AgentBJ09 said:
So then, what's the point of your thread beyond the fact that a preorder was open up to one day before launch and you thought it was dumb that the sale clerk actually used logic? After all, you asked for that game, so I can see plenty of reason for him to ask if you wanted to preorder and pay it off all the way or at least put 5$ down on it.
Either you must associate with one odd store given how often I see you in Gamestop threads complaining about small events like this one, or you just have thing against the company for reasons I can't imagine.
They take the shrink wrap off of new games and sell them for full price. Annoys the hell out of me. I can't walk into a Wal Mart, buy a new game, take the plastic off, and then expect to return it. It's always bugged me. I'd wait a month for a "new" game from somewhere else, rather than risk having to deal with that. That's the sum total of my animosity towards the company. I just don't shop there. This particular "event" didn't really bother me. You're right, the guy is a salesman and he was doing his job very well. If anything, I was the one wasting his time. I'm sure they are a fine company, they're just not for me personally and I don't fault anyone for shopping or working there.
The point of the thread is discussing why we accept this system as consumers. We don't preorder DVDs (usually), clothes, books (usually), food, other electronics, appliances, or yard care equipment. It's a little strange if you think about it. Video games don't really go bad. I can play Super Mario 64 just as easily now as I could ten years ago. There's stuff like Call of Duty that are very social, skill based, and involve online level building that might be under consideration, i.e. you don't want your friends to get ahead of you. Are games like that
designed to get us to preorder?
Tallim said:
Think of it this way. When you put money down "in store" for a pre-order that's extra money the business makes from you by way of interest. It's not much but add it up across the whole company for each pre-order and it's free profit for them essentially.
Yes. Why give them that extra money? They're probably even banking on you forgetting you bought the preorder in the first place. Why should you assume the financial risk? You aren't getting it any earlier. It's a weird expectation for consumers to do that and even weirder that we do.
Raiha said:
because it helps game companies limit the costs of over production. hopefully some of that money will go back into game development.
That would make sense, but I doubt it's the case. Target doesn't necessarily tell EA how many preorders they got for Battlefield 3. Considering EA has its own retail outlet (Origin), they are essentially a competitor and that's sensitive information to give to someone that you're trying to outsell.
Crono1973 said:
That's a damn good point. Next time they ask me if I want to pre-order something, I'll ask them if they wanna give me a game that I can pay for in a week or two.
Finally someone seeing this from my perspective. You know, the crankier and pickier we are as consumers, the more retailers are going to go out of their way to offer incentives. You think a bonus gun or an extra challenge map is the best they can do? I beg to differ.
