Duff Man is thrusting in the direction of the problem!

Can publishers sink any lower? That's a rhetorical question. The answer, of course, is yes. That question sprang immediately to mind today when I ducked into EBX, only to find the shelves full of... anyone.. can anyone guess what might be found on the shelves of a game store? What's that? "Games", you say? Well, that seems reasonable enough, but NO!!! Incorrect! Rather than games that one might actually, say, PURCHASE, and subsequently take home and PLAY, the shelves held empty boxes of games that AREN'T EVEN RELEASED YET!

Is there any other industry on the planet that gets away with this kind of behavior?

Ok, let's have a little thought experiment. For our experiment, we'll start with a horribly busted system that is monopolistic, corrupt, stifles innovation, gleefully manipulates customers, and promotes the production of games that are bug-ridden clones. We're talking about retail games sales, where publishers pay retail chains for shelf space. Now, for our experiment, let's imagine how we might make this system EVEN worse than it already is. You're clever, so I'm sure you're coming up with terribly diabolical ways to further erode whatever modicum of redeeming value might actually remain in the retail publishing system. However, I think that perhaps the most efficient, most expedient, most insulting way to complete the transformation of retail game sales into a total, unabashed mockery of commerce is to sell games that don't even exist.

It's bad enough that retail shelves are revolving doors for only the most well-budgeted titles, but at least they used to be games that you could actually take home and play. At least your $50 got you a game.