essentially.

It's a balance of being able to have fun without it being drowned out by all the issues. Just depends where the fulcrum is for each player.

 
Does anyone know when the 25% coupon for former GCU expire? I clicked the original email and received a 404 error although the email itself does not say when it expires. Wanted to use it on Metro since the coupon excluded RDR2.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk
 
Does anyone know when the 25% coupon for former GCU expire? I clicked the original email and received a 404 error although the email itself does not say when it expires. Wanted to use it on Metro since the coupon excluded RDR2.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk
Gotta contact customer service and if they can fix this issue. I've been out of luck for several months now.
 
For those who picked up anthem how many steelbooks did y’all see?
I went last night at 9pm when they started selling Anthem to try to get a steelbook with my digital preorder, but they didn't allow it. Said they had 17 though that weren't reserved for in store pickups

 
Does anyone know when the 25% coupon for former GCU expire? I clicked the original email and received a 404 error although the email itself does not say when it expires. Wanted to use it on Metro since the coupon excluded RDR2.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk
I got my email in December and I remember the coupon expired sometime in June. I was surprised at how far out the exp was. I clicked on my original email and got the 404 error too. Gonna have to contact CS and be ready to pay online if someone (in the moment) is willing to honor the 25% off.

 
Went to a BB location today and tried to use a Rewards Certificate towards pre-order of "Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice" and was told you can't use Rewards Certificates for pre-orders. I can't find anything online or on BB's website regarding this restriction. Does anyone know if this is correct or have any experience in this?

Thanks...
 
Went to a BB location today and tried to use a Rewards Certificate towards pre-order of "Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice" and was told you can't use Rewards Certificates for pre-orders. I can't find anything online or on BB's website regarding this restriction. Does anyone know if this is correct or have any experience in this?

Thanks...

I use rewards on almost everything on their site. I buy pan credit and ps plus all time with them too. Unless this is something new that just started.
 
Went to a BB location today and tried to use a Rewards Certificate towards pre-order of "Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice" and was told you can't use Rewards Certificates for pre-orders. I can't find anything online or on BB's website regarding this restriction. Does anyone know if this is correct or have any experience in this?

Thanks...
You can't preorder in store with a certificate but can online.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
 
You can't preorder in store with a certificate but can online.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
I use rewards on almost everything on their site. I buy pan credit and ps plus all time with them too. Unless this is something new that just started.
Ok thanks. Guess I'll try online later. The manager didn't tell me to try online, so maybe they're not the most informed over there.
 
It's a balance of being able to have fun without it being drowned out by all the issues. Just depends where the fulcrum is for each player.
Yeah I'm so mixed in this. Have yet to pickup my copy with GCU and $10 certificate would pay $38. I have 7 days per policy to pickup.

I loved the demo, but all the server issues felt like the FO76 "beta" all over again. I told myself to not be a fanboy and wait for reviews. Post reviews I get the criticisms by Skill Up, IGN, etc that this is unrealized potential, half baked, early release, etc and not what gamers deserve for $60.

But I know I will want to play it ultimately and if it drops to $30 I'll get it for $23 instead. So I'll save $15 to wait till it's (more) fixed.

I felt burned by FO76 and their lies that all would be patched soon. So this Bioware narrative is suspect.

As someone who loves new ideas, new IPs, and when big corporations take risks, I hate seeing this horrible launches. How much give should we allow for new online IP?
 
I pre-ordered Anthem. With GCU, the $10 cert, and the Steelbook.. $38 wasn't bad, knowing that it would probably be $30 in the next few months. And knowing i'd break down at that point anyway, and would NOT have GCU anymore. So i'm looking at the extra $8 being the Steelbook. I know it's not perfect, but I do still find fun in it. 

I'm just hoping that they add to the game and continue to support it, like Bethesda is with Fallout 76 with the DLC announced, and not just abandoned because of the launch problems.

 
Yeah I'm so mixed in this. Have yet to pickup my copy with GCU and $10 certificate would pay $38. I have 7 days per policy to pickup.

