UK PC Gamer magazine - golden-ticket style mini giveaway

kirby2096

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: May 2006

The Angels of Divine Hope [Hope]

Yup, it's maddening to imagine someone who doesn't play Guild Wars getting a golden ticket and have it tossed into a corner upon a stack of other pc gamer mags, or simply thrown away.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...ic.php?t=33910
Ignore all the posts until you reach the editor's.

I hope PC Zone are not as stupid as to pull this stunt in a fortnight..

Bryant Again

Bryant Again

Hall Hero

Join Date: Feb 2006

This is what the editor is saying in regards to the mag:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ross Atherton
The Guild Wars magazine is not being published in the UK, only the US (and France and Germany, I believe).
...For those who want to know.

unienaule

unienaule

I dunt even get "Retired"

Join Date: Aug 2005

Fifteen Over Fifty [Rare]

To clarify your possibly confusing post,

Quote:
Originally Posted by that same guy
To clarify: our new issue (PCG 180, November, Orange Box edition) has a 'golden ticket'-style promotion whereby *some* copies of the mag have winning tickets inside with a Guild Wars minipet code on it.

The Guild Wars magazine, which is nothing to do with PC Gamer UK, and is published in (I believe) the US, France and Germany, has a GW minipet code in it for every reader.

Bryant Again

Bryant Again

Hall Hero

Join Date: Feb 2006

I will admit, I am pretty damned confused in here.

Angelica

Angelica

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Jan 2006

Aussie land

Me/E

I have relatives and friends in Italy and they sent me a few copies of the magazine "The Games Machine" which could have had a winning card in them.
Keeping in mind that there are only 1000 cards to be given away with the magazine ....... with the population of about 57 millions in Italy your probability to get one is almost non existent! As a matter of fact I did not get one.

The thing I find upsetting is that not everyone who buys the magazine play GW and someone would probably get a winning card and put it in the rubbish bin!

It would have been much better if there was a code on all magazines with the same chances to win one of the mini-pet, so the people who play GW could have had a better probability to get one, also the magazine is sealed so no chance to get the code withot buying it!

Oh well this is my opinion anyway.


PS. The content on GW EotN, was minimal only two page spread with nothing new about it!

Kula

Kula

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Jun 2005

West Coast, USA

Mo/E

GW is more popular in Europe than in N.America so I wouldn't mind if they get some more PvE goodies. Limit of 1000 sucks though.

SotiCoto

SotiCoto

Banned

Join Date: Jan 2007

Drazach Thicket

Temple of Zhen Xianren [Sifu]

This is the most evil.....


Well... I'm considering getting a copy, but it depends on cost. If it is cheap enough I'll get multiple. If not.... well I won't get any. I wouldn't be paying for the stupid magazine anyway, as I don't give a flying fvckery what a bunch of tards with their heads stuck up their own arses want to say about games I have no desire to ever play.
I just want a new minipet!

Hengis

Hengis

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Apr 2006

London

Better Than Life (BTL)

R/

I just searched for the circulation figures for PC Gamer (UK).

The latest figures I could find from 2006 were 57,600.

This means that you have just over a 1 in 58 chance of getting a "golden ticket" in your magazine.

So, not only is the magazine you purchase rather unlikely to have a ticket in it, but the shop you are in is unlikely to have a magazine that has one!

As for the chances of getting one of the rarer minis on offer, lets guess that out of 1000 tickets there are 10 Vizus - this gives you a 1 in 5760 chance of getting one.

The US special Guild Wars edition on the other hand, gives every player a mini-destroyer.

Why could the UK edition not have padded out the non-winning entries with something like a Destroyer?

I was going to buy two copies of this magazine, one for me and one for my son, but looking at these odds I will not be bothering now.

SotiCoto

SotiCoto

Banned

Join Date: Jan 2007

Drazach Thicket

Temple of Zhen Xianren [Sifu]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hengis Stone
I just searched for the circulation figures for PC Gamer (UK).

The latest figures I could find from 2006 were 57,600.

This means that you have just over a 1 in 58 chance of getting a "golden ticket" in your magazine.

So, not only is the magazine you purchase rather unlikely to have a ticket in it, but the shop you are in is unlikely to have a magazine that has one!

As for the chances of getting one of the rarer minis on offer, lets guess that out of 1000 tickets there are 10 Vizus - this gives you a 1 in 5760 chance of getting one.

