Dog a$$ UBI Steals PC User's Preorder Bonus Content

[mandru]

According to my purchase receipt from GameStop from March-31-2012 I preordered both UBI's Assassin's Creed III and FarCry3.  It was a long anxious wait but now both games are in my possession a full eight months later.  Through all of that time we've seen promises of some very exciting preorder bonus content and mountains of preorder hype for both of these games.

I thought it was an oversight when back on the 20th of November there was no bonus content code card included in the clam shell case for my copy of AC3 and I've been waiting for the manager of the GameStop to sort this out with distribution from UBI but today as I was picking up my copy of FC3 which also was with no bonus content included that I learned that UBI has taken the position that If the PC customer preordered a physical copy on disc instead of via digital download they can "Piss off.  No bonus content for you."

I'm sorry I didn't see anywhere through all the promo vids that foreshadowed the fact that UBI fully intended to wait until many PC users like myself who were at the peak of excitement over the long awaited release of these two franchise blockbusters (and who knows how many other of their games) only to be told  "No!  Your preorder doesn't count."

I do not exactly have a list of favorite game companies but if I did UBI's shoddy treatment like this of a portion of their customer base definitely would put them off of my list if I had one.  I will not be making digital downloads and I will never preorder another UBI product.

In sum the net total of my dollar was worth substantially more when I paid for these games than it is today.  I will make it a point to never stand in the front the line for another UBI game release ever again.  Why should I?  I will pay the same price and receive the exact same content purchasing on the day of release.

I may go as far as waiting for future UBI games to hit the discount racks if I buy them at all.

[PZ]

According to my purchase receipt from GameStop from March-31-2012 I preordered both UBI's Assassin's Creed III and FarCry3.  It was a long anxious wait but now both games are in my possession a full eight months later.  Through all of that time we've seen promises of some very exciting preorder bonus content and mountains of preorder hype for both of these games.

I thought it was an oversight when back on the 20th of November there was no bonus content code card included in the clam shell case for my copy of AC3 and I've been waiting for the manager of the GameStop to sort this out with distribution from UBI but today as I was picking up my copy of FC3 which also was with no bonus content included that I learned that UBI has taken the position that If the PC customer preordered a physical copy on disc instead of via digital download they can "Piss off.  No bonus content for you."

I'm sorry I didn't see anywhere through all the promo vids that foreshadowed the fact that UBI fully intended to wait until many PC users like myself who were at the peak of excitement over the long awaited release of these two franchise blockbusters (and who knows how many other of their games) only to be told  "No!  Your preorder doesn't count."

I do not exactly have a list of favorite game companies but if I did UBI's shoddy treatment like this of a portion of their customer base definitely would put them off of my list if I had one.  I will not be making digital downloads and I will never preorder another UBI product.

In sum the net total of my dollar was worth substantially more when I paid for these games than it is today.  I will make it a point to never stand in the front the line for another UBI game release ever again.  Why should I?  I will pay the same price and receive the exact same content purchasing on the day of release.

I may go as far as waiting for future UBI games to hit the discount racks if I buy them at all.

Dang mandru, what a bad deal.

I pre-ordered both of those titles from Gamestop for the console and found bonus codes in the FC3 case, but for AC3 the bonus code was actually printed on the receipt.

That is a strange, but effective way to alienate your gamers.

[mandru]

These games were sold to me with assurance from the sales clerk that the existing and all subsequent pre-order bonus content (things like Monkey Madness were added later) would be included.

The shop's manager who assisted me for the pick ups of both AC3 and FC3 when I questioned him on the still missing content for AC3 thought it was a pretty crappy trend for UBI to adopt too.  When I commented that I found it hard to believe that I was the only customer purchasing a PC hard copy of these two games he tapped a couple keys on the computer/register on the counter and said "I wouldn't have even known this was going on if you hadn't questioned me on it and made me look it up.  Through today and tomorrow we have about 240 more pre-order customers picking FC3 for PC up to be informed of this mess up and I need to let my staff know that a lot of them probably aren't going to be as nice about this as you've been."

"I'm not one to shoot the messenger when he can carry a reply back the other direction.  You need to escalate this to the highest level of GameStop management you can reach.  Encourage them to find someone in the upper corporate offices who can access the total number of sales to customers who have been ripped off with this and has enough clout to slap UBI in the face with it and box their ears till they ring."

