Kotakuite Charles stopped by a New York City Best Buy location this morning to pick up Modern Warfare 2, only to encounter the stuff of nightmares – Bon Jovi fans. Also, clowns.

“Went to best buy this morning to get COD. We were greeted by Ringling Brothers clowns waiting in line to buy the Ringling Bros. game from 2K. Also waiting in line were about 30 people waiting to get the new Bon Jovi album (they were even chanting Bon Jovi for a moment….wtf). Needless to say, Bon Jovi and Ringling won today’s morning crowd as there were only about 2-5 people waiting to get COD. Just another NYC moment.”

Just another NYC moment? I’ll be staying on the Southern half of the East coast for the rest of my life then, thanks.

The participating Best Buy stores will start selling Modern Warfare 2 at 12.01am this Tuesday. GameStop tells me that 4250 of their 4360 stores will also be selling at midnight and that they plan to also have “lots of fun activities” for waiting fans.

What platform will you be getting it for?

The Best Buy near Scranton, Pennsylvania (yes, that Scranton) will be hosting the Scranton Warfare Premier, Best Buy’s David Partenio tells Kotaku.

The event will pit customers against the National Guard in a Laser Tag challenge outside the store hosted by Big Entertainment Events. Meanwhile, there will be a LAN party for the game going on inside the store.

The store will also be testing a “GameStop pre-order price match” deal, Partenio says. Any customers who brings in a receipt showing that they placed a $US5 pre-order with GameStop, Wal-Mart or Toys R Us gets $US5 off the price of the game at the Best Buy.

This is the second red carpet premiere event Best Buy has done for a video game’s midnight launch. The first was for Resident Evil 5 and featured a haunted house, zombies and the National Guard pushing back a wave of zombie insurgents.

Stay tuned for more details about the Modern Warfare launch event in PA.

Kansas City, Missouri, to be exact, where a Sony representative was instructing store representatives on the relative values of the three consoles, making note of the Xbox 360’s optional wireless adaptor and pay-to-play online and the Wii’s limited-capabilities and $US199 price tag. Did you know that the PlayStation 3 has a Blu-ray drive and the other two consoles don’t? You did? Oh. Well maybe the Best Buy people didn’t.

The clock is ticking, and the proof is definitely building up. Will Nintendo announce a price cut before the week is out, or will it be a surprise? Will it happen at all?

We’ve requested comment from both Sony and Nintendo regarding both the presentation and the price cut, but we’ve yet to receive a response.

“What I think is something that we’ve missed in the industry and is something other participants have been doing is the proportion of business that is used,” Robinson told DJ Newswires. “We’ve not developed the capability to the extent that other participants have. It’s a very margin-rich portion, so I think there’s opportunity in that business.”

This is all in response to the site Bloggingstocks.com, which speculated on Tuesday that GameStop could be an acquisition target. Of course, it might also cost north of $US4 billion to do that, which is dough Best Buy doesn’t have. Leveraging the deal or doing a stock swap then commits Best Buy to the bricks-and-mortar game retail business for the long term, and Robinson noted the industry’s shift toward digital distribution. He also pointed out the company’s test of in-store kiosks that buy back used games.

Best Buy US CFO: Used Video Games ‘Strategically Interesting’ [Dow Jones Newswires on The Wall Street Journal.com]

An internal memo, verified independently by a number of employees at different stores, shows that Best Buy is offering people who come into the story to exchange recently purchased Playstation 3’s for the newly released PS3 Slim a choice of a free Playstation 3 title in lieu of the new slimmer, larger-hard-drive sporting console.

Due to the interest in the new Slim model, the memo warns, stores may see people trying to return their console for the newer model. Before doing the exchange, a store is allowed to offer a choice of a free copy of Infamous, MLB 09 The Show or Killzone 2. Not a bad selection, but is it worth more than the smaller footprint and bigger hard drive?

It’s important to note that this isn’t an advertised sale, it’s an internal memo, so it may be up to the store manager’s discretion how often to offer the deal.

