1. Wal-Mart is requesting edited versions of your favorite games from the software companies. An example is Duke Nukem 3D. Wal-Mart has decided to 'lock out' all the adult features of the game for you, no matter if you are an adult or not.
The only fix for this is to contact 3d Realms and request a patch. Does Wal-Mart believe that any kid that wants the violence can't do the same thing?
2. Wal-Mart is editing your favorite music! I purchased 'Cake-Fashion Nugget' there after hearing a friend's CD. The version I got was hacked to bits. A little ticked, I went back for a refund. The older guy in the electronics department was irate. He said I should KNOW that it's Wal-Mart's POLICY to carry ONLY edited versions of material that Wal-Mart finds offensive. I asked him to show me where this policy was posted. It wasn't, and probably never will be. Wal-Mart knows that if they posted this policy, most people would stop buying there.
I just found out the hard way (again) when I purchased Rob Zombie's "Hellbilly Deluxe" CD at Target. After I got it home and was listening to track 10, I heard some odd backwards sounding gibberish that obscured some of the words.
(I know that Rob isn't beyond backwards gibberish, but this sounded like something hoky).
It almost sounded like a CD skip, so I rewound and listened again. Yep! It was an intentionally obscured area! I know this because (luckily) I had listened to a friend's CD first. I was a little upset, and I called Musicland to check the SKU# of their copy against mine. Sure enough, they were TOTALLY different numbers.
When I called Target to ask why they didn't feel it was necessary to post the fact that they were selling edited CD's, the manager said that he didn't know what I was talking about! He wasn't aware that they were selling edited CD's! He wouldn't commit to a refund over the phone, and said we would see what happened when I got there.
There was NO WAY that I was going to accept anything less than a refund! When I got there, I was informed that the POLICY was opened CD's were exchange only for the same CD. After I filled the lady in on my point of view, she went to check with the manager. They had no problem with the exchange, but they did let me know that it was a rare circumstance that they gave a refund on an opened CD.
Since I have not yet seen a store that is willing to put up a "We are selling edited music" sign in their music department, here are the only tips that I can offer you:
1. If you expect that the CD you are buying contains adult language, look for the "Explicit Lyrics" sticker! If there is no sticker, there is a chance that the CD is edited.
2. Know some of the names of the songs, or be familiar with at least one of the songs that contain explicit lyrics. In the case of the Rob Zombie CD, track #10 actually had part of the title removed as well.
3. Even if you ask, there is a good chance that the people you are asking don't know what you are talking about when you say "edited", so go to the high-priced music store in the mall, and see if your CD has the "Explicit Lyrics" sticker. Then go to your favorite department store and compare. Remember, if one has the sticker and the other one doesn't, the one without the sticker is most likely edited.
4. You can also jot down the SKU#, or the letter/number combination on the left side of the disk edge. If you get two different numbers, one of them is probably edited.
