This is amazing. I love completely audacious marketing bullshit like this.

This has soured me on anticipating the game. I'd like to play a followup to Human Revolution, but just feel so tired trying to get my head around this nonsense, and don't like the idea of having substantial in game content like missions locked away from me, that I think I am just going to give it a miss altogether. Well done Square Enix marketing, you just lost a purchase.

It's stupid, but it's not a bad idea actually and will probably sell really well, which is cool, because I can then go and buy that game in a store 4 days earlier.

I just find it hard to be upset about this.

The tier thing is just a marketing ploy. It means nothing.

The skins are the same as retailer specific skins, but now you can choose the one you want and still buy it where ever you want. Extra mission? They are never good and almost always a waste of time. Early access for preordering, while not as common, is nothing new either. I guess there's just something I'm failing to understand, because this just seems like a normal pre-order deal with a vaguely different coat of paint.

People who jump up and say wooh at that 'four days early ' delivery make me physically ill. I hope those people don't exist.

In an era where new games launch broken a lot of the time, is releasing a game four days early really a top tier reward?

@wuddel: I wouldn't really put donating to a kickstarter and pre-ordering a game in the same category.

@starvinggamer: The title is a reference to Deus Ex itself (and Alex Navarro). And you're right about the separate threads. That's why I wanted to cut it short in the FGC one. The SFV and Deuce 4 pre-order stuff just coincidentally appeared at nearly the same time.

We get more and more of this crap as long as idiots keep preordering games. Since games generally are gullible and naive, things will only get worse.

I kinda don't care about this tbh. If people wanna participate in this more power to them. I don't see what the big deal is.

Yeah, pre-ordering a game means you'll actually get it.

I'll pre-order what I want when I want. Thanks!

@coryukin: The fact that you think that is "free stuff" is pretty disturbing.

@brodehouse: Savage!

@demoskinos: It's quite simple. The more people who partake in this scummy behaviour the more prevalent it will become and vice versa.

I'm quite happy that they made the video private because it could be a sign that the negative reaction to this scummy bullshit is having a positive effect.

"Preorder Bonus: A mediocre mission that we probably would have just left on the cutting room floor if not for this promotional deal."

Gee, I can't wait to pre-order and make the game worse. Or maybe the mission IS important, and fuck you to everyone who didn't preorder! The extra out-of-game stuff doesn't bug me, but devs being forced to cripple the game in some way for the purposes of a marketing deal does.

I know movies have directors cuts, but those usually come out long after the initial theatrical cut. games seem to be unique in that people act as though just throwing in more "content" is a good thing that will automatically lead to the product having more "value," even if that content messes up the pacing or results in a lower average quality. Offer me a preorder version that takes out all the levels that exist for no other reason than to pad out the game and make it long enough to justify the 60 dollar retail price and I'd be more likely to consider it.

@hassun: That is entirely what I'm saying I don't care if this becomes a trend. Its nothing that I feel like getting angry about. Either Im interested in a game or Im not people hawking pre-order bonuses isn't ever the thing that will get me to buy a game but if I'm already committed to buying a game then yeah I'll most likely pre-order it. Although, in my case its mostly because I just want the pre-load seeing as I do not buy physical video games any more.

Well that's pretty fuckin dumb.

*Shrug*

@hassun: What else would you call it if not free? I did not have a copy of Metal Gear: Ground Zeroes before I pre-ordered MGSV. Now, after pre-order, I have one without needing to pay twenty dollars. That sounds free to me.

Just want to point out that what we're getting up in arms about is a commercial for a preorder bonus that is no different than any other preorder bonus except there's a chance you'll get more pointless shit than is typical and it is not saddled with annoying, retailer-specific restrictions.

I thought this was one of those crazy marketing campaigns like "amputate your limb and become a cyborg to get a copy of our game!" kind of thing... I know it's just hyperbole on the Internet and all but this doesn't seem so bad in our post-kickstarter world. I feel like this model is way better than retail-specific preorder bonuses on its own.

Edit: and I don't mean to be backseat modding, but isn't intentionally vague thread titles against the rules?

I'm going to play this game regardless and I'll happily play it four days before everyone who didn't preorder.

Sorry, was I supposed to be angry or something? I'm aware that I might be preordering a bad game.

I can't watch the video, I'm on a phone at work.

Thanks for the heads up, just jumped on Steam to secure my pre-order!

Yet another thread about pre-order incentives that leaves me no more upset about them than I was before I read it.

HAHAHA this is kinda scary, I remember when you just paid for a game 49.99 and it was all there now its like buying legos, you get the base set then you need to get the starwars pieces as well as the Jurassic Park pieces..... Video games are stupid.

