Time to Start Getting Ridiculously Excited for Borderlands 2
httpv://youtu.be/AgJ1Ho55_hM
Well, I recently just became everything wrong with the industry when I pre-ordered Borderlands 2 from Gamestop. Not to secure my copy on release day, which I deem the only acceptable reason for preordering a game, but to get the fifth class on release, the Mechromancer.
Little did I know, when I preordered I also got about fifty zillion other things like a vault chest key, some rocket launcher and a bunch of other crap. The Gamestop guy told me this is the “best preorder bonus package of the year” thus making it the “worst” in terms of propogating this kind of crap in future. But now I’m part of the problem. OH WELL IT’S BORDERLANDS I DON’T CARE.
Anyway, check out the above hype video for the game which is narrated by Sir Hammerlock, a robot (cyborg) gentleman who gets all meta when describing his own game. Drink every time someone says “badass.”
Fuck yes! Borderlands.
I have the collectors edition pre-ordered because MARCUS KINCAID BOBBLEHEAD STATUE!
I don’t get your disdain for Gamestop. They’ve never done me any wrong. Staff at my local store is always helpful, friendly and fairly knowledgeable. Plus the fact that they let me trade in CD’s, DVD’s, old phones and old games for cash or credit is remarkably convenient for me.
It certainly takes the sting out of certain new purchases that I fear I might regret. Because of a deal they frequently have going I was able to trade in three old games I was probably never going to get around to playing again anyway and was able to buy Duke Nuke ‘Em Forever for just €3. Imagine how much of a relief that turned out to be.
Anyway, BORDERLANDS 2 BITCHES 😀
start? i have been for like 2 months now, me and Maya are ganna Kick ASS!
GameStop sucks because they do crappy things to the gaming industry I.E. force companies into things like $5.00 online activation fee to try to persuade you to NOT buy it used from GameStop. They give you a crappy price on a game they’re going to resell 2x-3x the amount, if not more, then do it again, then again, then again. GameStop corners the market and tries to crush any other competition with their trickery.
I actually don’t have a problem with giving out goodies to customers who preorder. A preorder costs you nothing extra. Preorder bonuses are free. They cost no money. Why should the hardcore gamers that support the industry and rush out to midnight releases not get a little something more for their tireless support than the dopes who wait a week or a month to get it used for $5 cheaper, Redbox/Gamefly it, or borrow it from a friend? I don’t see the problem. It’s usually just a little nicknack or something unimportant to the overall experience or if you’re lucky free access to DLC that the other will have to pay for. Either way, win for the game company because of the sales boost and win for the gamers who preorder because they get a little extra content.
I’m just about ready to finally play the first Borderlands (been stranded in New Vegas for too damn long) so if I’m impressed, I may still get my preorder in for this one.
@Jaryd
Excuse me? They force publishers to charge their customers extra? How do they do that? By providing game customers with the same kind of ancillary used sales market that’s pretty much existed around every kind of resellable product since Roman times?
No no my friend. The reason you’re getting online activation charges is because publishers are greedy, and see every used game purchase as money taken out of their pocket. It’s not.
If I buy a game for 60 bucks, only to find out the shitty 10 hour campaign and lackluster, tacked-on multiplayer weren’t worth it, will the publisher let me trade it back to them? Hell no. Buyer beware sucker!
So that’s where Gamestop step in, to an obvious hole in the market, and give you a chance at some recompense. If your bored with or didn’t like your game? They’ll buy it from you and take on the burden of reselling it, to someone who wasn’t interested in getting it before at full price, but now that it’s a bit cheaper? Well it might be worth trying. Especially since if they don’t like it, well they can always trade it back in again.
And as for Gamestop’s pricing structure, well what the hell do you expect? They’re a business. They only get a fraction from new game sales but they get to set the terms of used games themselves e.g. buy for 15 try to resell for 35. 20 bucks profit! There’s nothing evil about that, it’s just common sense.
And you do realise you’re under no obligation to trade your game in with them right? If you think you deserve more money for your game then try your luck on eBay! Gamestop offer a service of convenience so it’s entirely up to the individual customer whether they make use of it or not.
Sadly, in an age when publishers are doing everything in their power to diminish the meaning of “ownership”, the used game market is one of the last bastions of customer rights in the industry. And if we ever lose it? Well don’t delude yourself into thinking the publishers will start taking it easier on you.