So who else here is pre-ordering Mass Effect 3?

[Kev]

No, in fact I suggested quite the opposite. Simply that where you think the resources are going and where they're actually going are two different things.

To use your terminology, let X = the cost of two apples. You are willing to pay X for 2 apples and 1 orange. Therefore, when you pay X you are only paying the cost of two apples. The orange is entirely at-cost. This is basic resource allocation. If you have 3 children and only feed 2, you are not feeding 3 children.

And I'm not getting into the Origin vs Steam issue that you insist on bringing up. As I pointed out, it's irrelevant to the fact that getting Battlefield 3, for free, is a good deal and waiting 3 weeks when you've waited several months shouldn't be a huge issue to any rational adult.

Now you are correct that Origin/EA made a marketing error, because the naturally perceived deal is not the same as the actual deal. So people are irrationally disappointed that they're getting like 2% less of a deal, because the marketing psyched them up for an instant freebie and reality let them down. That doesn't change the fact that rationally:

1. You pay for one game, Mass Effect 3, weeks ahead of time.
2. You get another game, Battlefield 3, at no extra cost.
2a. The wait is not a cost because had the pre-order deal never existed, you still would have, in all likelihood, waited much longer than 3 weeks without complaint. It it a perceived cost because bad marketing raised your expectations and then sunk them. Your feelings are hurt and you don't like that. Rationally, the deal is still pretty damn good even if it lacks immediate gratification.

for the love of god take it to PM already

 

[Powermoloch]

Well, at least the customer reps helped me add ME 1 and the saboteur into my origin account....I'll wait for the ME3 discount lols

 

[Zenoth]

Really? You can't grasp how somebody who has a month to cancel their pre-order MIGHT be able to take advantage of that bonus if you could activate BF3 now? I don't know if you're just clouded by all your EA hate or really that stupid, but the logic is there and makes perfect sense. You can't get your pre-order bonus until the game ships... that's always been the case and I don't know why people all of a sudden think it should be different. I guess just because it's EA you feel you need to bitch about something, even if it's free.

"Here's a free game for you, the only thing is you have to wait till next month to use it"
"What? But I want it NOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWW! *stamps feet*"

Bunch of self-entitled assholes in this place. Good lord it's getting old.

Agreed, I reported your post. You can discuss things with me, but please don't make personal attacks (I did too in the past, sure, and I was warned, hopefully you'll get a warning too). And don't pretend that the "self-entitled assholes" part wasn't including me in your thoughts. At least I don't report it on your back, I make it clear right here and now. As for the subject in question (that EA promotion)... are you honestly thinking that every single person who pre-ordered ME3 during the promotion to get a free copy of BF3 did it and fully expected to wait for three weeks before being able to play it? Was that information even clearly mentioned on the pre-order Origin page during the promotion?

You think I'm blinded by my "hate" towards EA. I think that you're being naive to believe that everyone who pre-ordered it for BF3 did it and actually never expected to play the game right away while having to wait for ME3, without necessarily wanting to screw EA over by canceling their pre-order. And what's to stop EA from canceling access to BF3 anyway if the consumer happens to cancel the pre-order? The copy would be free, what's to lose for EA if they cancel access to BF3 in the event that they "lost a consumer" for a purchase of ME3 since they canceled their pre-order anyway. Would that be perceived as immoral business practices or something? Ok, what about the consumer who obviously tried to take "advantage" of the promotion, is that moral? Even I think that EA would be right to do that if they wanted in such cases (I.E. to cancel access to BF3, or rather to remove access to BF3 at least from the freely given BF3 key given in the promotion, in the event that the consumer cancels ME3).

