Come March 12, Sony’s favorite action hero leaps back into the fray with God of War: Ascension. As Kratos’ adventures make up Sony’s flagship action franchise it’s no surprise that the company would want to do something ostentatious to promote the game, but few could have predicted the surprisingly generous bundle pack the corporation has assembled.
The aptly-named “God of War: Ascension Legacy Bundle” features a $350 price tag, and should be available at retail at the same time as the standard version of God of War: Ascension. Included in the bundle is a 500GB PlayStation 3 that the official PlayStation.blog describes as “Garnet Red.” Given the trademark gory combat seen in God of War it would probably make more thematic sense to officially describe the machine as “blood red,” but that could upset parents who might otherwise buy the bundle for their kids. Thus, the PlayStation.blog says that the machine’s color is actually an homage to Kratos’ famous torso-spanning Omega tattoo.
More impressive than the new console are the list of games included with the Legacy Bundle. Alongside God of War: Ascension, the Bundle also features a title called “God of War Saga.” This is not a new release, but is instead a compilation of all five main God of War titles released to date. This includes both PlayStation 2 entries (God of War and God of War II), the two titles released for the PSP (God of War: Chains of Olympus and God of War: Ghost of Sparta), and the PlayStation 3’s God of War III. Notably absent is God of War: Betrayal, but as that game was released exclusively for mobile phones (and wasn’t very good) it shouldn’t be seen as a huge oversight.
Finally, closing out this bundle is a gratis 30 days of PlayStation Plus service. Those of you who are not familiar with the PlayStation 3’s online offerings may still know that unlike the Xbox 360, Sony’s console allows players to compete online for free. However, the company also offers a subscription service called PlayStation Plus that offers a number of useful extras to subscribers, including free big-budget games, sizable discounts on downloadable content, and periodic early access to betas and demos for the most heavily-anticipated titles on Sony’s console. Previously it would have been a minor addition, but over the past few months Sony has worked hard to bolster the offerings seen in PlayStation Plus and it’s rapidly becoming a must-have for anyone who routinely plays games on either the PlayStation 3 or PS Vita handheld.
That’s a pretty solid bundle all by itself, but Sony actually failed to mention one other item that will be found in the God of War: Ascension Legacy Bundle. As we reported last week, when God of War: Ascension hits retail it will include a chance for players to enjoy the first public demo for The Last of Us. It seems inevitable that this will drive a few extra sales of God of War: Ascension, just as the recent Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance demo drove sales of the Zone of the Enders HD Collection, but it’s unknown if anticipation for The Last of Us is great enough to move these $350 bundles.
Actually, scratch that. Devoted gamers will buy anything you attach an intriguing premise to. Expect these things to sell like blood-red hotcakes.
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