We’ve contacted Sony and Best Buy for confirmation. If this is true, I think it’s just further evidence of a console war heating up to deliver plenty of great deals for gamers on both sides of the fence.

These prices come from a West Jordan, Utah area GameStop, the same location that Best Buy is testing its “buy new games at used prices” plan. The deals are fantastic, slashing $US10 to $US15 off GameStop’s regular used prices for most of these titles, including relatively new releases like Red Faction: Guerrilla, Prototype, UFC 2009 Undisputed, inFamous, The Conduit and Fight Night Round 4.

In fact, those price drops on used games affect dozens of titles, prices that would make it unattractive and unprofitable for Best Buy to continue with its plan. The real attraction here is for the West Jordan, Utah gamer, who can probably snap up new copies of tons of games at below wholesale prices.

According to the flyer that we were forwarded by a reader, these prices are in effect at the West Jordan GameStop only until August 31. If you’re in the market for just about anything, might be worth heading to GameStop and grabbing one of these flyers, Utahans.

One Cheap Ass Gamer snapped this photo highlighting the promotion at a West Jordan, Utah area Best Buy. The offer boasts that the store “now price matches NEW video games at USED prices from Gamestop or Game Crazy.” GameStop’s used pricing tends to be about $US5 less than the retail price on new releases, a decent savings on brand new games, but not out of line with pre-existing deals offered by Best Buy.

We’re currently waiting to hear back from Best Buy on the finer details of the promotion. It’s not clear how many of Best Buy’s retail locations are offering this price match guarantee. Obviously, we’ll let you know if this is just a test and just how this program will work.

If this policy rolls out at Best Buys nationwide, it’s possible that it could impact GameStop and Game Crazy’s used game sales business, but maybe not as substantially as some might hope.

Best Buy Price Matching New Games at Used Prices from GameStop and Game Crazy [Cheap arse Gamer]

No matter where you preorder Champions Online you’ll gain access to the open beta test on August 17th, 30 days game time, and five in-game microtransaction dollars, but after that it all comes down to where you pick up the game. Want access to the early-start preview weekend? Then you’ll want to buy from GameStop or Best Buy, depending on whether you want an in-game pet or special costume pieces.

Wal-Mart preorders are for those who prefer real-life swag, with a lenticular cover, and iron on patch, and a zone map packed into its exclusive limited edition package, while Amazon is the place for those who value avatar looks above all, with three exclusive costume pieces on offer.

I am really beginning to hate this practice. It seems completely silly and arbitrary to me. It also makes me wonder who is negotiating these deals, as I cannot see why any fan would chose Amazon or Wal-Mart over the stores offering early access to the game. Madness, I tell you. Check out the full list of benefits below to help you determine where you’ll buy Champions Online come September 1st.

GameStop

GameStop customers who pre-order Champions Online receive access to the Early Start Program. Battle an alien menace, collect exclusive items, and join the early start weekend to get a jump on the action! GameStop customers also receive the exclusive Insectoid Airfoil costume piece and Experimental Anti-Graviton Generator flight travel power at character creation for an early boost in mobility.

Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart is offering an exclusive Limited Edition Package with collectible lenticular cover that includes an exclusive zone map, iron-on decal and an additional ten in-game micro-transaction dollars! Check online and in-store for more details and other potential offers.

Best Buy

Best Buy is offering their customers the fun and functional Lil’ Champ Pack. These persistent pets are iconic, knee-high characters from the Champions universe! Best Buy Customers receive their own Lil’ Champ. In addition, Lil’ Champ owners also receive a functional damage resistance item. Best Buy pre-order customers will also receive access to the Early Start Program and head start weekend.

Amazon

The High Roller Pack is perfect for players who insist on the finest accoutrements for their avatar. With three unique, exclusive apparel options (harlequin headpiece, black knight helmet, grenade chest strap), and an additional five in-game micro-transaction dollars, you’ll have plenty of options to push your “High Roller” look.

All

All Champions Online pre-orders receive guaranteed access to the Champions Online open beta test on August 17, exclusively offered by IGN.com. Additionally, all retail purchases include 30-days of free play and five in-game micro-transaction dollars.