Purchasing the Imperial Edition of the Fantasy MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online on Steam rewards new buyers with an exclusive pet, a gray hound. Loyal fans who already bought the Imperial Edition in stores are left out. And that causes problems.
The Steam Edition was 50% cheaper right from the start, and the Palomino horse along with other bonuses of the Imperial Edition were an additional perk, not to mention a “loyal wolfhound” in gray. One could naturally say, “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth,” but not everyone saw it that way. Many loyal fans had long purchased the Imperial Edition with the firm belief that they would receive all the premium benefits and pets that Zenimax would offer with the base game. That seemed to be the implied deal.
Therefore, immediately after the announcement of the wolfhound, the somewhat angry question arose: “And how do I get the dog otherwise?” Would it be possible to become the proud owner of the gray quadruped through the item shop?
But that will not be possible. An “exclusive” pet, which was indeed advertised on Steam, cannot now be made available to everyone retroactively.
However, in the official forum, a “brown wolfhound” was promised, which players would then be able to purchase from the item store. The consolation prize dog will be called “Riften Wolfhound.”
Mein MMO says: As trivial and obscure as the news may seem at first glance, it is precisely such matters that annoy hardcore gamers. You introduce the Imperial Edition as a collector’s item and demand a pretty price for it, but also promise that one will receive all imaginable advantages linked to the purchase of the base game. To later introduce another version of the base game with other “exclusive” rewards is a sensitive matter. If one releases the ultimate “Lord of the Rings” DVD box with all the bells and whistles for a high price and then a year later lures with an even more ultimate DVD box, that may be common in the film business, but it leaves a sour taste in the realm of MMOs.
Once you open this Pandora’s box and entice with “exclusive benefits” here and there, you hit a strange note with collectors who want to have everything in a game. Though Blizzard has already taken the lead with such “exclusive pets” for very special occasions and conventions, the campaign with the double-exclusive rewards here didn’t seem to make anyone truly happy. How much players are agitated by such a supposed “triviality” is evident from the extent of the related forum thread: the English-language thread now has 27 pages and over 800 comments.
We at Mein-MMO.de feel especially sorry for the poor mud crab, the reward from the regular Imperial Edition, which is now shunned in favor of a prettier dog. Surely, no one is thinking about its feelings here.
