Do you ever pay full price just to support a developer? Let’s discuss buying games New

[BAD]

I buy games digital only these days, and that decision is two fold. First, it's convenient. But second, it supports higher margin New game sales.

When I want a game to succeed, I tend to be willing to spend a bit extra instead of waiting for a sale. For example, I'll be spending full price on Tropico 6 and any DLC because that's a niche I enjoy and I feel like supporting that smaller company - even if I could wait for a sale with my huge backlog. I also did that for LIMBO and INSIDE because I hate 2D games but was somehow able to enjoy those.

But I'll even do it for games like Unravel, not because it is the only other 2D series I've liked, but because I think that the team behind it is endearing and talented. I want that game to be a success and even though it comes from EA, I want that publisher to know there's a market for Unravel's developer to keep making games.

Used game sales don't help anyone but the consumer and companies like GameStop or whatever. And that's ok, I don't judge too hard. I trade stuff in when I don't want it anymore.

But I try to put my wallet to work and buy stuff if it means something to me to see more releases like that.

Do you ever feel that way? That spending on New and even full price can be a fair way to make a game succeed and support their developer?

 

[Dio]

i do this a lot with Indie devs. AAA, only if i'm really interested, like RE2 or DMC5, for example.

 

[Masagiwa]

I buy the games I am interested in and don't think about it much more than that. How it may or may not affect the companies future is not my concern really, even if it's a developer I really like.

 

[Noppie]

I'm more a fan of my own wallet than the devs profits to be honest. Only when I really really want to play a game, I'll buy it day one / full price.

Otherwise, in this current age of discounts and sales, I'll wait it out.

 

[vestan]

I'm inclined to do this with indie developed games. Most of the time I just buy my games from trusted key resellers that publishers work with like GreenManGaming prior to launch for -20% off or rent them if I want to try before I buy. There are exceptions of course, if it's a game I really want to play day one or from a series that I'd like to see doing well then it's full price.

 

[KiLAM]

I bought yakuza 6 on release and I haven't even opened my copy yet. Also double dipping on all yakuza games on pc.
Very few studios I will buy anything they put out day 1. Currently anything by Fromsoft, RGG, Yoko Taro is an automatic day 1.

 

[NecroTechno]

Hades is the first game I have bought in early access. I adore Supergiant Games, and I am happy to support them.

 

[TheGhost]

No, I usually refuse to do that, but I will for KH3 on Xbox and Tales of Vesperia on Switch

 

[WrenchNinja]

No, I'm not a charity.

 

[Lump]

I bought Burnout Paradise Resmastered just in the hopes of being part of some eventual internal boardroom statistic that shows the people want another Burnout.

 

[ThatGuyJangle]

Indie devs, yes, always. In that I'll pay the launch price and buy the game from my own region, or the sale price if it's during a sale. I don't region hop, or buy keys from questionable sources for either indie or AAA titles.

Support the stuff you love. It is your concern because if a developer goes under they won't be making more of the content you enjoyed from them.

 

[Deleted member 1759]

I usually buy games where they're the cheapest tbh.

But I'm more likely to pay full price for an indie game than for AAA games.

 

[Lilalaunebaer]

I pay as little as possible.
DMC5? Got a pre-order for 33€.
KH3? Thinking about ordering the uk version for 44€. Which would be a nice savings compared to 69€ here, but i´m still wating for something better.

I don´t shit money, so i look out for myself first and companies never.

As for indies. Depends if i think the price is worth it. Because "full price" for indies can mean 15 or 40 bucks. So depends, but mostly i need a deal to buy.

 

[YourFriendLevi]

I do this with Larian and Supergiant.

 

[BigAT]

I bought yakuza 6 on release and I haven't even opened my copy yet.

Click to shrink...

Why do you like their games enough to unnecessarily pay full retail price, but not enough to play them?

 

[atlans89]

I do for PG, Arcsys, Falcom and Yoko Taro's game.

 

[neon_dream]

Small developers, indie devs, mid-sized devs even, yes.