"You know that there are additional missions that are going to be made available through UBI's Passp..."  Maybe it was the look of death in my eyes that made the words stick in his throat.

"Yeah?  I've already been screwed over by their favoring digital download.  Right now there's a better chance that I would buy an old PS2 for the sole purpose of playing the "My Little Pony - Friendship Is Magic Game" before I would even consider giving UBI one more red cent."

Point made.

[PZ]

...  You need to escalate this to the highest level of GameStop management you can reach.  Encourage them to find someone in the upper corporate offices who can access the total number of sales to customers who have been ripped off with this and has enough clout to slap UBI in the face with it and box their ears till they ring."...

Absolutely correct; if Gamestop were to pressure Ubisoft then I'd bet that they would fold because sales are not only PC, but PS3 and xBox as well.  I doubt Gamestop will do much though because they are much more concerned with their bottom line than they are in doing what is right.  This really does not make any sense; why piss off the gamers that are purchasing your product in advance!

In my box came a Uplay passport that on the surface only allows full access to the MP elements of the game while a separate code you enter in the PlayStation store releases the 4 bonus missions.

What is a real kick in the pants? The downloads for the two codes were each less than 150k, which tells me that the content is already on the disc, and that "activation" is nothing more than allowing access to the existing content on the disc.

[mandru]

I'd go to the UBI forums and join the protests that are probably going on there already but have seen how studiously they ignore protest, hide unfavorable threads and ban posters who are too vociferous.

Sometimes you just have to cut your losses and move on forewarned and wiser.

I can't even bring myself to load FC3.  I'm gonna finish off AC3, maybe even go through it a second time and cool off before I can even look at it.  :-\\

[PZ]

Sorry for your bad experience, mandru - the game is really good, and it is a shame that the unthinking fools at Ubisoft have ruined what could have been a great experience.

[Fiach]

It's very bad on Ubi's part, most people I know hate the company, but I have never heard of this BS.

I have seen games released by other publishers, with no DLC codes in the box (when there should have been) and a quick email to the publishers usually gets a DLC code, no quibbles or anything.

As regards Gamestop, if they told you there would be codes, then you should get codes or a refund, I know in my GS the staff are really cool, they often give pre order codes to regulars even though they have no pre order, I have often got free games and strategy guides from them too.

I would say bring it back to GS and buy the game again when its about 20 quid.

[fragger]

Sorry to hear that tale of woe mandru, what lousy treatment. I can fully understand how you feel :D

[Art Blade]

Even more so when you think that I didn't pre-order FC3 but still got the premium game version with codes that unlock special weapons and missions as well as getting the sound track and a digital art book.

[mandru]

I could have pushed it back across the counter and demanded a refund but then I wouldn't have gotten to play the game at all.  :(

I plan on and want to play the game but not yet.

[Art Blade]

sounds a bit like "the joy of grief" to me. Think of what you've got, not about what you haven't. Man, you've got it, play it  :)

[Dweller_Benthos]

What is a real kick in the pants? The downloads for the two codes were each less than 150k, which tells me that the content is already on the disc, and that "activation" is nothing more than allowing access to the existing content on the disc.

I bet the PC version is no different. I'm gambling on the registry codes getting posted any day now.

Having said that, I do not pre-order games no matter what they bribe you with. I almost abandoned this policy with FC3 when I saw the pre-order bonus for something, forget what now, but restrained myself. I'll check the stores for a physical copy this weekend. Anyway, I have too much to do in Minecraft and Kerbal Space Program which both had big updates in the last week or so, that I have no time for another game.

[mandru]

I bet the PC version is no different. I'm gambling on the registry codes getting posted any day now.

I was thinking the same but the risk of having UBI's guard dog PunkBuster completely invalidate my ability to play the game at all is a serious consideration if the registry codes are serial matched to the disc's product key.  :-\\

[PZ]

Even more so when you think that I didn't pre-order FC3 but still got the premium game version with codes that unlock special weapons and missions as well as getting the sound track and a digital art book.

