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In the past year or so, video game publishers have had to face the reality that pre-orders are declining .
. Once used as in indicator for demand (allowing publishers to gauge how many copies they’d need to produce and ship to retailers), these days, fewer players choose to pre-order games and instead wait until launch day to buy it, when reviews for the game have been published.
Along with the fact that digital versions mean that gamers no longer have to pre-order games in order to guarantee themselves a copy, many people have suggested that bad pre-order experiences are to blame. The recent Assassin’s Creed Unity launch disaster, the confusion surrounding Evolve ‘s many editions and pre-order bonuses, and the criticism of Batman: Arkham Knight ‘s unplayable state on PCare prime examples of why gamers may not want to hand over money upfront.
But as the interest in pre-ordering games wanes, it has only lead to publishers doing more outlandish things to capture people’s interest. In the past year, Activision offered the Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 ‘s Collector’s Edition which included a working fridgeand Techland sold an actual Dying Light house. Not one to buck the trend, Square Enix has now announced a competition that gives Just Cause 3 players a chance to win their own, real-life island.
Although Square Enix says that the island will be worth $50,000, the publisher hasn’t detailed its location. However, they have at least revealed how to secure a chance of winning it. Only open to North American (the United States, Canada, Mexico and Chile) players on PS4 or Xbox One, interested participants have to pre-order the Just Cause 3 Day 1 editionin order to receive a contest entry code. Then, beginning on December 1, 2015 ( Just Cause 3 ‘s release date), players will have 90 days to score as many Chaos Points as they can, using such tools as Rico’s guns, his grappling hook, bombs, and vehicles to unleash absolute mayhem on the game’s island of Medici. The person with the most Chaos Points at the end of the competition will win.
As appealing as owning an island sounds, participants should know that there are some pretty important terms and conditions to consider. On the Just Cause 3 Win An Island website, one of the terms laid out by Square Enix is that “all taxes and fees associated with purchasing and obtaining of Island (including but not limited to attorney’s fees, escrow, and closing costs) are the responsibility of the Winner” and that the “sponsor does not guarantee the Island to be inhabitable, developed, or reachable by any means other than a boat.” Square Enix can also change any part of the prize at their “sole discretion”, so there’s no guarantee that the winner will win this possibly-inhabitable, possibly-unreachable island either.
Alternatively, the winner can opt for a $50,000 cash prize (entrants from Mexico are only able to get the cash prize and not the island, it should be noted). So, if the winner doesn’t want the island or doesn’t feel like dealing with lawyers and accountants, there’s always this huge lump sum of money to make off with instead.
Does this competition make you want to pre-order Just Case 3 ? What sort of pre-order bonuses would you like to see publishers offer? Leave a comment and let us know.
Just Cause 3 launches on December 1 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Source: Just Cause Win An Island