Special “Enslaved” pre-order bonuses get bungled

A little over a month ago, we wrote about a special promotion for Ninja Theory’s Enslaved: Odyssey to the West – or, to be completely honest, they advertised the heck out of it, taking up what was most likely a very expensive portion of YouTube for 24 hours.

The deal? Pre-order online within a specific 24-hour period, get a special comic and T-shirt in addition to the game. Seems simple, right?

Not really, according to these complaints over at Cheap Ass Gamer. The forums have multiple reports of getting nothing, despite ordering within the 24-hour period, keeping up with receipts and asking GameStop employees – no matter whether the game was picked up at the store after pre-ordering online or shipped to the customer’s home.

I called GameStop’s customer service in Grapevine, Texas this afternoon to get the full story, and hopefully to provide solace to chagrined gamers.

Despite not knowing the specific promotion, even after I explained it, my customer service rep was actually really determined to get some answers for me (thankfully).

What was I told? A few things, actually.

1. The manufacturer of the shirts and comics actually has not yet provided GameStop with the goods.
2. GameStop wants to get the items out, but until they actually have them…well, they can’t very well get them to everyone that pre-ordered.
3. The promotion itself was very vague. If you pre-ordered online (the only way to get in on the promo), but opted to pick up your copy of the game in-store, unfortunately, you might not get the items. It depends entirely on how many shirts and comics they get. There was no specification referring only to shipped items, however.
4. In the event that the item manufacturer flakes out completely, GameStop may be able to offer some kind of condolences, but we won’t know unless that happens.

The representative was very confident in the premiums and promotions crew over at GameStop (which…well, he’s doing his job, but I’ve personally never had a problem with them before, either), so I’m very optimistic that the situation will be resolved somehow. If you’re caught up in this, however, don’t give up hope. Calling GameStop and asking about it in regards to your specific pre-order (search your email, have that number ready) may be helpful to ensure that you’re not left out in the cold when the comics and T-shirts (or other “condolence” items) do ship.

In the meantime, enjoy the game you’ve got. If you’re still keeping the game in its shrink wrap, take a look at Cherithe’s review. It just might convince you to play your copy – T-shirt or not. Maybe next time they’ll have the items in hand before they advertise special bonuses.

Have you ever experienced a problem with special promotion items?

(Thanks for alerting me, David!)