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Day 1 Purchasing is Making Less and Less sense
- Thread starter dex3108
- Start date
I'll buy day one if it's a game I'm going to enjoy and play day one. Otherwise, yeah I can wait for it to hit more than half off.
If it's a must have game in my eyes, always day one. But only if I know I'm going to put everything else aside and play it immediately through. Upcoming games for example are Resident Evil 8, Ratchet & Clank, Skyward Sword HD and Halo: Infinite.
I buy the games I want when they come out, because I want to play them. I am under no illusions regarding the savings I could make by waiting, but I also don't play almost any of the big blockbuster games.
As a result, I'm rarely impacted by major glitches or issues. I primarily play jrpgs anyway. I'd prefer to show my support for the games being localized.
As a result, I'm rarely impacted by major glitches or issues. I primarily play jrpgs anyway. I'd prefer to show my support for the games being localized.
Depends on the game. Community driven like Monster Hunter or long awaited single player, I don't see why wait...
Oh, I am looking from a Nintendo player perspective, what is this "lower price" you are talking about?
Oh, I am looking from a Nintendo player perspective, what is this "lower price" you are talking about?
Nintendo games and the rare game I really want to play badly.
Another contributing factor can be how bored I am at a game's launch. I'll pay more and for a buggy mess (see Cyperpunk 2077) just because I'm extremely bored at the time and need something to do.
Another contributing factor can be how bored I am at a game's launch. I'll pay more and for a buggy mess (see Cyperpunk 2077) just because I'm extremely bored at the time and need something to do.
100% Facts.
This feels like it should be common sense, but every time these threads pop up, declaring Day 1 purchasing as dumb, it becomes clear to me that this fundamental truth escapes most people.
If no one buys games/hardware on Day 1, games flop, companies produce less, bugs do not get fixed because companies don't see the interest, DLC isn't made, and the industry as a whole contracts.
You need people to buy day 1 to keep the industry healthy, AND you need folks to wait so that companies are incentivized to discount games and fix issues, in order to stimulate more new sales.
You need BOTH. You cannot have one without the other. No amount of trying to feel superior about your personal buying habits will change that reality.
It's about sharing the experience with other people.
You can watch WandaVision and discuss on social networks. Or you can binge-watch when it's done but and when you try to talk about to other people, they'll be smug and "lol I knew about the red wedding 10 years before you".
Oh and the multiplayers games. When the hype die, you won't find anyone on the servers.
You can watch WandaVision and discuss on social networks. Or you can binge-watch when it's done but and when you try to talk about to other people, they'll be smug and "lol I knew about the red wedding 10 years before you".
Oh and the multiplayers games. When the hype die, you won't find anyone on the servers.
I probably buy 2 or 3 titles on day one per year. I enjoy being a part of the hype online (even though I don't tend to post, I like to read the OT's and learn things about the game as I play). I have pre-ordered Outriders for £45 which a saving on the retail price.
If I don't buy day 1 then it will tend to be a bargain bin purchase for me. I intentionally didn't buy The Last Of Us Part 2 and Ghost Of Tsushima because I wanted to play them on the PS5.
I picked up TLOU2 for 17.99
Ghost Of Tsushima is bucking the trend though and is still hovering around £40-50.
It is strange though, just because I didn't buy a game on day one I have this weird sense of entitlement that I shouldn't have to pay a high price for it. I mean I would've paid £45-50 quid on day one, but now... I'm sat waiting for it to drop to £25
If I don't buy day 1 then it will tend to be a bargain bin purchase for me. I intentionally didn't buy The Last Of Us Part 2 and Ghost Of Tsushima because I wanted to play them on the PS5.
I picked up TLOU2 for 17.99
Ghost Of Tsushima is bucking the trend though and is still hovering around £40-50.
It is strange though, just because I didn't buy a game on day one I have this weird sense of entitlement that I shouldn't have to pay a high price for it. I mean I would've paid £45-50 quid on day one, but now... I'm sat waiting for it to drop to £25
OP
OP
I do. Maybe not as much as I could but I am at least one of the rare people here on Era that will post interesting indie games and push them as much as I can.
Day 1 makes sense of you buy physical. Can sell when you are done and get most of your cash back, and also be part of the discussions/meltdowns here.
Can always get the digital version on sale later, if you still want it.
Can always get the digital version on sale later, if you still want it.
Yeah I never preorder games and buy them day one unless i split the cost with my buddy or a game is a heavy hitter like god of war. With new prices in Europe that wont be the case anymore. So far the 80e games prices dropped like a rock. I can wait and get a better version for cheaper in a month or few. The funniest thing are the season passes that get a price cut before they even release all the content.
I hold off on purchasing single player games and simply wait for a sale or the possible release on Game Pass. Multiplayer games that I actively play with friends are an immediate purchase.
