Why EB is the best game in town

by Nathan Stout

In 2004 I was working at and EB Games in Burleson, Texas. EB stands for Electronics Boutique. My aunt always gave me hell about the name of that store. But I digress.

I am standing there making 6.25 an hour with keys to the store and a night deposit to make… hum. Anyway this notice shows up telling all employees that there is a video contest coming up and the winner would be announced at the annual company meeting event thingy. The first place winner would get two airline tickets (limit 500.00 each) and a hundred bucks. Well by this point I had started making According to Whim and I know a bit about making cool looking videos. There are near (or right at) 1,300 EB stores across the world but the staff isn’t that great so I might have a chance!

I begin working on this video. The rules are simple. It has to be NO MORE than 60 seconds long. That’s it. There is the usual stuff about profanity etc but that is all. Easy!

I get to work on it right away. One day I placed the camera high on a shelf and recorded an hour of the busiest day. I also recorded my fellow employees being silly (but in a professional way). I also recorded a couple of cheap effects too (stop motion and sped up footage).

I get the stuff in the PC and add some slide show material, nifty music (from EJay Music Mixer) as well as some deep-voiced narration. It clocks in at right at sixty seconds. Perfect.

I looks good and everyone seems to love it. Here it is. By the way 2 of the 3 guys in that video were my roommates at some point (the Asian ones). Also, the music was the end credits music from According To Whim Season 1.

A couple of months down the road the company has it’s annual meeting and the winner is decided on (by the attendees which were district managers and company big wigs). I got the letter! I won!
…
…
2nd place.

A lavish pizza party for my store. So one day Brad orders three pizzas. Wooowe.

Ok. I am fine with that… until I hear who actually won.

The grand prize winner was from the area around the corporate headquarters and his video made fun of the CEO and other high ranking officers in the company.

Inside info… I guess that fine too.

But

BUT

The video that won was nearly three minutes long.

It CLEARLY BROKE THE RULES.

So in the end I won. Did I win? No. But I won. In the world of fair and right I won first place in the EB is the best game in town video contest.

Am I bitter… no, not at all.

EB YOU OWE ME!!!!!