August 7 Dragon Quest IX event at Springfield, MO Best Buy canceled

I just got off the phone a few minutes ago with a Best Buy employee that confirmed that today’s (August 7, 2010) Dragon Quest IX event at Best Buy’s Battlefield location has been canceled due to Missouri’s tax free weekend.

The same employee attempted to find out but was unable to discover whether the event will be re-scheduled or not.

There are (to my knowledge) no other Dragon Quest IX events scheduled for the Springfield, Missouri area at this time. If anyone knows of any such events, please post a comment.

Local Dragon Quest IX event a success

Huzzah!

While Gamestop may not be my favorite company, I have to give credit where credit is due: Today’s Dragon Quest IX event was much more fun than anticipated. More people attended than I expected, most of the attendees were adults, and the children that attended were all very well-behaved. I didn’t attend all 4 hours of the events, but the time I did spend there was very enjoyable.

I had wondered how Dragon Quest IX’s Tag Mode would see any use in America. Now I know. While most Americans are highly unlikely to come across any other DS owners with DQIX in Tag Mode during their travels, “magnet” events such as this can be surprisingly successful, even in smaller metropolitan areas.

If you missed today’s event, don’t worry: There will be another DQIX event at Best Buy locations next Saturday (August 7) from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. And if you don’t already own a copy, you can purchase Dragon Quest IX from Amazon.com for $34.99 with free Super Saver shipping.

How to get StarCraft II delivered on release date with no tax and no shipping

Shopping around for StarCraft II but unimpressed with pre-order bonuses? Annoyed that the game costs $10 more than your average PC game and don’t want to spend a cent more than necessary? Not wanting to deal with the crowd at your local game store’s midnight release? Don’t want to pay for tax or shipping, but don’t want to wait until several days after release to play with your friends?

Good news, everyone! You can get StarCraft II delivered to your door on release date (July 27, 2010) for $59.99 USD–no tax, no shipping, and no other fees.

Here’s how:

  1. Log in to Amazon.com and start a free 30-day Amazon Prime trial.
  2. Add StarCraft II to your Amazon.com cart and proceed to checkout.
  3. Select Release-Date Delivery at checkout.
  4. Confirm the total as $59.99 USD. If the total is greater than $59.99 USD, clear your cart, review the steps above and try again.
  5. Place your order.

It’s that easy!

If you decide to use this method to pre-order StarCraft II, please use this link and help support Brainstorm Warning.

If you don’t want your Amazon Prime membership to automatically renew, be sure to visit the Your Account page on Amazon.com, click Manage Prime Membership, and click the Do Not Upgrade button. If you choose not to renew, your trial will expire after 30 days and you will not be charged.

If your trial expires before your order ships, don’t worry; you lock in the shipping method and price at the time of your order. (I called Amazon.com customer support and they explicitly confirmed this.)

DISCLAIMER: Amazon.com is still offering free Release-Date Delivery for Amazon Prime members (both trial members and paid members) as of today (June 11, 2010), but there’s always the (slim) possibility they’ll pull the deal closer to StarCraft II’s release date. But if they haven’t pulled it by now, they probably won’t.

Pre-order Super Mario Galaxy 2, get $20 off future Amazon video game order

If the $50 USD price tag for Super Mario Galaxy 2 is keeping you from pre-ordering, then maybe $20 USD to put toward a future game purchase will help change your mind:

Order Super Mario Galaxy 2 and get $20 off a future video game purchase. The promotional code will be placed directly into your Amazon.com account within 2 business days after the product ships. Offer valid when shipped and sold by Amazon.com. Promotion valid on all existing orders. Limit of both one per household and one per customer. Amazon reserves the right to change or terminate this promotion at any time.

Source: Amazon.com: Super Mario Galaxy 2: Video Games