Perhaps they only did this for Germany; after all they censor the heck out of you guys so there has to be some kind of benefit.  :-()

I'm with Art, mandru, make lemonade out of the lemons and play the game; All by itself it is a real winner (enough so that I retired my copy of AC3 to the shelf) - I'm sure the codes thing will w@&k itself out eventually.  :-X

[Art Blade]

I didn't buy a German version  ;)

[PZ]

Then, maybe you got mandru's codes  ????

[Art Blade]

what am I supposed to reply now. "Thank you, mandru?"  ???? Actually, I don't think I got mandru's codes. I live by my own.  :-D

[PZ]

What is strange is that you have the codes and mandru does not yet you both are using the PC version.

Sounds almost like those Gamestop boys are giving mandru the run around rather than getting Ubisoft to fix his issue.

[Art Blade]

or, just give him some codes to get at least something for all the unpleasantries he had lived through.

[Dweller_Benthos]

A little googling came up with these, be careful......

http://www.farcry3warriorpackfree.blogspot.com/

http://www.farcry3hunterpackfree.blogspot.com/

http://www.farcry3steamfree.blogspot.com/

First two are PS3 / Xbox, the last is steam. I have not tried these yet (don't even have FC3 installed yet) problem is, those are blocked behind some stupid surveys and I'm not even going to try to download from there.

[mandru]

Thanks for the info D_B.  If nothing else comes up I may get around to these after I've worn the game out a bit.

I know the first batch of UBI Passport additional content hit within the last day or two.  I don't know whether that was solely for the consoles or if content for PC was included but I'm really not in a frame of mind to throw any more money at UBI at this time.

[PZ]

You might be starting a new rant posting after you hit the linear timed missions, mandru  :-()

[fragger]

 

I dunno if you've been reading the other FC3 topics mandru (you probably have been), but I and one or two others have been having a bit of a gripe about the game's stifling main mission format. Still, I hope it doesn't put you off entirely, the game is worth a look at least, if only to see what a fantastic job they've done with the game's enormous world and its graphics. No three-species-of-creatures-only here, the game is rich with all kinds of wildlife, some of it pretty dangerous :-() And it's not just there for decoration, it can be utilized. The combat and weapons modelling is certainly up to par and there is still a lot of open-world goodness and genuine mayhem to be had. It's the rigidly linear CoD-style missions that put the main story across that are a massive letdown.

As PZ said, when you get into those, you will probably want to whinge. Lord knows I did :-()

[mandru]

Actually since the burn I've not even looked at the FC3 threads.  Sorry.  :-\\

I'll catch up on that later as I get to it.  I see no need for me to accumulate anymore of a grudge towards UBI than I'm already packing.  Especially seeing as how I've bought and later shelved games unopened for far less than this loss of content screw job.  ::)

When I picked up FC3 from the shop I was given a 24 page (if you count the outsides of the front and back cover the way UBI did) brochure called the FarCry3 Hunting Guide that lists the 21 animals you interact with inside the game, their principal characteristics and behaviors and tips for dealing with them where needed.

In AC3 it's worth noting that the ever present rats in the cities make a satisfying squishing sound if you accidentally or otherwise tread on one of them.  >:D

I could have finished AC3 quite a while back but I'm digging into all the corners and rummaging around in the side story content as well as honing my skills towards knocking the snot out of the redcoats.  I received an onscreen notice that I was in the top 1% for total number of kills last night and I've barely begun training my associate assassin squad and building their XPs.

Linearity?  By the game's reckoning I'm at 75% through the main story of AC3 and even in that game (as opposed to FC3) a fair amount of the side and main missions are proving to be pretty linear but I still find there are better and worse ways to get through.  By replaying key missions I'm figuring out where the wiggle room is so that my next play through won't feel as confining.


Out of curiosity Is anyone finding that (unfortunately like AC3  :D  ) FC3 was made for console and awkwardly remapped to force fit the PC user's keyboard and mouse?  Then again most of you are probably playing on console.  ;)

Thankfully there was no hint of that type of platform bias shortcoming in AC2.  :-X

[Art Blade]

I think I could still count how many times I used a console or a controller, respectively.  :-D FC3 overall doesn't exactly feel as if it were developed for a PC, too much "hand over hand" moving in the menus for that matter. Or, fixed key functions that are not even mentioned at all in the key mapping menu, see F9/F11 for quick save/load. But it doesn't feel completely awkward, so they found a somewhat decent compromise to make it playable on a PC.