Exclusives

Following the cancellation of Mass Effect 3’s Collector’s Edition merely a week before release, I’ve been feeling apprehensive about pre-ordering a title with GAME again. Unfortunately I’ve discovered that the Ultimate Songbird Edition of Bioshock is a GAME exclusive. Despite my interest in this particular special edition release, my past experience with GAME leaves me reluctant to purchase. The above got me thinking about companies that allocate exclusive releases and content to specific retailers. Is separating content across an array of retailers to entice people to pre-order really the most sensible move?

I think it’s safe to say everyone has a preferred retailer when pre-ordering titles. This favouritism may boil down to attractive pricing or swift deliveries of products in the past. When a company announces that their special editions or exclusive content will be allocated to a specific retailer, I can’t help but feel cheated. An individual will lose out on content that probably should have been implemented within the game anyway, simply owing to their choice of retailer. Does this seem like insanity to anyone else?

I understand that the majority of this is business related, but what about loyalty and fairness to the customers? Why should an individual utilise another retailer to make a purchase because two major companies have struck up a ‘deal.’ Many of you may dispute that people should simply take a chance on another retailer if they want the content that badly. My argument is, many people have experienced delays and disappointment with particular retailers regarding game releases. Some of the exclusives released are specific to one retailer. If someone has a troublesome experience with that specific store, why on earth would they trust them to deliver?

I’d love to hear your opinions regarding this topic. It’s something I passionately feel needs to be resolved, not just for the sake of the consumer, but for the sake of other retailers. Do any of you feel the same way regarding exclusives? Feel free to get in touch and express your opinions on this potentially controversial topic!