I loved the demo, but all the server issues felt like the FO76 "beta" all over again. I told myself to not be a fanboy and wait for reviews. Post reviews I get the criticisms by Skill Up, IGN, etc that this is unrealized potential, half baked, early release, etc and not what gamers deserve for $60.

But I know I will want to play it ultimately and if it drops to $30 I'll get it for $23 instead. So I'll save $15 to wait till it's (more) fixed.

I felt burned by FO76 and their lies that all would be patched soon. So this Bioware narrative is suspect.

As someone who loves new ideas, new IPs, and when big corporations take risks, I hate seeing this horrible launches. How much give should we allow for new online IP?
I am actually super impressed with Anthem so far. Like.... I have not run into any server issues at all - NOTHING like the FO76 launch for me. It's almost like the reviewers and I played a completely different game. To each their own, but I can 100% confidently say I am very much enjoying it.

 
I am actually super impressed with Anthem so far. Like.... I have not run into any server issues at all - NOTHING like the FO76 launch for me. It's almost like the reviewers and I played a completely different game. To each their own, but I can 100% confidently say I am very much enjoying it.
Been disconnected once, beyond that no issues either.

Newbie tip who has played the Demo.... When you get out of the intro and you choose to unlock the Javelin... you unlock 1 of the 4... (next unlock is at 8) So if you liked the Ranger, *you have to UNLOCK the ranger now* In the Demo they unlocked all classes at once (when I played it anyway)

I screwed up and unlocked the Storm, which is powerful... but not what i intended. I thought I *already* had the Ranger and was unlocking a *2ND* Javelin.

 
Been disconnected once, beyond that no issues either.
How are loading screens? I'll be on XBX.

I found this which seemed promising:
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2019/02/21/anthem-loading-times-day-one-patch/

I have ~10 hrs into Mass Effect 3 and while I "get it" and loved, I'm far from the superfans that are broken hearted over story. Borderlands 2, Destiny, FO3 and FO4 that have...less required reading... have reasonated with me more from a story angle. If anything I found the characters in the demo to be really compelling compared to Destiny and the like.

I have been following Anthem's subreddit for months to track how they have interacted and attempt to stay ahead of large issues. Even critics seem to have faith in Bioware responding fast along the way.

I'm basically overthinking the heck out of this not bc of money. Not worried about that, but rather don't want to be part of "the problem" where industry moves towards less accountability and stupid practices like the early release (15th) that isn't held to Day One standards.
 
At the same time, I've worked at large software company where we have had large launches that were rushed and EVERYONE knew it and were trying to hit the brakes and put time into QC and higher ups made us ship. It kills morale. I dunno if I want to support Bioware or stick it to EA with buying later vs launch.
 
At the same time, I've worked at large software company where we have had large launches that were rushed and EVERYONE knew it and were trying to hit the brakes and put time into QC and higher ups made us ship. It kills morale. I dunno if I want to support Bioware or stick it to EA with buying later vs launch.
I'm thinking this is exactly what happened with Anthem.

EA chose the date, and told Bioware to make it.

As far as load times, i see them as better but still probably a little longer than they should be.

 
Kinda glad my gcu ran out so I’m skipping some games that I don’t need day 1. Also games that are flops. However, when games that I really want come out, I’d be pissed since I gotta pay full price
 
I'm thinking this is exactly what happened with Anthem.
EA chose the date, and told Bioware to make it.

As far as load times, i see them as better but still probably a little longer than they should be.
IMO all the load times have been fixed except the ones when you initiate a new mission. Going to the forge or anything else now is really seamless. Been playing all day again and still really amazed at the reviews. IMO I'm having just as much fun as I did with the RE2 game which is alot.
 
Granted I have not played since friday night.. Didn't get home till real late last night and been doing taxes and other crap today, i guess there was another patch yesterday? or maybe just the friday one.

