Messages

1

General / Re: VGC's Anonymous/"General" Topic:

« on: December 01, 2025, 01:26:59 pm »

This is the first year in almost two decades where I really don't care at all about the potential deals to be had on video games right now. The problem is multifaceted. There's very little being released that people like myself actually would want this holiday season, most of the stores in my area that still have games have a pitiful selection so even if they offer a discount online the stores won't have any product you can actually go get, and of course, the discounted games this year are mostly last year's games or crap titles and now that MSRP is higher than ever that 25% to 30% off doesn't seem like such a sweet deal anymore.

All the years I remember standing in lines to get fantastic deals on recent releases that were super hyped, and buy two get one sales when there was actually enough games in the store to pick three you wanted. It was always the most fun time of year to be game shopping. This year it just feels like it's over, it's a thing of the past. It exists on a handful of websites, and it's nothing you really want.

So yeah, it's another tradition ruined by modernity.

At least for me it's been an opportunity to get games I wasn't going to pay full price for, but still wanted to play eventually. Perfect example of this was God of War Ragnorok which I picked up for $20 the other day. I also picked up a few switch games I've wanted as part of a B2G1 deal on used games at Gamestop. I don't think there will ever be a time where there aren't at least a few games I'm interested in buying at some point.


With that said, I agree with you that Black Friday isn't what it used to be as a gamer and collector. I used to go all over town to multiple Gamestops taking advantage of their B2G1 or B2G2 deals they've done in the past. On more than one occasional I actually spent too much money, but didn't care since I had like 10+ new games I'd wanted for a long time. Not only that, but the amount of new games I wanted was definitely higher than it is now. You're definitely not alone when it comes to feeling a bit disenchanted about the modern gaming landscape, but luckily it's not all doom and gloom. There are still a bunch of indie games that are getting released that I'm finding more and more have the soul that the mainstream industry has been lacking for some time. The only problem with indie games is getting them physically since there are only a handful of companies that make limited physical copies of them. Even though a lot of the better indie games that come out usually get the physical release treatment, there are sadly quite a few that never will, especially with the end of physical games being on the horizon. I guess my advise is to expand your horizons when it comes to gaming if you haven't already. There are a lot of great games out there if you're looking in the right place.

My theory is that Black Friday used to be quite special when it was delegated to one day and was mostly physical box stores only. I used to go every year and wait in freezing cold lines in MA. But it was worth it. It allowed for a lot of exclusivity and companies even did black friday edition consoles like Nintendo did with the new 3ds. I loved black friday back then.  Once saturday came you were shit out of luck. It was 1 day, 1 chance. It caused pandemonium yeah but at the same time the sales were more deep since they didnt have to sustain weeks on end. Once companies realized that they could stretch smaller sales into longer periods and pack deals into mostly online avenues to boost online commerce and strengthen their ROIs the consumer lost as always...   it's a shame.  But anything that truly benefits the consumer will be tweaked until consumer benefit is minimum and corperate gain is maximum.  They know if they go longer periods at smaller sales people will still buy more due to more opportunities to do so.  Cyber monday hinted at that. But even that was black friday as a cyber day. Now its cyber month.  Their is no real black friday anymore. So now instead of Switch 2 being 350 for 1 day. It will be 399 for 3 weeks.  Instead of borderlands 4 being 40 for 1 day. It'll be 55 for a month.   The deals don't hit like they used to imo.


The way PS sales go, the way gamestop does buy 2 get one on pre owned often, the way amazon slashes games for prime day and summer sales.  Black Friday is almost useless now.  But that doesn't mean it is without it's fun.  Like BikingJahuty said.  I found some deals on games that I otherwise wouldn't have been willing to commit to for half off or 30 percent off. And overall tech and games did decent this year.   Assassins Creed shadows at 30 was good for me to play it and not pay the 47 to 60 it usually is. So i'm happy with that. 


I heavily agree that you gotta look into AA games today.  Indie devs or budget productions are doing beautiful work.  IE: Stray, Jusant, Gris and Untitled Goose Game all stand out as unique experiences to me.   I feel this gen is either the most dense or most dry depending on how you game. 