Anyway, there's been many times on Steam when they offered their consumers a free game to play right now (or even more than that) if they did pre-order an unreleased game within a set period of time (a promotion's time limit). I can give some examples, one of which is very recent, for Crusader Kings II. In CKII's case, if you "pre-order now", you receive two CKII DLCs at the game's release, but you also receive the original CK copy for free to play right now... I'll give more examples:

º Pre-Purchase King Arthur II, gain access (right now) to a prologue campaign.
º Pre-Purchase Real Warfare II, get a free copy (and play right now) of RW: 1242.
º Pre-Purchase L.A. Noire: The Complete Edition, receive GTAIII for free, play right now.
º Pre-Purchase Sonic Generations, receive Sonic 3D Blast + S3&K to play right now.
º Pre-Purchase Call of Duty MW3, receive a free copy of CoD4 (play right now).
º Pre-Purchase Stronghold 3, receive the original for free and play right now.
º Pre-Purchase Tropico 4, receive Tropico Reloaded for free, play right now.
º Pre-Purchase Space Marine, receive a copy of Darksiders (play right now).
º Pre-Purchase Call of Juarez: The Cartel, receive CoJ: Bound in Blood (play right now).
º Pre-Purchase Dungeon Siege III, receive both DS1 and DS2 for free, play them now.
º Pre-Purchase Red Faction: Armageddon, receive RF: Guerrilla for free, play it now.

My source for them (and hundreds more) is on www.steampowered.com, News section, filter by "Product Releases" (on the right panel with filter options). All of the examples from the list above come from the very first page of results. The point? It happens on Steam, why not on Origin? After all, Steam is "just another content delivery platform" as much as Origin is, right? Steam isn't any "better" nor "worse" than EA, right? Why is it that I can sometimes get to play a free game I received from a Steam pre-order, right now, but I'd have to wait for the same kind of promotion if it happens on Origin such as in that specific case of ME3 + BF3? Because I could cancel my pre-order? Ok... but I could cancel my pre-order on Steam too, yet I'd have received the promoted free game and I'd be able to play it right now, what's the big deal.

If it was a big deal due to potential screwing scammer gamers out there then why even allowing such promotions in the first place? Is EA paranoid about about it while Valve (or the developers doing those promotions on Steam, whichever way it works) isn't, or what. Sure it's possible (that a pre-order gets canceled), big deal, the player would (worse case scenario) get to play the freely given game. Ok, what did EA lose in there? They intended to give the game for free anyway, it's not like they lost a game sale, did they? But that wouldn't be the case, we're talking about EA, they would take action. But they don't have to, because the freely offered game isn't given until the pre-ordered game's release day, so case closed? What about those who expected (honestly so) to play BF3 for free right now, screw you? Ah, yeah never mind, they were a bunch of self-entitled assholes, sorry I almost forgot.

It's EA's right to do whatever they want to, that's certainly for sure. What I would have done instead is this: Buy BF3 now, and receive a discount for ME3 (specifically, not for other games, to convince consumers obviously to specifically buy BF3 to get that discount, obvious is obvious there). Simple, no wrong nor "self-entitled" expectations to be found (even innocently so, but wait, if it's self-entitled then the person in question wouldn't even realize it, right?).

Obvious question would be: Can we even cancel a pre-order on Steam? The answer is yes.

An exception is made for games purchased during a pre-order period if the request is received prior to the games' release date.

As long as you submit a support ticket asking to do just that before the game's release date, you'll be refunded. I guess that EA is free to do it the way they want to, they seem to be doing it with a restriction that may seem "logic", but surely isn't necessarily expected by everyone. I'm a sure a lot of people would have liked it to play BF3 right now and have the time to appreciate it while waiting for ME3's release. There's no need to call me an asshole for any of this, that kind of behavior is getting just as old as you think it gets old to see "self-entitled" people (supposedly like me) around. I give clear evidence for my claims, that's the least I can do. If you really think I'm self-entitled, then instead go ask those specific developers doing those "play that free game right now if you pre-order 'x' game" promotions on Steam (or call me self-entitled, yeah that's easier).

Anyway, with all this said, I'm done in this thread.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

I think you need to keep in mind the deal at origin was slightly different. You could pre-order a boxed copy for pc/console and you would also get bf3 free. Originally it was a code only for someone that didn't own bf3 already but they changed it to a code that you could give to a friend.

I don't see how the deal was that hard to understand, they had the date when you would get the BF3 code right in the conditions.

Apparently the deal was too popular so they pulled the deal early. That should be what you're complaining about.

