Why do people pre-order games?

[WickedSkin]

Spoiler: Snip

You are so, so wrong.

I can list a good 50 games that were amazing on day one without patches and were perfectly playable. Pre-orders are not destroying the gaming industry. Honestly I can't even figure out how you would come to that conclusion, maybe you are incredibly picky with games in general or hold an unrealistic standard that all games should live by?

You are right, I shouldn't have said -Every- game released, just more than there should.
Dragon Age 2, L4D2, CoD: MW2 onwards had a decent number of pre-orders. Quite a few were disappointed.
My standards are not unrealistic. I just like things to improve rather then deteriorate. It's not much to ask if someone is asking me for more money.
Dragon Age 2 was pretty crap and never even had a devkit released. Neither did the Mass Effects even though they had every opportunity for a great one. UE.
That alone would've turned crap or good games into brilliant games. I mean if not Bioware, modders, would had turned Dragon Age 2 into a good game. Maybe even a very good one. They all had bugs and glitches that could ruin someone's game(-ing experience).

Pre-orders might well determine a games fate. If not sooner then later anyways (QC and maintenance-wise).

EDIT: Made tiny correction

 

[dr_what]

I have only ever pre-ordered one game and thats been GTAV (for ps3), and only because I want to have some of it paid off by the time of release (at the time of writing 17th September) because around that time of the year I tend to be low on funds, so it can't hurt to have some of it paid off.
As for physical preorder bonuses, I managed to get various collectors editions of games (ex Arkham Asylum, ACIII) a couple of weeks after their release easily enough, and in the case of Arkham Asylum, with a nice little reduction on the price. I'm not sure why but there ya go.
OT: People feel like getting that little bit of extra content, digital or otherwise, or from what I've noticed, simply MUST have the game on release day, especially if its a popular title and they are unable to use digital distribution.

 

[Batou667]

The question is: Why do people pre-order games?

For the preorder bonuses and exclusive content.

That's the only reason I've ever preordered a game. I'm usually a late adopter and a preowned game buyer, but if it's a title I'm really interested in I'll occasionally preorder it to get the extra stuff.

 

[WickedSkin]

Spoiler: SNIP

Have you, buy any chance, gone to a comic book store or the like? Often, if you want something specific there, you'll have to preorder. Because they need to know to ship it, and they have only limited stock. If you don't preorder, you don't get. Simples. But hey, I'm sure you're an old timer with a valid opinion, right, and not someone making do with asspulls right?

Additionally, to preorder a game, requires knowledge of a game. The people preordering are not just casually walking into the story and doing it on a whim. The people who do it are usually well aware of the product, and what they're ordering. So, buying without question is wrong too. Additionally, you can redeem your preorder after the release date, and reviews usually hit before release. So, in every possible way, you're mistaken.

That is correct. But I would not call myself old. Speaking of old, isn't comic book stores a thing of the past anyway? Charming yes but hardly something doing well by capitalism. Also you needn't be so impatient either.

No it doesn't. How would you get such a crazy idea? Anyone can pre-order anything. You can go onto Steam right now and click "Pre-Order" on whatever if you like, I wouldn't recommend it, but I'm thinking you might have done something similar before.

I'll give/tell you this though: I don't mean that EVERYONE does it on impulse alone.
But I do mean that most of those who pre-order does not do it because they want their local comic book store to get it for them. They do it and they are fantastically average. Not a hard-core comic book store supporter.

I'm also far from mistaken in every possible way. You have probably realized this yourself. I'm also sure you've realized you sound like someone who stuffed his head up his bottom and kept the rose tinted spectacles on. Or something.

Captcha: Video tape (a thing of the past like comic book stores)

EDIT: Made some tiny corrections.

 

[WickedSkin]

Spoiler: Snip

i completely agree with you

Thank you. Glad to hear it.
We are pilgrims of common sense in an unholy land. Or somethingrather that sounds dramatic.