The US special Guild Wars edition on the other hand, gives every player a mini-destroyer.

Why could the UK edition not have padded out the non-winning entries with something like a Destroyer?

I was going to buy two copies of this magazine, one for me and one for my son, but looking at these odds I will not be bothering now.
And to rub salt in the wound, from what I can tell most of the mini-pets in the magazine ticket compo are pre-existant ones..... so even if you do win you're probably not getting anything new anyway!

Yol

Yol

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Feb 2007

GameAmp Guides [AMP]

E/

I bought pc gamer this morning and it had one of the cards in it....grawl. It does seem silly though that the chances of getting one are so small and they could end up in the hands of readers who don't like or play GW. The editors do say that if they see any on eBay, there will be hell to pay.....

Etta

Etta

Forge Runner

Join Date: Jun 2006

Mancland, British Empire

Oh! it's out already! I'll pick up a copy on my way home. Fingers crossed

SotiCoto

SotiCoto

Banned

Join Date: Jan 2007

Drazach Thicket

Temple of Zhen Xianren [Sifu]

I am SUCH an idiot.... (though for a different reason to most levelled at me)...

I just bought a Copy... for £6 ...

Warning: It ONLY mentions the promotion on the front box.
If there is no card inside, there is no further mention of it anywhere.
And sure enough.

No card.
Nothing.
It even said "full details on page 47" .... but there was nothing there but a list of competition guidelines that had no mention of this 1000 card thing again.


I have effectively just thrown £6 down the drain. I could have got an extra character slot with that.... but instead I got nothing. The magazine isn't even worth the paper it is printed on.

I still have no idea why I did it.
Whoever came up with this little idea is out of their freaking mind..... and to think there is probably someone out there with a Vizu card just throwing it in the bin.


But honestly I suppose I have nobody to blame but myself.
Hope always has and always will be the death of me.


*Fetches his autoflagellation-rod*

Cassandra Tanacel

Academy Page

Join Date: Oct 2006

Wolf Brotherhood

W/

Ouch! That's a bit rubbish!

Suddenly im not buying this magazine! And ill advise my guildies not to either

Come on Gaile and the promotions team - negotiate with these magazines to have a better promotion. We Europeans love this game and want to get offers like the Americans!

SotiCoto

SotiCoto

Banned

Join Date: Jan 2007

Drazach Thicket

Temple of Zhen Xianren [Sifu]

Besides.... why do all the promotional things talk about Vizu pets yet show pictures of Nika? Have they forgotten the difference between the two?

Ranger Rog

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Jan 2006

UK

[TOG]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hengis Stone
I just searched for the circulation figures for PC Gamer (UK).

The latest figures I could find from 2006 were 57,600.

This means that you have just over a 1 in 58 chance of getting a "golden ticket" in your magazine.

So, not only is the magazine you purchase rather unlikely to have a ticket in it, but the shop you are in is unlikely to have a magazine that has one!

As for the chances of getting one of the rarer minis on offer, lets guess that out of 1000 tickets there are 10 Vizus - this gives you a 1 in 5760 chance of getting one.

.
Don't forget, they produce more copies of the mag than they actually sell so the odds are probably slightly worse than that. Theres a good chance that a lot of pet codes are destined to be recycled into toilet paper.

The Goldenwolf

The Goldenwolf

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Apr 2006

United Kingdom, Cheshire

Mystic Spiral [MYST]

Mo/Me

Well I was gon... Wha?! It's a Golden Ticket competition. Thats a bit unfair isn't it X.x And seeing as there is only 1000 for the whole country.. What were they thinking X.x I would of prefered a name in a hat type thing or some sort of question so that people who want to enter it, at least have a chance X.x

I'm still gonna buy it cos I wanna have a look at the Guild Wars thing in it. If there isn't a ticket, well I'm gonna be dissapointed as this could of been handled a lot better in my opinion.

~The Goldenwolf~

Steboy93

Steboy93

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Feb 2007

Trinity of the Ascended [ToA] | Ex-Officer [TAM]

W/

I was going to buy this, but now seeing as i have no chance of getting a pet i probably won't bother.
Can anyone who has got the mag tell me if the actual content about Gw is any good?

Kahlindra

Kahlindra

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: May 2006

England

Anthems to the Welkin at [Dusk]. 2 man guilds are king.

