Assassin's Creed Unity sets a new low for pre-order bonuses

Get five chances to win an in-game spear!

Christopher Hooton
Tuesday 24 June 2014 14:54 BST
Comments
Virtual slot machines, that's where we're at folks
Virtual slot machines, that's where we're at folks (Ubisoft)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Video game pre-order bonuses have long since been a bit of a joke, usually revolving around exclusive DLC that grants the protagonist a funny hat or something, but Assassin's Creed Unity's effort is verging on a parody of pre-order schemes.

In a trailer aimed at the US market, Ubisoft encourages gamers to buy early so they can crank a virtual slot machine in the hope of winning prizes including a downloadable spear and branded console skins.

Don't get too excited though, the pre-order only grants you five spins a week, and they can only be cashed in on Fridays.

Admittedly pre-ordering is not essential, and the very top prizes of trips to Comic-Con and Paris are decent, but it's still pretty insulting when you're asking gamers to part with $60 for the latest title in a relentlessly churned out franchise.

"That's crazy awful. Screw you Ubisof," one YouTuber commented, with another adding:"So, so embarrassing that the industry has reached this point..."

It hasn't been a good month for Ubisoft, with Unity also getting in trouble over its depiction of female characters (or lack thereof) and new title Watch Dogs coming with some glaring flaws.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in