 

[WickedSkin]

I don't know, I suppose people have reasons. Most of which I disagree with personally, but, hey. Let's see anyway.

Preorder bonus: Irrelevant if it doesn't do anything with the game itself, and if it does, I tend to see it as underhanded it's purely cosmetic (in which case it falls under irrelevant again). And if it's merchandise, well, I just don't like clutter.

Brand loyalty or "I know I'll like it": Yeah well...this is an iffy one, but I myself lack a crystal ball or any other kind of powers of clairvoyance.

To make sure I get a copy: Made redundant by digital distribution.

"Because I just gotta have it the second it comes out!": Well that's just an unhealthy lack of self-control.

Preorder discount: The only one I could actually get behind, what with my shameless pragmatism and all; but the lack of clairvoyance kind of gets in the way.

No, this isn't an attempt to be edgy and jaded, but I do tend to be the cynic often. Then wonder why I drive people mad with my presence. But what I'm saying is, preorders are something I simply let fly under my radar.

Glad to hear some common-bleeding-sense. Well done.

 

[RyQ_TMC]

Sometimes the preorder bonuses are good enough to justify it. Of course, one extra weapon or an optional character who doesn't add anything to the experience are annoyingly common, but some games really go out of their way. I preordered both Witcher games for the collector editions. Lorebooks, artbooks, full scale maps - all that is just a fun way to enhance your experience.

Twice, I preordered games I anticipated very much to take advantage of the preorder discounts.

So there you go, there are reasons. I don't preorder much anymore though. I'll prolly do it for The Witcher 3 CE, but with the shrinking amount of time I can spend playing and more additional money concerns that tend to accumulate the older you get, my general strategy is to buy less and wait until price drops.

 

[Assassin Xaero]

Seeing that it is from TotalBuscuit, your post just lost any credibility to me. Problem with him is that he gives his opinion on a game, and the people who praise him unconditionally will take his opinion as fact and bash a game just because he doesn't like it without having ever trying it or attempting to think for themselves. So anyone who gives a reason to why something is good or bad, or why you should/shouldn't preorder games and just leave a link to one of his videos, I ignore it completely.

But anyway, judging from the rest of your post, I'm guessing it is about how by preordering you are buying crap and showing that people will pay for crap? To go with my above remarks, did you even read my original post? I'm going to buy the game on launch anyway. If reviews say it is bad or not. All reviews are opinions, so who are they to say if a game is bad or not? My taste seem to be a lot different anyway. For example, I won't touch another BioWare game again since they are some of the most bland and boring games I've ever played (Mass Effect [1], Dragon Age: Origins). On the other hand, I really enjoyed BlackSite: Area 51, Dirge of Cerberus, Brink, Rage, and other games people say are horrible. Only game I ever preordered that I disliked was Zombie Driver.

How about you take the time to actually listen to an argument instead of simply dismissing it because of its source, or because of how a person points you to an argument? By saying "Oh, it's totalbiscuit, I don't listen to him because his fans are sheep" you're simply engaging in an ad hominem attack. You want to disagree with somebody? Fine, but actually listen to their argument and present counter-arguments.

By the way, you're completely wrong about what TB had to say about pre-ordering. But that shouldn't come as a surprise, seeing as you didn't even fucking bother to listen.

Then explain his views to me, because I don't want to waste 20 minutes listening to it. It would be like wasting 20 minutes watching Fox News to try and figure out what happened with that car wreck last night. But, then again, you probably won't. I'm not going to waste time listening to your beloved idol, either.

Oh! Thought of an even better example. Going to him for an opinion on preordering games is like going to metacritic to see if a game is good or not. I don't care at all what they think, so it won't change my opinion anyway.

 

[dmv]

Despite the advantages to preordering a game, I will rarely do so. Generally speaking if im preordering a game, it's because I support ______ franchise and assume its going to be a decent game at worst. Right now I'm looking at castlevania LOS2 as I'm in need of a decent hack and slasher.