N/Me

An entry form to fill in in last month's edition would have been a way better idea. Then 1000 minipets would definitely have gone to the homes of those who wanted them. Guess the admin and printing would have been too expensive though.

Partner and I will probably still buy one each and hope for the best but really.... this doesn't really compare to everyone getting a free Destroyer....

warren_kn

warren_kn

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: May 2005

London, England

Quote:
Originally Posted by Steboy93
I was going to buy this, but now seeing as i have no chance of getting a pet i probably won't bother.
Can anyone who has got the mag tell me if the actual content about Gw is any good?
No it's not. It's a 2 page review of EotN, although the text actually covers less then a single page, the rest is filled with pictures. It's the same old crap churned out. I hope PC Zone has some more coverage, although I doubt it as that magazine is usually even worse.

lyra_song

lyra_song

Hell's Protector

Join Date: Oct 2005

R/Mo

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kahlindra
An entry form to fill in in last month's edition would have been a way better idea. Then 1000 minipets would definitely have gone to the homes of those who wanted them. Guess the admin and printing would have been too expensive though.

Partner and I will probably still buy one each and hope for the best but really.... this doesn't really compare to everyone getting a free Destroyer....
You win

/thread over

gavmex

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Oct 2007

Yorkshire, England

[WET]

N/Mo

I bought the mag today... i thought that everyone who bought the magazine got a mini pet like the promotions in america of the desroyer and the grey giant and asura! Im furious i wasted £6 if you are thinking of getting the magazine its a waste of £6! i got a crappy demo of bioshock which my graphics card cant handle and a magazine that says:"If you weren't a lucky winner, well life sucks eh? but you could always buy another copy of PCG" im outraged at the cheek! ill never buy the magazine ever again never mind the same issure for another chanceto get a mini pet that we should be able to get in EVERY magazine!

kradens

kradens

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Mar 2007

:P guess.

R/

so out of the 1000 minipets, only a few will even get to a GW player.


thats sad considering there are thousands of mini destroyers walking about america -

why is anet being so stingy to europe?

Witchblade

Witchblade

Polar Bear Attendant

Join Date: May 2005

this magazine thing is way beyond pathetic :P

gg "in-game-content-available-equally-to-everyone" @ ANet ^^

Longasc

Longasc

Forge Runner

Join Date: May 2005

Exchange your ASURA for a DESTROYER:

http://de.guildwars.com/promos/tradein

Germans who got a card with an Asura can exchange the key to a Destroyer key.

As the minipet is printed on the card, you can see what you got. So if you have an Asura, just exchange it on this page.

I am not sure if this works for the UK PC Gamer codes. But it is worth a try and/or maybe they start a similar exchange.

This option was probably added as several people were displeased that they would get an Asura to 95%, and Germans already got an Asura in a previous issue of Gamestar.


Edit: Sorry, just read that most UK buyers did not even get a key at all, not even an Asura. But maybe some Germans read this and can make use of it. Now this is really awful for you guys, no wonder that people get angry at ANet and their promotions!

Lonesamurai

Lonesamurai

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Apr 2006

Cheltenham, Glos, UK

Wolf Pack Samurai [WPS]

R/A

Quote:
Originally Posted by Witchblade
gg "in-game-content-available-equally-to-everyone" @ NCSofts marketting Department ^^
There, fixed for you

Witchblade

Witchblade

Polar Bear Attendant

Join Date: May 2005

yep ^^ anyway you got my point

(typed ANet from habit *grins* )

More Outrage

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Jun 2006

Yorkshire

GOO

Ooooh.. Very Naughty! Not the way it was put on the GW site.

Thanks for the heads up, money stays in wallet a little longer.

So from the PCGamer forum that means both UK mags are doing the same lottery style thingy. Total saving £12x3children means I have £36 to spend on more beer, I`m still happy then.

Etta

Etta

Forge Runner

Join Date: Jun 2006

Mancland, British Empire

Oh boy, I got a naga, also bought a destroyer for 30k in game so all good for me. The thing is the magazine that I bought hasn't got the mini in it but my co- worker also bought the mag and he doesn't play GW, he plays wow and he bloody got the card. How fair is that?

Anyway I promised to buy him lunch today after he gave me the card. And no I'm not selling it.

SotiCoto

SotiCoto

Banned

Join Date: Jan 2007

Drazach Thicket

Temple of Zhen Xianren [Sifu]

You lucky fetcher!