I've lived long enough to see many of my favorite developers shutdown. I remember the EA-PC purge of the mid 90s, when long running developers like Origin Systems and Westwood were killed off to protect the corporate bottom line.

So I'm very willing to pay full price for some indie dev's $10-20 game than I am for any AAA $60 title.

 

[dancingphlower]

I generally don't buy used, and I have been buying digitally more. But yeah, I'm not gonna pay full price for a game if I don't think I'll play it any time soon.

 

[Rotobit]

I bought Tokyo Xanadu and Trails of Cold Steel 2 PC day one basically just to support bringing Falcom games west, though I maybe didn't have the intended effect in the end

Most other times I just buy new because I'm hyped for the game in question.

 

[Hektor]

I generally don't as it is not my job to "support" million dollar companies, but i did buy 5 copies of NieR Automata full price.
I also buy a lot of indiegames full price but i wouid be lying if i were to say that i do it to explicitly to support them.

 

[melodiousmowl]

Indie games: All the time
Everything else: Depends on if I have time to play it when it comes out

 

[Deleted member 14663]

No, I'm not a charity.

Click to shrink...

Pretty much this

 

[Amaterasu]

Sure, all the time. Developing games seems like quite a monumental effort and I'm happy to reward the people that keep me entertained.

 

[SigSig]

Indies: For sure, take that full-price double-dip
AAA: I'll wait until it's 95% off

 

[Alucrid]

i buy all my games new. but i also sell them when i'm done.

 

[mxbison]

I'd say about half my games are full price.

60€ for 12+ hours of entertainment is really not much compared to.....well pretty much any other activity....

People saying gaming is expensive should see what most other hobbies cost.

 

[elcoldtown]

I am usually behind the hype train for a couple of years so most of the things I purchase come with a discount. But when it comes to the games I love, I don't mind paying the full price. Mind though, that they are mostly indies (so not €60). The last title I bought on launch was Guacamelee! 2. For now my backlog is huge but I know that when Ori and the Will of the Wisps comes out, I'll also try to get it as soon as possible.

 

[Big G]

Support the stuff you love. It is your concern because if a developer goes under they won't be making more of the content you enjoyed from them.

Click to shrink...

This. I had already bought the first season of Hitman digitally as they released, but I still bought the physical "complete season" release for this very reason. I wanted to show my support for IO/Hitman as things were looking dicey for them, and I have no regrets. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

 

[ffvorax]

If I have really time to play it dayone then yes, otherwise no... I'm not rich enough to do just see my backlog become too big... I actually rarely buy games dayone, with discounts I just get them and then by the time I finished everything, the new game i am interested is probably on sale.

So if I buy a game at full price is just because I really want to play it in that specific moment, not for just a "support" purpose!

 

[TubaZef]

Yes when it's a developer that I admire.

 

[Zafir]

I mean I wouldn't say it's just to support them, I'll probably want to play the game at some point, just maybe not on release.

I only really do it for titles that aren't guaranteed to sell amazingly anyway though. Someone mentioned Yakuza and I bought Yakuza 6 despite knowing I wouldn't get round to it straight away, and I'm fine doing that after experiencing the period where we got no localisations of those games some years back. I'll do the same for other games that might not get localised if they don't sell, like another series I've done the same for is Trails - I'm still getting through the earlier titles but wanted to support the localisations for the newer games too.

 

[Deleted member 12129]

I'll buy 1 or 2 games at full price a year, but thats just to play with my buddies on release more than anything. Last year I bought Destiny 2 Forsaken and COD on release for example. For everything else I wait for a good sale. I understand that games are expensive to make but I also have a budget. Games have become very predictable with sales and markdowns so its not hard to wait anymore, and it really shows how marked up games can be at times.

 

[KiLAM]

Why do you like their games enough to unnecessarily pay full retail price, but not enough to play them?

Click to shrink...

I just want to support the studio. I love their games so much and I hate to see that their games are not nearly as polpular as they deserve to be. I know 1 copy doesn't make a difference but hey, that's what this thread is about.
And it's not like I will never play it. I am waiting for Yakuza 3-5 remasters to release first and then play it. But I am hoping they release it on pc by then.

