Friends don't let friends (or family) impulsively buy games

People, if you're on this site and reading this, no Vegas bookie would take the odds that you don't do your homework on games, be that a review, preview, demo, or a variant on Giant Bomb's own Quick Looks.  You're also probably smart enough to tell people, "Hey, you really should check that game out before you buy it, you know?"  Friends, I made a horrible mistake today by not emphasizing that point again and again to someone who should know better.  
 
You know the type of guy.  He knows just enough about computers and eBay to make purchases, and despite the fact that this person has been burned on a dozen different used purchases, still makes the same goddamn rookie mistakes.  He's the guy that opens every forward because he knows who sent it to him, and "that guy wouldn't send me a virus!"  He's the guy with a computer always loaded with viruses, bugs, spyware, and a metric ton of shitty bargain bin games, save for the ones you've purchased for him.  He's the guy with a console, with one or two good games and twenty copies of shit similar to Cabela's Big Game Hunting and Raving Rabbids.  Yep, he's That Guy. 
 
Well, today, I had a chance to stop That Guy from making one hell of a dumb mistake.  We were at That Big Superstore Run By Satan's Minions, and I was doing my thing, buying up stock in Axe, cheese, and chimichangas (oohhh, chimis - I'm gonna write you an epic later.  No, an ode.  Something.), when That Guy comes at me with a cart full of his junk and a big shiny copy of... you know, I have no goddamned clue what the name of this heap of steaming shit is.  I think it's called X5 Fishing, but I can't find anything about it on the wide, wide world of the 'net.  That should give you your first clue as to the high quality of this priceless gem.  It was bundled with an entire Wii fishing rod, which is far too cheaply made to be even a product of some Chinese sweatshop (by the way, Bai Xing, get your ass back to work and make daddy some money). 
 
I should have held up the hand and stopped this foolishness right then and there.  I should have just said no.  I should have asked politely if That Guy had ever heard of this game, the product, or hell, even any of the developers.  I should have punched him out, stolen his wallet, and ran before he could have spent his admittedly hard-earned money on this gaming equivalent to being the recipient of a Cleveland Steamer.  But no, ladies and gents.  I was tired, and I really, really, really hate That Gigantic Clusterfuck of a Superstore Run By Satan and His Minions, so instead of saying anything, I grunted a noncommital response to his orgiastic enthusiasm for the game, and we got the hell out of Dodge. 
 
Two hours later, and That Guy is powering up his Wii, putting together the fishing rod, and practically bouncing out of his chair.  Me, I was cringing and waiting for the inevitable "What the fuck?"  I wasn't disappointed.  After about five minutes of near apoplexy from winging his arm at the screen trying to get the broken game to read his movements, That Guy finally delivered that fabled cheap-ass game discovery phrase.  And I, dear Reader, was left with that horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach - and no, it wasn't from the ridiculous amount of Little Caesar's pizza I had scarfed earlier.  This was guilt.  Because of my laziness and abhorrence of That Huge Hellish Superstore, That Guy wound up with a shitty fishing game and obscenities stuck in his craw. 
 
Don't be a tool.  Never, ever let your friends implusively buy shitty games.  The more you know...

People, if you're on this site and reading this, no Vegas bookie would take the odds that you don't do your homework on games, be that a review, preview, demo, or a variant on Giant Bomb's own Quick Looks.  You're also probably smart enough to tell people, "Hey, you really should check that game out before you buy it, you know?"  Friends, I made a horrible mistake today by not emphasizing that point again and again to someone who should know better.  
 
You know the type of guy.  He knows just enough about computers and eBay to make purchases, and despite the fact that this person has been burned on a dozen different used purchases, still makes the same goddamn rookie mistakes.  He's the guy that opens every forward because he knows who sent it to him, and "that guy wouldn't send me a virus!"  He's the guy with a computer always loaded with viruses, bugs, spyware, and a metric ton of shitty bargain bin games, save for the ones you've purchased for him.  He's the guy with a console, with one or two good games and twenty copies of shit similar to Cabela's Big Game Hunting and Raving Rabbids.  Yep, he's That Guy. 
 
Well, today, I had a chance to stop That Guy from making one hell of a dumb mistake.  We were at That Big Superstore Run By Satan's Minions, and I was doing my thing, buying up stock in Axe, cheese, and chimichangas (oohhh, chimis - I'm gonna write you an epic later.  No, an ode.  Something.), when That Guy comes at me with a cart full of his junk and a big shiny copy of... you know, I have no goddamned clue what the name of this heap of steaming shit is.  I think it's called X5 Fishing, but I can't find anything about it on the wide, wide world of the 'net.  That should give you your first clue as to the high quality of this priceless gem.  It was bundled with an entire Wii fishing rod, which is far too cheaply made to be even a product of some Chinese sweatshop (by the way, Bai Xing, get your ass back to work and make daddy some money). 
 
I should have held up the hand and stopped this foolishness right then and there.  I should have just said no.  I should have asked politely if That Guy had ever heard of this game, the product, or hell, even any of the developers.  I should have punched him out, stolen his wallet, and ran before he could have spent his admittedly hard-earned money on this gaming equivalent to being the recipient of a Cleveland Steamer.  But no, ladies and gents.  I was tired, and I really, really, really hate That Gigantic Clusterfuck of a Superstore Run By Satan and His Minions, so instead of saying anything, I grunted a noncommital response to his orgiastic enthusiasm for the game, and we got the hell out of Dodge. 
 
