Xbox Addict

Fans may turn on Bethesda after discount farce

If you are planning to pick up The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on November 11th and let’s face it a lot of you are, then you are probably aware of the $10 discount to be had on the game if you pick up the 5th Anniversary Edition of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

However, exact details on the $10 discount have now been revealed and we have to say that the discount is now rather misleading for those of you who initially thought you only had to buy Oblivion to get the $10 off Skyrim.

We have now learned that gamers will have to not only buy Oblivion, but you’ll also need to purchase the official strategy guide for Skyrim as well as pre-order your copy of Skyrim at the same time, with the total price coming to $115. It doesn’t stop there either, as your Skyrim and strategy guide purchases need to come on the same receipt and users will then have to cut the barcode off from this receipt, as well as the code contained on your copy of Oblivion and then mail all three off to Bethesda.

Only when you have completed this ordeal will you then receive a $10 VISA gift card from Bethesda in return, a few weeks later according to Ripten. It sounds like a painful experience to go through just to get $10 off Skyrim, and a platform which is probably going to be met with severe criticism throughout the gaming community. Why couldn’t Bethesda just do the right thing and give customers a $10 discount off Skyrim directly when they purchase Oblivion, without making users mail-in these extras and create chaos in the process.

Making Elder Scrolls fans pay for the strategy guide as well is a pretty harsh move by Bethesda we feel, as it serves as a direct kick in the teeth to loyal gamers who have already paid for and played Oblivion countless times, and supported it by buying the countless DLC packs i.e Knights of the Nine and Shivering Isles. Bethesda are effectively forcing experienced fans of the franchise to buy the strategy guide even though a lot of gamers will feel they don’t need it.

Strange tactics indeed Bethesda, one which is definitely mind boggling from a personal point of view. This information is only just starting to trickle out now, so it will be interesting to see how the community react once it gets out to the masses. This move is unlikely to affect sales of Skyrim since most gamers will still be buying it anyway, but Bethesda could have thought of a better way to offer this $10 discount in our opinion.