Now this is how you properly advertise a game. Best Buy has said on their site that anyone who pre-orders Uncharted 3 from them will be allowed to play a single level from the game before the title is even released. Score! As you can see in the screenshot I’ve provided up there, the text says this in plain black and white. “Plus, starting October 21, you can be one of the first to play an exclusive Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception level before it releases on November 1. Only at select Best Buy stores.”
The text says that it’s an exclusive level, but what this means exactly isn’t known. It could be a level made strictly for promotional reasons, one that’s only at Best Buy with other retailers getting other levels, or a level that has not even been seen yet by the masses in the grapevine. This is a very clever move for multiple reasons. The first being that Uncharted 3 is something many gamers are looking forward to, and the game isn’t due to be released until ten days after the level is playable. The action will also be giving Best Buy a huge amount of preorders and thus business, very clever.
I hope personally that this can catch on with other games and titles being up for play before the release date. The amount of business it can bring to a local gaming store can help what is already a massive industry, and it will also allow developers of more niche and obscure titles that didn’t get much attention like Disgaea and Ico drum up some publicity of their own.
There is also a very nice pre-order bonus that gives a nice edge in multiplayer, cue people flipping out over that instead of noticing the chance to play the game early. Uncharted 3 comes out on the first of November
