Poll: Preorders... Why?

[GeorgW]

I usually pre-order a few days before the release specifically for the bonuses. Of course, I only buy (what I think will be) my favourite games at release.
I really don't see the problem with paying up front to pre-order. Sure, it's unjustified, they're gonna sell the copy regardless if I pick it up or not and it's not exactly much of a bother to reserve a copy for me, but why not do it?

 

[zelda2fanboy]

Also once all the copies of a certain game was sold out when i went to buy it. So now i pre order to ensure i have a copy. Normally via amazon.

Amazon runs out of copies, even if you do pre order. Happened to Jessica Chobot when she tried to get release date delivery on Ico Shadow of the Colossus.
http://www.ign.com/blogs/jess-ign/2011/09/27/this-is-horse-sht

 

[4173]

Free stuff (why I pre-ordered Arkham City and Human Revolution).



Insurance (WoW Cataclysm and The Old Republic) because day 1/2 is important enough to me that I don't want to take the chance of some random, unlikely bullshit preventing me from getting the game.

 

[erto101]

In Denmark Game Stop gives you a 20 dollar discount if you pre-order (might be 10. I don't go there too often). Still cheaper to buy it on the internet but it's a nice gesture.

 

[Xorph]

I pre-order if there's something of benefit or a collectors edition (Halo Reach, for example, came with a bunch of stuff if you pre-ordered the Collectors Edition). I don't pre-order if it's something tiny like the extra armor and gun from Fallout NV, but in cases where the game is likely to sell out on release date I'll pre-order to guarantee I get a copy the day of release. Also, Gamestop only sells off your pre-order copy if you're like half a week late to pick it up

 

[warthoggunner]

Bought the preorder box for Gears of War 3 only
because of the T-Shirt

 

[CroutonsOfDeath]

I only pre-order now if I am getting a collectors edition (A Genuine one, not one that just comes with some extra-DLC.) or if there is a pre-order perk I genuinely find tantalizing, so long as they don't charge extra for that perk. But even then, pre-ordering is less relevant so I do it much less. In the digital era, we have amazon for Console Games and Steam and other digital services for PC games. I love Steam because I hate discs of any kind so if Steam is an option and there isn't a cool collector's edition tantalizing me (Like the New Vegas collectors edition which I had to nab physically.) I get it on Steam and what is the point of pre-ordering on Steam or other digital distribution services? I still do it sometimes for the free perks, and because I like all my purchases to be together and if I'm nabbing a couple games off Steam I might pre-order one solely so I don't have to pay for it in 2 weeks but even then that is rare. But I never pre-order in brick and mortar stores with Amazon, which doesn't risk running out of stock or handing your pre-order away. You ask for day 1 shipping, you get your game day 1 - the only drawback is sometimes you gotta wait till like 3 in the afternoon for the UPS guy to get to your house despite you only living 1 block away from the main UPS warehouse and it left for delivery at 2:00 am. Plus without the worry of running out of stock as fast as a store might, I rarely need to pre-order on Amazon in any case. I just order whenever I want.

 

[MisterDyslexo]

If I like the series, or the premise of the game, if I like and trust the developers, and if I think it'll be worth paying a full $60 for (I'm not a very wealthy person), then I'll pre-order. I get a nice little bonus, and the assurance that the game is there. I did it with Catherine (for the free swank), doing if for Battlefield 3 (might be out of stock), and I'm going to do it for Mass Effect 3, Aliens Colonial Marines, and Far Cry 3 all because I like those franchises and think the games are looking pretty good. Coming from a guy who will usually wait a year for a game to inevitably drop down at least half of its original price, a pre-order means I expect high things from them.

 

[Redingold]

Well, when you pre-order things on Steam, they're often cheaper than they would otherwise be at launch. I pre-ordered Portal 2 and Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

 

[PureChaos]

i pre ordered Golden Sun: The Lost Age and was told i'd get a phone call when they had one for me. i'm still waiting for that call. that was the first and last thing i pre-ordered. may pre-order something if i REALLY want it and doing so would get me some cool extra stuff but that's it

 

[Jack Rascal]

I am talking about in store pre orders, not online orders, which are essentially "orders." Your getting the game early is most likely an accident and if gamestop knew that it was arriving before your region's release date, they would probably put a stop to it.

