Preorder bonuses were a huge part of the early and mid-2010s, and it seemed that every release had some kind of bonus. While some of them were amazing and memorable others are just forgettable. Despite this, some of the bonuses are just bad.
Why are preorder bonuses a thing?
Video Games are made to make money, and the release is when the company wants to make some of their money back. A triple-A release is a very expensive endeavor, and the company needs some of the money back as soon as possible. Pre-orders are a great way to guarantee day one revenue.
In the early 2010s, it was not easy to buy physical games online, and PC gaming was just picking up steam again. Brick and Morter stores were the most reliable way to get a new release. However, a Brick and Morter store only has so much shelf space, and buying an excess of stock is bad for business.
Pre-orders also make it easier for a store to know how much to order for the release day. If you have 8 pre-orders you have a general idea of what the interest in the game is like. However, if someone shows up at release you might not have that copy for them if pre-orders were low.
Pre-orders work well for both the store and the company that makes the game. Bonuses were created as a way to encourage the behavior of pre-ordering games.
A Non-sensical Bonus
Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag gave people who pre-order the game a foam football. This is the item that inspired me to write about pre-orders. I am still surprised that they thought this was a good idea in the first place.
Black Flag is a game about Pirates and none of the characters in the game play football. Ubisoft gave a foam football as a pre-order bonus because they can be mass-produced easily.
I don’t see a lot of gamers going out, and playing football on the weekends. If they are then they won’t be using their special foam football. Maybe they made this as a toy for your dog, but they would probably choke on the foam.
The most logical answer is normally the true one. This was made for pre-teen and young teenage boys who play Xbox at night and play outside during the day. I was one of those kids and probably would have liked a football with my game.
Companies felt a need to offer a bonus whenever a new game was released. I feel that pre-order bonuses have fallen out of favor in recent years. However, I don’t really miss them.