DLC's are no longer minor. They are starting to cost as much as the entire game. This going to be a trend and a trend that will hurt the consumers.

And yet with all that said, it's still a big step above the usual pre-order bonuses.

Yet this is what people choose to bitch about.

Nothing's ever going to look as good as giving us everything with the game. But that's not going to happen.

This is kind of my point. This looks less like those trends you're describing, and more like a step in the right direction.

All this stuff could have been stuff they charged for. Bundle all this stuff in a $70 or $80 version of the game. Or limit us to one option based on the store we pre-order from.

Yeah, they're making us jump through the smallest of hoops to acquire this stuff, but that's so much better than coughing up extra money for a special edition, DLC or having to buy it at a certain store to get a bonus. All they ask is that we pre-order. Is that really too extreme?

Pre-orders aren't going away. And neither is DLC. It's unrealistic to expect otherwise. I don't judge games based on what doesn't come with a game. By that standard, even a great game with a massive amount of content can be painted in a bad light compared to a lesser "complete" game. I judge a game based purely on what's included, and I see no reason to think that Deus Ex is going to be short on content, or not well worth my money.

Given that, I see no reason to fault a publisher for offering extra stuff, especially if all I have to do is pre-order.

Weak argument.

U can say that with any DLC ever.

So artbooks and releasing the game early should "already be in the game"?

Ppl are such parrots, they think this is a righteous crusade against the tyranny of the corporate machine....it's not.

You realize one of the stretch goals for pre-orders is a mission. Why does that have to only be unlocked once enough people pre-order the game? It makes no sense. It's already complete and the game has not gone gold. It won't release for months so why can't it just have that mission in there for everyone? Oh yeah. It's because pre-order bonuses like that are stupid. Pre-orders should just stick to useless cosmetics and not game content that is already completed, but is being withheld just to appease pre-order sales. It's ridiculously stupid and should not exist. An art book is not a pre-order bonus. It is included as part of limited or collector's editions of games. That's not a pre-order thing. That's a "which edition am I getting" thing with physical objects that do NOT affect content within the game at all.