Rewards as Content, Part II

Three weeks ago, I dashed off a post about the arrival of the first set of rewards from Absolute Zero.

At the time, some Xbox 360 players were apparently a little irritated that they weren't getting all of the event rewards in that update. I had said then that I thought it was a good idea to split the rewards up, if only so that players wouldn't feel rushed trying to take advantage of all the bonuses at once. I also hoped that the next content update would be more than just the second half of the rewards.

Here we are, three weeks later. The update for this week has been announced. Lo and behold, the remaining rewards are pretty much the only things the regional servers get this week, which is exactly what GM Edward said would not happen.

To be fair, obviously Edward does not get to decide what goes into the next content update; he only reports what Sega of Japan has told him. Things can (and probably often do) change, and as PSU GM and community liaison, Edward unfortunately has to take the brunt of the players' criticism when that happens. However, Sega of Japan shouldn't be putting Edward in the position to be the bearer of bad news. What it has done here is insulting to players and merely underscores why things continue to go downhill on the US/EU servers.

In addition to receiving the second set of reward updates, players will also be getting the White Day lobbies and an update to the missions Unsafe Passage, Fight for Food, and Moonlight Beast that makes them Ambition of the Illuminus compliant (which I presume is only a drop chart change and maybe a difficulty increase). I don't see any significant updates here at all. For Sega of Japan to say they have "something planned" besides the reward update and then throw out a lobby change and minor mission update is ridiculous.

In any case, it will be interesting to see how the community responds to this announcement. Players didn't take the announcement of the first set of rewards too well, so the next day or so should be fun!