Is Pre-Ordering games a gimmick? Do you preorder?

[marvelvscapcom2]

Hello Everyone

Before I dive in, I do want to exclude games that are limited editions, and companies like Limited Run Games or very rare numbered box sets, obscure devs,  niche JRPGs and stuff like that because without preordering those games sell out very fast and you won't get one.  That's kinda what pre ordering started as with titles with huge demand but not quite enough supply so collectors could get one by buying early and not have to worry.


What i'm referring to is more like games with plenty of supply, certainly not going to sell out, (best example being) the poor saps who preordered no man's sky.  And I know their may be a few in here who put their hard earned money into a company to preorder a promise or an idea.  False promises were made, a game undelivered but they still raked in massive amounts of money because of the pre order trap.


Is it bad in general to hand over money to any game company for an item that is unproven, something that doesn't exist yet, enabling them to half rump it due to already making millions off a sold promise?  Does this make game companies complacent? Or does it further drive them to make better content or fund them to do last second tweaks as well?


I preorder quite a bit, I love the feeling of having the game accounted for and it gives me a sense of ease because it feels good paying something off and already knowing It's out of the way. It's become a yearly thing for me to preroder all the games after E3 that I like,  But more and more lately they have been giving less and less preorder insentives.  And games that I want, even without preorder I can get on launch easily. I kinda wonder if their is a point to preorder a popular game as it will be given anyway. 


I know they give your preorder amount back if you ask but usually by the time you find out the game is bad or the consensus comes out it's already 1-2 days after launch like No Man's Sky and you would have already picked it up out of sheer curiosity.  Sometimes at midnight or morning of before anyone would have known.   



Do you think preordering is a good or bad thing as a whole for how most people use it with common blockbuster games? Is it good for companies to get money early.  It seems similar to a kickstarter, in the sense of putting money into a idea and having faith it will be awesome.  Do you preorder often with common games or just pick up games when they release and wait for reviews? 


I only preorder from companies with stellar track records now and franchises i already love that haven't failed me.  Like Nintendo games like Smash or a Last of Us 2.          But something i'm on the fence about i'll wait because No Man's Sky has scared me. 


Thanks for sharing  .

[hoshichiri]

I typically don't preorder things for the concern of 'but what if it's bad', and also becuase I'm typically pretty sure I won't actually play it right away- so I might as well wait in the hopes of a price drop by the time I'm ready to play it.

I make exceptions for:

-the Limited editions you mentioned for obvious reasons (although these days I rarely buy LEs anyway)
-for gifts so I can have something to actually give the person. "Happy birthday! Here's a paper proving I bought that game you really want but isn't out for two months, so you don't have to!"
-for cost management. If I have the money now (especially in credit or gift card form), and I know I'll want the game, then I might as well, just in case by the time it releases money is tighter. You can even do a pseudo-layaway thing too, with places like Gamestop not requiring full payment up front. If it's easier to come drop off 10 bucks a month for 6 months than 60 all at once on release, then preordering is a big help. Usually not the case for me, but it's nice to have as an option.

[desocietas]

Just wanted to mention that I had fun with NMS when it came out (I preordered the Limited Edition), but I also wasn't the sort who was following it from the start, anticipating how "good" it would be.

I avoid pre-ordering if there's no real incentive for me to get the game at launch. I rarely play games on the day it comes out. But I am the sort of sucker who will preorder if:
- there's some sort of neat pre-order bonus/gift
- there's a chance it'll sell out
- there's a launch edition (first printing) that's neat
- if it's a series/franchise that I'm a fan of and want to support

I know a good number of folks who think it's the stupidest thing ever to pre-order, but I also know that some of those folks are also the ones who walk into a store on launch day and expect to be able to pick up the hot new game with no problem. Hearing about them driving store to store makes me chuckle a little, I have to say. Pre-orders are always free once the payment for the game goes through, and I know that those initial numbers are really important for the developers. I'll preorder stuff and cancel it if I need to.

[azure]

Just wanted to mention that I had fun with NMS when it came out (I preordered the Limited Edition), but I also wasn't the sort who was following it from the start, anticipating how "good" it would be.

I avoid pre-ordering if there's no real incentive for me to get the game at launch. I rarely play games on the day it comes out. But I am the sort of sucker who will preorder if:
- there's some sort of neat pre-order bonus/gift
- there's a chance it'll sell out
- there's a launch edition (first printing) that's neat
- if it's a series/franchise that I'm a fan of and want to support

I know a good number of folks who think it's the stupidest thing ever to pre-order, but I also know that some of those folks are also the ones who walk into a store on launch day and expect to be able to pick up the hot new game with no problem. Hearing about them driving store to store makes me chuckle a little, I have to say. Pre-orders are always free once the payment for the game goes through, and I know that those initial numbers are really important for the developers. I'll preorder stuff and cancel it if I need to.