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General / Re: What are your least favorite boss fights?

« on: November 26, 2025, 08:50:34 pm »

was sephiroth in kh 1 that hard? I know I beta it as a kid sure it took a few tries  but I strugled more with some other bosses

My brother claims it to be the hardest boss he has ever defeated and he's beaten some hard games.  I as a kingdom hearts fanatic have only faced him once.  Granted I was not ready and got decimated.  I imagine he's hard to most but it's subjective. 

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General / Re: VGC's Anonymous/"General" Topic:

« on: November 26, 2025, 04:30:58 pm »

The US needs Black Friday deals on groceries instead of games and big TVs.

Sadly, even if they made groceries super cheap for one weekend, it still wouldn't fix the underlying issue of your money being worth jack now due to unchecked inflation. I don't want to make this political, but inflation benefits people at the top, while hurting practically everyone else. Unless something is done about that, which there won't be, inflation is just going to get worse and worse. Our politicians, nearly all of them, will never bite the hand that feeds them.

Without making this too political subreddit level. I will say I wholeheartedly agree.  This year has been rocky to say the least. The 99 percent bleeds so the 1 percent can live in excess. What hurts the Bee benefits the badger.  The bee sees its home and lifes work breaking away. The badger sees free honey. I dont see an end in sight. Only varying degrees of bad.

Surprisingly though.  TVs went from something people would save for months to buy. A big family decision with the wife. Now its something college kids abandon in their dorms. As a gift I got a 55 inch 4k tv for 115 dollars.  Crazy how that industry has evolved to be cheaper somehow.  Really nice set too.


With that said... I do wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving and gaming holiday    Whatever that looks like to you all! 

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General / Re: VGC's Anonymous/"General" Topic:

« on: November 25, 2025, 05:50:17 pm »

Anyone here getting any black friday scores?  I was going to make a thread about it but felt it was more fitting here.  Since people are less hyped about it for legit reasons. Some of the deals are gas some are another word that rhymes with gas lol.


Madden 26 for the football fan is less than halved and typically is 35.00 for black friday. 26.99 this year. It also is supposed to be much improved with dynamic weather.

Assassins creed shadows is 30

But PS5 slim for 399 to 449.00 for the disc version? Like seriously? I'm sorry but that console is 5 years old and I got mine for 350 at the height of an economy crash with tariffs, and got a pro version of ps4 cheaper mid covid epidemic.  That's a rough price point especially with Switch 2 knocking their bundle lower than that at 400 in the same holiday season it launched in. I just cant get my head around that.  I imagine Nintendo is going to gap sony and xbox this holiday season. 


Also Borderlands sale for 58.99.    That's not a black fridal deal thats a mild autumn price drop that should remain permanently.   11 dollars off a 70 dollar game thats already 10 dollars too much is not black friday to me.


Other than those gripes. I feel 2025 black friday is slapping

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General / Re: November 2025 - Recently added to collection/recently purchased

« on: November 25, 2025, 05:33:23 pm »

Black Friday kinda based this year.  At first I thought it was bad but ive found some goodies!


The first major deal that I have noticed is on PS5 controllers.  My PS5 controller after nearing 2000 hours is beggining to tire. Its battery lasts maybe half of what it used to.  I took the oppurtunity to buy the chroma teal color controller which is rad.  (Most stores Walmart, amazon)   

Also Madden 26 for 26.99 is a fair deal to me considering im deep into football season and want some snappier running mechanics.  (Amazon and Walmart)   Wild drop from 70.

Outer wilds and the new ninja turtles game are both 15.00 (ps store)  i used a cash app discount on top as well.

And assasins creed shadows is now 30.00 (walmart) contemplating

Gears of war (ps5) is also like 25 or so in the ps store. I forget exact price.


