No Bonus Items for Standard Editions of the Game in the UK!

desvergeh · 22-10-2009, 02:13 PM

Surprised this information hasn't hit these forums yet.

It seems that the UK is being left out yet again!

Bioware has stated numerous times that every new copy of the game would include codes to allow downloads of The Stone Prisoner (extra character) and Blood Dragon Armour (bonus armour for both DA:O and ME2).

It now seems that bonus content does not include the UK, just everywhere else. We now need to buy the collectors edition in order to get these bonus items.

Both Amazon.co.uk and Game have confirmed this in email responses to queries from concerned customers. Even the UK EA store lists these two items as not being part of the standard edition.

Already long threads concerning this at the Bioware and Dragon Age forums -

Choose Language | BioWare Social Network

BioWare : Dragon Age : Problems with Standard UK Version

So far no response from either Bioware or EA.

Chronix10 · 23-10-2009, 01:43 PM

If you go to EA Store you will get these exclusive bonus items there plus a lot more. check it out Electronic Arts Swiss Sàrl Online Store

MaverickOTF · 23-10-2009, 05:37 PM

No, not even EA's own store lists The Stone Prisoner and the Blood Dragon Armor as being part of the standard edition in the UK.

So in the UK, in comparison to the US, we have

Collector's Edition (only available from GAME):
No tin box, no cloth map.

Digital Download Edition:
No Bergen’s Honor, Grimoire of the Frozen Wastes or Final Reason. (Presumably withheld to make the cut-down Collector's Edition seem more palatable in comparison)

Standard Edition:
Seemingly no The Stone Prisoner or Blood Dragon Armor, seeing as they're not mentioned on GAME, Amazon, HMV, or any of the download services - with the exception of Steam, which does mention them. So either Steam have made a mistake, everybody else has made a mistake (but surely EA should know what's included with their own game?), or for some reason only the Steam version gets these two pieces of content.

MaverickOTF · 23-10-2009, 06:18 PM

Hah, and 5 minutes after I wrote that, this was posted on the Bioware DA forum:

Quote:

UPDATE:

Hi, everyone. I received a response this morning from DA producer, Fernando Melo, who's been working like crazy to get this cleared up. Thanks to Fernando and Jason Leong for kicking this issue further up the chain.

From what information we've been given, it looks like all versions of the game in the UK--digital download, retail box, collector's edition and standard edition--will have both the Blood Dragon Armour and The Stone Prisoner.

This appears to be a simple miscommunication with some retail sites. EA is now working to correct this misunderstanding by fixing the information on the EA Store and asking retail sites to change the information they have as soon as they can.

Thank you all for bringing this to our attention. We hope this alleviates your concerns regarding the UK versions of Dragon Age Origins.

Remember to stay tuned for the big DA announcement in just a little while!

The paranoid conspiracy theorist in me suggests that EA had intended to leave these out but changed their minds after the outcry, and the "miscommunication" is a cover story, but who knows? Anyway, I'm somewhat reassured, and will be placing my pre-order shortly.

humorguy · 06-11-2009, 12:21 AM

Well let me say, I contacted EA Support in the U.S. Point out I was a UK customer that would be in the only country to buy a Collector's Edition with no tin box and no cloth map. this due to EA giving a retail exclusive to the GAME retail chain. I asked EA if they could sell me the tin box and cloth map directly so I could get what every other country is getting. All they did was tell me to contact the retailer!

This shows how much EA cares about the second largest PC games market! All it cares about is the U.S. console market!

Inserach · 07-11-2009, 09:10 AM

I pre ordered my standard copy from Amazon.co.uk. Recieved it yesterday and got my codes for the Stone Prisoner and the armour. They where on a leaflet in the game box.
I also recieved an email off amazon the day before giving me my pre order items (Memory Band and Lions Paw)

I entered all these into my account yesturday and the game downloaded them all ok and they show up when I play.

nacho66 · 07-11-2009, 09:16 PM

Standard edition is not the only edition that suffers from lack of content in UK. I preordered Collectors Edition and only today I realized that there is no steel case nor cloth map included as it is in US, Australia, Germany, Spain, Poland... probably the whole rest of the world

Why UK gamers are always screwed by publishers either with games contents or prices? I live in Dublin, but I come from Poland and just can't believe how ignorant is the gaming market in UK/Ireland

humorguy · 07-11-2009, 09:20 PM

Totally with you Nach, and I worry for Bioware in the UK because of this. I just hope many are not buying anything, standard or Collector's edition, from GAME and that they suffer financially, but gamers are so supine, I don;t think would happen. I am the only person who has said on this forum that because of this I am not buying Dragon Age but instead Risen!

nacho66 · 07-11-2009, 11:04 PM

I bought and finished Risen already.. Brilliant game!!

