Topic: Dragon Quest IX Event - Simon Malls

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Today was supposed to be the Simon Malls DQIX Event at the Orland Square Mall. According to the official listings, the event was to be held today, August 15, from 12 noon until 6 p.m.

I say "supposed to be" because there was no event. There was no Nintendo Rep. There was no Event Map. There was no swag.

My sister and I live in Chicago, and we drove out to Orland Park to attend the DQIX event. Even before we realized that there was no event, it was obvious that the whole thing had been poorly organized and poorly communicated. No one working in the mall had any idea what this "Dragon Quest Event" was. They seemed to have never heard of the event, let alone the game. No one could tell us where the event was being held, or what exactly was happening. We walked around, certain that we would be able to easily spot the event. Surely, there would be signs. Surely, there would be a group of people, all holding DSes. Surely, it would be obvious.

It was not obvious.

The gentleman who worked in the GameStop on the upper level didn't know quite where the event was being held, though he was sure that it was today. He suggested that it was somewhere near Macy's, and off we went again, sure that it would be much easier to find now that we had narrowed it down. We walked to Macy's, still, no event. We walked through Macy's, still no, event. We exited Macy's and walked around the outside perimeter of the store, certain that the event was here somewhere. Still, no event.

Discouraged by the apparent lack of event, we started to walk back through the mall. How could we have missed it? I was absolutely positive that it was today. The website had said so. I was sure of it.

As we passed the Food Court (near the Panda Express), I spotted a ad that said "Nintendo DS Download Station". The ad promised that we could get a downloadable map for Dragon Quest IX at "This Location". Finally, we had found it. With both of our games set to Tag Mode, we walked straight for the sign, sure that we would finally get the Event Map. (In the course of walking through the mall, I had already gotten to other hits in Tag Mode. Apparently, there we a few other people doing the same thing that we were doing.) We walked to the sign. Nothing happened. We wondered it maybe there was supposed to be someone there, giving out the map, as had been the case at both GameStop and Best Buy. Maybe, we considered, they had a DS somewhere inside the ad kiosk, transmitting the map out to any and all passersby. We stood there for a few minutes. We did not get a map. There was no representative. There seemed to be no event.

There was a customer service number on the ad. I dialed it and spoke with a Customer Service Rep from Nintendo. He had no information about the event. He asked me if I meant the Best Buy event. He informed me that that event had taken place last weekend, and that, unfortunately, I had missed. I told him that I had not missed it, that I had gone to the Best Buy event. I didn't mean the Best Buy Event. I mean the Simon Malls Event at Orland Square Mall. The one scheduled for today. The one scheduled for right that moment. He insisted that he had no information in his computer concerning this event, and that he wasn't sure he could help me. I suggest that he Google "Orland Square Simon Malls Dragon Quest". He did. Suddenly, he had information on his computer concerning the event.

I was put on hold for a few minutes, while he spoke with a supervisor. By the time he came back, a small group had started to form around the sign. There were about five of us now, all wondering where our special Event Map was. (Or for that matter, where was out special event?) The gentleman on the phone (who was, by the way, extremely polite) apologized to me, and informed me that a "team" from Nintendo was supposed to be there. That's exactly what he said, a "team". He suggested that maybe they had taken a short break. I told him that we had been standing next to the sign for around 30 minutes, and that there was no sign of a Nintendo employee anywhere. He apologized again, and asked if I would be willing to be put on hold again. He needed to speak with another supervisor. I agreed.

By the time he finally came back, there was a group of around 8-10 people gathered. We had been swapping maps and chatting about the game. All of the people who came out were fantastic, and we did have a lot of fun together. The Customer Service Rep told me that they weren't sure what had happened, but that they were sure that there was supposed to be an event at that location at that very moment. I repeated to him that there was not. He apologized again, took my information, and told me that someone would contact me about this incident in the next few days. I asked how that helped us now. He said that it didn't, but that there was nothing that he could do for us now. There were supposed to be employees there running the event, there were not, and they had no idea why. I thanked him for his help, and told him that there would likely be other people calling to let the company know that they had traveled a decent distance to come to an event that didn't happen.

Ultimately, I had a good time at the event, but that was thanks to the other DQ fans who showed up. We chatted about the game, exchanged tips and tricks, and discussed how hard it is to find other people who play the game. I was glad to have a chance to talk with other fans of the game, but I was disappointed that Nintendo had failed to uphold their end of the bargain.

Have any of the other Simon Malls event had this problem? Was this a unique set of circumstances, or has Nintendo dropped the ball on more than one occassion? I love Nintendo, and I love Dragon Quest IX, but I am deeply disappointed with the poorly organized and downright sloppy marketing campaign that they've put forth for this game. How can Nintendo expect Dragon Quest to take off in the U.S. when we can't even get Nintendo employees to show up to the events?