So decent hauls so far.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: October 01, 2025, 03:59:43 pm »

52. Call Of Duty Modern Warfare: Remastered [PS4] - finished Sep 28th, 2025




As many will know, the echoing of sentiment. From 2005 to 2016ish Call of Duty hit a stride that can be likened to the golden age of comic books, the silver screen age of cartoons, popeye the sailor man and Lucy and Ethyl or even the industrial boom of America. You had gamers by the millions who lived and breathed Call of Duty. Every double XP weekend, each and every map pack was like christmas. Begging my dad for the 20 dollar xbox live cards to be the next to join my friends in cool kid circle. It also had it's naysayers. But each and every year it became clear.  COD was untouchable in military based first person shooters. Battlefield crumbled in it's wake, multiple times. It even made Halo itself into a shrew mouse after long been standing as a titan of industry... trey arch and infinity ward both went back to back like lethal weapon. Just coming up with new fresh maps. Cool guns. The game was flawless... but only temporarily.  Very quickly COD last its balance. But overall for many years it was the funnest time. Red dot sights. The leveling and prestige system was genius, the killstreaks were addictive. And leading a team of mountain dew chugging 10 yr olds to victory was some of my greatest memories in gaming.  When I say COD defined my childhood in many ways. I'm not exaggerating.  Call of Duty also had semi responsibility in my love for militaria, history, and education endeavors that followed.  I have since

1. Gone to 2 presidential libraries, 2 WW2 museums, a civil war museum and many boston massacre related attractions.

2. Studied WW2 speificially for decades. Books. Movies. And now vietnam.

Would my interest in WW2 have existed without world at war? Possibly. My great grandfathers served at both Germany and North African Campaigns. My great grandfather on my grandmother's side was even a POW in a nazi concentration camp.  Then went on to become a professor of behavioral sciences.  His name is Ogden Lindsley.  My other grandfather George A. Muggleton served at Kessarine Pass. These things were engrained in me at a young age. GI Joes, Toy army men. I just love the historical importance.  But would that passion have cultivated into the multi media arm of my personality it is today? Without my formative years being playing call of duty world at war with my friends? Maybe not.  What I enjoy about these games. Is they actually try to be historically accurate. Do they always get it right? No. Do they embelish? Of course. But they get the heart down. The horrors down. The way wars occured and how battles progressed. None might be as important to that trajectory of the franchise as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Which was known as COD 4 when I was a kid.

Phrases like "switching to your pistol is always faster than reloading" and "Nice! Your fruit killing skills are remarkable" both birth themselves just in the prologue of this game. Have become sort of lexicon in the gaming community. Gold skins on AKs? This game. Care packages? This game. Noscoping? As far as I know. This game. Well over a decade before fortnite even dreamed of such. It did it all without micro trans (aside from optional map packs that came about a year into launch).  It was gaming paradise. It truly was. But now into this games campaign mode.

Call Of Duty 4 is definitely inspired by the war on terror mixed with a bit of Russian civil war. It's less directly based on real wars like the WW2 games are. But it clearly has a very "nuclear" seal team 6 vibe to it.  The game manages to make you feel part of batallion.  By the end of the game. You remember captain price (recurring character) and people like sgt briggs on first name basis. Like they were your men you actually served with. Because the game does well at subtly reminding you of commanding orders while still being present in the very arcadey vibe.  The controls are smooth. Missions like "all ghillied up" are franchise staples that almost all love. The missions has you in pripyiat ukraine where chernobyl happened. It's a front to back stealth mission where you gotta maneuver without being detected this russian operated snowy badlands of poison.  Tunnels.  Sinking ships. Nukes. Tanks. Fighter jets. Cobra attack helicopters. It's all in this game. German Sheppards even. The game is a campaign masterclass.  I feel there are many moving moments. Deep reflections of society. But also humor. Night visions missions. Collecting intel ect are especially fun. It also has a nice trophy system that has fair but intriguing challenges to get outside the game UI. Even the mini game that begins the game is an absolute blast attempting to get the squadron record time. 

Call of Duty 4 is one of the greatest call of duty games. It predates world at war. As a cohesive unit? It has amazing footing. And I enjoyed every second.

