Commenter Curly Haired Boy rages against retailer-exclusive bonus items in todayâs installment of Speak-Up on Kotaku.
Whatâs the deal with retailer-exclusive bonus items? Fans hate missing out on them, they create more work for developers, and then the market awareness of a title just gets increasingly muddled.
The completionist in me gets incredibly annoyed when, no matter WHERE I buy a game, Iâm missing out on some quasi-useful item. The only way to get a complete game these days is to buy a copy from every retailer that sells it. Thatâs a massive waste of money for some in-game trinket.
Developers know itâs a load of crap, too. But increasingly, retailers are reluctant to stock a game if they donât have something they can advertise that no other seller offers.
The worst part? Itâs spreading to all sorts of other products, from Walmart-exclusive bonus DVDs to Best Buy-exclusive special edition CDs to freakinâ Target-exclusive Nerf guns.
Itâs a policy thatâs great for retailers, but enormously aggravating to customers. I miss the days when stores built loyalty through reputation and service for ALL products, instead of cheap granular bonuses on individual items.
About Speak-Up on Kotaku: Our readers have a lot to say, and sometimes what they have to say has nothing to do with the stories we run. Thatâs why we have that little box on the front page of Kotaku. You know, the one with âGot something to say?â written in it? Thatâs the place to post anecdotes, photos, game tips and hints, and anything you want to share with Kotaku at large. Just make sure to include #speakup in your comment so we can find it. Every weekday weâll pull one of the best #speakup posts we can find and highlight it here.
