The end is nylon
It took a good seven months, but Fallout 76 fans – those who plonked down for the Power Armor Edition at any rate – are finally starting to receive their canvas bags, bringing to an end the controversy known informally as “Bag-gate.”
As a quick refresher, as we all have only so many days left on Earth, back before the launch of Bethesda’s MMO title, players could pre-order a “Power Armour” edition of the game for around $200. This included, among other gubbins, a “Canvas West-Tek Duffel Bag”. However, when the game shipped, those who had pre-ordered the set just got a cheap nylon replacement instead, along with a pithy $5 of in-game currency as recompense.
Rubbing salt in the wounds, online “influencers” started showing off their own awesome Fallout 76 bags, received for free from Bethesda. Though not the same bags, it really wasn’t what hardcore fans who’d plonked down triple-figures for the Power Armour edition needed to see (let alone the fact that Fallout 76 itself also turned out to be terrible.)
And so, Bethesda finally announced that they’d put the originally promised canvas bags into production. Which brings us to this week, as it appears that buyers are finally starting to receive said bags in the mail. Reports – such as this one from Redditor Andarne – are that the new canvas bag is a quality product, and should be well-suited for all of your bottlecap-carrying needs.
But more than anything, there’s a lesson to be learned here on avoiding similar headaches. And it’s as simple as “Deliver what people paid for”. While arguments about Epic Games Store, backer campaigns, or misleading trailers can be considered grey areas in regards to “false advertising”, you can’t take money for an item, then simply deliver an entirely different item. It doesn’t wash in other industries and it shouldn’t here.
Fallout 76 is available now on PC, PS4 and Xbox One.
Bethesda has delivered Fallout 76 canvas bags [Eurogamer]