Welcome game 52! I've made the mark.  I was well on pace for high 90s. Now my new final year goal is 75. Lets see what we can do.  But 52 is in the bag.


Rating - 93/100

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General / Re: VGC's Anonymous/"General" Topic:

« on: September 26, 2025, 07:04:38 pm »

Anyone excited for Plants vs Zombies Replanted here?

I grew up adoring Plants Vs Zombies. It was every kid my age ranges favorite middle school free to play laptop game. Then when they dropped the peggle 2 pack for 360 and PS3. It was a must buy for my entire class. All my friends were addicted. It's sonostalgic and to me the garden warfare games tanked what the original was and ruined chances of unique grid style rpg element sequels.

For 20 bucks. I think it will be a cute download. My wishes are

1. That the only improvements aren't just graphical. The game hasnt really aged poorly in original format at all. I cant see why overdo graphical upgrades. But some special effects and explosive qualities would be welcomed

2. New plants and levels (perhaps even a level where we deal with global warming or arid land so only hot plants survive like the pepper and the bomb plants and sunflowers must be watered). Although I know this is expecting coffee milk from a elderly cow knocker.

3. Dont dare to micro trans


Who else will buy this?

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Off Topic / Re: What Was The Last Movie/Anime You Watched?

« on: September 23, 2025, 02:12:43 pm »

Taxi Driver [1976]

Quite the controversial movie for it's time. Robert Deniro.. I mean what can be said that he hasn't already etched into our brains with 30 other great films but boy oh boy does he enter a niche and disgustingly offputting bag here.  The ending is most shocking to me because it sorta tugs at the internal duality of man aspect of humans like a dog tugs a rope.  This movie is actually a fairly decent representation of skitzophrenia disorders and the dangers of politic obsession. And not to get political. Many of the actions in this movie have recently played out and have many times in history.  Jodie Foster was an infant in this movie being only 12 yrs old. Very young yet absolutely crushed and obliterated her role.  Child stars back then were simply on another level of talent. And expected to do much more challenging plots.  The movie paces itself well and leaves the viewer longing for conclusions that never come. That is intentional.  The 4k remaster I watched was pretty.  Neons drip on black roads, new york glows, the 70s shine through.  Feels like a time portal. 

Robert in general is great at playing the wacko, the polished corrleone and many things in between but seeing him buff, young and mohawked is something that every human should do ince lol. 

95/100

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Off Topic / Re: What Was The Last Movie/Anime You Watched?

« on: September 23, 2025, 02:05:13 pm »

Minecraft - Gonna be honest...I made it to Lava Chicken, which is around 40 minutes in and stopped lol I didn't expect it to be good and I'm usually all for a silly comedy, but the whole thing feels like a bad parody.  I'm also kind of a Jack Black apologist, I like him in most anything, but this is just cartoonish levels of Jack Black done in the wrong way.  It's all playing directly to the camera and it just feels off to me.  I've watched all the way through far worse movies, and it's not specifically bad, to me it's just not working.  Maybe I'll go back, I don't know.

Sully - For a more serious and better movie, got around to watching this.  I'd actually seen clips for awhile, bad habit of watching clips for movies on there sometimes, not many, but for some reason, a few would pop up for this one about the flight tests at the hearing, so I'd seen all that, but the movie is a decent biographical drama, nothing flashy, nothing over the top, I appreciate that they didn't hype up the actual crash with big music or anything and we even get it kinda twice from different viewpoints slightly at a certain point before the crash and it works well for that.  I didn't even know this was a Clint Eastwood film, and I think he can understand when a movie needs to be as grounded as can be.

As usual for a biographical drama, I like to look up the wiki, see what people thought, how accurate it was, and it sounds like they did a decent job.  There was maybe abit too much to make out the Safety Board investigation as being more out to find Sully as being in the wrong, which I can sorta see in the film slightly, but didn't think it was too aggressive, and that's about it, otherwise it's apparently on point, so good to know.

