BioShock Infinite Steam Pre-Orders Now Include a Copy Of XCOM

[Steven Bogos]

BioShock Infinite Steam Pre-Orders Now Include a Copy Of XCOM

Pre-ordering BioShock Infinite on Steam will also grant you the Industrial Revolution pack, a copy of the original BioShock and seven exclusive TF2 items.

A special promotion for BioShock Infinte on Steam unlocked extra pre-order bonuses depending on how many people pre-ordered the game. As well as including the Industrial Revolution pack that all pre-orders of BioShock Infinite come with, the Steam promotion featured 3 additional "reward tiers" that would grant customers extra goodies. The third tier of rewards has now been unlocked, and includes a free copy of XCOM: Enemy Unknown.

The first tier included a copy of the original BioShock, and the second tier included seven items for use in Team Fortress 2. The items are as follows:
Vox Diabolus

With this Vox Populi anarchist mask, you can terrify your enemies into thinking you're the Devil Himself, or worse, a protestor. Either way, they're probably going to avoid you at the entrance to the supermarket when you try to get them to sign something.
The Pounding Father

Heavy cannot tell lie. Heavy is first President of United States. Of crushing little baby men.
Blind Justice

Want to command respect from people standing at an indeterminate distance from your immediate right? Bolt on a platinum Pinkerton badge and experience the thrill for yourself!
The Person in the Iron Mask

Turkey? Chicken? Game hens? Your head? This cast iron poultry furnace will smoke anything placed inside it.
The Doe-Boy

Protect the important thoughts in your head -- ones like "liberty" and "freedom" and "democracy" -- with good, honest, hat-shaped American steel. This helmet won't run (until heated to 2500°F)!
The Sydney Straw Boat:

Throw this hat on the ground to express rage, or in the air to express joy! Take a hat-based trip through time to learn how your great grandparents displayed emotions in the days before emoticons!
The Steel Songbird:

It gets pretty quiet in that sniper's nest. Why not treat yourself to the haunting rhythmic symphony of bolts being constantly pooped by this mute, easily terrified incontinent bird?

Those who have already pre-ordered the game will still be granted all the extra reward tier items. If you already own BioShock or XCOM: Enemy Unknown on Steam, you can gift them to a friend.

Source: Steam [http://store.steampowered.com/app/8870/]

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[Frostbite3789]

Isn't this the same site that had content railing against all these pre-order incentives? I swear it was. Oh well I guess. We're only gonna say that counts for games we don't like.

 

[Steven Bogos]

Isn't this the same site that had content railing against all these pre-order incentives? I swear it was. Oh well I guess. We're only gonna say that counts for games we don't like.

I'm neither for nor against these incentives, just reporting that they do in fact exist.

 

[Boris Goodenough]

Isn't this the same site that had content railing against all these pre-order incentives? I swear it was. Oh well I guess. We're only gonna say that counts for games we don't like.

I would dare say it's a tad different when you get a game still worth full price on top of your order.

 

[Jamous]

Whilst I am one who feels rather iffy about pre-orders I will admit I'm rather happy to be getting me a copy of XCOM. And come on, it's Bioshock! Surely it's a safe bet it'll be a good game that isn't -too- plagued with issues, right? Right? [small][sub]please don't hate me for my hypocrisy[/sub][/small]

 

[Frostbite3789]

Isn't this the same site that had content railing against all these pre-order incentives? I swear it was. Oh well I guess. We're only gonna say that counts for games we don't like.

I would dare say it's a tad different when you get a game still worth full price on top of your order.

Which would make me more skeptical. You're not confident enough in the product selling that you need to dangle a $60 carrot in front of people in order to get their friends to drop money on the game too?

I'm neither for nor against these incentives, just reporting that they do in fact exist.

Fair enough.

 

[Nouw]

Tempting, but considering Steam charges more than the retail stores from around where I live for new games I think I'll pass.

 

[Boris Goodenough]

Which would make me more skeptical. You're not confident enough in the product selling that you need to dangle a $60 carrot in front of people in order to get their friends to drop money on the game too?

Well it doesn't cost them anything to bundle it but I sure do understand your suspicions.

 

[Steven Bogos]

Isn't this the same site that had content railing against all these pre-order incentives? I swear it was. Oh well I guess. We're only gonna say that counts for games we don't like.

I would dare say it's a tad different when you get a game still worth full price on top of your order.

Which would make me more skeptical. You're not confident enough in the product selling that you need to dangle a $60 carrot in front of people in order to get their friends to drop money on the game too?

I'm neither for nor against these incentives, just reporting that they do in fact exist.

Fair enough.

To give a personal opinion, I'm actually more in the anti-pre-order camp these days. I used to be all for pre-order incentives giving hardcore fans a little extra for being enthusiastic, but i've been shot down too many times too often lately that i'm starting to get quite disillusioned with the whole practice. This one especially seems shifty, i honestly think that the rewards were just timed to unlock as the game neared its release date. I honestly doubt that the three tiers of rewards would not be unlocked (even if they didn't get the arbitrary prerequisite pre-orders)

 

[Frostbite3789]

Snip

I've seen one game do it right in recent memory. It offered the arbitrary pre-order bonuses, but had reviews up a solid...two weeks before release. Tomb Raider. Like the fact that reviews went up that early? That builds confidence, and makes me feel like you believe in the product you're going to release. If Bioshock ends up something like that in the next few days, more power to them...but I don't see it happening.

