February 16, 2010 wasn’t exactly a Tuesday for the ages…it was more like a release date that will go down in gaming infamy. Topping the list was SEGA’s Aliens vs. Predator, a game that despite its level of potential seems to have delivered with all of the beauty and grace of a facehugger on Valentine’s Day. Then, there was a much lesser hyped game that, depending on your experience with the franchise, had the potential to become somewhat of it’s own classic..that game is Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce. Since it’s original release on the PlayStation console in 1997, the Dynasty Warriors franchise has slowly evolved over time (for better or worse depending on who you ask), and it is easily one of KOEI’s most successful ongoing series.

With that being said, I want to tell you a story. Although I’ve been somewhat disenchanted by the game over the past couple of releases, the PSP release of Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce wasn’t that bad, so when the demo was released on Xbox Live, I checked it out and thought the online co-op gameplay (for up to 4 players) and the weapons/ leveling system was pretty sweet, so my brother-in-law and I decided to pick up the game. We figured the inclusion of the 4 player co-op would be an awesome opportunity to share the gaming experience with some of our friends back home. Instead of reserving the game, we figured we would just go out the day of it’s release and pick it up. And so, the story of a Dying Dynasty begins…

My brother-in-law gets off of work at 8:00 PM. He stops by Wal-Mart first (because it’s close to his work). They don’t have the game. The electronics employees have never even heard of it. So, he hops next door to Target – same story. So, he calls me, and the conversation goes something like this:

Brother-in-law: “Dude, I’ve been to Wal-Mart and Target, they don’t have it. They don’t even have it in their ‘system’.”

Me: WTF does that mean? Not in their system? ‘the hell.

Brother-in-law: “I know, i guess I’ll go look at Gamestop and Best Buy”

Me: “Damnit, well I guess, they are sure to have it. I’ll search online, I’ll find a store and text you.”

Brother-in-law: “K, later”

Like the good friend/brother-in-law that I am, I didn’t look up shit. I had stuff to do, plus, I figured he would find the game at the first Gamestop and be home. So, imagine my surprise when he arrived empty handed. He went to 3 different Gamestops and Best Buy – NONE of them had the game. Gamestop said it was in their ‘system’ but they didn’t have copies. Best Buy didn’t have it in their ‘system’ either. *@&$! Systems!!! Just give me the damn game! Alas, it was not meant to be. So, I finally do the search (on Gamestop’s website) and got this:

“Check In-Store Availability” No new products found within 100 miles of this ZIP code.

Dear KOEI,

If I ever wanted to know how a company would go about unselling its game and sabotaging its once great franchise, I certainly know now. I’m not sure why your product is not available in any stores on it’s release date. I’m also not sure why some of these stores don’t have it in their ‘system’. All I know is that you lost 3 sales today. K? Thx. bye.

* Note – our friend that was going to purchase the game in another state also could not find the game. Go figure.

So, in closing, I share this tale of frustration with you, my fellow gamers, in hopes that we can lean on one another in our times of grief…That we can collectively reflect on the slow death of the once great franchises that enthralled, entertained, and inspired. What about you? Do you have any similar stories that you can recall? Feel free to share them below…We’ll consider this therapy or something. In the meantime Imma go play something fun to relieve the pain…and it won’t be Dynasty Warriors…