Why do you pre order?

[Taunta]

I only pre-order things I know I'm going to love, but usually I can wait a while on others till the price goes down. I also pre-order things that I know are going to be crazy come release date.

You don't want to know what my local Gamestop was like the day Cataclysm came out.

 

[BENZOOKA]

I completely agree with you on this one Wolfram01.

I only pre-order games that I'm absolutely sure to like, will eventually buy, and I might as well get the purchase over with early on (won't forget it's already come out) and might as well get a little something extra as well.

The last game I pre-ordered was Dragon Age 2. Just a couple days before, because I loved Dragon Age: Origins and knew I was going to buy it at some point, so why not beforehand. I also tried the demo, to see what the cries of dumbing down and changing too much were about. I've really enjoyed the game. Perhaps had most fun in gaming in a long time. Absolutely nothing to regret. Also, I've played for about 30 hours and I'm still about halfway through I guess, so it's not even short.

Portal 2, I've pre-ordered also. I hadn't played Portal before that, so getting it for the same discount price was awesome. I got my money's worth from the Portal alone and I've still get the whole Portal 2 to look forward to. And I'm convinced it will not disappoint.

The previous two, and only other games I've pre-ordered were: Fallout: New Vegas, and Civilization V.

I really enjoyed Fallout 3, and everything I read and saw about New Vegas was compelling. The environment especially. I've liked it far more that F3 even. A very good purchase.

I'm a huge fan of the Civilization series, playing Civ IV, and especially the final expansion: Beyond The Sword, to almost no end. I like everything they've changed: the hexagons feel like they should've been there all along. I've only tried it for about ten hours, for I've wanted to play other games lately, and do other stuff besides gaming and I know that Civ V will be a massive time sink. I really like the game, and the patches they've released afterwards, have fixed the slight problems the final release initially had.

 

[Keava]

Answer is very very simple: People like to complain, and mind it, that does not mean that they don't like the product. It's a common thing that we moan about every little detail, and it's not without a merit on it's own. Complaining is the crudest way of communication between customer and producer, thank's to all the uproars devs will maybe stop for a moment and think what people liked, what they didn't like and adjust their plans accordingly. They ain't all knowing brains that read minds.

Most of complaints are also inflated by the initial "rage" and the fact that it's very easy to be negative on the internet. When facing the developer of the game in real most would most likely just kneel before the 'gods walking among mere mortals'.

It's most obvious in case of MMOs where every once in a while someone makes angry forum post about nerfs/changes/buffs/balance/whatever threatening to quit the game if they don't get it their way ... yet the stick around month after month.

 

[PlasmaFrog]

Because I want to stand in my local Gamestop at midnight like some nocturnal creature that is devoid of any pulse or life.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

I pre-order because I want my game when they release it that day.

And because I like the game and I want it knowing full well what I'm expecting, and I will still support the dev team that made it.

For example, I pre-ordered SH:Homecoming, I played the hell out of it twice, and it didn't live up to my expectations.

*gasp* Something not living up to a fans lofty expectations, that's insane!

EDIT: Because people like to ***** for no reason.

 

[BanthaFodder]

I will preorder either if:
A. I KNOW there is a good chance of it selling out on day 1 (my local GameStop had a line out the door for Pokemon Black and White)
or
B. if I'm gonna buy it around launch anyway and I will/could get a neat extra (preordered L.A. Noire right after I picked up my copy of White. reserved a copy+ badge challenge + bonus case, all for no extra charge.

I usually preorder on the grounds that, hey, if I'm gonna get X, I may as well get Y for free while I'm at it.

 

[Mr Thin]

I suppose I can understand the pleasure that comes from having a game the moment it's released, but it's never been a sensation I've valued enough to spend top dollar on.

No, I pre-order games because it's the best way I know of to show my appreciation.

I'll pre-order a game if I value its existence so much, I want to reward the people who made it by paying their highest price, instead of waiting for it to go on sale like I usually do.

 

[mireko]

Can't you cancel a pre-order if you should decide not to buy it after all? Hell, even if it showed up anyway you could still return it. It's your own responsibility to stay up-to-date on game information, so I have no idea why there would be any point in complaining after the fact.

As for why I, personally, pre-order. There are some games that I know I'll like. Either it's because they're made by a developer I trust or because I've received enough information to make that judgment. Also feelies.

 

[Krantos]

The only smart people are the ones who didn't buy the game because it had unappealing features/changes.

Oh, now you're making me blush.

Anyway, I agree with you. Something gamers need to get out of their system is the urge to buy every big name game that comes out. That trend, I think, is the reason ad campaigns and games have been directed at hardcore gamers less and less. Companies already know gamers are going to buy their games. This is also why so many publishers and developers can get away with treating customers so horribly; they know it won't affect sales.

Let me put it bluntly to anyone confused about this: If you bought Dragon Age 2 and then complained about it on forums.... EA and BioWare. Don't. Care. They got what they wanted from you: your money. As long as they think you will continue to buy their products, they don't care about your opinion.

