Metroid Pre-Order Bonus

Press Release

October 8, 2004, 1:32 pm EDT
Total comments: 23

Put down five bucks on Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and get a free t-shirt.

Samus Gives the Shirt Off Her Back for Metroid Prime 2 Echoes Pre-Sell

Starting Oct. 11, Metroid(R) fans will receive a free

Metroid-themed T-shirt from select retailers when they place a deposit

to reserve a copy of the hottest video game of the holidays,

Metroid(R) Prime 2 Echoes, exclusively for the Nintendo GameCube(TM).

Metroid Prime 2 Echoes, launching Nov. 15, is a heart-pounding

first-person adventure game that finds bounty hunter Samus Aran

trapped on a world torn between light and dark. Special weapons and

ammo help her fight off a slew of enemies as a mysterious entity hunts

her. Players use weapons and abilities like Light and Dark Beams,

Space Jump, Grapple Beam or Morph Ball to confront opponents and

overcome obstacles. For the first time in the Metroid franchise, up to

four players can compete in multiplayer mode.

From the beginning, Metroid games have captured the imaginations

of players through creative stories, awesome battles and innovative

power-ups. The star of the series, bounty hunter Samus Aran, was the

first heroine to surprise the video game scene. Through the years,

Metroid fans have proved themselves to be among the most loyal of any

series, making this opportunity for a free gift all the more

rewarding. Metroid Prime 2 Echoes will sell at an MSRP of $49.99.

Retailers participating in the Metroid Prime 2 Echoes T-shirt

pre-sell offer include Circuit City, Game Crazy, GameStop and

Electronics Boutique. Metroid Prime 2 Echoes is Rated T for Teen

(Animated Blood, Violence). The hip T-shirt features a Samus name tag

on the front and a bounty hunter logo on the back.

Talkback

Ian SaneOctober 08, 2004

EB is the only one of those stores that I know of that's available in Canada. Do we get this offer too? Personally I don't think a T-shirt is worth the money I save by going anywhere but EB in my area so I'll pass. It's nice to see something though for those interested.

joshnickersonOctober 08, 2004

Meh. You can pick those up at Hot Topic. Now, if they threw in a plush Metroid, then we'd be talking...

PolemistisOctober 08, 2004

...No pictures of the T-shirt?
Will I be able to exchange my T-shirt for a sexy pose of Miss. Aran? ^_^

NinGurl69 *hugglesOctober 08, 2004

LAME.

*Reggies eats t-shirts while dressed in a Varia Suit w/out helmet.*

SPhil64October 08, 2004

Come on, is it that hard to look at EB's website where they do have a pic of the shirt?

PaleMike Gamin, Contributing EditorOctober 08, 2004

http://www.ebgames.com/ebx/product/242780.asp

Thats the shirt at ebgames. It has been up on their site for quite a while, but I can confirm it is the same shirt that other stores are getting.

odifiendOctober 08, 2004

Wow... I'm not feeling that shirt. At all. Out of all the potential designs...that was chosen.

PolemistisOctober 08, 2004

ooh! Hmm. Well I can see why, it's got the oldschool styling look to it. As Ninty has been oldschooling a bunch of things lately...

Infernal MonkeyOctober 08, 2004

I'd rather a shirt with Pro666's avatar blown up to epic levels for ultimate power.

NinGurl69 *hugglesOctober 08, 2004

Oh heck yeah, it enables Large HP Regeneration and Reduces all Elemental Damage.

SylOctober 09, 2004

I actually really like the shirt.

Either way, not anywhere near the coolness of PoP 2's pack in.

vherubOctober 09, 2004

i have always been strictly in the free tshirt is one step above useless camp. The tshirt seems nice and all, but i would much rather have a copy of super metroid for pre-ordering. I prefer retro gaming before personal attire. I would also settle for an artbook as those are all the rage these days and i like pretty pictures. Seriously, i like how more companies are moving towards preorder bonuses, but clothing seems far more hit or miss than other items. (like shot glasses!)

Infernal MonkeyOctober 10, 2004

Back when Mission Impossible was all new and stuff on N64, EB were giving away MI shirts with any purchase because nobody had pre-ordered or was buying the game. They must of had at least 100 shirts sitting around. ='D

SylOctober 10, 2004

An artbook for metroid prime 2 would be amazing. I absolutely love the artwork in the art gallery to death.

Anyway, how do we know that super metroid isn't in the game for free? (Metroid 2 is far more likely, however)

Infernal MonkeyOctober 10, 2004

Because Nintendo have Super Metroid anger.
"Sir the fans want a Super Metroid port"
"Really?"
"Really"
"WELL TOO BAD, WE NEED TO RE-RELEASE METROID 1 ON NINTENDO DS FOR $50"

PolemistisOctober 12, 2004

Pff, I now hate whoever is in charge of marketing who gets the T-Shirts. Why? Well because Canadians don't get it as a pre order bonus(gheeyyyyy!!1!1!). The EB guy is like "W-T-F? We don't know anything about a t-shirt bonus *laughs*" Then I told him off cause it's on their damn website ^_^

Ian SaneOctober 12, 2004

"Because Nintendo have Super Metroid anger.
'Sir the fans want a Super Metroid port'
'Really?'
'Really'
'WELL TOO BAD, WE NEED TO RE-RELEASE METROID 1 ON NINTENDO DS FOR $50'"

Ha! So true. But you left out the part where they re-release the NES version of Donkey Kong yet again still without the missing level.

ruby_onixOctober 12, 2004

Quote
Pff, I now hate whoever is in charge of marketing who gets the T-Shirts. Why? Well because Canadians don't get it as a pre order bonus(gheeyyyyy!!1!1!). The EB guy is like "W-T-F? We don't know anything about a t-shirt bonus *laughs*" Then I told him off cause it's on their damn website ^_^

I know how you feel. And yeah, Canadian EB guys are apparently totally in the dark about preorder goodies.