I don't know anyone else who gets the magazine... so I have absolutely NOBODY to potentially leech from.

Yol

Yol

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Feb 2007

GameAmp Guides [AMP]

E/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Etta
Oh boy, I got a naga
Well done! We now have 2 of the 1000 accounted for.....anyone else?

william1975

william1975

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Aug 2006

Scotland

Dragons of Torment (DOA)

Me/

I must say this has to be the absolutely worst possible idea on the face of the planet. I don't buy computer magazines, haven;t done in years and can think of many other things to waste £6 on, (£12 as my wife also playes GW),

The only reason for me to buy this mag and the PC Zone one is to have the opportunity to get a minipet I couldn't otherwise.

From the GW site i thought we would have a competition entery to fill in, and at least that way i would have a good chance of getting one,

The has to be the worst marketing ploy from Anet, though a damn good one for Future publishing. Anet must just want to destroy all the codes for the mini's making them even rarer and more expensive in game.

And I thought it was their position that mini's were not meant to be an economic item

SotiCoto

SotiCoto

Banned

Join Date: Jan 2007

Drazach Thicket

Temple of Zhen Xianren [Sifu]

How many of the pets do you suppose will actually make it into the game?

How much of the Magazine's reader-base actually PLAY Guild Wars?

I'm betting there will never be a Vizu in game because some moron somewhere has seen the card, thought nothing of it and binned it. I'd pay some serious cash for one of those.

william1975

william1975

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Aug 2006

Scotland

Dragons of Torment (DOA)

Me/

depends on if anyone has the idea to sell the codes on ebay lol

i can't imagine many of the uk ones getting to GW players though maybe 20 tops?

kirby2096

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: May 2006

The Angels of Divine Hope [Hope]

I had a spare Asura key from PC Zone, which I've duly entered in exchange for a destroyer minipet. Note that the swap is limited to those who already added an Asura minipet key on their account.

From the past two miniature giveaways by PC Zone; I think it's unlikely they will follow in PC Gamer's utterly thoughtless promotion, unless the limit is imposed on them by A.Net/NCSoft.

Etta

Etta

Forge Runner

Join Date: Jun 2006

Mancland, British Empire

Yeah hate to think that mini Vizu would end up in the bin somewhere, because some guy bought the mag just for the Bio Shock demo and has no idea about the mini. It was just a dumb luck in my case really, then again if my friend didn't know that I play GW the naga would end up in the bin as well.

I already saw the shiro'ken mini on sell in LA Eng D1 last night as well. You wouldn't want to know how much he was asking for it.

Bale_Shadowscar

Bale_Shadowscar

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Sep 2005

Manchester, England

New Dragons [NDR]

Keep checkin' ebay :P

SotiCoto

SotiCoto

Banned

Join Date: Jan 2007

Drazach Thicket

Temple of Zhen Xianren [Sifu]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Etta
Yeah hate to think that mini Vizu would end up in the bin somewhere, because some guy bought the mag just for the Bio Shock demo and has no idea about the mini. It was just a dumb luck in my case really, then again if my friend didn't know that I play GW the naga would end up in the bin as well.

I already saw the shiro'ken mini on sell in LA Eng D1 last night as well. You wouldn't want to know how much he was asking for it.
The Shiro'ken was pretty much what I was buying the mag in hopes of getting. Stupidity was the name of my game apparently.

Etta

Etta

Forge Runner

Join Date: Jun 2006

Mancland, British Empire

The mag itself is so-so as well, there's 1/4 of a page for the mini pet details and 2 pages GW:EN review, it's got 82%, the reviewer seem to like it. If anyone have the magazine, check out his necro skill bar. lol

Kahlindra

Kahlindra

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: May 2006

England

Anthems to the Welkin at [Dusk]. 2 man guilds are king.

N/Me

They've made the explanation on the EU GW homesite a lot clearer now.... or was it like that before? Someone remember?

Riot Narita

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Apr 2007

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hengis Stone
I just searched for the circulation figures for PC Gamer (UK).

The latest figures I could find from 2006 were 57,600.

This means that you have just over a 1 in 58 chance of getting a "golden ticket" in your magazine.
Isn't it even worse than that? Looking at the official announcements, it sounds like there are only 1000 minipets for the whole of Europe, distributed among the nine participating magazines in different countries. If that's true, then PC Gamer UK is only giving away its share of the minipets, not a full 1000.