Poll: Do You Regularly Buy Games On/during the First Few Weeks of Launch Day?

[RedDeadFred]

I don't usually buy games in the first day or even week. The only games I've ever bought on launch day are Skyrim and Borderlands 2. Both of which I find to be amazing.

Usually I buy games a month or so after they're released.

 

[mitchell271]

I haven't even been buying games lately because I've got my Steam and GOG backlog of 10+ indie games to get through and I'm saving up for a new guitar (gotta love the Les Paul Customs!). Guitarists are like gamers, when we see a beauty (or a new Valve game) we have to get it. Gaming and music make for gaping holes in my already tiny student wallet.

Anyways, when I buy games, I tend to get them on a 4-8 month lag. Saves me $20-30 and I get the same single player experience as everyone else.

 

[Jimmy T. Malice]

I prefer to buy games pre-owned or reduced because £45 is just too much for, say, a 10-hour shooter, but if it's something I'm really anticipating I probably will buy it within a week of release. I bought a load of games shortly after release in 2011 because there were so many good releases that year (Portal 2, Infamous 2, Skyrim, etc), but fortunately my wallet hasn't been tested that much since then. The only game I've bought new this year is Bioshock Infinite, and that came free with the first Bioshock so it was more value for money.

The only upcoming game that I want to get on release day at the moment is Dark Souls II. Super excited for that.

 

[IllumInaTIma]

It depends on a game. I've preordered new Dead Or Alive on Vita because I knew enough about previous installments of a game so I was confident about that title.
I've bought Bioshock Infinite on the release date just after Jim's review, knowing that our tastes are usually the same.
I've rushed to buy Persona 4 Golden because I loved Persona 3, even though I didn't know anything about the game, so that was just my fanboy instinct.
In almost all other cases I wait for reviews or Total Biscuit's WTF video.

 

[Nexxis]

The only games that I end up buying around release time are games that I've had a lot of interest in and have been watching for a while. That list is very small and, at the moment, there are no upcoming releases that I plan on getting on or around the release date. Many of the games I buy are games that a friend recommended or they just popped up when I was searching for more games to play, which means that, by the time I hear about a game, it's usually weeks, months, or years after it had been released. I also like to wait for some good sales to come around.

 

[King of Wei]

I'll usually buy games I want within the first week. I've got more disposable income than most so I can afford to risk $60. Latest game I bought was Dynasty Warriors 7 Empires. Only gripe with the game is how insanely fast paced it is. Would have been perfect if not for that.

 

[antidonkey]

Very rarely do I buy a game within the first month of its launch. I'm a stingy S.O.B so I wait for a sale. Of course that usually means getting several on sale at once then not playing any because I can't choose which one should get my time first.....then when a game comes out I'm willing to buy during the first few weeks, I don't because look at all the games I have that I've never fired up.

It's a vicious circle of moron-icy I can't seem to break myself out of.

 

[JasonKaotic]

I never do, but that's only because I can't afford it. Like, I don't have a job yet. Yeah.
If I did have a job, I'd probably get games I'm hyped for on/just after release day, and games I'm just interested or mildly interested in a while later.

 

[GoldenRaz]

The latest game I bought during the first month of its release was Bioshock Infinite, and that was just for fear of spoilers. Because it just takes one guy to not give a shit and it's irreversibly spoiled, and I wanted to play it through on my own terms.

Before that, the latest game I bought around launch day was God of War 3, I think. I've since decided to wait until it's around half the price at launch. Mostly after having seen that the GotY edition of Fallout 3 costs a quarter of what I ended up paying for the game at launch and later all the DLC, combined.

 

[GonzoGamer]

The only games I've payed full price for are ones that left me lying awake at night dying to play the day of their release, which are Fallout or Elder Scrolls. Everything else I just wait for, because prices have gotten beyond stupid.

New Vegas taught me a lesson to grow some more patience and wait anyway, and let others pay $60 for the privilege of being a beta tester.

I learned that lesson from New Vegas too. It was especially bad on the PS3.
Rarely I will get a game at launch if it's something I'm really looking forward to. I actually preordered Borderlands 2 (and got the season pass and I didn't think I'd ever buy one of those) but at the time I was still playing Borderlands 1 every week or so: they instilled enough faith in me.

 

[Goofguy]

It depends on the game. If I've been anticipating it highly and it gets a good review, then I buy it immediately (this probably happens around 3-5 times a year). Otherwise, I'm all too content to wait it out.

 

[MajorTomServo]

The only game I ever bought on launch day was Saints Row the Third, and I picked up a pre-ordered copy of New Vegas three days after launch. I was extremely happy with both those games, (especially New Vegas) but other than that, I never do. I find it hard to shell out $60 for something that will be $20 in a few months... I see launch day as "early access."

 

[mascotbeaver]

Bioshock Infinite is the first game I've bought on opening week in a while (I think I bought Reach on launch), and that was only because of the ridiculous speed at which spoilers appeared (seriously, Moviebob, what were you thinking?). I see no point to buying them so fast other than to avoid spoilers unless you really, really can't live without a game. I plan on buying Persona 5 (if it comes to be) on launch if I don't pre-order, because Persona quite literally was my life for a while and I'm very excited to see more, so I guess that it's fairly ambiguous as to when it's okay. I think that buying a game on launch means that your fully obsessed with a game, and should probably seek help, as I didn't really consider my relationship with Persona healthy.