Fallout 76 suffered one of the most disastrous launches in gaming history. It felt like everything that could possibly go wrong did go wrong for Bethesda's brand-new foray into a multiplayer-style Wasteland. Reviews were scathing, and Fallout fans were largely still wondering what the point was. Then, slowly but surely, it endured the hardship, the half-finished mayhem, to grow into one of gaming's greatest comeback stories this side of Final Fantasy 14.
But there was one thing, one flashpoint moment, that many of us look back at as the beating heart of Fallout 76's darkest hour. Just when it seemed like things could not conceivably get worse for Bethesda, the game's collector's edition, Fallout 76 Power Armor Edition, managed to bungle its promised canvas bag by sending out poor-quality nylon versions to buyers. Pete Hines, who served as Senior Vice President of Global Marketing and Communications with the company for nearly a quarter of a century, remembers that moment as his career's nadir.
Against the torrent of negative sentiment toward Fallout 76's Summer 2018 unveiling, it must have felt like going against the grain to fork over extra cash. But hey. Snazzy helmet. Steelcase. Figurines....