However, I've been waiting for Dragon Age too long to simply not get it and not play it. But at the same time I definitely resist to be ripped off like that. I don't know what was the reason behind the decision to remove part of the CE content... I imagine it's because publisher assumed, people will buy the game anyway, regardless of relation of content to price. The sad thing is, they are right... the game will sell in huge numbers and only few gamers will ever notice that CE is missing content.

Ireland, where I currently live, is a great example of the ignorance on both sides - publishers/stores and buyers. I went to GAME store today and learned that all new pc games (eg. borderlands, operation flashpoint, risen) cost 44.99 euros!!! I bought each of these 3 games on one of uk online stores for less than 30 euros, including shipping!!! What's even funnier and more frustrating is, same game in HMV street store in Dublin is often 15 to 20 (!!!) euros more expensive than the same game on HMV online uk store.
But this is not what is really ridiculous... what is ridiculous is that people actually buy these games for that 'levelled-up' price!!! Also, some games for for PS3 cost 44,99 in HMV.. but from some reason, people are buying exactly same games in gamestop, 30 meters (!) down the road, for 54,99!! can someone tell me lalala is wrong with the whole thing??

Unfortunately my preorder is already in transit so I cannot cancel it. I may send it back tho on return policy and get Dragon Age from Poland (english version with polish menus and subtitles... which is of course fine with me

)

Alternatively.... ask a friend in US to send US retail copy... this would take a while tho

humorguy · 07-11-2009, 11:10 PM

Nacho, unfortunately shipping would be almost 30 euro's, plus the $75 for the game at retail, my friends could, at best, get it to me for around $110 and that's 65+ UK pounds! It should be noted that $75 is approx £40, which is what is selling DA for in the UK!!!

nacho66 · 08-11-2009, 12:19 AM

yeah... but you know... there should not even be a reason for such discussion if the first place. EA UK should deliver exactly the same edition as other countries get.

Bhavv · 10-11-2009, 10:04 PM

Why didnt I get a tin case and cloth map with my UK CE?

To buy it from Amazon.co.uk would be £2 for the CE (£37 instead of £39), but I would have to pay £22 for shipping which I wouldnt want to do.

They pay less for it in America and get a cloth map and tin case.

22-10-2009, 02:13 PM	#1 (permalink)
desvergeh Rookie Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 5	No Bonus Items for Standard Editions of the Game in the UK! Surprised this information hasn't hit these forums yet. It seems that the UK is being left out yet again! Bioware has stated numerous times that every new copy of the game would include codes to allow downloads of The Stone Prisoner (extra character) and Blood Dragon Armour (bonus armour for both DA:O and ME2). It now seems that bonus content does not include the UK, just everywhere else. We now need to buy the collectors edition in order to get these bonus items. Both Amazon.co.uk and Game have confirmed this in email responses to queries from concerned customers. Even the UK EA store lists these two items as not being part of the standard edition. Already long threads concerning this at the Bioware and Dragon Age forums - Choose Language \| BioWare Social Network BioWare : Dragon Age : Problems with Standard UK Version So far no response from either Bioware or EA.

23-10-2009, 01:43 PM	#2 (permalink)
Chronix10 Rookie Join Date: May 2009 Location: London Gender: Male Posts: 23	If you go to EA Store you will get these exclusive bonus items there plus a lot more. check it out Electronic Arts Swiss Sàrl Online Store

23-10-2009, 05:37 PM	#3 (permalink)
MaverickOTF Rookie Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 2	No, not even EA's own store lists The Stone Prisoner and the Blood Dragon Armor as being part of the standard edition in the UK. So in the UK, in comparison to the US, we have Collector's Edition (only available from GAME): No tin box, no cloth map. Digital Download Edition: No Bergen’s Honor, Grimoire of the Frozen Wastes or Final Reason. (Presumably withheld to make the cut-down Collector's Edition seem more palatable in comparison) Standard Edition: Seemingly no The Stone Prisoner or Blood Dragon Armor, seeing as they're not mentioned on GAME, Amazon, HMV, or any of the download services - with the exception of Steam, which does mention them. So either Steam have made a mistake, everybody else has made a mistake (but surely EA should know what's included with their own game?), or for some reason only the Steam version gets these two pieces of content.

