"Let's not preorder games anymore..."

[Kalmah]

Pre-ordering tends to reward the publishers for releasing buggy-ass shit and then allows them to use their customers as free beta testers for the next several months. No thanks, I'll wait until the game is finished.

Also, since reviews before a game is released consist of only paid reviews, (which really are just lies serving as a big 'fuck you' to the customers even further) you have no real information to make an informed purchase.

With that said, I havn't pre-ordered anything in probably 10 years. The last time that I did which was from a Best Buy, they ran out of copies so they couldn't give me one. Walked acrossed the street to walmart and bought the game off the shelf. It's a scam in my opinion.

 

[mindcycle]

Steam thankfully has demo's for a lot of games. But none of the AAA titles have demos these days. Would be really nice if they did. But they may lose sales when people find out how bad some of them are.

Yep, which is sad because of this..

Pre-ordering tends to reward the publishers for releasing buggy-ass shit and then allows them to use their customers as free beta testers for the next several months. No thanks, I'll wait until the game is finished.

IMO, if publishers are afraid of releasing a demo because they think they'll lose sales, that game should go back to drawing board, period. The release now patch later mentality has gotten ridiculous nowadays and is why I stopped pre-ordering altogether.

 

[Arg Clin]

I preorder quite rarely and only to show support for a developer I think is doing a good job. Sort of a pad on the back and a statement of trust.

For me it's a sort of a vote with your wallet thing. The one place where the consumer have a democratic way to influence where game development is going.

Two games currently on my preorder list which are Witcher 3 and GTA 5

 

[kalrith]

SC2: HoTS is the first game I've ever pre-ordered. I knew for sure that I was going to buy it, and I got it for $30 through a Newegg pre-order deal. I doubt it will drop below $30 for a while.

But, with everything else, I don't spend more than $30 on it, and I'm not in the I-must-have-it-at-launch group. If anything, that's the worst time to play a game--paying the most to play the buggiest version. Skyrim is a very good example of that.

 

[Red Storm]

SC2: HoTS is the first game I've ever pre-ordered. I knew for sure that I was going to buy it, and I got it for $30 through a Newegg pre-order deal. I doubt it will drop below $30 for a while.

But, with everything else, I don't spend more than $30 on it, and I'm not in the I-must-have-it-at-launch group. If anything, that's the worst time to play a game--paying the most to play the buggiest version. Skyrim is a very good example of that.

For single player games sure, but for multi player games you know you will enjoy, it can be fun and worth it. You get to partake in the early days and you can give more input to the devs on balance and whatnot.

 

[AdamK47]

If Amazon offers me a $20 credit for a game I know I'm going to buy anyway or find worth $40, I'm pre-ordering it. Don't care what kind of bandwagon gamers are trying to create.

You're already on a bandwagon. The publishers pre-order give us money now bandwagon.

 

[mindcycle]

If anything, that's the worst time to play a game--paying the most to play the buggiest version. Skyrim is a very good example of that.

Yep, that's why I waited a good year to buy Skyrim and i'm glad I did. I pre-ordered the collectors edition of Oblivion and got burned. That was actually one of the last games I pre-ordered I think.

For single player games sure, but for multi player games you know you will enjoy, it can be fun and worth it. You get to partake in the early days and you can give more input to the devs on balance and whatnot.

I'd still wait at least a month or two. Most multiplayer games aren't properly beta tested either and the early subscribers are typically the "actual" beta testers. Plus, if you wait you don't have to be one of the dudes who paid $60 for a title that tanked and lost all it's player base in the first few months either.. win/win IMO.

 

[blackened23]

I only pre-order blizzard games. They remain the one studio that i've never been disappointed by, although some disliked Diablo 3. I was okay with it. All of the WoW games and Starcraft games have met my expectations or exceeded them - blizzard is consistent, if anything.

Aside from that, I generally don't pre-order.

 

[crownjules]

I haven't pre-ordered in awhile. There's very little point to in the digital age. They're not running out of digital copies of the game on day one and most of the things they throw at you to entice you into buying aren't things I care about (cosmetics, another game that I can grab on sale for < $4 anyway if I want it, etc). I'm really picky nowadays anyway. Between playing games less and having a few main stays that take care of most of my gaming time, it allows me to wait for popular opinion on releases.

