Is pre-ordering really worth it?

[Exile714]

Pre-ordering is an interest free loan you give to developers in exchange for... cheap DLC-type deals and the "guarantee" that you will receive a copy on day one. Problem is, it's not exactly hard to make enough copies. Actually, the marginal cost of a single disk and box are so small that it makes better sense to produce too many, then just destroy them later.

There are entire companies built around "securitizing" small transactions, whereby some people make money off of loans made by lending money as it temporarily changes hands. You're basically giving developers a huge benefit of an interest free loan with little or no return.

Then there's the actual cost to you. Sure, you're going to pay the SAME amount for the game on day one as I will, but you've giving up something big: the ability to choose NOT to buy the game. Either you forfeit the pre-order, or you buy the game, even if reviews say it is a major waste of money.

 

[Twad]

Even if i never pre-ordered something, i dont really consider them worth it, no matter the ammount of "freebies".

It feels like an expensive gamble, you don't know if the game will be worth the price.

Its why i just wait and try a game before i buy it, very often it saves me from making costly mistakes by buying games that "look" fun but really arent. Plus, after i waited a bit, the game is usually (mostly) bug-free at that point and i can play without suffering bugs and crashes that i would have if i got it straight at launch.

 

[JackWestJr]

I only pre-order at stores. I make a habid of not pre-ordering online because I only pre-order when I want it the day it comes out. For example; I will pre-order Uncharted 3 probably because I want it day 1, don't care that it costs 2x as much as it would online (DAMN YOU AUS GAMES MARKET!!!!)

 

[CthulhuMessiah]

I've never pre-ordered a game because I always pick the games up when ever I get the dollars and cents to purchase it, which usually a month or two.

 

[theevilgenius60]

It all depends on why you're preordering. If it's for little cosmetic freebies that come with the pre, then meh, take it or leave it. On the other hand if you preorder games because you don't know how your wallet's going to be doing when the game comes out(yep, that's my sole reason) then I see it as justified. I've been steadily preordering and paying off the games I want this fall for some time because there is a shit load of great games coming out. I use preorder like my mom used layaway when I was a kid. Pay down over time and it doesn't hurt your wallet so badly.

 

[Gaiseric]

Preordering is worth it to me simply because it gives me a goal and something to look forward to. I do better when I have goals.

Any bonuses are just icing on the cake.

 

[ZeZZZZevy]

Like many people said already, pre-ordering is good when you know you're getting the game anyway, as it really isn't any effort at all (especially if you order through amazon) and you get extra stuff.

If you're on the fence (or on a budget and have to wait for price drops) you don't have to pre-order. It's a convenience. The extras are really only a bonus.

I don't really see a controversy here. If you do it, good for you. If not, you're not missing out on much.

 

[Stammer]

Hmm, allow me to ponder this question...
- It costs no extra money to pre-order a game
- You're guaranteed to get the game on day-1
- You usually get some kind of reward for pre-ordering
- If you're really short on money you can basically treat it like a 0% interest financing on the game (pay some now, pay some later, pay the rest whenever you pick it up)

I think the real question is, how is it NOT worth it?

 

[ZeroMachine]

Pre-ordering literally costs you nothing but time. If you KNOW you want the game, AND if the pre-order comes with some sort of bonus, there really isn't any big reason not to do it.

 

[CCountZero]

I'm broke, it's lots of effort.

The cost of the game never goes up by pre-ordering, but it does sometimes go down.
So what kind of sense does that make, if any?
I fail to see your logic here?

And if you really are broke, you should be doing digital download versions on PC and save yourself 35-60% of the cost.

I pre-ordered Arkham City Steelbook edition, but I'm wondering if all the time and effort is worth it?

List of reasons for pre-order:

Cosmetic item(s) that you think are super cool.
This would include something like the Arkham City bonus skins.

Functional items, otherwise unobtainable in-game.
Recently, Human Revolution had a silenced sniper rifle that I absolutely had to have, and the THQ bonus for Space Marine was a Power Sword, which seems to be the best option for pwnage in that game.

The ever-present promises of beta invites and early access.
We've all done this. Don't lie. Heck, half the reboot Medal of Honor sales could be attributed to the promise of Battlefield 3 Beta access.
And I know I wasn't the only one enjoying WoW pre-release, even without dungeons or any other luxuries its players enjoy today.
And before you ask, yes, I did already cash out for SWTOR.