Two hours later, and That Guy is powering up his Wii, putting together the fishing rod, and practically bouncing out of his chair.  Me, I was cringing and waiting for the inevitable "What the fuck?"  I wasn't disappointed.  After about five minutes of near apoplexy from winging his arm at the screen trying to get the broken game to read his movements, That Guy finally delivered that fabled cheap-ass game discovery phrase.  And I, dear Reader, was left with that horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach - and no, it wasn't from the ridiculous amount of Little Caesar's pizza I had scarfed earlier.  This was guilt.  Because of my laziness and abhorrence of That Huge Hellish Superstore, That Guy wound up with a shitty fishing game and obscenities stuck in his craw. 
 
Don't be a tool.  Never, ever let your friends implusively buy shitty games.  The more you know...

I never do. The less money they have, the less money they have to lend me!!!

I don't let them either. 
 
Although i once saw someone buy Rogue Warrior at full price, but i couldn't do much. My friends were the clerks at the store. Thr guy's worse buy of the year probably. lol 

I try and prevent my parents from buying my little brother movie tie-in games. They're terrible, but they don't understand that.

Honestly I'd let him buy it, so long as it is less than £10. Donkeys tend to be hilarious and make a good night's worth of entertainment despite being very, very crappy.

Does this count for all the stupid sheep that impulsively buy random shit they will never EVER play fro every Steam sale? There seems to be a frighteningly large number of them here.

I unfortunately, let that guy make impulse buys too. I feel really geeky telling my friends about how I research so many games, so I let a couple of unknown games fly by every once in awhile. I'll usually fight it though with a "we should check this out before we waste our cash", even if I already know it's garbage.
 
Anyone else feel weird researching games even if you didn't plan on buying it, and know you never will?

" Does this count for all the stupid sheep that impulsively buy random shit they will never EVER play fro every Steam sale? There seems to be a frighteningly large number of them here. "

Well my cousin and I sometimes talk about buying and/or playing the same games and I get a bit pissed when he buys a crappy game without telling me about it.

" Does this count for all the stupid sheep that impulsively buy random shit they will never EVER play fro every Steam sale? There seems to be a frighteningly large number of them here. "

" Does this count for all the stupid sheep that impulsively buy random shit they will never EVER play fro every Steam sale? There seems to be a frighteningly large number of them here. "

Oh nicely written! Good stuff!
 
I too have such a friend that kinda proclaims any game he likes the cover of game of the month and gets ready to spend a way to high price for it.
He was hellbent on buying it, I advised against it and if he really wanted it I told him to buy the used version which was 20 euro instead of the full 60, but he wouldn't have any of it!
Told me I was a Nintendo fan girl and didn't know jack about the PS3 (I'll give him that).
Few days later he was mad at the store he couldn't return it, turned out to not be worth 60 euro, heh.
 
Also, Viking, my budget catch of the century probably, what a great game!

" I unfortunately, let that guy make impulse buys too. I feel really geeky telling my friends about how I research so many games, so I let a couple of unknown games fly by every once in awhile. I'll usually fight it though with a "we should check this out before we waste our cash", even if I already know it's garbage.  Anyone else feel weird researching games even if you didn't plan on buying it, and know you never will? "

They never listen so i stopped

Hey! 
 
I like the Raving Rabbids games. 
 
But overall, I think we've all been there at some point. I saw someone around Christmas time pick up Tony Hawk: RIDE and I wanted to knock that piece of shit out of her hands. Luckily the friends and family I have that play video games typically make good purchases... even my parents who were notorious for making awful NES and SNES purchases during my childhood have learned their lesson... they don't buy games anymore.

If I try and stop them they just think I'm being a dick so I don't bother. That doesn't stop me from moaning when I see a copy of Avatar the Game on a friend's shelf.

What idiot would ever buy even a well known fishing game? 

I am fortunate enough to have family that will ask either me or my brother about games before buying anything. Most of my friends are fairly avid gamers, so this problem fortunately doesn't arise for me.

You place far to much faith on the internet. Sure, 99 games out of 100 will probably suck, but eventually he'll find a game undiscovered by the masses and message boards alike that is truly a hidden gem.
 
Eh, who am I kidding? The internet knows all.

I used to care...I really did.  I now look at it as the uniformed get what they deserve.  I've been applying the same thinking to politics lately.  You want to treat corporations as people?  Fine let's fully embrace that America, I have skills I'll just go to Canada.  

Wow, that must really suck for him. 
 
I don't really have this issue with any of my friends. They know their purchases of at least common and popular games like Modern Warfare 2, though I wouldn't go as far as other less popular but well polished games.

"I unfortunately, let that guy make impulse buys too. I feel really geeky telling my friends about how I research so many games, so I let a couple of unknown games fly by every once in awhile. I'll usually fight it though with a "we should check this out before we waste our cash", even if I already know it's garbage.  Anyone else feel weird researching games even if you didn't plan on buying it, and know you never will? "

i stop my friend from buying crappy games. he said he enjoyed playing two worlds. i was just mad at him for buying that game. it has crappy graphics, laggy game, horrible voice overs. he has a thing for crappy games.

It's so painful to watch!  But alas, there will always be pigeons flocking to the superstore to burn their cash.  The best we can do is place our monies in the coffers of proficient developers.

most of my friends know what they're doing so I don't need to say anything.

" @Xtrememuffinman said:

" I unfortunately, let that guy make impulse buys too. I feel really geeky telling my friends about how I research so many games, so I let a couple of unknown games fly by every once in awhile. I'll usually fight it though with a "we should check this out before we waste our cash", even if I already know it's garbage.  Anyone else feel weird researching games even if you didn't plan on buying it, and know you never will? "

That's what I do on the internet most of the time. Research games I know I will never buy. I like it almost as much as playing video games. "

All my friends (and family) either have at least okay taste in games or don't game at all, so thankfully, I don't have to deal with crap like that.