06-11-2009, 12:21 AM	#5 (permalink)
humorguy Rookie Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 5	Well let me say, I contacted EA Support in the U.S. Point out I was a UK customer that would be in the only country to buy a Collector's Edition with no tin box and no cloth map. this due to EA giving a retail exclusive to the GAME retail chain. I asked EA if they could sell me the tin box and cloth map directly so I could get what every other country is getting. All they did was tell me to contact the retailer! This shows how much EA cares about the second largest PC games market! All it cares about is the U.S. console market!

07-11-2009, 09:10 AM	#6 (permalink)
Inserach Hi, I'm New! Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 1	I pre ordered my standard copy from Amazon.co.uk. Recieved it yesterday and got my codes for the Stone Prisoner and the armour. They where on a leaflet in the game box. I also recieved an email off amazon the day before giving me my pre order items (Memory Band and Lions Paw) I entered all these into my account yesturday and the game downloaded them all ok and they show up when I play.

07-11-2009, 09:16 PM	#7 (permalink)
nacho66 Rookie Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 3	Standard edition is not the only edition that suffers from lack of content in UK. I preordered Collectors Edition and only today I realized that there is no steel case nor cloth map included as it is in US, Australia, Germany, Spain, Poland... probably the whole rest of the world Why UK gamers are always screwed by publishers either with games contents or prices? I live in Dublin, but I come from Poland and just can't believe how ignorant is the gaming market in UK/Ireland

07-11-2009, 09:20 PM	#8 (permalink)
humorguy Rookie Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 5	Totally with you Nach, and I worry for Bioware in the UK because of this. I just hope many are not buying anything, standard or Collector's edition, from GAME and that they suffer financially, but gamers are so supine, I don;t think would happen. I am the only person who has said on this forum that because of this I am not buying Dragon Age but instead Risen!

07-11-2009, 11:04 PM	#9 (permalink)
nacho66 Rookie Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 3	I bought and finished Risen already.. Brilliant game!! However, I've been waiting for Dragon Age too long to simply not get it and not play it. But at the same time I definitely resist to be ripped off like that. I don't know what was the reason behind the decision to remove part of the CE content... I imagine it's because publisher assumed, people will buy the game anyway, regardless of relation of content to price. The sad thing is, they are right... the game will sell in huge numbers and only few gamers will ever notice that CE is missing content. Ireland, where I currently live, is a great example of the ignorance on both sides - publishers/stores and buyers. I went to GAME store today and learned that all new pc games (eg. borderlands, operation flashpoint, risen) cost 44.99 euros!!! I bought each of these 3 games on one of uk online stores for less than 30 euros, including shipping!!! What's even funnier and more frustrating is, same game in HMV street store in Dublin is often 15 to 20 (!!!) euros more expensive than the same game on HMV online uk store. But this is not what is really ridiculous... what is ridiculous is that people actually buy these games for that 'levelled-up' price!!! Also, some games for for PS3 cost 44,99 in HMV.. but from some reason, people are buying exactly same games in gamestop, 30 meters (!) down the road, for 54,99!! can someone tell me lalala is wrong with the whole thing?? Unfortunately my preorder is already in transit so I cannot cancel it. I may send it back tho on return policy and get Dragon Age from Poland (english version with polish menus and subtitles... which is of course fine with me ) Alternatively.... ask a friend in US to send US retail copy... this would take a while tho

07-11-2009, 11:10 PM	#10 (permalink)
humorguy Rookie Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 5	Nacho, unfortunately shipping would be almost 30 euro's, plus the $75 for the game at retail, my friends could, at best, get it to me for around $110 and that's 65+ UK pounds! It should be noted that $75 is approx £40, which is what is selling DA for in the UK!!!

08-11-2009, 12:19 AM	#11 (permalink)
nacho66 Rookie Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 3	yeah... but you know... there should not even be a reason for such discussion if the first place. EA UK should deliver exactly the same edition as other countries get.

10-11-2009, 10:04 PM	#12 (permalink)
Bhavv Rookie Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 14	Why didnt I get a tin case and cloth map with my UK CE? To buy it from Amazon.co.uk would be £2 for the CE (£37 instead of £39), but I would have to pay £22 for shipping which I wouldnt want to do. They pay less for it in America and get a cloth map and tin case.