A horrible gaming trend?

Numerous

L4: Comfortable Member
Oct 14, 2009
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Has anyone here noticed that there seems to be a trend of 'forcing' players to pre-order a game, BEFORE IT HAS BEEN REVIEWED, in order to get full content?
Of the 4 games I've paid attention to anytime recently:
Left 4 Dead 2, preorder and get a baseball bat.
Assassins Creed 2, preorder at EB games and get 'an extra level' (the employee didn't actually know what that meant, he'd just been told that with no extra information, even though he knew stuff about Assassins Creed 1). Oh, and the "white edition" and "black edition", which gets you an Ezio Auditor da Firenze (from memory) doll, a "conspiracy book"
Battlefield Bad Company 2, preorder at GameStop to get an AKS-74.
Then there's Modern Warfare 2, which I don't remember having anything like that but it's kinda irrelevant because we all know how hopeless that situation is

Now, it isn't that bad, at first, but it seems to me that it's seriously encouraging people, yet again, to go for extra content without checking the quality of the game. If you want that baseball bat, that gameplay altering content which other people will be able to use against you. or will have when you don't, then you must buy it before a review verifies that it isn't crap.

What do you think about this?
 

Ida

deer
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Jan 6, 2008
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I think it's pretty cool fanservice, but a line should be drawn between preorder content that is neat stuff you don't really need (the bat in L4D2 is essentially a skin, and no one cares if you have a shirt or a figurine) and stuff that gives you advantages in the game, such as special weapons with different/better functions in multiplayer shooters, for example.
 

Jack Riguel

L10: Glamorous Member
Jul 19, 2009
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Has anyone here noticed that there seems to be a trend of 'forcing' players to pre-order a game, BEFORE IT HAS BEEN REVIEWED, in order to get full content?

How are they forcing you? You can either chose to buy it, or move onto something else. Pre-ordering is a marketing tool, that's why they attach useless gimmicks (like extra items or levels). Game companies aren't there to make you happy, they're there to make money... the difference is that some make better games the others.

And in the games you mentioned, I hardly see how having a bat would make the L4D2 experience seem "complete", or how not having the extra level in "Assassin's Creed" will tear away from the golden story that it's presented so far.

It's like Pokemon. They had the Blue one and the Red one. Both games were exactly the same, Just one had a few different creatures then the other. The story and the gameplay were both exactly the same, you just couldn't "Collect 'em all."

It's just a marketing scheme, nothing more.
 

Numerous

L4: Comfortable Member
Oct 14, 2009
150
72
How are they forcing you? You can either chose to buy it, or move onto something else. Pre-ordering is a marketing tool, that's why they attach useless gimmicks (like extra items or levels). Game companies aren't there to make you happy, they're there to make money... the difference is that some make better games the others.

And in the games you mentioned, I hardly see how having a bat would make the L4D2 experience seem "complete", or how not having the extra level in "Assassin's Creed" will tear away from the golden story that it's presented so far.

It's like Pokemon. They had the Blue one and the Red one. Both games were exactly the same, Just one had a few different creatures then the other. The story and the gameplay were both exactly the same, you just couldn't "Collect 'em all."

It's just a marketing scheme, nothing more.
You missed the last part:
Numerous said:
....in order to get full content?
By the way, it isn't like pokemon because A) red and blu cost the same, B) you can transfer pokemon from red to blu and vice versa, and C) red is missing somethng that blu has, and blu is missing something red has.
It's more like Silver version VS Crystal version. Except in crystal version, it's building upon a game everyone knows was awesome (and we knew that at the time).
And the point about the baseball bat etc is that you're missing out on content. It isn't so bad right now (as far as we know) but it could get worse later, and by later I mean soon.
 
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Feb 14, 2008
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They're incentives to buy the game, what's the problem with that?
 

grazr

Old Man Mutant Ninja Turtle
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Mar 4, 2008
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They're incentives to buy the game, what's the problem with that?

It alienates people who arn't in a position to preorder the game, probably due to lack of money but also because they don't have those services readily available to them or other unlikely reasons. At the end of the day it may be cool to one person, but it's seriously frustrating to another. Particularly if they happen to be a loyal fan. People end up feeling cheated or pressured.
 