And I dunno, personally I've just had a hard time caring about this game. It looks like Bioshock again. But in the sky this time.

 

[TheEvilCheese]

I'm OK with pre-order bonuses giving away games digitally- it costs nothing for steam and even if Infinite is somehow terribad I get Xcom which I was considering buying for full price and have read many reviews on.

Having said that, I'm not a fan of the small DLC packs (which Infinite DOES have as a bonus), they make people feel like they need to preorder or not get the complete experience, which is silly considering they often detract from the pacing by making early stages of the game exceptionally easy.

And yet the final bonus for resident evil 6 is DLC, but in the form of a season pass. This I am OK with as it's taking a risk for content down the line (Read: not part of development time) that would otherwise cost money.

I don't know, it's a bit hypocritical of me I suppose, but the giving stuff away thing doesn't make me suspicious of it being a bad game; steam sales have proven that they can make good games exceptionally cheap.

NOTE: as of now (9.26 GMT) the Xcom target has been met but it doesn't seem to be appearing in people's libraries yet. So don't go order infinite expecting to get Xcom right now.

EDIT: It has appeared! 16.10 GMT Xcom was suddenly in my library. It totally does exist.

 

[ASnogarD]

I do hope players are learning the lesson of avoiding pre-orders, and allow the game to sell itself to you with good reviews and impressions... not random pre-order junk.

The whole pre-order notion is a danger to games as it encourages buying the game without even knowing what the quality of the game is like, which in turn encourages more emphasis on marketing rather than good game making.

I am interested in this game, I have the previous 2 titles on PC already and played System Shock 1 and 2, but I will wait for reviews and opinions and even a lets play or two before deciding.
I mean if the game is good, there is nothing to fear... so why so desperate to seal the deal before anyone gets their hands on the game.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

Pass due to two reasons:

1) I already have Xcom.

2) Due to the season pass announcement, I cancelled my pre-order to wait for the Ultimate Edition.

 

[Therumancer]

Interesting news, I'm strapped for cash at the moment but we'll see what the situation is in a few days. In general I'm not pre-ordering games like this anymore, and the whole DLC "Season Pass" thing kind of disgusted me, it was cool the first couple of times I saw it, but right now it's become standard and has begun to disgust me that they are planning DLC that early in and expecting people to pre-order it... in this case X-com is enough of a value where I might pre-order if my Dad wants it (I already have a copy). Chances are I'll probably wait for Bioshock to actually launch though and if I buy it, it will be next month sometime once I get some idea if it's a decent game or not. I mean it *looks* good, but then again so did "Aliens: Colonial Marines" and we all saw how that turned out.

 

[UnderGlass]

If you really want XCOM, buy XCOM. If you kinda want it or wouldn't mind, just wait 'till it's super-cheap during the summer sale or end of year, and buy it then. The DLC crap and the hats totally aren't worth it, forget them.

Let the reviewers actually do their job and review the game before you buy it people! Whether it's almost assuredly a slam dunk is irrelevant. Pre-ordering, sight unseen is something we've become trained to do by the big publishers. It benefits no-one but their bottom line. And this belief that they can sell us the game, sometimes up to a year before it's finished, using gimmicks and marketing ploys ultimately hurts us, the customers in the long run.

Aliens: Colonial Marines is only barely behind us for christ's sake!

 

[Porecomesis]

So... are we supposed to have XCOM: Enemy Unknown in our libraries now? I'm looking through my library and I can't find it.

 

[UnderGlass]

...would be valid argument if I would have preordered any other game ever...

Damn. Because of course my observations were solely directed at you and your buying habits...

 

[Prof.Beany]

ORRRR if youre quick, you can go to gamersgate for the next 6 or so hours and get XCOM for $20 then go to GMG and get Bioshock infinite with either CIV5, Mafia 2, Bioshock 2, The Darkness 2 or Spec ops the line (as well as the original bioshock with any choice) for an additional $50, saving you $10 and netting you a profit of a decent game on top.
(Full disclosure, those are Australian prices, probably even cheaper for USA guys).
It really pays to shop around.

So... are we supposed to have XCOM: Enemy Unknown in our libraries now? I'm looking through my library and I can't find it.

I believe they take a while to backfill existing pre-order bonuses on steam.

 

[Karoshi]

Let the reviewers actually do their job and review the game before you buy it people! Whether it's almost assuredly a slam dunk is irrelevant. Pre-ordering, sight unseen is something we've become trained to do by the big publishers. It benefits no-one but their bottom line. And this belief that they can sell us the game, sometimes up to a year before it's finished, using gimmicks and marketing ploys ultimately hurts us, the customers in the long run.

Reviews are helpful and good, but they are no use if I am dead set on buying the game anyway. I have preordered very few games in my life, but this is one of them. I prefer seeing making my own judgement, especially since it has served me well so far.

Besides, I don't remember a single time that I really wanted to buy a game and the reviews convinced me otherwise.