 

[Red Hawk]

The only games I have preordered were the collector's editions of Mass Effect 2 and 3, and those were games I would have bought regardless of whether reviews were positive or not. I don't preorder games which simply look good and I may very well get; I wait to see reviews and gamer feedback on discussion boards.

 

[PrincessFrosty]

I generally do not pre-order, no good can come of it and the incentives for doing so are often DLC which should have been released with the game anyway.

The only single pre-order I've considered is the Bioshock Infinite one, I really liked Bioshock and Infinite does look good, the pre order on steam is not only cheaper but you get a free copy of Xcom which is impressive.

Still even then it's tentative...it would be nice to see reviews before launch or a demo.

 

[JujuFish]

For me to pre-order a game, it has to be a game I want to play immediately and even then I have to get a good deal. The last game I "pre-ordered" (nVIDIA had a promotion back then with their video cards) was Batman: Arkham City, for $20. As mentioned in another thread here, I would definitely pre-order Fallout 4, of course given a good price.

 

[Regs]

Publishers investing in heavy promotional materials and advertising have bigger pays offs in their sales more so than preparing demos. Until those numbers change, you won't see them as often in major titles.

And when they prepare a demo for you, do you really think they're going to give you parts of the game that are boring, redundant or even "not fun"?

Now with Free 2 Play games making some headway, demos are going to become more a thing of the past.

 

[DeadFred]

No. It's my money and I'll spend it however I like.

This! :thumbsup:

If they offer me a discount on a game I know I am going to buy and want to play, then Ill darn well pre-order it. If there's no discount, then Ill most likely wait till its released.

 

[mindcycle]

Publishers investing in heavy promotional materials and advertising have bigger pays offs in their sales more so than preparing demos. Until those numbers change, you won't see them as often in major titles.

Thing is, most AAA titles have demos day one or before release on the console side. IMO, publishers don't release demos on the PC because they barely put any money toward the ports in the first place, and likely have little to not budget left over for a demo.

And when they prepare a demo for you, do you really think they're going to give you parts of the game that are boring, redundant or even "not fun"?

True, but if done properly it will show off what the game is all about which is the whole point really. I've bought many games based off a good demo, but since they don't release demos anymore I typically wait until a game hits rock bottom prices to reduce the chance of buying a POS. I, for one, would buy games a lot sooner if they have a convincing demo, and I mean it must work on the console side, right? Why else would almost every game there have a demo available?

 

[thm1223]

I never preorder games, but I think its a good idea to support devs you either trust or want to financially back because they have an innovative idea whose completion is contingent on adequate financing.

 

[ImpulsE69]

No. It's my money and I'll spend it however I like.

And we'll continue to laugh at you, I mean with you. :biggrin:


PS those saying preorders support the devs? They do not. That money sits (in your account or the sellers account) until the game is released. It doesn't go in some magic pool of money in the devs pocket that draws interest. The only reason for preorders was to draw people to stores and to give them an idea of how many games needed shipped to their location. Preorders on digital sales is not at all a benefit to the devs. While I don't disagree that if you really want a game and it has a preorder discount and you woulda bought it anyway on day one, then why not, but let's not delude ourselves that your doing some great cause.

 

[smackababy]

I will continue to preorder games because I can spend my money however I like. This article is laughable. "How dare you pay money before it comes out!" Yeah, I won't order anything before the day it is available from now on. Superbowl tickets you say? Nah, I'll just wait and go and buy them at the door.

Good thing I preordered HoTS collectors edition.

 

[ImpulsE69]

I will continue to preorder games because I can spend my money however I like. This article is laughable. "How dare you pay money before it comes out!" Yeah, I won't order anything before the day it is available from now on. Superbowl tickets you say? Nah, I'll just wait and go and buy them at the door.

Good thing I preordered HoTS collectors edition.

Can we say "woosh!" :hmm:


and in case you are not sure why I said that, you missed the point entirely. Superbowl tickets? Those are limited. Collectors editions? Those are limited. Box copies (from stores back in the day)? Those were limited. Digital downloads are not limited. You do not risk NOT being able to get the game because you didn't preorder. While even these days I'd question buying collectors editions of unreleased games (especially if they turn out to be horrible), there is at least an incentive. The only reason online companies have pre-orders these days is the same reason stores had pre-orders back in the day. To get sales. The difference is, there is not a limited supply. They don't risk not having a copy for you and having a lost sale.

