Don't be bear naked in Warhammer Online; preorder Red Alert 3!

by Christopher Grant { Sep 3rd 2008 at 2:58PM }

You can put down that syringe full of bear hormones – EA's got a much easier (and more affordable!) way of transforming yourself into that most noble of Mother Nature's creatures: simply don Korssar's Helm. You see, the "magical Kislevite helm is imbued with the spirit of the wild North and will magically transform the wearer into a ferocious bear."

There are some caveats however: your ability to live your life as a bear will be limited to the virtual confines of EA Mythic's Warhammer Online MMO (a deal breaker for some, to be sure) and those willing to confine their bearness to WAR will still need to preorder Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 on PC to access the magical helm. Preorder cross-promotion? Clever move, EA. Great to see publishers further incentivizing preorders ... but we're sure there's at least a handful of WAR-heads eager to play as a bear (a bear!) but uninterested in picking up Red Alert 3. In other words: don't throw away those bear hormones just yet.

Tags: Command-and-Conquer-Red-Alert-3, EA, EA-Mythic, preorder, Red-Alert-3, WAR, Warhammer-Online, Warhammer-Online-Age-of-Reckoning

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

dark_inchworm @ Sep 3rd 2008 3:07PM

wut

Titanium_Orchid @ Sep 3rd 2008 3:20PM

This is simple people:

Per-order Red Alert for the PC, get the bear helm for use in WAR

dark_inchworm @ Sep 3rd 2008 8:11PM

Ambiguity isn't that complicated either. I could've just as easily implied that I was surprised by this weird crossover promotion - in fact, that's exactly what I was gunning for.

MatthewRex @ Sep 3rd 2008 3:07PM

This was one of the most confusingly written articles I've ever tried reading.

brickwalker0 @ Sep 3rd 2008 3:55PM

i second that.

typically, Joystiq writes the first paragraph with jokes and sarcasm, then the second one explains it as an actual news article.

but wtf, this one was awful.

Haggard @ Sep 3rd 2008 5:48PM

Really? Read perfectly to me.

Titanium_Orchid @ Sep 3rd 2008 3:09PM

Wow, this marketing scheme is either extremely ingenious or extremely evil... or both.

As I side note, I think I might have found a way to put Gamestop out of business. Every gamer needs to pay a $5.00 pre-order for a game but never actually pick it up.

This way, the publisher ships copies and gets paid. Gamers get pre-order bonuses and Gamestop eats the loss. The End

CB @ Sep 3rd 2008 3:34PM

They won't mind everyone's $5 when it'll be collecting a lot of interest in their bank account.

ranelar @ Sep 3rd 2008 3:12PM

dubya tee eff mate?

j.howlett @ Sep 3rd 2008 3:17PM

so no actual bear hats? way to build a guy up only to bring him down. hope yor happy

theturtle363 @ Sep 3rd 2008 3:25PM

I feel your pain pal. But all you need is some honey, guns, and a knife

Dopple Boppler @ Sep 3rd 2008 3:25PM

Seriously, looking at that picture I thought I would be getting that bear hat and I was ready to give up the cash. Oh well, to eBay for an awesome (real) bear helm I go.

Duke @ Sep 3rd 2008 3:49PM

Agreed. I want the hat.

MatthewRex @ Sep 3rd 2008 6:08PM

Yeah I definitely wanted the actual bear hat. That would've gotten my money for sure.

Zertoss @ Sep 3rd 2008 3:23PM

This is a horrible marketing scheme. Don't they know bears are the #1 threat to America?

Trickob @ Sep 3rd 2008 7:26PM

DAMN YOU STEPHEN COLBERT!!!

Shiaoran @ Sep 3rd 2008 11:19PM

PLEEEEEEZ email me your ful avatar pic XD
shiaoran at gmail.com

jimmygotsmack @ Sep 3rd 2008 3:49PM

(looks at cover art)

Communism never looked so sexy.

Fullmetal Salchemist @ Sep 3rd 2008 3:53PM

Dammit. I thought the bonus was an actual bear hat. I was going to run out and pre-order.

Hardman @ Sep 3rd 2008 4:00PM

Yeah, I got confused by that one too. I got all excited about a bear hat only to be let down. :(

Xeronius @ Sep 3rd 2008 4:37PM

Oh my god. I used to own that bear hat and a polar bear version. We would wear them when I was VERY little during the winter. Looking back, I probably looked like a huge tool, but now I want another one...

ANTCEP @ Sep 3rd 2008 4:43PM

mr grant, have you been drinking?

Mr Khan @ Sep 3rd 2008 4:47PM

Either way, not as cute as the one the American Communist Party sells

Shimrra @ Sep 3rd 2008 5:23PM

LOL i thought you get an actual bear hat LOL.

Mischa @ Sep 3rd 2008 6:28PM

3: ...
4: PROFIT

Nmaster @ Sep 3rd 2008 7:04PM

Real bear hat = instant buy

:(

Lonin @ Sep 3rd 2008 7:26PM

Glad you guys picked up on the story, but would you mind sourcing the original source (Massively has it) as well Chris? We'd really appreciate it!

mismajor99 @ Sep 3rd 2008 8:21PM

Wow Chris, good job in NOT sourcing the story...a bit confusing too, a definite break from the usual Joystiq template as noted above...

Either way, it's clever for sure as it's targeting PC Gamers, EA's really taking them seriously, which is always a good thing...

ianp711 @ Sep 4th 2008 9:57AM

I have conflicting/confusing information... So do you get it when you pre-order, which will ship 10/27/2008. Or does it come packaged with the actual game, which has no set date yet. Check out the ebgames.com website.

I want a firm answer.

http://www.ebgames.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?Product_ID=69403(GameStopBase)

Zu @ Sep 19th 2008 5:14PM

Just so everyone knows you have to BUY it not just preorder it preordering it increases your chances of getting it http://www.ea.com/redalert/news-detail.jsp?id=Warhammer