Supporting Indie development.
To my knowledge, not the most common of practices, but there are a few promising Indie games being developed, with people pre-ordering, thus pumping more money into the machine, enabling the devs to push even more awesome into the games.

Price cuts.
Pre-ordering a PC game at GameStop? Here, have a gift card worth ~25% of the game cost!
It's a clever way for GameStop to keep you coming back, but hey, if that's where you buy your games, you're just gonna be happy, right?

Limited availability
Want a special version of the game? Collectors Edition or something similar? Better pre-order that sucker before somebody else does.


Personally, I tend to pre-order when they throw something functional at me.
Or offer me a Beta of something I've been waiting a long time for.
Hell, the second I get a whiff of a SWAT5 pre-order, I'll be there, card in hand.

95% of the time I'll go digital, and if I the release days daily activities allows, I'll be staying up early, playing that shiz.


However, you always have to be reasonably certain that you won't be disappointed. Once you lay down that cash, there's no going back!

 

[Extasii]

Yeah, I'll pre-order. Midnight launch party sounds like too much fun haha. Plus chipping away at a game every paycheck rather than nuking my wallet sounds a bit easier to take

I'm really pumped about my Mass Effect 3 CE.
20 bucks extra for an N7 patch, an artbook, DLC, AND the soundtrack?

Oh, and I pre-ordered Skyrim in... May? April? Not really sure. All I know is, I did it BEFORE I knew about the cloth map.

 

[Epona]

Hmm, allow me to ponder this question...
- It costs no extra money to pre-order a game
- You're guaranteed to get the game on day-1
- You usually get some kind of reward for pre-ordering
- If you're really short on money you can basically treat it like a 0% interest financing on the game (pay some now, pay some later, pay the rest whenever you pick it up)

I think the real question is, how is it NOT worth it?

It's not worth it if:

- The game sucks and you don't know it till it's too late
- The game is buggy (looking at Skyrim PC here) and you can't play it until the first patch anyway
- You are pre-ordering on a Digital Distribution service or if your physical copy needs to be activated and you won't get to play at midnight anyway.
- You're pre-order bonus DLC is worthless or overpowering (ex, the best sword in the game is yours at the beginning).

 

[UrieHusky]

I've never been worried about getting things the moment they come out, unless like right now the games for the past however long have been mostly horrible which has caused me to go out and get games on or near release date.. but as for pre-ordering, I generally don't do it, I'll wait for some trusthworthy strangers on the internet to tell me whether its good or not, weigh up the pros and cons of the game and then buy it if I think it's worth the money, it's not so much stingy-ness as much as not wanting to reward developers for making poor games

 

[Stammer]

It's not worth it if:

- The game sucks and you don't know it till it's too late
- The game is buggy (looking at Skyrim PC here) and you can't play it until the first patch anyway
- You are pre-ordering on a Digital Distribution service or if your physical copy needs to be activated and you won't get to play at midnight anyway.
- You're pre-order bonus DLC is worthless or overpowering (ex, the best sword in the game is yours at the beginning).

Not pre-ordering it isn't going to fix those problems anyway.

I didn't mean "pre-order it always" I just meant "pre-order it if you're planning to pick it up at any time prior to the price drop anyway".

Here's the logic:
If you're not going to pre-order it, THEN YOU'RE NOT GOING TO PRE-ORDER IT. Very basic, circular logic lol.

 

[nicholaxxx]

depending on how "hot" the game is, I find it never hurts to ensure that I get it when I want it.

 

[Radelaide]

I'm broke, it's lots of effort.

The cost of the game never goes up by pre-ordering, but it does sometimes go down.
So what kind of sense does that make, if any?
I fail to see your logic here?

And if you really are broke, you should be doing digital download versions on PC and save yourself 35-60% of the cost.

You're reading WAY too far into how lazy I am

 

[Radelaide]

Hmm, allow me to ponder this question...
- It costs no extra money to pre-order a game
- You're guaranteed to get the game on day-1
- You usually get some kind of reward for pre-ordering
- If you're really short on money you can basically treat it like a 0% interest financing on the game (pay some now, pay some later, pay the rest whenever you pick it up)

I think the real question is, how is it NOT worth it?

