Thanks for the heads up EA. I’ll buy it a month after release, maybe when its bombed and hit bargain bins.
I’ve had the experience where I haven’t been able to get the game on release day at Gamestop or EB if I haven’t pre-ordered but I’ve always been able to go elsewhere and find it.
This coupled with the fact that it’s a specialty store with none of the perks of a specialty store (Couldn’t find Odin Sphere at any I went to but went to a BB for unrelated reasons and found a shelf full of them) is why I don’t even walk in anymore.
I also read this marketing calamity as “This game is complete and utter shit and we want your money before you can possibly find out!”
Yeah, it’s pretty much an EB/Gamestop thing. The big box stores do have more copies, but they’re also missing a lot of the more niche titles. Though anyone specifically looking for those niche titles is probably savvy enough to order online or is willing to preorder anyway…
Not really. DVDs and CDs just produce a ton, and then the extras sell years later at $5. But since production is only like $2, it doesn’t matter. Plus in general once movies start a dvd run, they’ve already made enough money to cover it, whereas with games you don’t want to pay to produce more than you need, or you’ll end up shorting yourself cash in the long run.
Thankfully, I’m not all that interested in Army of Two Too, so this doesn’t affect me personally. But insofar as it might be a herald of things to come in games I do care about - wut Angie said.
I hate to be that guy, but I don’t see the big deal here. To me, a Co-op centric game like Army of Two where the main focus of the game is 2-player Co-op (in fact, even the fucking title of your game basically says so) getting a versus mode of some kind for additional money, or as part of a pre-order bonus isn’t all that outrageous. It’s like the versus mode for Resident Evil 5 that shipped on the disc but had to be purchased separately. Sure, it’s a little bit of an outrage, I suppose, but not much, since it’s not the core game. RE5 was about 2 player Co-op. Army of Two is about 2 player Co-op. Anything on top of that, you can do with as you please.
Think if the publisher considers this a success. Then imagine what they or other publishers might do in the future to further separate pre-orders from the regular game. It’s a big deal because it could set a bad precedent.
The point is not what mode is being withheld. The point is that it is, in fact, being withheld.
Well, in that case, it’s the exact same scenario as Resident Evil 5, right? There was a mode being withheld there that shipped with the game, and you needed to pay to unlock it. Was RE5 as bad of a precedent being set as Army of Two?
Best buy is pretty great on release days - if you get nervous, you can order an in store pickup purchase that morning before they open, grab it at lunch form work, and be all set as you get home.
I’m not sure your logic holds up too well, here. You’re selling games on the same media as the others. Why are production costs different for games? You can still sell more later for $20 or less same as the other industries.
I think the difference is that no one has tried it, or cash is way tighter in the games industry (most likely option).
Luckily this is for a shitty game like Army of Two: Part Deux. Hopefully it will fail horribly and they won’t try it with games I plan on buying.
Just… wow. I mean, imagine if this started happening with other games. What if Microsoft had tried this with ODST’s Firefight mode?
- Alan
Nothing beats “Free Guitar Hero Van Halen!” in the desperation department.
Sure, same mediums, but I’m guessing that production run sizes have something to do with the initial costs.
I don’t get the gaming industry lately. It seems like they are so worried about their next product that they do everything possible to sabotage their goodwill and long-term outlook. Whether or not they will make more money from this, I’m not sure, but no doubt it pisses a lot of people off.
While it’s a dickish move to be sure, I lack the moral fortitude to punish good developers (i.e. that produce excellent content) for having lame publishers (with shady business practices).
I loved sitting on the couch playing co-op Ao2 more than any other co-op experience this console generation. As a result I’ll likely preorder Ao2^2 despite the deuchebaggery surrounding the ‘pre-order-timed-exclusive-mode’.
I rolled over the same way for Bioware with Mass Effect PC and my objection as a consumer to limited activation invasive copy protection. I’m doing it again with thier pre-order deuchebaggery on Dragon Age.
I guess the point I’m trying to make is that as long as they’ll sell me a game that can be considered a genre defining masterpiece I usually end up putting up with their schenanigans.
Finally I think most consumer’s (and my own) patience ends when the functionality of the game starts to suffer as a result of monitization decisions. Creative Assembly (with Sega) and Infinity Ward (with ActiBliz) in particular have made some recent decisions that compromise gameplay no matter what price (pre-order or no) you pay for their product. While both are arguably at the forefront of their respective genres I see MUCH less tolerance from the consumer base than I’ve seen for other companies’ greedy yet unobtrusive decisions.
I assume this is a hypothetical scenario, since I can’t imagine someone would apply that label to Army of Two.
LOL45
And even then, sometimes you have to wait. I preordered The Guild 2 from Gamestop, and it didn’t arrive in store until about two weeks after the release date.