It seems Kmart wants to get us game-playing individuals back. And believe it or not, they've come up with a smart way to do it: "qualifying" videogame reviews on MyKmart.com will be turned into snippets and placed on actual store shelves, as seen in the photo above.
My original reaction to this idea was positive. It seemed like a neat way for some passionate folks to get the word out about rad games. Perhaps it can be that, but a quick glance over the current reviews has me feeling worried. Basically, it's just a bunch of fame-seeking dudes giving everything perfect scores.
This concept could easily work if restraint is shown from whoever at Kmart is responsible for selecting the quotes. Because clearly, you can't expect the general population to show that restraint. It's a neat experiment, though. Perhaps one of you can become "Kmart famous."
Video game reviews: Get YOUR MyKmart review featured on store shelves! [MyKmart via Wired]
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Contest:
9:30 PM on 07.14.2010 | 
They've been giving out some really great deals on games recently, and I totally respect this gaming push they've been making. Glad Dtoid is giving them some spotlight.
All 3 of them withing 5 minutes of my house went out of business.
We're trying something new, and taking an opportunity to bridge the in-store and online experiences, as well as encouraging our hardcore gamers to help out our more casual gaming customers. (Or a grandmother buying a game for her grandkid.)
Reviews, as long as they abide by the community TOS, should appear on the site. But whether a game is good or not, a good review -- as you know -- tries to go beyond the polar "this game rocks/doesn't rock" description into what the game actually is, and what people should expect from it. If the storyline is good, the gameplay is good -- or whether they're not -- these reviews should absolutely be helpful.
We've experimented by posting snippets of our game previews/reviews from the <a href="http://kmartgamer.com">Kmart gaming blog</a> on shelves. We're limited with what we can do with the cards, but we're trying to be honest about it as well.
Hope this helps!
(NOTE: I'm the social media manager for Kmart/Sears electronics.)
Unbelievably pissed and disappointed, I went to KMart and got the game easily, and with a bonus gift card to boot. The guy working in the game department was very friendly, and I was super happy overall.
Don't hate on Kmart, people. Just 'cuz your mom got you those knockoff shoes that one time, it doesn't ruin Kmart forever.
Therefore, it is counter-productive for them to post negative reviews, as it will discourage sales, and effectively, they might as well not stock the game. It's the same as putting a "do-not-buy" sticker on it, as if the product had been recalled or something to that effect.
It's a noble idea, but I'm not sure how well it will work in practice.