As you may recall from our E3 2013 coverage, Watchdogs was one of the best on-stage demo and game trailer of the show. The concept of using computer hacking in addition of traditional weapons and fights was interesting and got people excited. The anticipation was high enough to get Sony and Microsoft working on their launch bundles (special editions) that included the game.
Unfortunately, Ubisoft has since confirmed that the game will come out in “Spring 2014”, which means that it will be a good 6-months late (the fact that trailer was not rendered in real-time should have been a warning sign). Now the question is whether or not those who have pre-ordered their console as part of a Watch Dogs Bundle will receive their next-gen PS4/Xbox One in time for the holidays. There is clearly enough reasons to get anxious.
Right now, those customers are uncertain of the fate of their console orders, and no-one came forward to tell them what to do. Should they cancel their order and risk getting a late shipment (or no shipment), or should they stick to their guns and risk getting the bundle in their homes in… Spring 2014?
Since Sony and Microsoft must have had console units set aside for those orders, I think that they should step up and propose to customers to get a console with another game, or a console and any game that is available, as a bundle or not. Ubisoft should come forward and offer some perks to make up for this. It doesn’t have to be expensive, but it has to be enough to make up for not shipping their game on time and make their customers happy. The solution is pretty simple, and hopefully, those companies are not squabbling over who’s going to fork the bill. Did you order one of those? What do you think?
Update: Amazon and Gamestop have said that customers would get their consoles, although the details about what they get instead of Watch Dogs have been been completely clarified. That said, it looks like 95% of the problem is now contained.
Filed in . Read more about PlayStation 4, PS4, Ubisoft and Xbox One.