Buying cat in the sack - why are you still preordering games?

[harprabh1]

I did during 2013 then I stopped, I don't get pre-ordering, it's like there not a shortage of an item, also playing a game a year out is awesome all the bug fixes and improvements. I'll buy a game day one like I did with Ghost of Tsushima but, I don't get FOMO or pre-ordering.

 

[asmith906]

Because of hype

 

[Legacy]

Andromeda is the last time I blindly preordered a game. Now I just wait for reviews to drop and normally get a day before release.

 

[Hobbun]

Only games I preorder now are collector or special editions that I want.

 

[Calamari41]

The funny thing about moving toward a "just wait a while before buying new games, like maybe after the first price cut" approach is that you never end up buying most of them if you haven't by the time they move out of the zeitgeist, which is faster and faster these days.

 

[ShroudOfFate]

I'm to the point in my life that I've played enough games to have a pretty good idea of what I like and don't. I preorder games I'm fairly sure I'll enjoy (Naughty Dog games, Zelda games, Fire Emblem etc.) And anything else i wait for reviews or price drops if I'm feeling like I want to give something a try and am unsure

 

[phant0m]

i preorder digital playstation games at the last minute for pre-load

ideally after there is enough info available to make a good decision

Click to shrink...

yup, same. I don't preorder until after review embargo unless it's something where I want the physical CE

 

[flaxknuckles]

Because I want to play the game as fast as possible. I only pre-order from developers I trust (a small handful) and the moment they let me down I ain't touching their next game until it's $10.

 

[Navid]

I generally only pre-order for titles I'm confident I'll enjoy, I'm someone who buys physical whenever possible and pre-ordering allows me to get my copy on release day.

This year I've pre-ordered; Doom Eternal, Last of Us 2, Ghost of Tsushima and Demon's Souls... not regretted any of those purchases.

 

[Bigwombat]

Part of the reason I preordered tlou2 was to avoid spoilers and the fact that tlou is one of my favorite games of all time.

Story spoilers get harder to avoid every day. Look at the mandalorian. If I don't watch it first thing some jag off on the ringer or another site posts a spoilery title AND image on the front page that helps to ruin my surprise when watching.

I rarely pre-order unless I trust the studio or it looks real intriguing. Made that mistake with mass Effect andromeda and fallout 4 this gen. I enjoyed fo4 but I didn't enjoy the story and thought it was worse that 3 and NV.

 

[Ganado]

I pre-order when it's a game that I'm interested in and it has some rewards. Because I do it on Steam, it's almost risk-free since they allow refunds.

 

[Zolbrod]

If it's a game I just REALLY want to play on day one, and I'm worried that it might sell out, I'll pre-order it.
Doesn't happen all that often.

As a rule, they're never Western Open World games though, because they tend to be way too buggy at launch.

 

[Zippedpinhead]

for things like the limited run games releases, if they are something I want to play/own a physical copy then I will order.

I have also preordered when a game was on "sale" prior to release (think Target's buy 2 get 1 when preorders were allowed) or if the preorder came with something that I deemed worthy (usually a free game on preorder, soundtrack or Artbook).

but I don't just preorder anything, especially since I am not sure when I will actually play it, and by the time I can it might have gone on sale.

 

[MorshuTheTrader]

I buy everything digitally (mostly). Even if I'm getting a game day one, which isn't often, there's absolutely zero reason for me to preorder anything. You even get the preorder bonuses if you just purchase it release day.

 

[TripleBee]

The cultural conversation (much like for movies) moves on quickly. If you want to discuss and experience the media as a collaborative experience with others - you basically need to be part of it within the first few weeks.

For me, I still wait. But the downside is by the time I play the game (much like watching a year old movie) nobody really gives a shit about discussing it at that point.

Mileage may very for some games.

 

[Phendrana]

Deals.

I never used to pre-order, but lately I've noticed that some sites (usually Amazon AU) have good pre-release prices that aren't guaranteed to hold until launch.

 

[KeRaSh]

• Pre-load
• Games I'm extremely hyped for
• Games where I trust the developers blindly

 

[blitzblake]

There was a time when a new game release was exciting and something you looked forward to and wanting to jump in with your friends/chat about it. Those were the good ol' days. Now it's like "I'll wait for a sale" or "I'll wait for the patch". Pretty sad man..

