Another day on the internet, another reason to get really angry with the games industry because everyone involved is an absolute b*stard. No but seriously, there's a GameStop advertisement (which we've embedded as an image) going around that's really got some people riled up, and it's easy to see why.
The ad in question is for Assassin's Creed Origins, which is due out at the end of the month. Instead of peppering you with regular "we're not evil, we promise" nonsense, the text simply reads: "Sorry. The bonus mission is blocked. Unless you pre-order Assassin's Creed Origins."
It's obviously GameStop's idea of a joke, but we haven't seen many people laughing. It's pretty crazy to think that a company could come up with such a tone deaf ad and expect everyone to just go along with it.
Now, we all like to take jabs at pre-order culture, but we're just not sure what angle this ad is trying to take. It can't really poke fun at the process of pre-ordering games because it's a bloody advertisement for pre-ordering a game to begin with. And if it doesn't really work as edgy commentary, then it's just outright demanding that you pre-order the game unless you want content to be blocked off.
Well... At least it's honest?
What do you make of this? Question how many howlers GameStop can possibly make in the comments section below.
[source neogaf.com]
Comments 63
Its just a bit bizarre. I don't see the point in getting worked up about much that the game industry does these days ; but I just wonder who thought this was a good idea. Surely Ubisoft will be a little annoyed. I mean beyond causing people to buy the game elsewhere in protest, I can see some not buying the game at all. Its just a dense advert from another retailer that appears to be out of touch with the simmering anger that exists in the gaming community about these dlc practices and sliced up content between retailers.
I still dont know why so many people are against pre ordering. You pay just $5 to reserve a copy of your game and you get free bonus things when you get the game. I dont know ahout everyone else, but if im gonna buy a game at launch and spend $60, or preorder a game, definitely get it at launch for $60, and get some bonus things with it, why not preorder?
Day in age we live in. Angry over the same stuff. Game aint gonna be that great anyways. Its referred to Ass Creed for a reason.
@Mosquito8991 might have something to do with most AAA games being either a buggy mess (especially Ubisoft games) or nothing like they are advertised to be
This is like when you buy a twenty deck of Lambet and Butler's and it's got a picture of someone undergoing some sort of neck transplant surgery or something on the packet. Yes, we know. We just don't want to be reminded about it.
Well... at least it's honest.
It's also dumb, sure, but honest nonetheless
....so if I can't the game until after it has been released, should I even bother getting it since I can't get the bonus mission?
I don't get why people still pre-order from shops, games are always cheaper when you buy online, often have the same "free" content and come before release date.
I asked how much Wolfenstein was going to be in store at Game the other day and they told me it would be £49.99 (£10 more than Games online store) and had no extras. got it ordered on Simply Games for £38.85 with the Freedom Chronicles content
@Mosquito8991 I don’t know where you’re located but here in the US having to put $5 down on a game to preorder it highway robbery. Best Buy and Amazon require zero down to preorder and on top of that they offer a 20% discount. Giving Gamestop an interest free loan just doesn’t compare.
That said Gamestop does have its purpose and I’m not against preorders for collectors editions and niche titles.
Gamestop is getting desperate, losing a lot of business to Amazon and Best Buy that each offer a flat 20% discount for a small membership fee (which for Best Buy, pays for itself within your first 5 preorders). Sad Gamestop is sad.
@rjejr well there is reason to pre-order the Horizon DLC if you have the base copy of the game and want to play it - unless you'd rather pay full price for a game you've already paid full price for to play a £15 DLC
@Mosquito8991 Getting games at launch is kinda risky these days. Between potentially being busted at launch or just not liking it, it's pretty easy to get burned for $60 these days, unless it's something you know you like.
As for ad, it is easy to see why others are riled up about it. Coming from the retailer themselves, it can come across as mocking the consumer than mocking the practice.
This amuses me. I like the plain speak. As for a marketing campaign, hmmm not the best.
@Mosquito8991
Because its 50/50 if the game in question ends up being unfinished garbage?
I preordered Mass Effect Andromeda.
After that its fair to assume I wont be playing this bonus mission.
Hilarious.
Oh noes! A bonus mission. I can't live with the thought of never playing that. I guess I'll skip the game altogether, cuz, you know, logic.