OFFER EXPIRES MARCH 5, 2012. VALID ONLY ON NEW PURCHASES OF MASS EFFECT 3 (“PRODUCT&#8221 FROM THE ORIGIN STORE AT WWW.ORIGIN.COM AND ONLY FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT CURRENTLY HAVE A DIGITAL VERSION OF BATTLEFIELD 3 (“BF3&#8243. CUSTOMERS WILL BE EMAILED THE CODE FOR BF3 BY MARCH 8, 2012. VALID ONLY IN US and CANADA. CANNOT BE COMBINED WITH ANY OTHER OFFER, GIFT CARD, REBATE OR OTHER DISCOUNT COUPONS. LIMIT ONE OFFER PER PERSON

I played the demo and it's pretty cool. Multiplayer was not bad at all. That said, I still have to finish ME1 & ME2 so I'll wait for it to go on sale.

 

[jlee]

I think you need to keep in mind the deal at origin was slightly different. You could pre-order a boxed copy for pc/console and you would also get bf3 free. Originally it was a code only for someone that didn't own bf3 already but they changed it to a code that you could give to a friend.

I don't see how the deal was that hard to understand, they had the date when you would get the BF3 code right in the conditions.

Apparently the deal was too popular so they pulled the deal early. That should be what you're complaining about.

OFFER EXPIRES MARCH 5, 2012. VALID ONLY ON NEW PURCHASES OF MASS EFFECT 3 (“PRODUCT”) FROM THE ORIGIN STORE AT WWW.ORIGIN.COM AND ONLY FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT CURRENTLY HAVE A DIGITAL VERSION OF BATTLEFIELD 3 (“BF3&#8243. CUSTOMERS WILL BE EMAILED THE CODE FOR BF3 BY MARCH 8, 2012. VALID ONLY IN US and CANADA. CANNOT BE COMBINED WITH ANY OTHER OFFER, GIFT CARD, REBATE OR OTHER DISCOUNT COUPONS. LIMIT ONE OFFER PER PERSON

I played the demo and it's pretty cool. Multiplayer was not bad at all. That said, I still have to finish ME1 & ME2 so I'll wait for it to go on sale.

BAH, I had been sitting on that page for a couple days but hadn't got around to convincing myself to order it..then they pull the promo.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

BAH, I had been sitting on that page for a couple days but hadn't got around to convincing myself to order it..then they pull the promo.

It's kinda bs since it was supposed to run until March 5th. Took them like 2 days to pull it.

 

[exar333]

I dislike EA as much as most people do, but they can't get a break! They are jerks for even offering something for free!!

Anyway, I was on the fence too with the free game, but I will wait now for a Steam sale in a year or so, after I play the others. Meh.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

I dislike EA as much as most people do, but they can't get a break! They are jerks for even offering something for free!!

Anyway, I was on the fence too with the free game, but I will wait now for a Steam sale in a year or so, after I play the others. Meh.

These games will not be on steam. Ever.

 

[surfsatwerk]

These games will not be on steam. Ever.

Forever ever.

 

[jlee]

I dislike EA as much as most people do, but they can't get a break! They are jerks for even offering something for free!!

Anyway, I was on the fence too with the free game, but I will wait now for a Steam sale in a year or so, after I play the others. Meh.

Nope, they're jerks for advertising a promo through a certain date and then pulling said promo three weeks early.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

Nope, they're jerks for advertising a promo through a certain date and then pulling said promo three weeks early.

They probably pulled it because of butt hurt nerd rage. For example. Read this entire thread.

 

[PhatoseAlpha]

Well, that would be the first time EA has ever done anything because people on the internet complained.

 

[Dumac]

These games will not be on steam. Ever.

Unless people stop buying from origin. I wonder how much of a PC sales hit they took with their no-steam policy?

 

[thespyder]

Unless people stop buying from origin. I wonder how much of a PC sales hit they took with their no-steam policy?

The way I figure it, the good folks at EA will be the first against the wall when the revolution comes. And i hear they are looking for someone to fill the post of Robotics Correspondent.

 

[PhatoseAlpha]

Unless people stop buying from origin. I wonder how much of a PC sales hit they took with their no-steam policy?

Probably very little. Remember the MW2 Boycott group photo from Steam where 99% of the members were playing MW2? We'll bitch, but we still end up buying anyway.

That said, it's probably not necessary to ignore Origin exclusive to get the point across. It will require sales of non-EA games to get very far. Buy what you can't buy anywhere else there, but get it elsewhere if you can.