Exactly this for me as well. ^^

[kamikazekeeg]

I don't pre-order tons, mostly only if it offers something, like pre-ordering gets me into betas on some games, maybe the pre-order has a good for doing so, or it's limited and I want to make sure to get it. 

[emporerdragon]

I only preorder if there is something worthwhile being offered for preordering. As such, the last game I preordered was Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker for the Gamecube.

[soera]

I pre-order everything. Currently I have 47 pre-orders at Gamestop and about 20 more at Amazon. Thats not counting stuff like VGP and Play Asia and what not. I see no need to not pre-order. $5 here and there isnt anything and not a single one of these I have to pick up when the game launches if I decide not to and I dont lose a single coin.

[NickAwesome]

I preorder if I know I want the game on release.  I have prime so I get 20% off.  Otherwise I won't get the game at all.

[mark1982]

Usually if I want a game on launch I'll drop a text to the guy I know working at the gameshop that I frequent to.

I don't "officially" pre-order games as in putting in a down payment. I just let my guy know I'm coming down and he'll put a copy behind the counter for me.

The latest game I asked to reserve was Octopath Traveler - seemed like the right choice because when I got there all the other copies were sold out.

I bring a coffee and some pastries once in a while to say my thanks for always me helping out and reserving copies. He gives me pre-order bonuses or merch as well for games I don't even pre-order or buy on launch. Cool dude.

As for giving companies money early by pre-ordering... I usually wait till the game is about to be released before deciding whether or not I want to get the game on launch by reading up on previews, or early reviews. If the game isn't filled with bugs on launch I'll get it day 1, if not, then the wait continues for patches to fix it.

[Agozer]

I preorder, but I'm usually very well aware of what I'm buying, and I don't preorder most "Triple AYYYYY" titles from the Trinity of Evil(tm) (EA, Ubisoft, Activision Blizzard).

[seether]

It’s extremely rare that I preorder.

Not because I’m ideologically opposed to it, but because I don’t believe many games are worth the day one asking price.

The games that have the level of excitement needed and the amount of content needed for me to pre-order and want to play day one are typically open world single player RPGs.

I’ve pre-ordered Skyrim/Dark Souls/Dragon’s Dogma (XB360 original releases), Witcher 3, Fallout 4, Dragon Age Inquisition, Mass Effect Andromeda, Middle Earth Shadow of Mordor

The only time I felt burnt like the game sucked and wasn’t worth it was buying Fallout 4

[tripredacus]

It’s extremely rare that I preorder.

I only pre-order items that I suspect will be extremely rare. Such an item where there is little to no chance to find on the secondary market, even years later at a decent price. This is the only type of item worth to pre-order to me. Video games do not fall into this category for me. The last time I remember doing a pre-order was in 2001 or 2002 for a Transformer.

[Cartagia]

Pre-ordering in itself is not a gimmick at all.  It’s a way to ensure that something that you want to own on release is available for you.  That’s it.

Have companies been abusing pre-order hype / development time / bonuses?  Absolutely.

[burningdoom]

Just finished paying off my Red Dead Redemption 2 Special Edition pre-order, and then paid half the price on a Spyro Reignited Trilogy pre-order; today.   

So yeah, I'm a-okay with pre-orders. This year I pre-ordered 3 games (RDR 2, Spyro Trilogy, RE2 Remake). That's a lot for me. Usually I can wait for the prices to go down. But these just happen to be favorite series for me. Usually it's a rarity for me reserved for Elder Scrolls, Zelda, and Metroid.

[argyle]

I'm not talking about anyone here, but I've never understood why some people make such a big deal out of preordering a video game - like it's taking some kind of moral high ground by not doing it. It's a convenience. You're not signing a blood pact with the developer, Gamestop doesn't ask for part of your soul - it's putting $5 down on a game to ensure that when it releases, you'll be able to go to the store you frequent and know it will be there. And sometimes, you get bonus goodies for it. That's it. 

If you hear the game sucks before picking it up (and if I'm ever unsure, I always wait for reviews before picking my game up) you just cancel it.

So yes, I do it for the convenience and I also do it because it helps the guys at my store and they are always super friendly and go above & beyond helping me out with things (holding promo items for me, giving me preorder stuff they have extras of for games I didn't preorder, tracking down games & other items at other stores & having them sent over when no one in my area has them, etc.).