In a recent store E-Mail sent out to all GameStop and EBGames locations in the US and territories, GameStop revealed some juicy nuggets of info regarding how Halo 3 will be shipped...and what will happen if the boxes are opened early.
According to the E-Mail, Halo 3 begins making it's way to stores as early as September 13th. By September 18th, all retail stores should have their copies. Not a huge surprise here though. Who DIDN'T expect this game to ship early?
The different versions will ship separately in boxes that don't say Halo anywhere on them. The E-Mail describes what the boxes will look like however, saying they will have distinctive stickers to point them out. I believe the box housing the Legendary has a sticker that mentions Helmets for example.
But here is the news worthy part. With leaks recently of Bioshock and Stranglehold for the 360 by retail chains, GameStop has decided to impose strict penalties for employees who open the shipping cartons before the midnight launch. If you break the tape, even if by accident, you will be fired on the spot. It doesn't matter if you are an hourly peon or the store manager...or even the district manager. If you break the tape, you will be fired.
I can't say I blame the organization for doing this, though I felt the accidental thing was a bit too far. I mean accidents happen, right? And just because you accidentally break the tape on the shipping carton doesn't mean you're gonna sell the game early, right? So I called GameStop corporate, and the lady on the other end confirmed just that. Even accidental cases of breaking the tape will be met with firing.
So there you have it. If you happen to get a copy this week, cause you know, they "fall off the truck" sometimes, I probably wouldn't play on Live. As tempting as it sounds, you may get a 9999 year ban for something that is the retailer/shipper's fault.
I bet Same Fisher is getting ready to steal some now.. or some dude is sick of the other dud he works with so hes going to make it look like he cut the tape.
I can believe it. I've met cases in the past where something similar has happened and they ended up firing the employees for just doing something stupid like that.
Any retailer that sells any kind of media before it's official street date is subject to fines and other penalties, so firings would go along well with that. They can be pretty hefty fines too.
You could accidentally cut the tape the same way you accidentally speed when driving a car. Maybe you didn't realize the speed limit changed. However I imagine that the # of people who accidentally cut the tape without knowing the consequences will be next to none. If you are told not to do something, given the consequences of your actions, and do it anyway then you deserve to be fired.
I'd say the gaming industry would be in a better place if all games were treated with such respect.
People are talking this game WAY too far jeeze.scotty992
It doesnt matter if its a book, a game... or a magical d*ldo... ANYTHING with the amount of money revolving around it like Halo 3 does, is going to be taken as serious as the money itself would be, becasue we all know Halo 3 is pure gold!
i would only buy it if i had a cat for the helmet. i chose tiger 08over halo 3. after the 2nd one was as bad story wise, i would save my money and play it somewhere else. i know that there is no way they will prevent someone from opening the boxxes. who is going to go from store to store to check it... being a former employee and still seasonal occasianally i would love to c a dm or higher waste their time.
There is not way you can "accidentally" cut the tape.
limpbizkit818
have you ever worked in shipping? forget the tape, whole boxes get crushed way too often. forklifts are alot more powerful than a car, so just picture running into a box with a car. the forks sometimes are poked thru the side of the box. in ups's chute system bokes often get stuck in the chute blocking the line. you fix it by kicking the box out of the way as quickly as possible. there are going to be damaged boxes shipped to stores. thats a given. the boxes will be open on arival. many times those boxes will be hidden under undamaged boxes. if you spot a damaged box before you sign for the shipment even what are you going to do? take the box and get credit for the damaged copies from ms! the other option is to refuse the shipment and not have halo3.
Accidents happen and like said above, boxes are very easily open by mistake when using forklifts etc. I feel sorry for the people that will get screwed by individuals that will jack a few copies of the game and the whole department will end up getting fired and whatnot.
I do belive there will be a large ammount of idiots that actually manage to get the game as early as the 18th and walking online with it before the offical release.
Well with the biggest and possibly most-wanted game of the year, what do you expect? I honestly pray that this doesn't get too out of hand. I can imagine in my head right now that we will see something on the news of someone getting killed over a copy.
Just a reminder for those who may actually get an early copy, unplug your 360 from the internet before playing or you will get a ban until 9999 from Xbox LIVE :P
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