So, I sell a lot of stuff on Amazon.com. Recently (like, this past week), I sold a DS game, but I forgot to check to make sure the game was inside. It turns out I left Metroid Fusion in there and didn't have the right game in the case. Hmm...I learned this because the guy I sold it to e-mailed me. I told him I'd straighten it out and he could just send MF back to me and I'd send him the game. But then I noticed...the guy was some Senior Software Engineer from EA. I will not disclose his name for confidentiality purposes. I asked him what his job included, and he told me the following:

"I've been at EA for quite awhile (13 or so years), working almost exclusively on Sony consoles. The past couple years I've been working on the PS3 figuring out the graphics hardware and finding a use for all the SPUs. I've assisted on quite a few games recently doing low-level (assembly) work, various optimizations, helping find obscure bugs, and other things on Madden, TigerWoods, Godfather, etc. and not tied to a specific game for very long; allows me to travel, meet other people, and see different places.

"Anyway, I can send you a bunch of EA games if you're interested. I have a pile of unopened games on my desk at work. I can type up the list on Friday. Or, I can check the company store for more recent games. We get a bunch of free EA games each year, but I never play them. Lately I've been more interested in the DS and the Wii. I find those platforms far more entertaining."

Wow. So he's going to send me the PS2 version of Madden 07, FIFA 07, NCAA Football 07, Burnout Dominator, and Need For Speed: Carbon all brand-new, FREE!!! How's that for a lucky shot? I bet you're all jealous.