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Square Enix has accompanied the announcement of the Deus Ex: Mankind Divided release date with the announcement of a tiered pre-order system.
The game itself will be released on February 23rd, although it might arrive a little earlier depending on what happens between now and release.
That’s because an earlier release date is one of the rewards being offered if a sufficient number of customers pre-order the game.
The whole thing is being called Augment Your Pre-Order”. Those who lay down money for the game early can register on a website. As the pre-orders climb, so do the extras. Tier 1 begins with a choice of three load-outs, while Tier 2 offers a choice between a digital art book or soundtrack. Tier 3 unlocks a new mission and Tier 4 the choice between a graphic novel or novella.
The final Tier offers to bring forward the game’s release by four days.
The Collector’s Edition, of course, offers all of the above as well as an Adam Jensen figurine, steelbook and art book.
The pre-order campaign has drawn its fair shire of ire, however. Polygon described it as hostile” and cringe-inducing” due to the fact that while the Collector’s Edition offers everything, the pre-order tiers preclude buyers from obtaining some of the rewards.
So you have a system where you have to choose what content you get at each level and, as more people pre-order, more levels are unlocked,” it said. There’s not a single purchasing decision to be made here so much as there are a series of decisions where you have to figure out what you want versus what you’re wiling to leave behind as more and more people sign up.
At each step you’re not getting something as much as you feel like you’re turning something down. It’s a constant reminder of what you don’t get, and that’s kind of gross… The sale is coming, as is the version of the game that’s less than $60 and comes with anything and everything. If they’re not going to reward my day one purchase, why not wait until then?”
RockPaperShotgun described the tier system as a big mess” that includes the unpleasant step of saying they’ll release the game four days early if enough people pre-order”. It added: How about we not pre-order games any more and Squeenix simply release it when it’s ready, eh?
The highest tier takes the biscuit. If enough folks pre-order, Square Enix will release the game four days early. Which is to say, Square Enix are purposely holding the release back by four days to make people part with their cash early. Bless ‘em, they do try to make good-looking games undesirable.”
