Look, America isn't blessed with the near-universal dependence on public transportation and cultural adoption of Square Enix's portable games that makes using Dragon Quest IX's "Tag mode" and other networking features worthwhile. Rather than let our nation's DQIX-playing community steam in a broth of its own jealousy, Nintendo will attempt to rally players together in the one centralized location with which they're all likely familiar: their local Gamestop.

This coming Saturday, July 31, select Gamestops will be hosting an all-day event where potential Quest-ers can check out a demo for the game, meet up with other players to wirelessly exchange bonuses, and download the "Zoma" treasure map, which has yet to come stateside. Similar events will be held at Best Buys across the country August 7, as well as select shopping malls every weekend until September 19. That sure beats turning on Tag Mode, then aimlessly walking the streets like some kind of sad Dragon Quest IX panhandler.