 

[Urh]

Then explain his views to me, because I don't want to waste 20 minutes listening to it. It would be like wasting 20 minutes watching Fox News to try and figure out what happened with that car wreck last night. But, then again, you probably won't. I'm not going to waste time listening to your beloved idol, either.

Oh! Thought of an even better example. Going to him for an opinion on preordering games is like going to metacritic to see if a game is good or not. I don't care at all what they think, so it won't change my opinion anyway.

All I did was call you out for a blatant logical fallacy and for being close-minded, and suddenly TB is "my beloved idol"??? So, you're presumptuous as well (and beginning to sound a little arrogant in my opinion). Fine, here's my summary (seeing as paying attention for 20 minutes is such a fucking chore for you):

TB basically questions the entire logic of pre-ordering. He sees it as carrying a high risk and providing little to no benefit to the consumer, while also encouraging what he considers bad business practices by studios and publishers (he specifically mentions pre-order bonuses, day 1 DLC and review embargoes). He argues that for most titles these days people are putting their money down "sight unseen" - I think he should have worded this better, although I think I know what he's getting at, i.e. that consumers are making pre-orders based on next to no information except marketing hype/crap pumped out by studios, which has the potential to be misleading (as we've seen with Colonial Marines, and previously with Dead Island). And that the benefits of such pre-orders are usually not worth such a risk. TB reckons that if so many people are willing to pre-order "sight unseen" then this is encouraging studios and publishers to keep consumers in the dark (i.e. by not releasing demos and enforcing review embargoes). He does point out there are those who pre-order based on brand/franchise loyalty, and he doesn't seem to have too much of an issue with such pre-orders. He ends his video by simply asking for some common sense - don't just throw your money down, wait and see, and try before you buy whenever you can.

 

[AT God]

I preorder games I am want to do well and trust will be good. I also preorder games when I doubt they will be for sale cheaper in the near future. I preordered Battlfield 3 for PC and aside from having to run it through Origin I had a damn good time and it was worth the money for the preorder.

I am going to preorder Heart of the Swarm for two reasons, one is I love the Starcraft franchise despite being horrible at it, and two because Blizzard takes forever to knock down their prices. At 40 bucks Heart of the Swarm sound fair, I don't play online because I am terrible so I prefer the storylines.

One game I am not going to preorder but would under normal circumstances is Bioshock: Infinite. It is coming to steam and wont have that crappy GFWL DRM but I don't really want to pay the full price. I might buy it at something as little as 5 dollars off but I just don't want it that bad.

 

[Uriain]

I can't give you a "general" reason, as there are many to choose from, but I pre-order games for 3 reasons.
1) It sets in stone that I have purchase a game, so I know the money was "available" and I can budget early if I want to get multiple games.
2) Pre-orders (though its becoming more and more of them) have intensives to pre-order, whether it be character/weapon skins, exclusive maps, or singleplayer/multiplayer perks. Some of these are worth while to pick up (imo), for me its more about the character/weapon skins and maps
3) Limited edition/collector editions. I like to pick up collector editions when I Feel they have something worth while in them, and pre-order helps me guarantee that I get it

 

[Assassin Xaero]

Then explain his views to me, because I don't want to waste 20 minutes listening to it. It would be like wasting 20 minutes watching Fox News to try and figure out what happened with that car wreck last night. But, then again, you probably won't. I'm not going to waste time listening to your beloved idol, either.

Oh! Thought of an even better example. Going to him for an opinion on preordering games is like going to metacritic to see if a game is good or not. I don't care at all what they think, so it won't change my opinion anyway.