It's funny, a decade ago we used to discuss pre-order bonuses and people would defend them because they were just cosmetic items (sound familiar?), now it is barely mentioned when some of the game is locked behind this practice unless there is a distasteful ad or something about it.
I would be happy on the day pre-order culture died, but it isn't going to happen which is odd as we've seen quite often games released in completely bugged states that may or may not get fixed later, games that don't live up to the pre-launch hype and games that drop to a third of their launch price within a month.
The amount of times I've seen "only at game edition" only to find that the same dlc is available on other sites and for a lot less
This is the kind of stupidity that leads to your stores losing customers. Is it worth getting angry about? Of course not. But it makes whoever comes up with these ads for GameStop look dumb.
Doesn't bother me. I love a.c. games so already preordered
At this point I actually appreciate the honesty.
@Mosquito8991 Or even pre-order from Amazon and pay nothing.
I preorder a game if I know I want it regardless of the reviews. The last few games I preordered were Danganronpa v.3, Uncharted Lost Legacy, Horizon ZD, & Persona 5. There was no way I was going to be convinced that I didn’t want these games, even if the reviews came back scathing. So I figure why not preorder and get a nice steelbook or a “free” digital download. I promptly threw the HZD poster in the trash actually, so it was not the bonus item that sold the preorder to me.
When I’m on the fence, a preorder bonus usually won’t convince me to buy. But if I am already convinced to preorder, then I will shop around for which retailer is offering the best bonus item(s), but lately the retailers all give the same bonus content it seems. At least that’s the way UC LL was. (That reminds me I still need to play Jak & Daxter ...)
But I will not preorder AC Origins. I will wait on this one, regardless of the risk of missing out on this bonus mission. Probably will end up getting it in a few months or the complete edition.
And yes, GameStop is ridiculous and appears to be getting desperate. Not sure how, given the oodles of money I’ve dropped there over the years.
Wow this was only ever going to rub people the wrong way. Very very bad advertising.
I'm sure Ubisoft aren't too impressed with that either...
Pre order is a non issue for me as i wait for reviews, patches, and the price drop my game budget makes necessary. That is unless it is a Gta or Red Dead game.
The ad by Gamestop is an epic fail at promotion and or humor. The affect on me is that it reduces my desire to purchase and play the game even before it is released and reviewed.
I guess this ad brings into focus how they stop you from playing the game. Perfect brand message for them.
My paid membership is up for renewal and I think I'm going to let it lapse. GS now shows Elite price only on stickers, so you don't even know what you're paying with the normal membership. I'm sick of all the corporate BS you have to put up with just walking in the door. Clerks all over you, trying to sell scams like Disc Insurance and Pre-orders. Their business is going downhill and they are more desperate than ever. Done with GS.
@johncalmc Yeah but Ubisoft are less likely to kill you. A bit. I think.
@GamerDad66 ah yes! Haha! The disc insurance — What a joke! Out of the dozens and dozens of game discs I’ve owned over the years, I haven’t had any that stopped working on me because of a scratched disc. These disc now are pretty scratch resistant. I guess there is always a chance that I’ll step on one and break it accidentally, but I’ll take my chances.
Blunt and honest.
At least they dont hide why you should avoid them or Ubisoft.
That's hilarious.
@SomeDonkus It depends here I have to make a downpayment for the Collectors Edition. Because a lot of people preordered and never came to get the game and store got stuck with the overpriced crap. Now you have to pay 10%.
@NoCode23 GTA 5 i still no have and probably never will i somehow hate those games. My last GTA was Vice City and man i dont miss those games one bit.
Precisely why I don't buy from Ubisoft or GameStop.
@Mosquito8991 exactly and if you decide when it launches that you don't want it cancel your preorder and get your five back. It just comes down to people making a fuss over something that really isn't a big deal but when they see people complain about preorders they want to fit in so they echo the same thing regardless of whether they agree or not
@Samus7Killer all the previews have been real positive and other than unity all the games review really well. Ass creed started because of some immature little haters and just like everything else on the echo chamber that is the internet it started to pick up steam so people can feel like part of something and fit in
@NoCode23 wow really lol man people get triggered and overreact to the smallest things to the point where they would miss out on a whole game because of a freaking commercial
@QwertyQwerty dude it was unity that was horrible with performance issues other than that ac games run perfectly fine so move on
Wow I cannot believe some people don't seem to understand why some are mad at crap like this, also this ad is made for you especially if you think a mission ripped out of the game is FREE Stuff. Take about gullible!