I agree heavily about Minecraft movie. Jack seemed like he was cosplaying more than acting a role. Like his kids made him dress up as Steve and then he basically just recycled his school of rock energy to try to wing it.  Bowser Barely worked but Steve? Jack Black cant be every game character to ever exist. Hes too recognizable to keep recycling. But i'd actually take it further by saying Minecraft as a whole is such a shitty game to adapt to a movie. Its a beautiful excellent game but its not a movie style game. It's a cathartic game with very vague plot.  I feel it was made as a IP cash grab. The fact it isn't unwatchable is my only shock of it.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: September 15, 2025, 12:28:37 am »

51. Mafia Old Country [PS5] - finished Sep 13th, 2025



Mafia Old Country

Finally! Alas I did it. After almost 2 months. Im officially back in the beating games Saddle! With 51. Feels like 52 is going to happen.

Where as Mafia III is a GTA Open World atchetype that tackles a more race involved sort of internal mafia. Mafia Old Country speaks to it's own name by being 100 percent old fashioned mobster movie esque Scorcesse level storytelling. Trading in its long winding map for a sexy glimpse into tuscan rivers, italian flower beds and church steeples from the early 1900s. It is the video game version of godfather and it plays itself like a Huckleberry Finn, like a beautiful Mark Twain poem from front to back. It almost smells of grape colored orchids and red wine.  It is elegant in it's presentation and feels like controlling a concise mob movie from the 70s.

Take on the role of Enzo. A former "carusu" which means boy in italian. But Carusu was used as a sort of nose up mockery of a certain type of man. Essentially endentured servants who worked the mines in italy.  Volcano eruptions. Famine. Death and hunger. But you rise the ranks of the order of the Don Torrisi crime family.  And are called to do many of his varying tasks all the while. Other complications in personal life, relationships, faith and especially love come to shake your oath to omerta and everything that you signed up for begins to feel shaky at the knees.  It is a powerful story and one of the most somber ive played.

The gameplay mechanics are not flashy. Very simple and refined which I feel is a very good thing. It relies heavily on stealth. I find going in guns blazing to be very unrewarding and everything about the game lends itself to basically reward you for taking a more silent approach.

You become invested in indiviudal members of this family. And although your play is fairly linear in comparison to 3. It does a much better job at immersion. It eliminates the diversity of building a mob around yourself and employing roles. Which is a bit of a downgrade on customizing. But I find it is a much much more streamline experience and is much more quick and clean with its direction. 20 to 30 hours instead of 100+

Rating - 94/100

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General / Re: What are your least favorite boss fights?

« on: September 12, 2025, 03:02:45 pm »

Disliked the boss fight in echoes of wisdom.


Final boss.  So spoilers ahead.


SPOILERS SPOILERS


They nerf zelda and forcefully give half the abilities to link like some patriarchal 1950s vision of America lol. I found it to be a corny ending to a great game. I didn't enjoy the battle. It felt like watching someone else play the game for me.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: August 20, 2025, 08:42:57 pm »

Mafia Old Country has officially ended my gaming drought. I got really immersed but travels and adulting has simply not let me sit in front of any plastic gaming recepticle for dedicated play time for like a week lol. Ive had almost no time.  But it definitely is a glorious game. Happy to be back and hopefully at 51. Soon!    Thanks to everyone for the advice with handling gaming burnout. I am still easing back in gently to not burn out again but I think the break was much needed.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: August 10, 2025, 05:04:06 pm »

I've encountered major video game burnout of some sort, at the 50 mark it seems everything I put on just doesn't grip me and i'd rather either binge Netflix or go outside and do stuff in locals driving around attractions. Which is fine but this is definitely the longest drought I've hit with games since maybe 2019.  Perhaps doing 50 in around half a year was too much too fast. Anyone else ever experience a burnout?  Ive tried both short and long games.

Maybe Mafia Old Country will be the one to get me back on the horse.  52 is on the horizon. Hope to join you guys again soon!

I took a break from gaming in the mid 2000s, but that was mostly due to me starting college, dating, and getting more into other interests of mine. I didn't get fully into it again until around 2009/2010. A more recent example was around 2020/2021 where i was still playing a lot of games, but they just didn't have the same impact on me they once did. i think part of this burnout was due to me hitting my expiration date as a collector, but I also think it was a bit of me playing so many games for so long that I just needed to take a break. So, that's what I did. I started modding game consoles a lot, which is still video game related, but i was doing that far more than playing them.