Also, have you seen this story yet?
http://www.examiner.com/video-game-news-in-national/from-software-s-unique-punishment-for-players-who-broke-dark-souls-street-date

That story didn't really have anything to do with my order of Dark Souls. I have not got my hands on the game before September 22nd, which is the first official release date of Dark Souls. I play on PS and the games are region free. Once a game has had its first official release date I am allowed to purchase it. If I spoke or understood Japanese I could have ordered that version of the game. Sending infinite amounts of Black Phantoms after me for having pre-ordered a game would be cruel. Funny as hell, but cruel.

The game is out, already in US and Japan. Here it will be in stores on Friday. My copy has been dispatched today and will be at my doorstep tomorrow. It's a pre-order and has been shipped the same time as it would be for stores. What kind of pre-order is sent on the same day as it would be in stores? As far as I know the pre-order games are sent before the release date so you have the game on the release day. I know that the shop I order from has fast delivery and to my joy on my account the game shows as shipped.

And my pre-order of Dark Souls wasn't from Gamestop, only ACR is. I tried to have those two games separate on my post. And I consider any order that has been ordered before the release date to be a pre-order. Maybe that's were we're getting the difference of an opinion.

 

[I.N.producer]

I pre-ordered The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. I mostly did it so I could get the gold Wiimote+ bundled with it for an extra $20. I have a couple of the motion plus attachments, but I hate using them because they feel weird due to the extra size.

I've also pre-ordered Crysis 2 because it automatically upgraded to a special package on steam.

I mostly preorder for bonuses and knowing that I don't have to pay later.

 

[renegade7]

It fuels the hype campaign, mostly. It creates a feeling that there are limited supplies (there aren't) which creates demand. It also helps to let Gamestop know how many copies to order before launch day, and get an idea of future sales figures.

 

[Exius Xavarus]

Only game I pre-ordered in forever is Dark Souls. My fancy shmancy Collectors Edition was worth it.

 

[funguy2121]

snip

Its interesting that your name on here is Zelda, because that's the only game I'm planning on pre-ordering in the near future. The reason is simple: I want the limited edition controller, just because it's gold and I'm a sucker for gold Zelda-themed shit, and it comes with the anniversary soundtrack.

Gamestop thinks that you and I are suckers. They've failed to hold games and systems before when they've been pre-ordered, they occasionally tamper with products and then re-seal the packaging, and with every visit they try to sell us those bullshit cards that we'd have to dump literally hundreds of dollars into just to "save" a few bucks. They offer the most bullshit exclusive pre-order content ever. Skins that no one cares about and cheats (adult gamers do not care about cheats). Of course no developer is going to exclude all of the savvy, intelligent consumers who don't shop at Gamestop from content they value. It is always throwaway content. I've always preordered at a place like Best Buy; if you have a good relationship with a Mom-and-Pop then they might be your best bet if you actually want to preorder something. If you pick up Zelda in the first week, though, you probably won't have to worry too much about finding a copy. That won't be the case when the Wii U comes out.

 

[Xisin]

I like to pre-order if there are good pre-order bonuses.

 

[New Frontiersman]

Sometimes if I really want the game of if there is a really interesting preorder bonus. I haven't done it as much lately though.

 

[boyvirgo666]

I will preorder on steam if i care enough. I rarely buy games from stores anymore so its never an issue for me

 

[Pegghead]

As well as if I really want to play the game, and to get my hands on it as soon as I can, I tend to also pre-order because:

-I genuinely want the company to get a fair bit of money from me (it sounds silly, but for every Fable title before number three I just borrowed them off my friend, felt kind of guilty)

-There's something genuinely unique and awesome that you get as a pre-order bonus

-Usually in Australia even the big retailers (especially big retailers, mostly JB hi-fi) honour pre-orders above all, even ringing those that pre-ordered a game as soon as the game arrives (I had Portal 2 pre-ordered, my trusty and fairly priced JB ran the day before release date because Valve pulled a good guy move and shipped it early)

it's pretty rare that I pre-order games, they're quite expensive over here so I usually wait a month or so after release if I'm extremely interested in the game and the reviews are good.

 

[Magicmad5511]

I pre-order off the internet. It arrives the day the game is released and sometime a day earlier than the actual release date.

It's mainly because I don't have ID yet and I always get asked for my age in shops. I'm 17 but I've had my age asked for 15s...in the middle of the school day when only college students would be legitimately out.