Apparently, the preorder stuff comes about because of a partnership between EB (of America), NOA, and the American branch of Brady (or whoever is making the product). In order for us in Canada to get these things, EB Canada and NOC and everyone involved needs to look at the American event and think it's a good enough idea to replicate. And then they don't usually bother to tell the Canadian stores when one's coming.

My brother and I pretty much weren't getting a single preorder goodie since the days of the Special Edition Zelda 64 preorder.

Something like a month after Viewtiful Joe came out, we went into our local EB, and the clerk gave us some Viewtiful Joe t-shirts. They said that a box of them had just come in, but it was too late to give them to the people who preordered, so they were just handing them out to random people who walked in the store. I liked getting the shirt, but as someone who's been shafted on preorder goodies many times before, hearing that just sucked.

If you buy your games off the EB website, you can get the preorder goodies, but you have to pay a freaking $15 (American) for shipping, because you're actually importing the game from EB-USA, not buying it from EB-Canada.

When Four Swords was coming out, we really wanted one of those classic Zelda t-shirts, so we asked in EB if they were getting them. They said they had no idea, but "Zelda's a big game, so we'll almost certainly have them". I asked, "If you don't, can I cancel my preorder and get my money back?" They said yes, so I preordered it.

When Four Swords came out, I went in and asked if they had the t-shirts. They said "No, but they come with these free Link Cables". I told them that those were standard, and not a preorder goodie, then I put the game back down on the counter and asked for my money back. While the manager was working on the next cash register.

My brother bought the t-shirt off of eBay for $10 (at least, I think that's how much it was), and I later found the Four Swords (with the free Link Cable) at SuperStore for $15 less than EB was charging.

Later, I went in to EB to preorder Symphonia, and the manager was the only one working the register. I asked if Symphonia had any preorder goodies, and she said "I hope so." I asked her if I could get my preorder money back if it didn't have any preorder goodies, and she said yes.

On the day Symphonia came out, the manager saw me and my brother come into the store, flagged us down, and said "Hey, I got something for you!" She went into the back and proudly came out with a Symphonia artbook. I happily bought the game for full price.

Another time recently, my brother preordered Disgaea. There was a Limited Edition preorder version of the game. As we went in, my brother noticed that all the games in the glass cabinet behind the counter (where they keep all the new games) were all the Standard Edition. The guy in line in front of my brother had a Disgaea preorder slip, and they opened the glass case and gave him a standard version. When my brother came up, the exact same clerk punched in my brother's preorder slip, then opened up a drawer underneath the glass case, and pulled out a disk with by brother's name rubber-banded to it. It was the LE version. The clerk said "We only received one copy of the Limited Edition version, and it was set aside for you."

One month later, EB got a new shipment of the sold-out Disgaea, and my brother noticed that every one of the numerous copies in the display cabinet was the LE preorder version...

I guess the lesson here is that the Canadian preorder goodie system is badly disorganized and frequently unfair, and that good things can come to you if you assert yourself and get ready to take your business elsewhere.

SgtShiversBenOctober 12, 2004

I don't see why y'all are complaining. Pre-ordering the game isn't that bad. You get money off your game (even though it is yours to begin with) and you get some nifty things. I got the Zelda shirt for 5$ (damn good if you ask me) and today I got the Metroid shirt, which is much better than it looks. It has a name tag on the front that says "Samus". It's so great, even if it is a drab color. I like the look of it, and for 20 $ (29.99 for MP2 now), I think it was a good buy. So yeah it's free, and always ask, if they don't have it, go somewhere else, simple as that. Stop being a bunch of PS2 crybabies and support the Nintendo Industry.

Eat snacky smores.

Ian SaneOctober 12, 2004

"Stop being a bunch of PS2 crybabies and support the Nintendo Industry."

And by not pre-ordering I don't support the Nintendo industry how? What difference does it make if I pay for a game when I buy it or pay for it ahead of time?

SgtShiversBenOctober 12, 2004

The way I meant it...IAN....was that by being a walking billboard. You'd be suprised how many people go by word of mouth. That's how the DS is doing so good now in hype now. I actually heard some casual gamers talking about how great it was. And why pass up a free shirt? Give me ONE good reason. And it being "too conformist" doesn't work.

NinGurl69 *hugglesOctober 12, 2004

I'll pass up the free shirt, cuz it looks horrible. "No thanks, man, i don't see YOU wearing it."

I still pre-ordered MP2:E and Mario Tennis today.

SgtShiversBenOctober 13, 2004

Reggie says

"Shirt...good...looks...like...elephant....throwup....yum....."

::kicks a little kid::

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