 

[Epcott]

FOMO, fear of casual spoilers, or because you have the money at the time and wont in the future, or some preorder so they wont have to remind themselves later (for convenience) if they're busy... lots of reasons why people still preorder.

I do sometimes, for a title I'm anticipating and all of the reasons above. Can't open youtube without being spoiled on something (and sometimes even reading a thread title here spoils something by accident).

 

[Vilam]

I don't need a game to come out, and I certainly don't need the opinion of reviewers, to know if I want to play a game or not.

 

[degauss]

I don't care much.

If the game sucks, it's my fault for preordering and I live with it.

If the game is promising but buggy, I can wait for a patch, I don't need to temporarily get my money back before buying it again in the future.

 

[HMS_Pinafore]

I've never been burnt by a pre-order but I would like to think I'm savvy enough to know when a launch is going to be rough, and cyberpunk was giving off all sorts of red flags in that regard.

 

[Trigonometrize]

I don't need a game to come out, and I certainly don't need the opinion of reviewers, to know if I want to play a game or not.

Click to shrink...

What if the reviewers' "opinion" ends up being the game frequently crashes and runs at 20 fps half the time?

 

[LeMillion]

I pre-order because it's pretty easy to tell what games will be "good" with the right research. That and I like pre-loading to have things ASAP.

There are plenty of instances where I opt to wait, but I don't think I'd ever stop pre-ordering entirely.

 

[Chaystic]

Why does it matter? If i'm absolutely, 100% sure that i'm getting a game on day 1, why wouldn't I pre-order? Hell I often get my games early so it even benefits me.

 

[Heliex]

I dont need to know what the game is if its by a trusted developer. If its a game by a Studio that has a good track record with me personally, then I dont even need to see a trailer.

 

[Deleted member 8852]

Some devs/franchises you trust enough to buy blind and u want to play them as early as possible.

NaughtyDog
FROMSOFT
etc

Click to shrink...

CDPR was on that list until it wasn't.

 

[The Albatross]

I used to preorder games when there would be legit local shortages of games. This was a thing for most of my adolescent life, before ubiquitous big box stores, your local store would only get so many copies of a game, and would only get new shipments once every couple weeks. I continued preordering games up to about the 360 era, and I *mostly* stopped preordering once I switched go digital at the tail end of the 360.

These days I don't need any games on day one except for my absolutely favorite franchises, like Red Dead, maybe GTA or if there was a new Fallout. I used to buy most games on day 1, but now I rarely do.

Xbox allows you to download/preload a game without buying it, but that's still a pretty new feature. So there used to be that benefit, but now that's not needed. Not sure if Playstation has implemented that too.

 

[Mechaplum]

Why would you care what people do with their entertainment money? They clearly have their reasons.

Those who pre-order Ubi and EA games know that they are paying a premium on playing it day one.

 

[Deleted member 56752]

FOMO, basically.

Click to shrink...

Yeah. I haven't been burned that often either tbh. Like Anthem, and that's it. I bought Avengers day one and knew it would suck. But the campaign was good and I didn't care. That's all I wanted. Like I bought doom eternal, ff7r, TLOU2, got, beyond light, Avengers, Fall Guys, AC Valhalla, Cyberpunk on XSX. None of those games have disappointed me. The only one I had an issue with recently was Anthem. That game is truly garbage. No redeeming qualities

 

[MnM]

Digital copies may run out. This is the only way to get your game 100%.

 

[Bradford]

The only games I preorder are games where I symbolically want to support the development or am okay with losing my money on them and being burned.

Preordering is a gift. It is rarely given.

 

[kosmickitten]

I pretty much only preorder physical games, primarely limited editions and niche games I think might sell out. There are a few excepts to this rule. I will preorder major IPs I love, but don't think will sell out - pretty much anything Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Persona, and TES.

And every year for my birthday and Xmas gift, my brother gets me a giftcard to use to preorder a couple games- which I'll often use on the already mentioned examples. But since he gets excited to know what I'll get, I will be much more likely to preorder something that I normally wouldn't.