All I did was call you out for a blatant logical fallacy and for being close-minded, and suddenly TB is "my beloved idol"??? So, you're presumptuous as well (and beginning to sound a little arrogant in my opinion). Fine, here's my summary (seeing as paying attention for 20 minutes is such a fucking chore for you):

TB basically questions the entire logic of pre-ordering. He sees it as carrying a high risk and providing little to no benefit to the consumer, while also encouraging what he considers bad business practices by studios and publishers (he specifically mentions pre-order bonuses, day 1 DLC and review embargoes). He argues that for most titles these days people are putting their money down "sight unseen" - I think he should have worded this better, although I think I know what he's getting at, i.e. that consumers are making pre-orders based on next to no information except marketing hype/crap pumped out by studios, which has the potential to be misleading (as we've seen with Colonial Marines, and previously with Dead Island). And that the benefits of such pre-orders are usually not worth such a risk. TB reckons that if so many people are willing to pre-order "sight unseen" then this is encouraging studios and publishers to keep consumers in the dark (i.e. by not releasing demos and enforcing review embargoes). He does point out there are those who pre-order based on brand/franchise loyalty, and he doesn't seem to have too much of an issue with such pre-orders. He ends his video by simply asking for some common sense - don't just throw your money down, wait and see, and try before you buy whenever you can.

Yep, you got me there. I'm closed minded because I dislike ONE GUY and really don't give a shit what that ONE GUY has to say. He is just some guy with a fucking youtube account, why should I give a shit? And you wonder why I call him your idol? Because you and a ton of other people on this site get on my case for not listening to him or caring what he says. Do you listen to and care about Fox News? What about NPR? Or boogie2988? Can I call you close minded if you don't care for what he has to say at all? So, yes, taking 20 minutes to watch some video by a guy I don't like, on something I don't care about, to please someone I don't even know (or like [that appears to have some anger issues]) is a chore.

I, mostly playing games on PC, don't get to do the "try before I buy". As I've said a million times (or at least it seems like it), I preorder games if I'm going to buy them anyway, or if I can get them cheaper. Random games I can remember preordering off the top of my head and why:

Brink - Got it cheaper, plus loved the first two Enemy Territory games.
Rage - I had been waiting for it for 4 years (ever since it was announced), and got it cheaper.
Borderlands 2 - Wanted the ultimate loot chest, was going to buy it day one no matter what.
BL2 Season Pass - Was going to buy all the DLC anyway, why not get it cheaper?
BioShock Infinite - Same as above.
Call of Duty Black Ops 2 - Got it cheaper.

All of this "sight unseen" stuff is meaningless to me. If I'm interested in a game, I'll generally buy it and try it. I can't think of a single game I was interested in before it was released, heard it was bad after it was out, then decided not to get it and see for myself. Only game I've ever preordered that was a disappointment was Zombie Driver, and it was a $7 indie title, can't expect them all to be good. On the other hand, I did learn that lesson with Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect. DA:O had an awesome (and extremely misleading) trailer, everyone said it was great, and the game was bland and boring as hell. It was a chore to finish, and I pretty much had to force myself to suffer through 20 HOURS more of it to see the end once I couldn't stand it anymore. People said the same about Mass Effect, and it was just as bad.

 

[Gidiel167]

mostly for the pre-order incentives, but i usually dont pre-order games unless i know im going to play them. it also helps to make sure i get the special edition before they sell out. this is for console games if that has relevance.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Because the Escapist did a news story about how Amazon was offering a free $20 gift card if you preordered Dead Space 3 from them. A $20 gift card that I immediately used to purchasing Heaven's Lost Property.
...
...
...what?

I don't really preorder games because I know I'll just buy them when they come out. The only time I do is when I know that I'll get something really worth while (see above) and not some silly in-game weapon or skin.

 

[lazyslothboy]

I preorder when two conditions are met

1. It is a sequel to a game(s) that I like.
2. Has a special edition or has preorder bonuses I like.

So far, that policy has treated me pretty well. The closest I've gotten to being ripped off was Halo 4 and that was more of a "meh" then me cursing at the heavens.