Unless you're going for a Collectors Edition which does cost more. The only real reason I picked up the Steelbook edition is because for $98 I could get more stuff for the regular $98 game. Yay, Australian games prices!

 

[ecoho]

Pre-ordering is not worth it.

What does pre-ordering do? It "guarantees" you a copy of the game and maybe some in-game cosmetic items.
If you're pre-ordering from Gamestop, you're not guaranteed shit. They WILL sell your reserved copy if someone comes in and wants it before you get there. And yes, that happens on day-one releases, too.
Cosmetic items are complete bullshit. It's a marketing ploy and a retarded one at that.

Almost every game I've ever wanted on day-one has been in stock from where ever I bought it. The ONLY game that failed that was Dead Island, and that's because it's pretty SHIT on PC, which I found out the hard way.

Even if all you have to do it put down $5, it's still not worth it.

Unless you want to an edition of the game that will be in limited quantities, don't. You can always get those editions. You might have to wait a little while, but you can still always get it.

umm you must have a really crappy gamestop,cause by law*(and policy)[also this only applies in the US] they must have one ,if you preordered, available for you.

*if they sell your game that you preordered they are guilty of false advertising which is illegal in the US,it is also against gamestop policy and the employe who did such would be fired.

 

[Epona]

It's not worth it if:

- The game sucks and you don't know it till it's too late
- The game is buggy (looking at Skyrim PC here) and you can't play it until the first patch anyway
- You are pre-ordering on a Digital Distribution service or if your physical copy needs to be activated and you won't get to play at midnight anyway.
- You're pre-order bonus DLC is worthless or overpowering (ex, the best sword in the game is yours at the beginning).

Not pre-ordering it isn't going to fix those problems anyway.

I didn't mean "pre-order it always" I just meant "pre-order it if you're planning to pick it up at any time prior to the price drop anyway".

Here's the logic:
If you're not going to pre-order it, THEN YOU'RE NOT GOING TO PRE-ORDER IT. Very basic, circular logic lol.

Not pre-ordering allows you to see if those problems exist BEFORE you lay down any money and quite frankly I don't like sending developers and publishers the message that I will buy their game without reviews, both from critics and players.

Consider this, if a game hits a million pre-orders before it even goes gold what is to stop publishers from rushing out a crappy, incomplete game like Dragon Age 2? I mean, they've already sold a million and the game isn't even finished. That is harmful to the entire industry in my opinion. Your pre-order just tells the publisher that you don't care about the quality of a title because you are putting your money down before that is even known. Next game, pre-order marketing takes a priority over quality because reviews are unimportant if you can sell the game before the reviews come out.

Let's take Skyrim for example, we all know it will be buggy as hell on PC. Who in their right mind would pre-order it knowing that? Further, what good does it do to pre-order a AAA game? You know there will be plenty to go around and you can download it from Steam on Day 1 and that is an infinite supply. The cloth map you say? How many people actually used the paper map that shipped with Oblivion? It was useless as you had the same map in-game.

 

[Danzavare]

For me it's a matter of trust with the game developers and a way to show my appreciation. I absolutely love Oblivion. I bought it together with the 360 when it was first released, and I've kept coming back to it for years now. Sure, Skyrim looks friggen awesome, but my love for Oblivion is what is primarily responsible for my decision. Of course great rewards add extra incentive (Provided they influence gameplay in some way or expand on the lore of the game), but they're usually not my primary motivation. Dragon Age is probably a better example. I loved the first one, and decided to show my appreciation by pre-ordering it. I think the second pales in comparison with the first, but I don't regret my decision.

I mean there's also the fact that there's a surefire promise that you'll get to play a game you desire as soon as possible. That headstart is particularly handy if you're someone who uses the internet for gaming related things. Let's face it, hearing everyone judge or discuss something you really want but don't have is unpleasant. Financially you balance the rewards and game against how likely it is to be discounted and how long that wait would be. I could wait for Saints Row to hit $20 Australian, I'm not willing to do so for Skyrim.

Of course, there are instances where you feel betrayed by the product/company. Guess which fool pre-ordered Sonic 2006 thinking it would be Sonic Adventure 3?

My poor, poor, childhood! D':