Oh well.
I try to avoid GameStop as much as possible anyways.
@RedMageLanakyn Like the first two preorders, only $30 for 2 years worth. Such a good deal. And I stopped Amazon recently due to the changes, but I got SoW and Evil Within 2 both three days early.
Oh so people like to preorder sausage but don't like to be told how its made eh?
I don't understand why anyone pre-orders in general (Although I pre-ordered AC due to being overly and irrationally enthusiastic) If you wait 3 months you get a much better performing, bug free game for half the price.
@meltendo
I often wish someone would pose these kind of questions to developers.
I would love to hear what message Ubisoft has for Playstation gamers about Origins because all they have done is bang the drum about how awesome the XB1X version is.
I would love an interviewer to ask "why should PlayStation gamers play your game if you are suggesting it is so very inferior to the Xbox version" and watch them squirm.
While I don't have a problem with PreOrders per se, I really dislike having content locked to a particular retailer......especially such a scummy retailer as Gamestop.
I can remember different retailers having different pre order bonuses so you were in a position where you had to choose which content you wanted more.....I hate these practices.
Free PR
It's getting people talking -that's marketing.
@rjejr I agree it shouldn't be out so soon but it's been a critical success and there releasing this before Xmas so they can't get more sales, but I was just making the point of why would someone rebuy the game again at full price if they still own it?
we also don't know how much DLC will be released for HZD it might just be the one add on, if they has announced a season pass with 3 packs and the first was £15 and that's how they were all gonna be priced the complete game would be more appealing
@Mosquito8991 Hell at Amazon I get 20% off plus any pre-order bonuses. I get it some of the pushback, gives publishers guaranteed sales even if the game suck, and that has gotten me burned (NMS LE), but if I KNOW I am going to get the game day 1 I rather have it locked in at a discount than wait in line to hope they have a copy at a store.
@dark_knightmare2 youre just mad cause you like crappy mediocre games.
Meh, if we wait a few years I'm sure this bonus mission will eventually be available on PSN.
@Samus7Killer yeah you're right games that have sold and reviewed really well with some being down right classics are mediocre games
@dark_knightmare2 sheep like it. Are u a sheep?
@FullbringIchigo really? I personally dont play most Ubisoft games, dont really like most of their games. Only exception is Watch Dogs. I bought both 1 and 2 at launch, enjoyed both of them, and honestly if there were bugs, it didnt bother me cause i dont ever remember being like, theres this glitch in this game which makes it suck. If you dont want to preorder, then dont, but the way most games are today, they are just pushed out whenever cause they can just update fixes in later on.
@SomeDonkus even still, its only $5, not robbery. You can cancel it at anytime anfld get your money back. Even cancel the night before launch, and get a full refund for whatever you paid. Its not robbery, your just paying $55 instead of $60 technically after you put the $5 down... i collect so personally i preorder a lot of collector editions, but even regular games i just preorder anyway
@DerMeister so just either demo the game first, a lot of games have demos, or look at trailers, gameplay trailers, or just get games you know you will like...
@FaultyDroid i have preordered so many games, none of them are "unfinished garbage" only preorder games you know/think youll like.
@DASHONFIRE exactly
@dark_knightmare2 exactly!
@Mosquito8991 i do pre-order most games but when it comes to certain developers i don't want to take the risk and i'm not to fussed about missing out on a side mission or some kind of skin, they are unimportant to me
i normally pre-order to ensure i get the game at release, that's all
@WasabiPeanut yea exactly. But even with no mans sky, yea the game was nothing like they said at launch, but at least they grew up and fixed the game... ive personally never played it, and i dont plan to lol
@FullbringIchigo Agreed, i usually dont care about a bonus mission as well, but if i really want the game, why not lol. Even if its from a shaky dev. As long as you enjoy the game, thats all that matters. Even if theres bugs in the game, theyll be fixed (hopefully) at least thats how it is when i buy games. The only game i ever regret preordering was Duck Dynasty, but i still enjoyed the game honestly. Yea it was buggy, but i really liked that show at the time lol
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