As if the value of pre-ordering games was not high enough, Square Enix has joined a long line of developers in the nickel and diming of content making it more and more “important” to pre-order a game to get the full package.
I wrote about pre-order incentives earlier in the year discussing the risks of pre-ordering games in an era of buggy and often lackluster game launches with nearly every AAA title on the market keeping something behind the pre-order paywall.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is due to launch in February 2016, and in the run up to it’s launch, Square Enix has launched the Augment Your Pre-Order scheme attempting to encourage you to empty your wallet early or risk missing out on content currently only available through the $139.99 collectors edition.
The more people that pre-order the higher the awards. It’s almost like games unlocking in a Humble Bundle, only this time it’s equipment packs, missions, and digital versions of collectors edition items (Art Book and Soundtrack) up for grabs.
Not only do we have to put up with items such as Jensen’s iconic clothing from the first game being locked behind a pre-order gimmick, but it looks like you’ll only be able choose one piece of content per tier unlocked.
“The available rewards within each tier include in-game items packs, digital books and music expanding on the world of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, and an extra in-game mission. The very last tier is one of a kind, as its reward will be an early release of the game, four days prior to its scheduled launch! For more details on Augment your Pre-order, check out [PlayStation Blog].”
With the current offerings being kind of lackluster and the other content for selection yet to be revealed, it’s looking like there will be no way to get all of the content for Deus Ex day one without paying out a large sum for the collector’s edition.
This kind of content exclusivity is designed to push you into pre-ordering as early as possible ahead of game reviews, before you even know the quality of the product you are buying.
To top it off, should pre-orders reach the highest milestone, Square Enix will release the game 4 days early which doesn’t really seem worth possibly wasting your money when there are more games than ever to drop your hard earned money on.
How do you feel about the Augment Your Pre-Order program? Will you be preordering Deus Ex: Man Kind Divided? Let us know in the comments!