USA Treatment of Software Pre-orders

[SirPhoebos]

Hello. I have a question about how a certain transaction should be treated.

Here's the scenario: A company is developing a video game, and it offers its customers the chance to pre-order the game. It offers two options for pre-ordering. A customer can pre-order the Standard Edition for $60 dollars. This gives them the game as advertised when it's released. Alternatively, a customer can buy a Collector's Edition for $80 dollars. In addition to the base game, the Collector's Edition comes with a number of extra features in the game itself (extra maps or stages, additional character skins, bonus items). A customer that pre-orders the CE gets an e-mail containing a unique code that, when the game comes out, can be entered in the game to unlock this content.

Obviously, the $60 from the game is to be treated as a liability until the game comes out and shipped to the customers. But what about the bonus features? The company has already given the customer the means to get the features that come in the CE, but the code can't be used as intended until the game comes out. Does sending the key count as having delivered the $20 portion of the CE that's not the base game?

Also, would it matter if the company has decided that the Collector's Edition is a one-time release? If it changes it's mind at a future date (or releases the same features in an expansion or Game-Of-The-Year Edition), would it have to go back and revise how it treated accounting for the CE? And what if it were possible for a purchaser of the Standard Edition to eventually get all the features of the CE by playing the game long enough?

 

[kirby]

Get a paid order for standard game - DR CASH $60 CR LIABILITY $60
Get a paid order for CE game DR CASH $80 CR LIABILITY $80
And if in future company changes its mind, there is no change to acctg (unless you are going to send refunds and I doubt that is going to happen)
If purchaser of standard game unlocks all features of CE, there is no change to acctg (unless you are going to send a bill to them - somehow -- and endure the bad press as a result)

 

[SirPhoebos]

Thanks for the response.

EDIT: On a related question, how would it work for a Kickstarter campaign. Say a company runs a KS campaign to make a game that will retail for $60. A backer that contributes $30 gets the full game. A backer that gives $100 gets the game and physical merchandise (let's say it costs the company $20 to procure). Finally, a backer that gives $200 gets the game, the merchandise, and a form of in-game recognition (such as a character named after them). What would the JE's be for each transaction?