Feb 14, 2008
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When they're items specifically created as pre-order incentives, I don't see a problem.

It's not as if you're majorly missing out on a huge amount of content, nor are you not going to be able to use that content (play with somebody who pre-ordered, you can pick up their baseball bat).
 

YM

LVL100 YM
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Dec 5, 2007
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I'm sorry but I don't consider not havine one extra melee weapon in L4D2 to be missing out on the "full content" of the game. Especially as you can use it even if you're only playing on the same server as someone who preordered. So its not all that exclusive and hardly worth complaining about.

I bought GoW on PC and got 5 extra singleplayer levels that werent on Xbox. so i had to wait like a year before it was [badly] ported to the pc, but then all the xbox players "didn't have full content of the game" were they bothered? probably not. I wouldnt have been.

I'm really not that bothered by locked content in games because its usually incredibly mediocre. Like all the extra arena things in batman arkham asylum that you unock as you go. I wouldnt have been bothered by not unlocking any of those, they werent any fun anyhow. I've also played games where you get a "bonus" level for completing it or whatever, and the bonus level is usually just utter crap.

Its a bit like a limited edition collectors edition, you might get a themed pack of playing cards, a fancy box, a book, a dvd "making of" or unreleased content ect as a perk for buying the collectors edition... but no one feels cheated about that. Thats just irrational.

Just quit complaining about it because you're complaining over probably <1% of the total content available.
 
Feb 14, 2008
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931
Its a bit like a limited edition collectors edition, you might get a themed pack of playing cards, a fancy box, a book, a dvd "making of" or unreleased content ect as a perk for buying the collectors edition...

Or a set of night vision goggles :facepalm:
 
Apr 19, 2009
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Oh wow, ingame or real? awesome factor varies massively between the two.
504x_504x_prestige_edition_01.jpg
 

Ida

deer
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Jan 6, 2008
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One thing that bothers me about preorder bonuses is that many of them are exclusive to certain store chains. I'd be fine with that if I actually lived somewhere full of game stores, but as a matter of fact there are only two in my entire city, and none of them do preorder bonuses. Despite one being GameStop. Missing out on cool stuff because I don't live in the USA/UK is one of the worst parts of being a games enthusiast. :/
 

lana

Currently On: ?????
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Sep 28, 2009
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Notice that none of these actually improve the game. The baseball bat is a skin, the extra level can isn't required, the dolls and shit are swag, and the AKS-74 can most likely be unlocked in game.
 

grazr

Old Man Mutant Ninja Turtle
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Mar 4, 2008
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In relation to that blog:

I don't play WoW, although i did get a trial account from a friend who wanted me to play, after getting to lvl 20 i renewed my subscription for 3 months (it was summer, what the hell). After which i cancelled my subscription at lvl 49 because it was a time eater and summer was over. Over Christmas the same friend who gave me the trial gave me a "scroll of resurrection" that gave me another 10 days free to play the game. I went through a dungeon with him and got the second rarest publicly available pet in the game. They all knew (my 6 other irl friend WoW elites and their guildies) that i wasn't a "pro" or dedicated WoW player and the whole situation stuck in their mouths like that bad taste after kissing a smoker. They knew in 5 days i'd never pick the game up again and that anyone of them deserved that piece of WoW collectable more than me.

That said, there are pets available for attending "BlizzCon" and i had no interest in collecting these pets and other additional items that had irl conditions. But then i was not a loyal fan.

I mean being "cool" in real life does not guarantee that you are "cool" in WoW. To belong to the elite of WoW you has to be a skilled and dedicated player. The "120 kg and lives in his mother's basement" image comes from this. It's obvious that 99% of the players are not living in a basement and have jobs or school, and surely everyone know that.

Also for Lulz out of 30 people i got to know on WoW, 29 of them were jobless 20-40 somethings living with mum in a basement or shack at the end of the garden. 2 of which continue relationships through WoW.
 
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cornontheCoD

L420: High Member
Mar 25, 2008
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If It's in-game stuff, that is complete crap. Just let me have the whole game, I just paid $60 for it. Have you guys seen Dragon Age's preorder stuff? It's ridiculous.

If it's real-life stuff, thats cool. A shirt or something is pretty cool.