 

[shaneo632]

"_____ can do no wrong"

You hear this a lot from people.

 

[Nephtes]

I can't remember the last time I was burnt by preordering... The Witcher III I think? Maybe Street Fighter V?

It's the sole reason I decided to stay the hell away from the Cyberpunk launch. I mean given CD Projekt's track record in delivering a good experience at launch, there was no reason to think CyberPunk was going to be ready to go at launch.

That said, even waiting for reviews you can still get burnt... take Red Dead Redemption 2. The reviews were stellar and yet I couldn't bring myself to put in more than 3 hours with its god awful controls.

But yeah, I've been burnt too many times to ever preorder again.

 

[Mass Effect]

I'm not even sure when the last time I preordered a game was. Spiderman maybe? But I think that was because I still had GCU (so 20% off) and Best Buy was giving a $10 gift card for preordering.

 

[Wulfram]

I'll pre-order if I'm offered a good price for a game that excites me from a developer that consistently hits for me, and its a game where I want to be part of the early community discussions. Hasn't happened in a long time.

I technically pre-ordered Dragon Age Inquisition, but the game was already out in the USA so its not really the same thing

 

[slothrop]

Nintendo first party are consistent, but like, I still don't preorder. I can always download day 1 or 2 if I want it. Why lock myself in with a preorder?

 

[Lothars]

because I want to? because I can justify it for certain games? because I get them for a good price either by trade in's or many other reasons.

 

[MJnR]

No reason really. I just do it on Steam, and if I don't enjoy the game I ask for a refund. As someone who lives in a third-world country, I've seen publishers raising prices here after a couple days once pre-orders goes live, or on day 1, so there's that too.

 

[Dolce]

I don't really buy many AAA Western games so the games I buy rarely have issues and rarely get patches anyway.

 

[Mukrab]

i pre order to pre load

 

[noinspiration]

I don't think I've ever pre-ordered a game, but I have bought a few in the last couple years day one, and even though I got lucky (is the post-release fuckery less likely with Japanese games? It seems that way), reading about people's Cyberpunk odysseys is making me think twice about ever doing that again.

 

[PlatypusDude]

No real rational reason. Guess its a mixture FOMO and knowing what games I will buy regardless of reviews. Same reason why I see certain movies that wind up reviewing crappy like say Suicide Squad.

 

[yyr]

I used to pre-order games a lot more, when they didn't drop in price ~30 days after release.

Outside of backing Shenmue III I can't remember the last time I pre-ordered anything.

 

[Digital Dinosaur]

Two reasons.

1. I know I want the game, usually thanks to a demo, and there's a digital pre-load available. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is the most recent example.

2. Supporting niche publishers, usually imports, and I also know I will very likely really like the game.

I stopped pre-ordering big AAA games over a decade ago; due to the rise of sharp discounts after the FOMO-powered, front-loaded launch month.

 

[Zen]

I will preorder basically anything from a select few IPs that I love to death, such as Final Fantasy. I don't preorder anything else, and agree that the practice needs to be scaled back if not cut eventually.

 

[RedAhmed]

I stopped pre-ordering games, last time I pre-ordered was Breath of the Wild, and that was just because I wanted the Master Edition (which I regret).

Pre-ordering is IMO the cause of many problems within the game industry, with the recent Cyberpunk thing being a good example. If the majority of the consumers stopped pre-ordering I think we can do something about:
- shady embargoes (Cyberpunk situation)
- shady in-game practice which get added with "day 1" patches and stuff (ads in games like NBA 2K)
- Broken/buggy games at launch (lots of examples already)
- anti-consumer refund policies (Sony, Nintendo, MS are guilty of this)

There are probably many more things I could add, but these are what come up right now. I may be wrong about them being resolved if we stopped pre-ordering, but this will help improve things. I'm convinced of it. So yeah, I may sound like a jerk, but people who pre-order (a lot) are part of the problem IMO.

 

[DrScruffleton]

Fomo, preorder bonuses, Microsoft rewards bonuses

 

[SinCityAssassin]

Because they're cool limited editions in giant boxes and I'm a consumerist bastard.