I generally agree with OP, but I sometimes still balance the pros and cons of waiting.
For me, if there's a multiplayer focused game with pvp that I really want to play, I have to be ok with players being practically pro by the time I decide to finally get the game. So I've jumped in Day 1 before to be on a level playing field with others. I play much more single-player though, so this mindset isn't really issue for me.
I did get TLoU2 Day 1 instead of waiting specifically because the leaks were out, a group seemed very unhappy and vocal about them and voiced their displeasure everywhere (with spoilers even in thumbnails on YouTube), and I needed to play it as soon as I could before I got spoiled.
But if I buy only a couple of Day 1's a year, I'm very proud of myself lol. Demon's Souls PS5 this year so far.
Last year I kept it to two I think: TLoU2 (great) and Avengers (ehhh... Enjoyed it initially, but should have waited).
For me, if there's a multiplayer focused game with pvp that I really want to play, I have to be ok with players being practically pro by the time I decide to finally get the game. So I've jumped in Day 1 before to be on a level playing field with others. I play much more single-player though, so this mindset isn't really issue for me.
I did get TLoU2 Day 1 instead of waiting specifically because the leaks were out, a group seemed very unhappy and vocal about them and voiced their displeasure everywhere (with spoilers even in thumbnails on YouTube), and I needed to play it as soon as I could before I got spoiled.
But if I buy only a couple of Day 1's a year, I'm very proud of myself lol. Demon's Souls PS5 this year so far.
Last year I kept it to two I think: TLoU2 (great) and Avengers (ehhh... Enjoyed it initially, but should have waited).
guess i've just missed those posts of yours, i always took you for being more AAA focused. i've been burned out on AAA stuff for a while and play probably 80% indie games these days and am having a lot more fun. i can usually trust them to be in a great state at launch
This.
You want to wait, that's fine. But I want to play a game I'm looking forward to as soon as possible. The whole "Oh the game needs more patches at release" is so overblown imo and only affects a few games.
I'll only buy day one if it's something I'm super excited to play day one and I'm willing to pay the price to do so. That's often story driven things I'm stoked for and want to avoid spoilers or co-op MP games that friends are buying and starting day one. I mostly don't care about being part of the conversation any more as I cut my online posting way back. Mostly just skim for news, occasionally post in random threads like this, and even more occasionally in game OTs.
Even with that said, I don't collect and rarely replay games so I'll often buy physical and sell when I beat to recoup some costs and make the day one purchase easier to swallow. Exceptions being the MP games that have DLC planned as those tend to be worth very little once we're done with all the content (and I play those along side single player games so the disc swapping gets old).
In any case, I buy many fewer games these days—be it day one or later on—due to Gamepasss, PS+ games, EGS freebies etc. Those mean I have plenty of games to check out at all times so I don't have to buy things in between the games I'm actually stoked to buy and play.
Even with that said, I don't collect and rarely replay games so I'll often buy physical and sell when I beat to recoup some costs and make the day one purchase easier to swallow. Exceptions being the MP games that have DLC planned as those tend to be worth very little once we're done with all the content (and I play those along side single player games so the disc swapping gets old).
In any case, I buy many fewer games these days—be it day one or later on—due to Gamepasss, PS+ games, EGS freebies etc. Those mean I have plenty of games to check out at all times so I don't have to buy things in between the games I'm actually stoked to buy and play.
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I rarely buy games at release now, there is no real reason when they are so heavily discounted a few months later. Being a part of the conversation is not a big deal and I have so much to play that I won't be missing out.
There are certainly some AAA games I don't mind getting Day 1 because the developers/publishers have assured me of a certain quality that they're basically always able to deliver. First-party Xbox, Playstation, and Nintendo games are pretty damn good at launch for the most part. If I'm very excited about a game, I'm going to get it. What that game's price is going to be in a month or when it's joining Gamepass, PS+, or being given away by Epic doesn't matter to me.
Price increase and QoL is what finally convinced me. I was very picky with day one purchase (basically SONY and Nintendo first party).
But, while TLoU Part 2 and Miles Morales was still very polished games (MM crash, but the experience wasn't "buggy"), they both add awesome QoL. Part 2 with aiming (which was very problematic for me with a very high deadzone), film grain toggle. MM add a 60FPS RT mode.
I didn't bought GoT on purpose and I will be able to do it at a cheap price with the 60FPS patch.
I will still buy Nintendo games day one because they doesn't patch their game a lot. Add to the fact physical pre order are really cheap in France. Then the game goes back to Nintendo price.
But PS5 games are finally cheaper in France so I will still buy R&C at launch for 55€ (including a 15€ coupon) instead of the 80€ Sony is asking me to pay. But I won't play day one.