 

[Jules]

Thats really lame that they pulled the Promo.

 

[Terzo]

Probably very little. Remember the MW2 Boycott group photo from Steam where 99% of the members were playing MW2? We'll bitch, but we still end up buying anyway.

That said, it's probably not necessary to ignore Origin exclusive to get the point across. It will require sales of non-EA games to get very far. Buy what you can't buy anywhere else there, but get it elsewhere if you can.

True. Sometimes I forget that anandtech is probably a vocal minority and not representative of the average gamer.

 

[Raduque]

There's nothing in your mind about it. In the fruit stand example, I've paid money and a reputation boost for two apples and an orange. The mental subdivisions of the parties involved doesn't alter the transaction at all.


Tell me something - have you for one minute considered why people would be annoyed at having to wait for the release of ME3 to get this pre-order bonus? Besides "They're impatient crybabies"? Because the cause seems pretty obvious to me.

"Hey Mass Effect fans! We're going to give you another game with your preorder of Mass Effect 3! Aren't we amazingly generous? But wait! No, seriously, wait - you can't have this game until Mass Effect 3 releases - at which point you won't actually want to play it because you'll be playing Mass Effect 3! Isn't that wonderful, that we're going to give you another game at the exact moment we can be sure you won't want to play it?"


As marketing ploys go, it's as big a "Huh?" as you can get. The timing of it makes no sense.

Honestly, it makes perfect sense to me. I regularly buy a couple of on-sale games and only play one of them at a time. It could be months before I get to the second on-sale game.

BTW, I'm irritated I missed the ME3/BF3 deal. Was hoping they'd keep it going till after I got paid again. :\

 

[gorcorps]

Finally got around to playing the demo, I can wait. Seems pretty buggy to me and I'd rather it be patched up and working right by the time I play it. There might be a community texture pack by then too because right now the sky, armor, and walls look ugly as all hell. It's like they haven't bothered updating anything since last time.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

Finally got around to playing the demo, I can wait. Seems pretty buggy to me and I'd rather it be patched up and working right by the time I play it. There might be a community texture pack by then too because right now the sky, armor, and walls look ugly as all hell. It's like they haven't bothered updating anything since last time.

The demo was massively shrunk down to make it fit inside the xbox live 2gb file limit for demo's. I've read that the had to remove most of the audio selections and severely rape the texture quality just to get under the limit.

Also, it's the same demo we've been seeing since E3. I really doubt bioware will disappoint with ME3.

ME1 and ME2 was two of the best games in recent memory.

Also, if you're currently playing through ME2 be careful installing ME3 demo because it will break your ME2 install. I had to delete physx and reinstall the ME2 version of Physx.

 

[gorcorps]

The demo was massively shrunk down to make it fit inside the xbox live 2gb file limit for demo's. I've read that the had to remove most of the audio selections and severely rape the texture quality just to get under the limit.

Also, it's the same demo we've been seeing since E3. I really doubt bioware will disappoint with ME3.

ME1 and ME2 was two of the best games in recent memory.

Also, if you're currently playing through ME2 be careful installing ME3 demo because it will break your ME2 install. I had to delete physx and reinstall the ME2 version of Physx.

So that explains the 360 version, but why would they do that to the PC? I don't like seeing their corner cutting on something as short as a demo.

We'll see, I don't plan on getting it at release right now. Too many other games.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

There is a lot of work involved in making a demo. It's not just as simple as slicing a piece off the main game and releasing it. They made a demo for the xbox using valuable development time so they used the same demo for the PC and PS3.

 

[Balt]

I have lots of unplayed games already sitting on my hard drive... but I'll still be buying and playing ME3. I enjoyed ME2 quite a lot, though I wish I had played ME1 first to have a better idea of the backstory.

 

[shortylickens]

Nope. Mass Effect 1 had pretty graphics and a decent story but meh game play.
Mass Effect 2 was meh all around.
I might play Mass Effect 3, but not on pre-order. Will wait a year for patches and the price to come down.

 

[aigomorla]

I wasn't happy with 2, loved one. Still not sure about this one. Probably going to wait for a Steam sale.

Steam wont have it...



EA and Origin are being dicks by forcing us to only get it from Origin.

Otherwise id probably preorder it too, but i wont install Origin.