Hogwarts Legacy: pre-order bonuses and deluxe edition make me angry as a fan

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Hogwarts Legacy!

opinion: Dani is disappointed with Warner”s strategy when it comes to pre-order bonuses and Special Editions. Because they are reawakening her concerns about microtransactions.

“Welcome to Hogwarts, the school of witchcraft and wizardry. Today we”re going to learn how to brew the powerful potion Felix Felicis. How? You”re missing the page in the recipe book? Well, at least you can ride thestrals in Care of Magical Creatures! What do you mean? Ah, red hair and a worn cloak … quite obviously a non-pre-orderer!”

That, or something like that, is how I envision my time in Hogwarts Legacy, having taken a closer look at the pre-order bonuses, the Deluxe Edition, the Exclusives for PlayStation users and the Collector”s Edition. As a huge Harry Potter fan, I”ve been waiting over ten years for a decent video game adaptation. Hogwarts Legacy even has the potential to fulfil all my wishes –  and now, shortly before release, makes me feel like a second-class gamer.

I”m exaggerating a little, of course; after all, huge chunks aren”t being ripped out of the game to be sold as pre-order bonuses now. But as a fan, it makes me angry that players with the standard edition have to do without content that, in my view, has no right to be exclusive. And Warner”s questionable “No Microtransactions” strategy already has me worried about how Hogwarts Legacy might fare in the future.

Controversy surrounding J.K. Rowling

Comments by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling about trans people have repeatedly led to controversy. (This article tells after) what exactly Rowling said and what the reactions were. The author is not directly involved in the development of Hogwarts Legacy, but benefits indirectly from profits from the Harry Potter brand through the trademark rights.

The chaos around the Special Editions

The official announcement of the pre-order editions and their associated bonuses swept through the community like a Quidditch clap. At first the opaque communication caused a lot of confusion, then came the first negative and frustrated feedback from the players.

To give you an overview, I have listed the different versions of Hogwarts Legacy along with their exclusive content:

  • Standard Edition
    • Pre-Order Bonus: Onyx Hippogriff (Mount)
  • Deluxe Edition
    • Thestral (Mount)
    • Dark Arts Battle Arena
    • Dark Arts Cosmetic Set
    • 72 hours Early Access
  • PlayStation Editions
    • Pre-Order Bonus: Felix Felicis Recipe
    • exclusive quest
  • Collector”s Edition
    • Dark Arts Pack (s. Deluxe Edition)
    • Steel Case
    • Floating Wand
    • Collector”s Edition Box

Phew, where do I even begin? We”ll get to the full-on disaster of a Collector”s Edition in a moment. First, let”s take a look at the other editions and bonuses. If you don”t own a PlayStation, you”re already missing out on at least two exclusive contents: the Felix Felicis luck potion and even a complete quest! It can”t be ruled out that even more Sony-exclusive content will follow in the future.

But PC players will also have to do without some content if they are not willing to grab the Deluxe Edition. While early access and special skins can certainly pass as a bonus of a Special Edition, the mount and battle arena in particular seem to me like cut content disguised as an add-on to rake in the cash before release.

I would have expected a Deluxe Edition to include an artbook, the soundtrack, a steel box or even a special skin for the mounts that you don”t get in the game otherwise. But to take away the Thestrals from the players of the Standard Edition and to deny them access to the battle arena, after the trailers had made our mouths water about the Dark Arts and the handling of magical creatures … spit slugs, Warner!

I still have absolutely no idea what”s up with the battle arena or even the PlayStation-exclusive recipe, but I already feel like more and more little things are being steadily taken away. And it”s the details that I”m so looking forward to in Hogwarts Legacy!

And I am not the only one who reacts frustrated. There”s a lot of excitement about it in the community right now, and the whole situation is already being used as a template for memes:

 

Hogwarts Legacy Collector”s Edition – is this a joke?

Warner has also hit the wall between tracks 9 and 10 at full speed with the Collector”s Edition and failed to make the jump onto the Hogwarts Express.

How can you let so much potential go to waste? I”m disappointed beyond measure at how uninspired this US$300 – again, in words, THREE HUNDRED dollars – collector”s edition looks.

In the comments under the unboxing video linked above, it”s raining criticism from fans and even a former Hogwarts Legacy developer tweets about how disappointed he is in publisher Warner:

Where are the Hogwarts letters? The four different house editions? Artbooks, soundtracks? No? Instead, there”s a floating wand that”s just “quite nice”. I think it speaks volumes that they”re trying to sell the cheap cardboard box as part of the Collector”s Edition here.

The entire edition looks like it was put together by someone who has absolutely no idea about Harry Potter. And that worries me as a fan.

Why is this so bad?

We at GlobalESportNews always advise you against pre-ordering games. Basically. According to the motto: First inform, then buy. But of course the strategy of developer and publisher works: A few days after pre-order launch, Hogwarts Legacy catapults to the top ranks of (Steams Bestsellers).

By the way, there is a price difference of 10 Euros between the Standard Edition and the Deluxe Edition – not the world, but there are enough people who can”t afford the Special Edition and now have to do without some content they would have been very pleased about.

And then there”s the matter of the in-game shop … Already in the past, developer Avalanche Software has emphasised on its website that Hogwarts Legacy will have no microtransactions. So far, so good. Now, following the confusion surrounding pre-order bonuses, the development team tweeted as part of an eight-part thread:

Part 5 of 8 again explicitly states that there will be no microtransactions. In part 6, it is stated that buyers of the Standard Edition will still be able to upgrade in-game with the Dark Arts Pack after release … quasi as a microtransaction …

And this is exactly where the problem lies: no one can tell me that such “DLCs” aren”t perfect for pushing an in-game shop on us players after the fact. You want a potion recipe? You can have it for 3.99 euros. Want a cool wizard”s cloak? It”s yours for only 5.99 euros!

(The Deluxe Edition sells cut content - and provides perfect breeding ground for upcoming microtransactions.)
(The Deluxe Edition sells cut content – and provides perfect breeding ground for upcoming microtransactions.)

And that, of course, raises the question in my mind: Is Hogwarts Legacy really going to be the game I”ve been waiting for so long?

What do you think? Are you also disappointed by the editions and the exclusive content? Or do you see this as exactly the right way to go? Will you even pre-order Hogwarts Legacy? Drop me a line in the comments!