How unlockable content has slowly died

User blog

Unlockables, they were once a thing that was in almost every game. Even early 7th gen we had unlockables but what happened?

Pre-order bonuses is what happened. What you once could get for free by unlocking it you now had to buy the game early to get the unlockable. Pre-order bonuses did not just take over right away. They slowly took over and has now become a way to rip off gamers.

Pre-order bonuses are so big that you have to pre-order at specific stores to get what you want. It is a way to get people to buy that specific game at that store. The store could be gamestop, best buy, amazon(online store), etc...

Notice how Call of Duty does NOT have pre-order bonuses. They instead have 3 different game editions with special stuff.

Example: In black ops the standard edition got nothing but the game but the hardened edition for black ops had a limited edition medal, an exclusive avatar outfit for your 360 avatar or PS Home character, as well as four extra cooperative maps.

All of those things could have been pre-order bonuses or included with the game but was left out or taken out for some cash.

Achievements are also partly to blame. If you completed story mode on hard, found all hidden objects, etc... you would get a unlockable. It could have been a costume, infinite health, paintballs instead of bullets, etc... Instead you now get numbers! Numbers sound sooo exiting compared to free in game items, right? No, they do not sound very exiting at all.

Now disc space might be to blame but not nearly as much as the other two. How you might ask? Well if they cannot fit content on one xbox 360 disc then what do they do? They use it for DLC or pre-order bonuses! Costumes, gun camo, special weapons, etc... all might get taken out because of disc space.

Devs and/or publishers are probably thinking."If we can take out content out of the game, make it a pre-order bonus and instead reward players with points then why not do it".

Games are getting ripped out of features that were once free and a reward for playing the game. Now unlockables are just a way to make easy $$$