Dear Nintendo,

I wanted to take a little time out of my busy day to thank you for making me go into a Wal-Mart yesterday. Due to the super-geniuses you have in the business department, it was decided that Chibi-Robo: Park Patrol for DS should absolutely be a Wal-Mart exclusive. Retailer exclusivity is always a brilliant idea that ensures wide availability and usually instills a strong sense of faith in a particular title; see Tenchu DS as an example.

Perhaps the finest part of my visit, besides shuffling around sweatpantsed warriors and those that don't require teeth to get by, was most definitely the fine lads in the electronics department. I'm sure you're all very busy playing free copies of your games, so you probably don't have to wander into a Wal-Mart to find an exclusive title such as Chibi-Robo: Park Patrol for DS -- you're missing out.

I won't lie to you, Nintendo; there was temptation to buy something else while walking down the display case aisle. I could've nabbed The Godfather on your very own Wii or the PS3 for $30 each; I could've but I didn't. I could've snatched up any one of at least 50 copies of Halo 3, but I didn't. I even could've purchased the amazing Pariah on the original XBOX for $50! I want you to know that I didn't because I was there solely for the Wal-Mart exclusive Chibi-Robo: Park Patrol for DS. To say I was disappointed when I didn't see it in the display case would be an understatement. This is when I encountered the above mentioned lads.

While failing in my search, I asked the two, young, surely 2400 SAT scoring gentlemen at the counter if they had the exclusive title Chibi-Robo: Park Patrol for DS. Youth 1 asked if I was looking for some chicken. I assured him I wasn't hungry, just looking for a game -- a DS game. Youth 2 wondered aloud if I was interested in Robot Chicken; I'm sure he was just trying to meet a sales quota on a certain product. I kindly turned down the offer for Robot Chicken and reminded them I was looking for the Wal-Mart exclusive Chibi-Robo: Park Patrol for DS. Youth 1 had a glimmer of hope in his eye and vaguely pointed somewhere to let me know he's pretty sure he saw it for PSP over there. I know they were all sold out and just didn't have it in their hearts to tell me; I understand. I left them to their erudite ways of astro-physics and calculus and thanked them for helping an average joe such as myself. I guess I'll just have to order it from the website, after all, I don't mind being charged tax + shipping.

I hope you've enjoyed reading my adventure as much as I enjoyed living it, Nintendo. Stay beautiful and be sure to make more things retailer exclusive. Shine get, indeed.

best,
D