Red Dead Redemption 2’s Pre-order Bonuses are Anti-consumer
Rockstar Games have revealed the pre-order incentives for Red Dead Redemption 2. I wanted to draw attention to them and call out Rockstar Games for their anti-consumer practices.
There are currently four options you, as a consumer, can pre-purchase for Red Dead Redemption 2, the Standard, Special and Ultimate editions and the “Collectors Box” (which doesn’t include the game itself). To get all of the pre-order items, including the physical items, you’d need to spend $279.97 (or £254.97); this takes into account the digital only bonus too. Here’s what the different tiers actually get you (thanks to Reddit user uarentme for making the list below).
So why do I think this is anti-consumer? For a start, pre-ordering a game generally means you’re paying for a product with many unknowns. You’re putting good faith in a developer to deliver, and most of the time it’s fine, but there are some warning signs. Holding review embargos until the day of release is one. Rockstar Games generally do this (as was the case with GTV V). If you’ve pre-ordered a game, by the time reviews drop. It’s too late. You already own the game.
Even pre-release reviews can be unintentionally misleading; bugs appear after release in online games all the time. Diablo 3 had the “Error 37 bug” which stopped players logging in for hours after release, but these issues didn’t appear in reviews.
Even pre-release demos can be misleading. The best example is still Aliens: Colonial Marines. The final product was nowhere near the quality of the demo shown at trade shows, resulting in lots of disappointed and angry consumers at launch. Hell, even I feel into the trap, because I pre-ordered and didn’t wait for reviews.
Pre-ordering personally invests you in a game — more so if you pay a deposit. To justify our choices we have a tendency to back up our decisions with positive statements. You get confirmation bias. This subconsciously makes you search for positive statements on a product. Instead of searching for a review of a game typing “is [game] good” will bring up a lot more positive articles because of the word “good”.
By making parts of the pre-order only available in a certain time span, you’re also more likely to keep the pre-order. Is there any reason to stop offering a digital treasure map — three months before the games release? No. There’s not a limited stock of digital items. This practice seems insidious, even if the map only shows the location of “buried treasure… [giving you] a head start on the hunt for riches”. The fear of losing out invests you in the game even more.
Pre-orders only really benefit publishers and retailers, as it gives them an idea of how many copies to ship. Granted pre-ordering may be justifiable for customers in remote locations, without internet connections, and only have small outlets nearby. But in a digital age, where you can instantly buy a game online, what’s the point — especially if you’re not receiving a discount for pre-ordering. I therefore understand why pre-order bonuses are included — to entice you as a customer to pre-purchase.
Most bonuses take away from the game though. Gameplay boosts, in game currency and extra weapons ultimately make the game easier. Considering you’ve just paid upward of $79.99 (£74.99), why would you want less of a challenge? Personally, I want to get as much enjoyment out of a game as possible. A game’s enjoyment can be extended by adding more content, but not when parts are held hostage by “bonus” missions.
No, Rockstar are not the only ones guilty of this. Nevertheless, what stopped these two bonus missions from being in the base game? Rockstar have tried to justify it saying they were made specifically for the special / ultimate editions and aren’t part of the main story. Why should others have to suffer because they don’t want to shell out another $20/£20 though? While it’s not clear if the bonus missions will be sold separately as DLC after release, the practice of day one DLC needs to stop. It won’t though. Not if people keep buying into it.
Finally there’s the collectors box, which comes without a copy of the game. Rockstar have said this is so that “players can pair the Collector’s Box with the game edition of their choice (physical or digital)”. If this is the case then what stopped them making it a bundle? It would just mean adding a different disc, or game code in the box. I can understand doing so might result in unsold bundles. however, as collector’s editions usually sell long before release, giving an option for platform would reduce left over stock. Even if I disagree with the practice.
Red Dead Redemption 2 isn’t the only game to have offered a game less bundle. In fact over the past few years there’s been an increase in them. Offering a $100 (£90) collectors box without the game is a way to nickel and dime the consumer out of money. Looking at the content it seems hard to justify the high price tag, until a few years ago these items would have been included with a copy of the game. At a minimum purchasing the collectors box should offer a discount to the main game.
If we continue to stand by and let these anti-consumer practices happen, they won’t stop. Take a stand. Call out games companies and vote with your wallet.
