Bethesda Accepts Gamer's Bottle Cap Fallout 4 Pre-Order Payment

StewShearerOld

Geekdad News Writer
Jan 5, 2013
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Bethesda Accepts Gamer's Bottle Cap Fallout 4 Pre-Order Payment

[tweet t=https://twitter.com/gstaffinfection/status/613686913178931200]

Bethesda will give a free copy of <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/fallout%204?os=fallout+4>Fallout 4 to a gamer who tried to pay for his pre-order with bottle caps.

You may recall last week when <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/141263-Gamer-Tries-to-Pre-Order-Fallout-4-With-Actual-Bottle-Caps>we reported on the unique efforts of one gamer to land himself a free copy of Fallout 4. Hoping to charm the company with his sense of humor, Imgur user GatorMacheteJr shipped 11.2 pounds worth of bottle caps to Bethesda's Maryland office. Along with the caps, he included a letter explaining that he wanted to pre-order the game using the same currency as the characters in the game's post-apocalyptic world. Unsure of the "exchange-rate" from present day dollars, he hoped that the 2,240 bottle caps he'd been "hording" for seven-and-a-half years would be enough. As it turns out, it actually was.

Despite the doubts of many gamers (myself included), Bethesda has confirmed that it will indeed be giving Mr. Gator a free copy of the game for his efforts. The company's decision was revealed by Gator himself who, in an update on <a href=http://imgur.com/gallery/KlqPB/new>his Imgur page stated that the publisher had agreed to accept his offer. "[Bethesda] told me since I was the first person to do this, I would be receiving a copy of the game this November, and that [they] would be running my caps over to deposit them at the People's Bank of Point Lookout," he said. <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/bethesda%20softworks?os=bethesda+softworks>Bethesda global community lead Matt Grandstaff further confirmed this on his Twitter page where he posted a picture of the caps in the Bethesda office. "For being the first," <a href=https://twitter.com/gstaffinfection/status/614089469264822274>he said. "He deserves the recognition."

The obvious implication, of course, is that anyone who tries to follow in Gator's footsteps won't find themselves similarly rewarded. Not that we can blame Bethesda for that, of course. Can you imagine how many bottle caps the company would be swimming in if other gamers thought they could get away with a similar scheme? Fallout 4 would never reach stores because Bethesda would be too busy dealing with its endless string of cap-filled mail to finish the game.

Source: <a href=http://imgur.com/gallery/KlqPB/new>Imgur


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Mortuorum

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Oct 20, 2010
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I'd call that a win all around. Gator get's a free game, Bethesda gets to be good guys (with bonus free publicity), and they shut down anyone else trying the same gimmick.
 

Proverbial Jon

Not evil, just mildly malevolent
Nov 10, 2009
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Gotta admire Gator's absolute gall and Bethesda's rather awesome sense of fair play.

Can't imagine any other publisher doing something like this.
 

Neurotic Void Melody

Bound to escape
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Jul 15, 2013
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Hooray for good news!
I have a basement full of souls, all I need is FROMSOFT's address and my Dark Souls 3 pre-order shall be all but garunteed.
Not sure what the postage policy is on human souls though.
 

Dornedas

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Oct 9, 2014
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Proverbial Jon said:
Gotta admire Gator's absolute gall and Bethesda's rather awesome sense of fair play.

Can't imagine any other publisher doing something like this.
I'm sure Paradox will do the same for Crusader Kings 3.
Except that instead of bottle caps you will have to send them the heads of your enemies and family members.
There might be some overlap.
 

Mugiwara

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May 29, 2015
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Free copy? 7 years of bottle caps is in no way free. Plus, the metal is actually worth something. I am not saying enough for Fallout but still, not free. A sensible collectors haggling gamble of success.
 

hazydawn

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Jan 11, 2013
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Mugiwara said:
Free copy? 7 years of bottle caps is in no way free. Plus, the metal is actually worth something. I am not saying enough for Fallout but still, not free. A sensible collectors haggling gamble of success.
It's very close to free :p Can't imagine that metal being worth much, even if melted down.

Good response from Bethesda, I thought what I'd do in their stead and I'd have done the same (not accepting further bottlecap offers ^^). It's free (yes, yes, not exactly free) advertisement.
 

Lightknight

Mugwamp Supreme
Nov 26, 2008
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Wow, this is a great story. I think that's perfect. kudos to Bethesda for having a sense of humor as a company.
 

tzimize

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Mar 1, 2010
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Proverbial Jon said:
Gotta admire Gator's absolute gall and Bethesda's rather awesome sense of fair play.

Can't imagine any other publisher doing something like this.
Really? You cant imagine any other publisher giving away ONE free game for probably thousands upon thousands of dollars of free PR through internet articles? I honestly cant imagine a publisher that WOULDNT do this.
 

Fulbert

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Jan 15, 2009
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Dornedas said:
Proverbial Jon said:
Gotta admire Gator's absolute gall and Bethesda's rather awesome sense of fair play.

Can't imagine any other publisher doing something like this.
I'm sure Paradox will do the same for Crusader Kings 3.
Except that instead of bottle caps you will have to send them the heads of your enemies and family members.
There might be some overlap.
I bet they'd let you preorder Hearts of Iron IV for 2,240 of the game's currency.
Which is dollars.
 

direkiller

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Dec 4, 2008
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Mugiwara said:
Free copy? 7 years of bottle caps is in no way free. Plus, the metal is actually worth something. I am not saying enough for Fallout but still, not free. A sensible collectors haggling gamble of success.
It's about $7-10 in scrap mettal.

even if it did not work the story alone is worth it.
 

Quellist

Migratory coconut
Oct 7, 2010
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This is cool. To be honest i pretty much expected Bethesda to go with this, if only for the positive publicity it generates. Very glad they did.
 

Gorrath

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Feb 22, 2013
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Adam Jensen said:
This just feels right. You know what I mean?
I know exactly what you mean. Glad to see the people at Bethesda have a sense of fair play! Rewarding this guy's tenacity feels so right!
 

FalloutJack

Bah weep grah nah neep ninny bom
Nov 20, 2008
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Dayum, well now I'm impressed. I doubt anyone else will get away with it, but I guess kudos to the guy that pulled it off.
 

Callate

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Dec 5, 2008
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This took a certain patience on their part; despite the subtle warning, you know they're probably going to get at least one other person trying the same. I just hope they aren't a) flooded with bottlecaps, or b) sued by some jerk who thinks accepting them once implies some sort of guarantee they'll do it in general. (I'm hoping that's an unlikely scenario, but I never underestimate the ability of someone among millions of people to be immensely petty.)

Good for them.
 

Parasondox

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Jun 15, 2013
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Would Ubisoft, EA or any other publishers do the same?

With open use of mod support to their games and listening to fans, Bethesda seems really friendly and open company.
 

Drathnoxis

Became a mass murderer for your sake
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Sep 23, 2010
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Just off-screen
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I don't think copycats are too much to worry about here. With shipping costs what they are, it can't be much more expensive to just buy the game rather than send 11.2 pounds of bottle caps through the mail.