 
Honestly, the issues you guys are touching on are surface level; the game has much deeper flaws that I can already see going forward. Repetition is the main one, with the journey being fun and the endgame a snore. Right now I can sense that my enjoyment and fun is both from the freshness aspect and the grind to max level. Once it becomes time to grind gear for no real purpose other than character progression, that's when the fun will end. And I can tell you that's a short jaunt of maybe a week at best before being faced with that.

There is very little staying power since the challenges are not that exciting and the rewards are stale already. Who wants to grind daily and weekly challenges for coins when the only rewards are paywall related? Instead of loot boxes, they also offer the embers required to craft an item as the alternative but once again: loot is not that interesting other than character progression. If they had cosmetic items to loot, or any number of collectibles games offer these days as dropped loot, that would at least give some incentive to chase the carrot. As it stands, the game is just half-baked.

That said, I absolutely love the javelins and how they control. Piloting is fun and I'm not sure it will ever get old. That's about the best I can offer in terms of pros since flying around and killing things will only get you so far in a game. It needs that hook to keep players coming back, if even open world PvP or something to keep things feeling fresh going forward.

 
Honestly, the issues you guys are touching on are surface level; the game has much deeper flaws that I can already see going forward. Repetition is the main one, with the journey being fun and the endgame a snore. Right now I can sense that my enjoyment and fun is both from the freshness aspect and the grind to max level. Once it becomes time to grind gear for no real purpose other than character progression, that's when the fun will end. And I can tell you that's a short jaunt of maybe a week at best before being faced with that.

There is very little staying power since the challenges are not that exciting and the rewards are stale already. Who wants to grind daily and weekly challenges for coins when the only rewards are paywall related? Instead of loot boxes, they also offer the embers required to craft an item as the alternative but once again: loot is not that interesting other than character progression. If they had cosmetic items to loot, or any number of collectibles games offer these days as dropped loot, that would at least give some incentive to chase the carrot. As it stands, the game is just half-baked.

That said, I absolutely love the javelins and how they control. Piloting is fun and I'm not sure it will ever get old. That's about the best I can offer in terms of pros since flying around and killing things will only get you so far in a game. It needs that hook to keep players coming back, if even open world PvP or something to keep things feeling fresh going forward.
I would think additional end game content, different armor sets for the Javelins, and more weapon diversity end game would be some of the first things they add to the game. Don't get me wrong, you bring up some valid issues, but I haven't seen a game of this genre launch without those same issues outside of MHW. I'm definitely getting my moneys worth out of just number of hours played, I'm curious to see how The Division 2 is reviewed in two weeks. That and Anthem would make for a great combo moving forward if TD2 learned from TD1's mistakes and Anthem starts getting additional end game content in.

 
I would think additional end game content, different armor sets for the Javelins, and more weapon diversity end game would be some of the first things they add to the game. Don't get me wrong, you bring up some valid issues, but I haven't seen a game of this genre launch without those same issues outside of MHW. I'm definitely getting my moneys worth out of just number of hours played, I'm curious to see how The Division 2 is reviewed in two weeks. That and Anthem would make for a great combo moving forward if TD2 learned from TD1's mistakes and Anthem starts getting additional end game content in.
Definitely weapon diversity. As it stands, I already feel pigeonholed as a Colossus into mandatory flamethrower and shotgun/LMG setup. Outside of the now patched devastator exploit, the pistol feels worthless and weak. Grenade launchers feel a little situational to be a main weapon and all the rifles just can't seem to keep pace with LMG for DPS, even when targeting weakpoints. What would make these interesting is more unique mods that do more than just give buffs but that combo and play well with either your group setup, or own personal load-out. Ultimately, level of customization feels very lacking atm.

 
Random question, is there a way to check for inventory on a specific title at ANY Best Buy store?  Looks like the limit is 250 miles via the website, but I wanted to see if anyone knows of another way to see.

 
Random question, is there a way to check for inventory on a specific title at ANY Best Buy store? Looks like the limit is 250 miles via the website, but I wanted to see if anyone knows of another way to see.
Change your zip code when checking. Find a city about 300 miles from you that has one and enter the zip code for it.

 
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