Why do you think Dragon Age 2 was so obviously catered to people who didn't care for Origins? Why do you think Mass Effect 2 played more like a third-person shooter? The answer is EA doesn't care about those people who bought Origins or Mass Effect; they care about those who didn't. When a large publisher like EA looks at a game, they see it as a product, and their job is to make sure as many people buy their products as possible. They could care less about how satisfied the customer is with the game, because they don't offer refunds and gamers keep buying their games.

If you didn't like the way Dragon Age 2 was looking, but bought it anyway so you could complain about how bad it was, you're not helping anything. I did not, and will not, buy Dragon Age 2. I will not buy anymore games from BioWare or EA until they clean up their act.

If you want BioWare to stop making these games, stop buying them. If you want EA to stop treating customers the way they have, stop paying them. We are consumers. We CONTROL the industry. If we want better games, if we want better customer service, we need to speak in the only way companies understand: with our wallets.

/soapbox.

 

[Lt. Vinciti]

Depends on the game really...





And the goodies...


Still waiting for Skyrim to have a CE + Preorder

 

[Tony2077]

i only pre order on steam so i can sit around in my underwear begging it to unlock already. ok truthfully i do it if i know I'll like the game and know it will use steam or steam drm is better

 

[SodaDew]

I only pre order games I know I will like. For example I pre ordered Dissidia 012. Because I've watched videos and Japanese game play so I know its worth it. Plus the pre-order exclusives.

 

[Loop Stricken]

Seriously. Why?

Two reasons.

1) So I don't assume I already preordered it then find out I haven't.

2) Play.com tends to throw out bonus items for preordering. And as it costs nothing extra, no harm done.

[edit: third reason) if the price rises for some reason, I still get to pay the lower price]

 

[Rayne870]

I do it to piss everyone else off.

 

[Kungfu_Teddybear]

I like to pre-order because it means I don't have to go out... there. Also because you usually get some sort of bonus content when pre-ordering a game. However I only pre-order games I am really looking forward to, every Bioware game get's an automatic pre-order from me. But if there's a game that's coming out that looks good but I'm not really excited for it then I'll just leave it and pick it up in the store when I feel like trying it out.

 

[soul_rune1984]

I preorder games so I won't have to ask myself "Can I aford this?" when the game comes out. Games usually come out when I don't have money so I peorder so I won't have that problem. Plus, I usually get free stuff like collectables or DLC.

 

[Trolldor]

Seriously. Why?

I ask this because we've seen 2 big name releases in the last little bit - Dragon Age 2 and Crysis 2.

Both games have DROVES of people bitching and moaning about it.

DA2 there's a TON of complaints about features being removed, about the combat changes, about more linear environments etc. Crysis 2, most of the whining is from PC gamers. The game was shipped in DX9 and also has limited environments (the original game allowed you to roam around a lot). This was present in the demo, mind you.

So, it boils down to this. Either they had NO IDEA what the game would be like but pre ordered/bought right at release and then went "WTF?" because it didn't hold up to their expectations, or else they KNEW full well what was coming and bought it anyway, then bitched.

The only smart people are the ones who didn't buy the game because it had unappealing features/changes.

FYI: I have DA2 and like it a lot. I have not bought Crysis 2 and will refrain from buying it until I hear about some future patches adding features I want in the game.

TL;DR: Why don't gamers speak with their wallets, but instead throw money at big name devs/games and then whine when it's not that holy grail of a game they imagined?

I pre-order because it costs the same as getting it new retail but often comes with some extras.

 

[Dfskelleton]

I only pre order when I definitely know I want a game and it has a cool pre order bonus. That's the only reason why I will. I just pre ordered the new Mortal Kombat from Gamestop, mainly because I get an alternate skin for my favorite character (Scorpion) that resemles his classic incarnation as well as his classic "Toasty!" fatality, which happens to be one of my favorites.
That, but in the new game's awesome graphics.
I pre ordered Silent Hill: Shattered memories as well, as I got the soundtrack from the game, and if you were to look up Silent Hill music, you'd understand why.
In short, if a game has an awesome pre order bonus, I'll pre order it. Other than that, I usually don't.

 

[Neverhoodian]

The only games I've ever pre-ordered are The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker and Halo: Reach, and it was mostly for the extras they offered. Wind Waker had a second game disk with Ocarina of Time and the special Master Quest version. As for Reach, I simply had to read Dr. Halsey's journal, seeing as how I'm a huge fan of the books as well as the games. It was well worth it too, as it resolves some potential continuity snarls between the games and books (though not all of them, unfortunately) as well as revealing some new tidbits:

Spoiler

Dr. Halsey is the mother of Miranda Keyes?!

In most other circumstances I usually just wait until the game I want drops in price a bit before I buy it. Depending on how badly I want the game, the price drop can be anywhere from 5-40 dollars.

 

[SoranMBane]

I've only preordered once before, and it was only because it was a game I knew I'd like and was willing to buy right away, and because I had my eyes on the Collector's Edition and wanted to make sure I didn't miss out. Hypothetically, if preordering was a normal practice for me, it would usually be for those reasons.