When I got back into gaming, I feel like I approached it from a new perspective of wanting quality experiences over quantity. I still like branching out and playing games I'm curious about, but I became far more okay with admitting some games aren't for me or there are certain games I'll likely never make the time to play. Also, revisiting some of my all time favorite games helped me figure out why I loved gaming so much, which also helped.


But yeah, be patient, do other things for as long as you need to and eventually you'll likely come around and get back into a gaming again. It might be in a month, possibly 6 months, or possibly several years. Just ride it out and see what happens.

This is actually refreshing knowing that you were able to go from a big break to your gaming passion returning.  Today I got Mafia Old Country which ive waited months to play. So hoping tonight is the night I get back on the proverbial horse lol. But like you said. Im being mindful to not force it either. If im still not feeling it. I'll put it down.

I do think a lot of it is the sensory overload ive been doing. Ive been doing big cities and traveling so I think my body just wants silence and calm in its off time.  Instead of more action. Theirs less boredom to cure with games. Winter since I live in new england will probably get me some hibernation gaming. 

What kind of mods did you do? Thats interesting. Was it stuff like backlighting gameboys? I wish I could but I suck at soldering so bad that I dont want to ever pick up a soldering iron again lol.

Happy gaming everyone. I have still been reading the reviews others post here despite my gaming pause.  Its always good reading here.

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General / Re: 52 Games Challenge 2025!!!

« on: August 05, 2025, 10:11:15 pm »

I've encountered major video game burnout of some sort, at the 50 mark it seems everything I put on just doesn't grip me and i'd rather either binge Netflix or go outside and do stuff in locals driving around attractions. Which is fine but this is definitely the longest drought I've hit with games since maybe 2019.  Perhaps doing 50 in around half a year was too much too fast. Anyone else ever experience a burnout?  Ive tried both short and long games.

Maybe Mafia Old Country will be the one to get me back on the horse.  52 is on the horizon. Hope to join you guys again soon! 

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General / Re: VGC's Anonymous/"General" Topic:

« on: August 02, 2025, 06:55:02 pm »

Well I got to play a switch 2 today. Spent about 15 minutes with Donkey Kong Bonanza. My takeaways are...  immediate awe and enjoyment followed by sadness that I cant buy one. Because I cant support the company at its current pricing and posturing. But maybe someday

You could always buy a used one and used games for it. I've said this before, but I'm holding off until either there's some game that I cannot resist, or until the console has been out for at least 3 years or so. I figure by then we should know if Nintendo starts doing the key card thing with their first party games, or if some other ridiculous anti consumer, anti ownership crap is implemented. Assuming that doesn't happen, I'll pick one up and likely have a nice chunk of exclusives to catch up on. In many ways, The Switch 2 reminds me a bit of my experience with the Gamecube back in the day. I was never big into the Gamecube and still am not, but I eventually did get one during the console's run, as well as a handful of games I really enjoyed.

I knew I shouldnt have played Donkey Kong Bananza lol. I felt the same as you. I'm still not eager for it. I think its Nintendos least ambitious product in history. But I just had to play the game. A good 20 minutes too. But im gonna try to hold out for the 2nd  or 3rd masterpiece. I overall enjoyed my time with it but I waited almost 5 years before buying Switch 1 and I never play it now.  I dont wanna do the same with 2 and have it collect dust. Its still fairly underpowered.

Sadly it seems anyone selling used locally is trying to scalp and price gouge. I'd have assumed it would cool off with the stock replenish but all are 500+ on ebay (bundle) I dont get people who try to become Bezos by flipping consoles at like 5 percent gain each. Thats such a volatile and exhausting endeavor even if you manage to turn a profit by some miracle. Maybe ill wait until they get desperate and start selling at 425.

Is their a console seller that would force you to buy one? For example Mario Odyssey 2?