I trade-in and sell games after I'm done, so it doesn't bother me much. If that option wasn't available to me, then sure, I'd probably just go ahead and wait, but not really a lot of reason to do so if I can make most of my money back via trading or selling.
The same reason that existed back then, is still 100% relevant today.
The industry needs early adopters, ie people with more money than sense, to pay top dollar for substandard products that will be massively reduced in price in days. This is what drives the industry and gives us all the chance that someone, somewhere, will make a game worth playing.
We will then buy that game on sale.
So please continue to invest in your day 1 xbox x or whatever it is called. You might not have anything to play for 18 months, but know that you are doing others a great service.
I agree. I like to play complete editions and for cheap. Prices drop really fast most of the time.
When GCU was a thing, I bought games at launch pretty regularly. Don't think I will be doing it as much now.
"I don't understand playing any of these games at release...Except for these games in particular that totally throw out my argument."
I rarely buy games at release! The only 2 games I bought on launch day this gen was God of war and TLOU2, and they were worth every penny😁 Other then that I always wait 1-2 years.
Fomo is bad.
It was worse with GCU. Especially when they are on sale and include things like steel cases.
But now I have a stack of games, and the prices keep falling. With little time and plenty to play its getting easier to wait.
It was worse with GCU. Especially when they are on sale and include things like steel cases.
But now I have a stack of games, and the prices keep falling. With little time and plenty to play its getting easier to wait.
I'm very careful with how I spend my money, but if it's a game I'm really looking forward to like say Monster hunter Rise I'm not gonna wait 3 months just to save a small amount of money. That can't possible be hard to understand? The OP talks as if they don't care that much about any games like they're not that into the hobby or something. So if OP's dream game number 1 got released they're just gonna wait however long it takes to get it for cheap?
I'd argue you're not that into video games if that's the case.
I'd argue you're not that into video games if that's the case.
I used to pretty much buy every game I had interest in day 1, and 95% of the time they would just sit there and not get played, so now I only buy the games I know I am going to play immediately on day 1. The one exception is I love Steelbooks so if a game comes with one at launch I will probably just buy it to make sure I get the case.
The last ''day 1'' i bought was Cyberpunk, worst idea ever. I think i'll buy RE Village and that's all, 70usd games and the risk of broken releases makes me cautious on going day one for the new releases.
For me personally it is getting more difficult to purchase games on Day 1 unless I a) am super interested b) it reviews well c) I have time to immediately play it. The price hike for this gen combined with fast price drops makes it more difficult for me to justify the purchase. The only game I can remember not being a much better experience after a few months through a patch is FF7R. Plus as others have mentioned with GotY editions and such it's often better to wait if you want a complete experience. It's also hard for me to support the price hike when these companies are making more profits than ever before.
I do think it's fine for others to buy games Day 1. It's up to each person to make their own decisions, but for me they are going to have to increase the value proposition if they want to increase the price and so far I'm not seeing it.
I do think it's fine for others to buy games Day 1. It's up to each person to make their own decisions, but for me they are going to have to increase the value proposition if they want to increase the price and so far I'm not seeing it.
The only games I am willing to buy day 1 are Nintendo exclusives and the occasional third-party game (From Software) that will never make it to Game Pass. If something has a chance to make it to Game Pass, I will just wait until it makes it to the service.
For PS exclusives, they drop in price so quickly, so you might as well wait until they're $15-20.
For PS exclusives, they drop in price so quickly, so you might as well wait until they're $15-20.
I'm impatient to play them and I can afford them, it really is that simple.
With that said, it's fine to wait.
Purchasing day one makes no sense to me. But that's just my feelings. I don't care about being part of a message board group experiencing the game at the same time. I'd rather pick it up later when it's hopefully fixed, and for a much smaller price point.
it's not like any of these games are doing something I haven't already seen before. It's the same experiences I've had elsewhere, so I just can't get that excited, that I need a game day one.
it's not like any of these games are doing something I haven't already seen before. It's the same experiences I've had elsewhere, so I just can't get that excited, that I need a game day one.
As someone that can count the games purchased day one the last ten years with my fingers. Generally wait for sales or buy used because can't really afford them.
Some games you just have to buy day one.
The games I have bought and will continue to buy day one
Pokémon want to be there day one for the community
Multiplayer games like MH Rise cause of the community
Certain long Anticipated games like Last of us 2 or Elden ring and I want to be part of the convo when it launches
Nintendo games they take a while to go on sale
Some games you just have to buy day one.
The games I have bought and will continue to buy day one
Pokémon want to be there day one for the community
Multiplayer games like MH Rise cause of the community
Certain long Anticipated games like Last of us 2 or Elden ring and I want to be part of the convo when it launches
Nintendo games they take a while to go on sale
I used to day 1 alot because there were some solid E3 preorder deals in canada through various vendors. Now that this is gone, I do it far less frequently, aside from budget priced games.
