"Where are the Wiis, Xboxes, PlayStations?"

[WiiCube_2013]

I work near the video games department and sometimes this question pops up amongst parents but what's odd about it is that they're not really specific, whether they mean Wii or Wii U and even the lady at the till referred to the game I planned to buy (LCU) as a "Wii" title rather than a Wii U title (didn't purchase because it was unsealed for a somewhat high price and I expected it to be new except without the figure).

Then again, they also refer PS4 as PlayStation and Xbox One as Xbox so it's kinda confusing what they exactly want.

 

[Foxi4]

Ask them to clarify and inform them about the new consoles.

 

[osirisjem]

Wii = slang word for penis
xBOX = slang word for muffy
Playstation = self explanatory slang word for either.

who knew.

 

[GameWinner]

Ask them to clarify and inform them about the new consoles.

This.
It's not really much to ask...

 

[tbgtbg]

It tends to annoy the shit outta me when someone calls Xbox 360 "Xbox" for short. No, there's already something called just Xbox, so if you gotta shorten it, use friggin 360.

 

[WiiCube_2013]

Ask them to clarify and inform them about the new consoles.

Some of them already know but they just prefer it to call it that.

 

[emigre]

Welcome to retail.

 

[Foxi4]

It tends to annoy the shit outta me when someone calls Xbox 360 "Xbox" for short. No, there's already something called just Xbox, so if you gotta shorten it, use friggin 360.

People used to call every single console "a Nintendo" for almost a decade, especially in America - this sort of thing isn't really a linguistic breakthrough and when there's only one "Xbox" on the market it doesn't cause confusion - the only problem we have right now is that there are two of each of the mentioned systems.

There are far worse questions a customer might ask in a store, things like "how do I install this game on my phone?" or "can I play this PS3 game on my Xbox?" are running jokes for a reason, those are genuine questions that you get to hear in game stores from time to time.

 

[Gahars]

I've seen people start shouting threats over an expired five dollar coupon.

If this is the worst you see, count your lucky stars.

 

[migles]

my parents reefer to my ds or 3ds to playstation. so welcome to the world...

 

[Clydefrosch]

it ticks me off so bad when people call all the different kinds of bread just bread.
or when they ask for a glass of water when they actually want mineral water.
terrible!

 

[mr allen]

my parents reefer to my ds or 3ds to playstation. so welcome to the world...

My parents just call them a gameboy which i always found funny as my dad isn't inept in video game knowledge despite not being much of a gamer.

 

[dxplay2128]

my parents reefer to my ds or 3ds to playstation. so welcome to the world...

this reminds me about my mom's habit of swaping consoles's names. long time ago(when I was like 10) my mom used to call my playstation 1 "nintendo", then when I got a gamecube she called it "playstation", she also calls my DSI "gameboy".

 

[Joe88]

relevant

Spoiler

 

[Guild McCommunist]

Yes I'm sure a minimum wage worker at a department store will love some pasty nerd to tell her that she should "be more informative" about the video games consoles.

Just holy shit who fucking cares, you know if it's a Wii game or a Wii U game, that's all that matters really.

 

[GameWinner]

My mom knows what a Vita is thanks to me.
Progess...?

 

[loco365]

When I do electronics, they usually call it the proper name, or else they'll say "The new Xbox" or "The new Playstation". That makes it a bit easier. But when people say they want a 3DS, they don't say if they want the original or the XL model. That's about as bad as it gets for me regarding gaming consoles.

For me, it's bad when they say "I want a phone case for my phone."

...Ok. What phone is it? That'd be a great place to start. Even better, if you have it on you, can I see it because I can find a product for it much faster if I know what the hell your phone is.

 

[DragorianSword]

God in Belgium it's the same...
I'm a boyscout leader and when I ask the members what consoles they have they always answer with something vague like XBox, Playstation or Nintendo instead of the ACTUAL console name. Some even say DS if they have a 3DS, or Wii when they have a WiiU.
And then you ask "Oh, have you played that game?" And then they look at you weird because the game you are talking about is for a different console.
Like it's my fault I got the console wrong! (Sorry for the rage. Exams. Freaking out)

Too bad I'm not allowed to beat that habit out of them...

Also most parents are not informed about the consoles their own kids own at all. Seems like every time I'm at the game store some parent is returning a game because they got the consoles mixed up (the similar names of the consoles really don't help either).

 

[Saitara]

Or in a electronic shop in Germany I asked about a Gamecube controller, the shop assistant showed me a Wii U pro controller. or at a other shop I asked where the Wii U games are, they showed me the xbox360 games

 

[Guild McCommunist]

I think it's important to realize not everyone takes gaming as seriously (or indulges in it at all) as you guys. What seems like common sense to you is jibberish to someone else. I often use Magic the Gathering as my example. I'll talk about it with my friends and if any of my non-Magic playing friends are overhearing (or even those who don't play at the same level I do) they'll just say "This makes no sense to me". You'll look at a card and instantly understand everything about it, all it's nuisances, while someone whose never played it or not very much won't.

So don't take this as "people are stupid", take this as "everyone is not you".