Is This The Most Obnoxious Game Trailer Ever Made?

The marketing strategy of major publishers has been quite distasteful due to pre-order bonuses, microtransactions and retailer exclusives. In recent years, these anti-consumer measures became more acceptable and helped to transgress the medium into a way of exploiting people’s passion for a particular franchise. Deus Ex is a highly-revered tense stealth series with an extremely loyal following. The original game and Human Revolution featured superb covert takedowns and an engrossing narrative. Unfortunately, the successor to Human Revolution has embarked on an appalling pre-order incentive scheme which is embarrassing and quite insulting to fans of the series.

During the official trailer, a computerized voice implores you to pre-order to access a Tier I bonus. Instead of receiving all of the Tier 1 bonuses, you are forced to choose between the Classic, Enforcer or Intruder Pack. There are also benefits in Tier II, III and IV which include in-game bonus missions, a digital comic, artbook, OST sampler and more. Unbelievably, each tier is only unlocked after a certain percentage of pre-orders is met. As a result, you could pre-order and simply end up with a Tier 1 bonus. Additionally, to access every item, you have to purchase the game 3 times. Even more egregious, Tier V grants access to the game 4 days before its official release. In the social media age, this will just make users post early streams and spoilers online. Also, punishing people for not engaging in pre-order nonsense is absolutely abhorrent.

The video’s reception so far is rightfully negative and currently features 770 dislikes. Honestly, I’m astounded by this trailer and how aggressive its marketing policy is. If you are sick of being treated in this manner, do not pre-order under any circumstances. Companies are overstepping the mark and as a consumer, the only way to make them understand is through a lack of sales.