RipTen Videogame Blog » toys_r_us

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North – Collector’s Edition and Pre-order Bonuses Detailed

Garrett Hartman — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 14:05:29 +0000

Warner Bros. Interactive and Snowblind Studios have announced details of the North American Collector’s Edition and interesting pre-order bonuses for The Lord of the Rings: War in the North.

The Collector’s Edition includes:

Ranger of the North Quiver Case
War in the North art book featuring concept art of key characters in the game, various enemies and beautiful environments in Middle-earth
Inside Look: The Music of War in the North—content includes: interviews and footage of legendary composer Inon Zur at Abbey Road Studios and the E3 2011 Concert event, along with three tracks from the game soundtrack
Digital content:
- Ranger of the North Avatar for Xbox Live (Xbox 360 sku) – includes the Ranger armor set, helmet, quiver and bow
- War in the North Theme Pack (PS3 sku) – includes War in the North wallpaper, fonts, icons and much more!
The Lord of the Rings: War in the North video game
SRP: $129.99

If you choose to purchase the standard edition, here are some of the pre-order incentives from the following retailers:

Amazon.com- Exclusive to Amazon.com, pre-order the game and get early access to part two of the War in the North Digital Comic written by Brian Wood, illustrated by Simon Coleby and produced by DC Entertainment. The comic book reveals the back story leading up to The Lord of the Rings: War in the North. Players will also receive the Orc Champion sword for in-game use.
Best Buy- Embark on an Elven adventure with the Elf Theme Pack, equipped with a mystical Elven sword, armor and helmet, and get access to the Lothlórien Challenge map.
GameStop- Visit the Citadel of the Stars and the Tower of Stone with the Human Theme Pack equipped with an exclusive human sword, armor and battle attire of the Human Ranger, and get access to the Osgiliath Challenge map.
Target- Immerse yourself in the sounds of Middle-earth with three exclusive tracks from the War in the North soundtrack.
Toys ‘R’ Us- Receive a limited edition, signed War in the North poster by Jim Lee, and access to download parts one and two of the War in the North Digital Comic at launch.
Wal-Mart- A Dwarven quest lies ahead for everyone who chooses to pre-order at Wal-Mart; the Dwarf Theme Pack includes an exclusive dwarf sword, armor and helmet.

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North is scheduled to release in Fall 2011 for the PC, PS3 and Xbox360.

One Collector’s Edition to Rule Them All. Now check out these collectors edition snap shots:

FTC Survey: Children Increasingly Unable to Buy M-Rated Games

Toni Dimayuga — Sat, 10 May 2008 19:14:40 +0000

Children running to their nearest GameStop to buy GTA IV should think twice. A recent survey conducted by the Federal Trade Commission revealed that overall, 80% of underage shoppers were denied purchase of M-rated video games.

This is an improvement over a 2006 FTC survey, which indicated that a mere 42% were not allowed to make such purchases. The results are part of a larger nationwide survey on retailers’ vigilance against unaccompanied children purchasing CDs with the Parental Advisory Label, M-rated video games, tickets to R-rated movies, R-rated DVDs, and unrated DVDs that were R-rated in theaters.

In terms of M-rated games, the survey gathered data from eight major retail chains: Toys R Us, Wal-Mart, Hollywood Video, GameStop/EB Games, Kmart, Circuit City, Target, and Best Buy.

The results revealed that GameStop was the most stringent, refusing sales of M-rated titles to minors 96% of the time, followed by Wal-Mart’s 82%. On the other hand, the biggest offender was Hollywood Video, which turned down sales to minors only 60% of the time, followed by Circuit City with 62%.

Source: FTC.gov via Gamasutra.com

Biggest Wii ‘bend-over’ of them all hits 2,500 Brits

Kev Lochun — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 22:31:56 +0000

“No Wii’ing Here”

We thought corporate rogering had hit its peak with the Toys’R'Us “bend-over” bundle, which forced desperate parents to fork out $700 for a Wii shoved in with ten mostly cack games, all at full price. But now an independent retailer has gone one step further – they have taken orders and done a runner.

Up to 2,500 people are thought to be affected by the scam run by Ozone Electronics in Oldham, UK, who guaranteed a Wii would be delivered to customers by mid-December.

So far no-one appears to have got one. Ozone have since closed up shop, turned on the answer-phone and shut down their website, leaving the beleaguered web host to post a message about how affected peeps might be able to get their money back.

In hindsight, we may well pour scorn on the fact that Ozone guaranteed Wii’s at a time when Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime had already admitted there wouldn’t be enough, or indeed because they took the payment in advance. but we don’t suspect the average parent was looking beyond the fact their kids really wanted one.

Perhaps this, along with all the other examples of retailers raping the popularity of the Wii, will coax Reggie to organise some better distribution next year.

Meanwhile, the UK’s trading standards watchdog is attempting to trace the owners. Surprisingly, no one’s picking up the phone.

Read up on the victims.