 

[blackened23]

I only pre-order blizzard games. They remain the one studio that i've never been disappointed by, although some disliked Diablo 3. I was okay with it. All of the WoW games and Starcraft games have met my expectations or exceeded them - blizzard is consistent, if anything.

Aside from that, I generally don't pre-order.

To add on to this. Bioshock Infinite in my mind is also a sure bet. I have pre-ordered that as well. Ken Levine has done no wrong in my mind.

Anyway. I do agree that most games should not be pre-ordered; there are few exceptions though. I don't mind doing it if it's a fairly sure bet, and blizzard games generally are.

 

[Bateluer]

I will continue to preorder games because I can spend my money however I like. This article is laughable. "How dare you pay money before it comes out!" Yeah, I won't order anything before the day it is available from now on. Superbowl tickets you say? Nah, I'll just wait and go and buy them at the door.

Good thing I preordered HoTS collectors edition.

Uh, you clearly didn't read the article. Say you preordered one of the SimCity 2013 collector packs . . . and after 3 weeks, you still cannot login to play the game consistently, you find out that EA has lied repeatedly about the cloud processing, and disabled all the features that would have actually need online connectivity to improve performance, etc. You are saying you wouldn't be annoyed after dropping 70+ dollars?

Or what about preordering a game like Aliens Colonial Marines, that simply is a universally reviled turd? You just dropped 80 dollars for something that'll be 10 dollars in the digital bargain bin a month after release.

Yes, your money is your own to spend as you see fit. The article is simply pointing out that those that do get burned more often than not.


As for myself, I preorded Civ5 and got burned, preordered TW2 and was very pleased. And I've funded a couple Kickstarter games, which is like preordering. I wouldn't preorder anything from EA, Ubi, Activision, etc because they have such a rep of screwing everything up.

 

[blackened23]

To be fair, the Sim City 2013 connectivity issues are pretty much fixed now. I agree that those issues are not excusable, and EA deserves flack for that. But it has been working fine for some time now. A lot of the issues, if you're still reading about them, are hyperbole - their servers as a whole improved substantially 3-4 days afterward. Again, not excusable. But I don't think anyone will wait 3 weeks for anything. The game works now.

Unfortunately EA has produced some games that I really like. I love the dead space series, I like crysis (excluding part 2) and some other stuff. I'm not sure i'd pre-order anything from them, especially after Bioware jumped shark, though.

PC gamers are really a picky bunch. I will tell you another thing that has never given me issues: Uplay. I literally take 1.5 seconds to log in, click a button, and i'm playing my game - and uplay works offline. I have not, in the existence of Uplay, ever had issues that I can remember. The internet is just filled with hateful hyperbole IMO. Again, this is no way is an excuse for companies who clearly screwed up, like EA. But there are definitely cases where I read hateful posts about "xyz corporation" that isn't really justified.

 

[Bateluer]

To be fair, the Sim City 2013 connectivity issues are pretty much fixed now. I agree that those issues are not excusable, and EA deserves flack for that. But it has been working fine for some time now. A lot of the issues, if you're still reading about them, are hyperbole - their servers as a whole improved substantially 3-4 days afterward. Again, not excusable. But I don't think anyone will wait 3 weeks for anything. The game works now.

Keep in mind that the server issues were entirely unnecessary. The online requirement was only in the game as a DRM method, its been confirmed that SimCity will run without being online. When EA decides you need to buy SimCity 2014 or SimCity 2015, they will shut down servers off and you'll have to go out and spend another 60+ on the new version. Plus several DLC packs.

 

[blackened23]

Keep in mind that the server issues were entirely unnecessary. The online requirement was only in the game as a DRM method, its been confirmed that SimCity will run without being online. When EA decides you need to buy SimCity 2014 or SimCity 2015, they will shut down servers off and you'll have to go out and spend another 60+ on the new version. Plus several DLC packs.

Sure. I understand that. But when you play the game, you'll see that the online connectivity does enhance the achievement and social system alot. I don't think it's really a black and white issue, what do I know though. I just enjoy the games.

Like I said. It is absolutely inexcusable for EA to have blundered the launch as they did. I certainly am not defending them for that.

 

[techie81]

PreOrdered Simcity 5 because I was really looking forward to it. The game was unplayable at launch and still has issues. That experience pretty much taught me to wait for the game to drop in price before buying. Thankfully I was able to get a refund but all were not as lucky.