Special Units... Again

[Gobalopper]

It seems people are still up in arms over the special units issue. Personally it isn't that big of a deal to me and no I'm not pre-ordering either. Here is what Meatball had to say today about it:

The additional units will be multiplay only.

Participating retailers will support the program through both online and in-store pre-orders. You can do it either way.

Remember, at many retailers like EB, you can get on the courtesy call-list and they'll ring you to let you know when Emperor hits the stores. - LINK

Electronic Arts has been marketing videogames about as long as anybody in the industry. They've seen and done every promotion known to man and understand that pros and cons are associated with nearly every marketing program. It's always a subjective call.

In this case, the pros for this program won favor over the cons:

1. It rewards those gamers for showing their support and commiting early.

2. It's pertinent to the gameplay experience, not a gimmick.

3. There is no overwhelming advantage with these units. It's 1 unit per main side, not 3 per side.

4. We're not charging more at retail. The pre-purchase price with the special units will be equivalent to the eventual launch price in stores, aside from shipping costs if you order online.

5. Within a few weeks after launch, the special units will be made available to everybody. Maybe we'll config it so you get the special units after beating each side's campaign?

The list goes on. If you're a hardcore RTSer and were going to pre-purchase anyway, why not go ahead so you have a few extra units to play with on launch day? If not, take the wait-and-see approach, which is what the huge majority of gamers (myself included) do anyway. It's entirely up to you. - LINK

Unfortunately a complete list of retailers hasn't been made available just yet but it is good to see that you will also be able to order in-store and not just online. Consider this an "extra" that those who pre-order just get a little early and eventually everyone will have.