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Added by Jeff Gerstmann on April 13, 2009

Pre-orders only.
Pre-orders only.
Sony posted a quick update on inFamous to its official blog today, confirming a North American release date of May 26. The game had previously been announced as a June release.

Additionally, a demo will be made available. If you're some regular dude off the street, you'll be able to get that demo on May 21. But if you pre-order from a participating retailer, you'll get demo access on May 7. I would just like to say again that trying to make demos a commodity is still totally annoying. OK, with that out of the way...

Other pre-order bonuses include a costume for PlayStation Home and an exclusive power for your character called "Gigawatt Blades." Here's the official description for that:
The Gigawatt Blades supercharges Cole’s arm into an instrument of destruction unmatched by any other melee weapon in game. Although very powerful, you’ll still have to use this weapon wisely, as it takes a considerable drain on your powers.
Sounds like this won't be the sort of addition that breaks the game balance, but this whole notion of people being forced to choose from a list of available pre-order items doesn't feel right. I mean, obviously, the Gigawatt Blades bonus is the one you want since it actually figures into the game you're pre-ordering. But what if you're some kind of PlayStation Home fanatic with an obsession for new outfits? Why should you be torn in two like this? Why should I have to break my loyalty to one retailer for another just to get one trinket over the other? Either way, we can probably all agree that it's not a very customer-focused plan.

Filed under : inFAMOUS

41 Comments

slint
on April 13, 2009
Yes!  Can't wait.  Seems they were waiting to hear Prototype's release before finally nailing down their own. ;)

LiveOrDie1212
on April 13, 2009
wow, May 26 is pretty soon. AWESOME!!!! cant wait.

edit: Jeff loves to bitch doesn't he??? i mean, if you don't like the pre-ordering bullshit, then don't pre-order. you can walk into a Walmart or Best Buy on release day and they'll have tons of copies. no need to bitch over nothing. Jeff, i love you man, but sometimes you get on my nerves dog.

iAmJohn
on April 13, 2009
I'm getting sick and fucking tired of this bullshit surrounding pre-ordering stuff.  It was bad enough that Bad Company makes it so there's a gun you will never have unless you pre-ordered.  What the hell is with Sony doing this as of late?

BiggerBomb
on April 13, 2009
I still don't understand why so many people pre-order. I know the situation might be different in some other areas, but I have never walked into a retailer and found out the item was sold out due to popular demand; even for mega releases like Halo 3. I simply make my way to the game aisles and pick up a copy, done deal. I don't live in some backwater area, either. I live on one of the most populated areas of Long Island, New York. The mall/Best Buy I go to is used by three different areas. They just always have "stuff" in stock.

/shrug

slint said:
"Prototype"

i wnt taht gam nao

Shayo
on April 13, 2009
I'm not so glad to hear about the demo part with the pre-order and all. A cheap marketing trick.

BiggerBomb
on April 13, 2009
iAmJohn said:
"I'm getting sick and fucking tired of this bullshit surrounding pre-ordering stuff.  It was bad enough that Bad Company makes it so there's a gun you will never have unless you pre-ordered.  What the hell is with Sony doing this as of late?"

Except those guns were pretty weak. The guns you got for actually playing the game kick far more ass than the pre-order weapons.

Carlos1408
on April 13, 2009
This game sounds interesting, I'll probably download the demo, not gonna pre-order it
Hmmm... why do they have to do this pre-order stuff, it's really annoying! >:(
Well atleast I know I won't fall for it...lol

Subject2Change
on April 13, 2009
Glad to hear it'll be out soon, looks great. Annoying thing is pre-orders getting to try it in advance, just release it earlier for fucks sake.

chililili
on April 13, 2009
Pre-ordering is useless, games never ever run out and even Collector's editions end up discounted on Amazon.

waza
on April 13, 2009
soooo

do i rape, bake, kill, chop and eat the poor little baby
or
do i save it from evil and bring it back to his parents

.... WHAT OBLIVIOUS CHOICE WILL I MAKE ?! all that while talking to myself, just to make sure the player it absolutely not emerged in the game's experience

BiggerBomb
on April 13, 2009
Subject2Change said:
"Glad to hear it'll be out soon, looks great. Annoying thing is pre-orders getting to try it in advance, just release it earlier for fucks sake."


Steve_C
on April 13, 2009
That power will probably just appear as DLC somewhere down the line. Still sucks though.

iAmJohn
on April 13, 2009
BiggerBomb said:
"Except those guns were pretty weak. The guns you got for actually playing the game kick far more ass than the pre-order weapons."
So I've heard, but it's the principle of the thing, man! >:(

sixpin
on April 13, 2009
Some of you seem to be missing the point that Jeff was making. It isn't pro or con pre-ordering. It is the BS tactics that publishers take with retailers in trying to pull us to purchase from a specific store. Do you want bonus item A or bonus item B? The truth is that most people want both. It is a legitimate gripe. Splitting bonus content amongst retailers rubs my OCD-nature the wrong way.

For those of you arguing the virtues and pitfalls of pre-ordering; I don't get it. Pre-ordering guarantees you a copy. It doesn't cost any extra. And sometimes stores do run out of copies. Halo 3 was available to everyone reguardless, but where I live stores don't usually stock that many copies of Persona 4 or whatever random obscure JRPG of the month might be.

iAmJohn
on April 13, 2009
sixpin said:
"And sometimes stores do run out of copies. Halo 3 was available to everyone reguardless, but where I live stores don't usually stock that many copies of Persona 4 or whatever random obscure JRPG of the month might be."
This isn't a niche PS2 JRPG we're talking about, though.  This is Sony's tentpole blockbuster summer game.

get2sammyb
on April 13, 2009
They totally moved that because of Prototype didn't they?

sixpin
on April 13, 2009
IAmJohn, I wasn't talking about this game specifically, simply the pre-order issue in general. I just don't see the harm in pre-ordering.

DOUBLESHOCK
on April 13, 2009
assholes

Toxic is online
on April 13, 2009
im not that sure of this game

FlipperDesert
on April 13, 2009
LiveOrDie1212 said:
"wow, May 26 is pretty soon. AWESOME!!!! cant wait.edit: Jeff loves to bitch doesn't he??? i mean, if you don't like the pre-ordering bullshit, then don't pre-order. you can walk into a Walmart or Best Buy on release day and they'll have tons of copies. no need to bitch over nothing. Jeff, i love you man, but sometimes you get on my nerves dog."
You seem to be missing the point. Demos are supposed to be solely a "Try before you buy" product people can get, play a level of the game with and then decide if they like it or not. He's pointing out that they shouldn't use it as a bargaining chip for pre-orders, they should be using it to promote the game to the average consumer.


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