Pretty much. It's kinda lame I guess, but *shrug*. It will have literally zero impact on whether I decide to buy the game or not or even whether I decide to pre-order or not. Frankly I'm more annoyed when they split pre-order bonuses up between different retailers than the sound of this.

Of all the scummy marketing BS out there this seems pretty tame.

@giantstalker: "That'll teach em! Haha!"

@coryukin: I thought you were talking about the Manking Divided stuff. Then again MGSV is actually also a decent example of why that is a fallacy. Ground Zeroes likely only exists because Konami wanted to make extra money on the development of MGSV. Basically the Tanker mission of MGS2 or the Virtuous Mission of MGS3 only separated from the main game and sold as a standalone product.

@demoskinos: Euh, congratulations on not caring I guess? It's great that none of that stuff has any effect on you but I'm going to guess (based on sales data of similar campaigns) it actually does have a pretty strong effect on plenty of other people.

I'm assuming they made the video private because it was getting shit on so hard? That's hilarious.

And did I interpret their fancy pre-order measuring graphic correctly in that if 100% of the WORLD pre-orders the game, it unlocks 4 days early?

They make this pre order video feel even more dirty with the female A.I. informing you about it as emotionless as possible.

@hassun: DLC hasn't ruined games and neither will this or microtransactions or any of the other issues that people freak out about.

#CANTKILLPROGRESS

#CANWEKILLPREORDERINGPLEASE?

But hey, at least it's better than the usual preorder BS.

I mean this seems no stupider than most preorder stuff, they just seem to be leaning in on it more

I feel like that's the most marketing I've ever heard in a single advertisement

Doesn't really seem any worse than any other preorder shit nowadays, besides it can't be stupider than the stuff people put money into on kickstarter.

Pretty sure 2K has been doing this for a while. I remember something like this on Steam for Bioshock, Civ and maybe Xcom.

It's odd seeing so many outraged by something that doesn't even register to me as something to be even mildly annoyed about. You guys should know by now that the pre-order content in games is never really any good, so you aren't missing out if you decide not to do it. And as for the people no longer buying the game in protest? Just seems like cutting off your nose to spite your face to me.

Personally I don't see anything wrong with their pre-order bonuses, pre-ordering in general, funding kickstarters, etc.

Do what you want with your money.

@hassun : Are you talking about whether or not Ground Zeroes should exist as a game or whether pre-order bonuses should exist? Those are not the same things.

I really liked Human Revolution. One of those games that I played through multiple times. Knew the ins and out, knew the exploits, knew where the game could bug out. Got me to play the original Deus Ex as well, which, despite not having aged all the gracefully, is still a good game.

I was pretty excited for Mankind Divided. This makes me less so.

Though, to be honest, I really don't see what is provoking the crazy outrage. It is a ham-fisted marketing attempt, sure, but outside of the whole 4 days (which is asinine), nothing here is really all that different from the norm.

I was prepared to make a comment about how people should stop getting so butthurt over all this, but I made a thread not too long ago complaining that my favoritest waifu might not make into DOAX3...so I don't feel like I'm necessarily in a position to judge.

That said, this isn't some new trend. if anything, it's only gotten more prevalent over the years. Rage on if you must, but I would prepare to make peace with this business model lest you stay eternally outraged over something that, let's be real, isn't that bad at the end of the day.

Isn't this sorta like what Valve did with Portal 2? Gotta get dat golden potato son!

I really want everyone to pre-order this from Amazon, which doesn't charge you until it ships, and then cancel their pre-order as soon as it reaches the final goal. That's not going to happen, but I'd just love to see if Square Enix would do anything in response to that, or if they'd still release it early.

So preorder it....or don't. Who gives a fuck? We'll drop hundreds of dollars on a Kickstarter and that's a pre-preorder.

Jesus, this pre-order is so good, I need to pre-order the pre-order to make sure I have my pre-order reserved and ready to go!

Steam has allowed games to have had this same tiered pre-order rewards system for a while. They also seem to be doing away with retailer exclusive bonuses in favour of their own system where they let you pick the thing you want. That seems like less of a headache than this bullshit.

It's 2015. There was a videogame tournament this year which raised nearly $20,000,000 based on the purchases of a magical book and glittery cosmetics for a game costs nothing to actually play or watch. Kickstarters ask for hundreds of thousands of dollars on the mere promise of a video game sometime in the near future.

Is this really where we're drawing a line in the sand?

Can't say this bothers me much. I won't pre order the game, but I'll grab it shortly after release regardless of silly marketing.