In a futile trip to Walmart in an attempt to finish up Christmas shopping, I saw not one, but two, hapless parents with the Tony Hawk Ride board package in their cart.
 
I was literally fighting myself to avoid turning around and telling them that buying that game for their son (/daughter?) might make a happy Christmas, but it was going to make a miserable New Year's, once they work out the game
 
Half of me says its none of my business, but the other half feels like the Grinch for letting that 88 dollars be wasted, instead of used on much better games. Would you have stopped them?

No, it only makes looking for a Christmas gift more stressful on the parents. 

Dumb parents are gonna do what dumb parents are gonna do.  I try to steer them in the right direction if they seem to actually want help, but no one wants to be told that what they've decided to buy sucks after they've already decided to buy it.  You did the right thing staying silent, dude.

You shoulda slapped em!

How would you feel, if your parents gave you Tony Hawk: Ride, and after told you the story of how they were in the store.  Some nerdy looking guy with a t-shirt with a weird bomb on it, came up to them and started to say something, but then just ran away.  And you thought to yourself.  Damn, he was going to tell them to get a different game, but he didn't. And now I have this stupid board.

They've got the receipt, they can return the thing.

or the kid could have been retarded and asked for RIDE... what parent gets a kid a game they haven't asked for thats insanity imo.  when i was a kid and i asked for the original syphon filter i expected fucking syphon filter....

" They've got the receipt, they can return the thing. "

Nah. Hopefully this will be a learning experience for them; the kids will be more mindful of what games their parents buy, and the parents more mindful of what games are good.