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There's a big debate going on right now following on from pre-order schemes like those on Steam and games like Alien: Colonial Marines not living up to what was previewed.
So, do you pre-order games? Or don't you? Why do you/don't you? What do you think of pre-order bonuses in general?
I don't pre-order games, well it because I don't understand about pre-order stuff. I only buy games from the nearest game store only. It seems easier. But this is opinion :)
I reserve certain games. Just depends what reservation perks are. If it is something I can sink my teeth into, yes. If it isn't worth it, then no.
I think I have preordered a small handful of games in the past but it's not something I do regularly.
Entirely depends on the game, but it's not a common thing. I preordered Bioshock Infinite because yes, but I don't know what the next game I'll preorder will be. Nothing has grabbed my interest nearly enough to warrant a preorder.
If I see it as a 'must-have' game, then yeah, I pre-order it. But I don't buy games all that often to begin with compared to some people here... I buy maybe one game every month or two on average, I'd say.
When I had a regular income, I'd pre-order every game I wanted, mainly because I live in a small town and the local game store generally only gets enough to fill pre-orders + 5-10 more, depending on the presumed popularity of the game. Games like CoD, or other popular series they have many copies. But games like Otomedius Excellent, I was the only pre-orderer, and they only got my copy in, so had I not pre-ordered it, I wouldn't have it.
I think pre-ordering is ridiculous. The "bonuses" are ridiculous. Pre-ordering DLC is ridiculous.
This guy makes all the points:
The Escapist : Video Galleries : Jimquisition : Previewed, Preordered, Prescrewed
Aliens: Colonial Marines is a good example of why we need to stop giving money away for the idea of something. As long as we have all learned something of being... apprehensive of an end product because of it.
Aliens was the last game I'm letting colleagues talk me into pre-ordering :p
I rarely pre-order games or buy games upon release. Usually the price drops about 25% after a few weeks or months of release and I buy it then.
[QUOTE=Loony BoB;3261583I buy maybe one game every month or two on average, I'd say.[/QUOTE]
I pretty much only buy games if it's my birthday or Christmas. Seriously. I'm worse than you on the 'buying games' front.
So yeah, I never pre-order. I understand it, to an extent, but it's not as if the game is going to run out of stock or anything.
I don't tend to pre-order unless there is something that I want that comes as a bonus. A good example is the last game I pre-ordered was Borderlands 2. This was because that pre-order came with the Mechromancer (admittedly a few months down the line).
Other than that, I don't pre-order because I don't buy games at lauch (mostly), except when I will pay launch price for a new game, like FFXIII-2, or Fire Emlbem Awakening to name 2 from recent memory.I haven't finished either, but it would be a shame if these franchises didn't continue due to low sales, so I'll pay the extra a launch.
I tend to pre-order all my games. With some of the titles Atlus and NIS release it can be hard to find them a short while after since it's a niche market, though lately it's not been so bad in that regard.
The bonus stuff is nice at times, though I don't really care to much about it. It's an easy way to remember to set asside just a little bit of money at a time for things, and I'm likely to buy it day one anyway if I want the game. So it works out nicely for me.
Edit: Alright, in response to 'The JimQuisition' linked. I agree with most of his points, but not his conclusion. I think his points are much stronger that we shouldn't be pre-ordering from these companies that keep smurfing us over rather then points against pre-order all together. And DLC Pre-orders are... odd.
I haven't pre-ordered games since early high school, at least a decade ago. Back then I did so occasionally, but I don't even buy games on release anymore, so there's just no point in bothering and paying full price.
I prefer Total Biscuit's analysis.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pete for President
I still preorder though. But I do have some restrictions. First, I don't preorder games sight-unseen. That's just silly. Further, the games I preorder are largely imports, and frequently lesser known/lesser promoted titles.
Why is this important? Well, it's worth noting that originally preorders were something done to benefit customers. They were a way to ensure that you would be able to get a game that a store otherwise might not get in quickly, or even at all.
I can't recall the number of times preordering has gotten me a game that otherwise would never have come into a store, or that store employees didn't know about.
So, yeah, I've preordered Rune Factory 4. The rest of the series was brilliant, the videos I've seen of it look great, and it has gotten phenomenal reviews in Japan. And the game is not a triple-A title. There are a lot of people who still don't know of the Rune Factory series, and it's not the sort of game that a small store will typically get in immediately.
I'd also preorder a game to show my support of it. I'd preorder Final Fantasy Type-0 as soon as a translation was announced, just so that Square would realize that there is a dedicated fanbase for that sort of game.
It depends on the game.
Some games most likely will never go down in price so there's really no point in waiting but other games go down $30+ dollars. And, on top of that, wait a bit longer you get the game + DLC......all depends on how long you wait and how much you want to spend.
I believe the only game I have ever preordered was Xenosaga II from Gamestop. I really wanted the bonus dvd which had all of the cinematics (or at least 4 or 5 hours of them) from Xenosaga I. I went in on the day the game was released, and they told me they ran out. They told me to go to another gamestop to see if they would have them. That Gamestop said whether they had them or not, they can't give the preorder bonus to someone who didn't preorder from their specific store. The original Gamestop, when I went back the next day, just told me sorry and that they weren't getting anymore. I was so upset as a kid then that I decided I'd never shop at Gamestop again. I think the only thing I've bought from there since is Xenoblade Chronicles... but now it's just because I know I can get games for cheaper elsewhere. Either way, that sour experience is probably why I haven't ever preordered a game since, either.
I think the only retailer in my vicinity that does that is Gamestop and I don't smurf with that terrible company anymore. The post above me is a good example of why they're a bad company. The only game I ever pre-ordered was Final Fantasy XII.
All depends on the pre-order swag. I got a clock for reserving Chrono Cross and a completely bad-ass 25th anniversary goodie box for Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin a while ago. Lately it seems like you're only rewarded with a code for the on disc DLC with is totes bulltrout. I preordered the MGS3: Subsistence limited edition a while back too and that was a wise decision. I've never seen another copy since.
Depends on the publisher. I wouldn't really pre-order something SE was releasing but like NeoCracker points out, Atlus is another story and is pretty notorious for not flooding the market with copies so their games disappear quick. Still kicking myself for not picking up Devil Survivor 2 when I had the chance and I live in a large city that has multiple places to acquire copies and its still hard to find. Hell I picked up Soul Hackers the other day and learned it was the only copy my Gamestop got in. So for big publishers I don't really do it too often except to maybe pay off the game before hand if I know I'm going to be broke around that time.
I don't pre-order for bonuses, some games get cool swag but I'm there for the game and I'm completely against DLC pre-order bonuses, easily the most annoying thing about companies like Ubisoft. I will also never pre-order something that I can't confirm the release date for. Fall of 2013 is not a release date, if I could, I'd be happy to know the hour the game was going to hit store shelves. Other than, I do pre-order but not very often. It depends on factors like the publisher and genre of game.
Not really. Maybe sometimes if i get something fancy for doing it. It's never because I'm worried about not getting the game on launch day, if I even want it at launch.