 

[Twilight_guy]

You young whippersnapper! In my day when a game came out it would be sold out for days or weeks, you had to pre-order if you wanted a copy on the first day. You young kids now-a-days and your availability of new games, it makes me sick.

Aside from pre-order promotional items and if you think the game will sell out, I don't know why someone would pre-order and never have. I used to pre-order games when they really did sell out but recently that never seems to happen.

 

[Urh]

Yep, you got me there. I'm closed minded because I dislike ONE GUY and really don't give a shit what that ONE GUY has to say. He is just some guy with a fucking youtube account, why should I give a shit? And you wonder why I call him your idol? Because you and a ton of other people on this site get on my case for not listening to him or caring what he says. Do you listen to and care about Fox News? What about NPR? Or boogie2988? Can I call you close minded if you don't care for what he has to say at all? So, yes, taking 20 minutes to watch some video by a guy I don't like, on something I don't care about, to please someone I don't even know (or like [that appears to have some anger issues]) is a chore.

I don't particularly give a shit about totalbiscuit either - I can count with my fingers the number of his videos that I've watched. Like you said, he's just one of many voices on youtube (I find him a little long-winded at times to be honest). But if I'm going to discuss something a person has said, I will actually go to the trouble of listening to what that person said first. Not doing so is just fucking stupid. If you're just going to lash out at somebody because they happen to agree with a person you refuse to listen to, then you are contributing NOTHING to the discussion. If doing a little homework before responding to somebody's comment is too much of a hassle for you, then you should probably just shut the fuck up.

I'm not annoyed at you for being dismissive of totalbiscuit, I'm annoyed at you for being dismissive altogether - it's a classic hallmark of a bad debater.

 

[Assassin Xaero]

Yep, you got me there. I'm closed minded because I dislike ONE GUY and really don't give a shit what that ONE GUY has to say. He is just some guy with a fucking youtube account, why should I give a shit? And you wonder why I call him your idol? Because you and a ton of other people on this site get on my case for not listening to him or caring what he says. Do you listen to and care about Fox News? What about NPR? Or boogie2988? Can I call you close minded if you don't care for what he has to say at all? So, yes, taking 20 minutes to watch some video by a guy I don't like, on something I don't care about, to please someone I don't even know (or like [that appears to have some anger issues]) is a chore.

I don't particularly give a shit about totalbiscuit either - I can count with my fingers the number of his videos that I've watched. Like you said, he's just one of many voices on youtube (I find him a little long-winded at times to be honest). But if I'm going to discuss something a person has said, I will actually go to the trouble of listening to what that person said first. Not doing so is just fucking stupid. If you're just going to lash out at somebody because they happen to agree with a person you refuse to listen to, then you are contributing NOTHING to the discussion. If doing a little homework before responding to somebody's comment is too much of a hassle for you, then you should probably just shut the fuck up.

I'm not annoyed at you for being dismissive of totalbiscuit, I'm annoyed at you for being dismissive altogether - it's a classic hallmark of a bad debater.

It annoys me when, well, anything comes up, I say my opinion on it (why I preorder games), and then some guy comes along to tell me (and multiple other people) that we are wrong because of a video he watched. If you can't even post your view on it and all you can do it post a link to youtube, then you shouldn't have a right to say anything in the discussion. Those are other peoples views, not your own, and by just posting a video you are saying that you are a sheep and can't think for yourself. So, if the guy can't think for himself and just listens to some guy with a youtube account, why should I even bother wasting the time to watch a video and discuss it with this guy who won't change his opinion anyway, because he never had an opinion to begin with?

 

[Lazy Kitty]

To have the game the moment it comes out.
And so it's not sold out when I have time to go to the store.

As for reviews... I never really cared for them...
Mostly when I preorder something, it's a sequel to a game I already lost.

Like a Pokemon game for example.
Who needs reviews for those anyway? By now we know what to expect.