 

[StiLteD]

Yeah, one that springs to mind is I did that for SuperGiant. Bought Transistor and Pyre full price on Steam despite a PS4 sale at the time. Just felt they deserved more than £4 per game for them. They're so well crafted it felt right to pay the full asking price. (Which wasn't very high anyway + I got the excellent soundtracks thrown in)

 

[Deleted member 17630]

I only buy games at $60 that are very interesting to me. Prices drop so quick these days that paying $60 for a game, especially single player, is a little extreme for me.

 

[Cecil]

Just to support the dev? If I don't actually want the game? Of course not.

But yes. If it's a game I absolutely want to play, from a dev that I want more games from, then it's a win-win to buy the game full price at release.

As long you buy games you actually intend to play, then you really don't have to worry that much about the price. It's when you start accumulating sales games you don't play, that you start to waste money.

 

[Monster Zero]

I bought the collectors edition of XB2 because I like Monolith Soft.

 

[Rodjer]

I'm getting DMC V, RE2 and Sekiro day one and full price to support Capcom and From.

Other publishers? Depends.

 

[thekonamicode]

I bought Battle Chasers: Nightwar full price on Switch because my buddy Hakan worked on it. Turns out it's a great game too!

 

[toad02]

Almost never, but sometimes.
Examples are DMC5 and The Last Guardian.

 

[DanteSparda504]

I pay full price digital all the time. I don't typically wait for sales, and I don't buy used.

 

[Lashley]

I do with indie devs, AAA I look for deals/sales.

 

[Camjo-Z]

Nope, my shameless desire for a discount generally outweighs everything else. That said I did purchase and give away several copies of the PaRappa PS4 remasters just to support the series... not that it actually had an effect lol.

 

[Chibs]

Yeah, I'm doing this for Metro next month. That series is a freaking gem and I want to support the devs as much as possible, I'd feel bad buying at a heavy discount, let alone used.

 

[oni-link]

I almost never buy day 1 because I have a lot to play already and games are better at day 300 than they are at day 1

I prefer to play the game all patched up, and with any DLC included

Gaming can also be a really expensive hobby if you always buy day 1

In an ideal world the developers would get more support, but at the same time I'm not going to spend more than I have to because my financial health is more important to me than a publishers/developers financial health

If I really want to play the game day 1, or it's likely to quickly go out of print or it might be taken from a digital storefront, then I will buy a game at a high price, but in general I wait for sales/deals

 

[fuzzyset]

Yes, but only partially for the reasons you mentioned. I do buy DLC/mtx to support the developers. Most recent example was PoE2. I got a cheap key, but loved the game so much I bought the season pass and deluxe edition upgrade on Steam. But I'm also trying to not even buy things on sale. If the stars align, and the game I want to play is on sale, sure, but over the years I've realized buying a game on sale to play in the future ("I'll play Z after I finish X and Y") just doesn't work for me. Unless I'm going to sit down and play it immediately, I don't buy it. So, if I want a game, I'll just buy it.

 

[BakedTanooki]

Doing that very often, especially when it's about games by japanese developers. Some indie games too.

 

[Duck Sauce]

I preorder all my console games on their respective stores. PC is a whole different story. I generally use cdkeys or Greenmangaming except for Resident Evil 2 where i paid the full $70 bucks deluxe edition because I love Resident Evil 2.

 

[-PyramidSong]

Only bought two games at full price.
God of War and RDR2. Both games worth it. Im planing to do the same with RE2 Remake

 

[Aniki]

Yeah, did this a lot in the last few years. I also bought games, i liked and i wanted to support, multiple times for the different systems they came out on. I think there's nothing wrong with wanting to support the Devs of games you love. Of course this is much more important to indies and games that don't sell as well as the big tentpole releases.

I won't be doing this as much in the future as i just spent too much on games and instead will buy games when they are on sale. Will only make exceptions for a few titles and Indies of course.