The Pre-Order Scam

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larryBird44

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I was watching TV lastnight and ads from EA kept coming TV telling you to pre-order a certain game. This had me thinking about why companies are pushing pre-orders lately (or maybe it is I noticing them more).

My theory is that game companies allow you to purchase the game ahead of time because they're trying to beat the bad press and user opinions of their product.

Basically it has me thinking that pre-order is a way to publish a crappy game and still get big bucks. I know that when you pre-order you *sometimes* get a discount and *sometimes* some free goodies so there are some advantages if you are after the free goodies.

Thoughts?
 
The earlier they get their money the happier they are. Same would go with having to wait the 10-12 weeks before a MIR actually gets paid out. And same for taxes; you can't hold off on paying in taxes until the end of the year and invest the difference into some short term, interest paying investment.
 
I always looked at pre order as something for them to estimate how much they have to make. Like if they got 100,000 pre orders, then they'll definitely make 100,000 + however much they make standard for stores.

It could be as you said, but I don't think so. Because, before its "shipped" you can always cancel it. Atleast, as far as I know, and reviews are usually just a bit before they date they ship out to stores (of whom you get shipped from, after the date. Though there are sometimes they ship early and get it to you early.)
 
To some extent I think you are right. Like, I pre-ordered WAW; it was one of the first thing I have ever pre-ordered. In return, I got a carbine for MP, which isn't even worth the trouble...lol. The gun is good, bur challenges are still locked and you can't make a custom class with it, only use a pre-set. Anyway, as most reviews do not pop out 1-2 days after the realese, you are sort of taking a chance on the game you are pre-ordering. I like to wait for reviews first, prior to buying. So, in WaW's case, I would not be able to return the game if it completely tanked.

Pre-orders also give companies guaranteed profit, which is good for them I guess. All of the little things you may get by pre-ordering, may persuade you to buy the game. For example, AOC had a rhino mount available to everybody who pre-ordered. Back when I played, I bought the game on the first day and did not pre-order. Well, once I got to 45, I did not have nearly enough gold for a mount, if I would have pre-ordered, I would have got one free :(.
 
Or maybe it's because all american companies are going into a recession? Maybe they need money RIGHT NOW to continue daily operations? I dunno guys, that seems kinda far fetched.
 
As others have suggested, the sooner they get your $, the sooner they can invest it and make more money. Good businesses make their money work for them.
 
I think there was a link to some videos from a Gamestop employee who gave a behind the scenes look at how the company works. One of the things he mentioned was that a good number of people don't follow up on the pre-order, so they're pretty much just giving gamestop free money.

I also agree that one of the aims is to beat bad reviews. GH4 was the first game I preordered and bought in a while, and I severely regret it. I know it was a fluke, but it still doesn't take from the fact that I had to solder parts on my drums AND guitar so that it'd actually work.
 
I never have, and probably never will pre-order a game.

Places like EBGames or Gamestop seem to sell out of games, but I've never seen a local Best Buy run out of copies of anything
 
I haven't seen a EB Games in ages.. last I heard they merged with Gamestop. Either way their pre-ordering gimmicks only get their money faster. Ughh... I hate Gamestop.
 
Upon66 said:
I haven't seen a EB Games in ages.. last I heard they merged with Gamestop. Either way their pre-ordering gimmicks only get their money faster. Ughh... I hate Gamestop.
Click to expand...


EB Games is still in canada but yes EB games = gamestop
 
I know what you are saying and somewhat agree. I have only ever pre-ordered one game and it was Diablo 2 Expansion. It was okay, but it really did mess up the game mechanics imo. A company probably does want money earlier than later, reviews could really hurt sales, haha.
 
I suppose it's a good indication of how many units to produce initially, most of the places you can pre-order games in the UK you don't actually pay until it's shipped so it's not for money, at least in that circumstance.
 
I usually pre order because i work odd hours and after i get off its nice to be able to walk in and pick it up/ have it at your door step.

I take the risk of the game being shitty.... I will still play through it... sometimes i regret my purchases but i am not as picky as alot of people are so i usually am happy with my pre-orders
 
Some things like valve games on steam if you pre-order you can pre-load the game so it is available instantly, that does give some benefit's, also the recent L4D demo was available early to pre-orders giving them first play at the game, whether or not that was a benefit who knows but it gave people a benefit.
 
The only time I pre-ordered a game was Spore. And that's because my free Amazon Prime trial was about to run out and I'd get free shipping and no tax.

They don't hold on to your money, it's not an interest free loan. They don't charge you until it ships. That is a myth.

When I heard about the DRM, I was able to cancel. Thus pre-ordering does not permanently lock you in to a shitty game. There are tons of pre-release reviews from the big boys like gamespot, etc, and you would theoretically have time to cancel. Another myth.
 
Pre-orders, to me, are a way to guarantee that you'll pay the absolute maximum price possible from a specific store. Example: if you pre-order a game from a shop like EB at the RRP (AU$99.95), you're pretty much locked into not only buying the game from that store, but also locked into paying the maximum price...instead of going to another store which might be selling the same game at AU$79.95.
 
I'd say pre-orders are a way to get you hooked monetarily into the game. To get you interested and make you look forward to it...maybe tell a few friends about this new fancy game you're waiting on and all these neat little extras only YOU get for pre-ordering.

Some of the games try to get you invested via forums, but I get so tired of there being absolutely no real information in the forums when it comes to looking up some aspect of the game you're unclear on.

Although yes, I do think if they could lock you into the game before bad press hit, they would do so. I think their distribution chains prevent this. I would like to think the retailer isn't going to rake you over the coals for one game company, especially when all their getting out of it is a percentage of 50-100 bucks. When they could just as easily have you preordering 5k+ televisions that have no input jacks.
 
Anyone know if pre-orders go into the sales numbers? If so, I'm thinking that might be a primary motivation for the game publishers. Having the ability to jack up your release day/first week sales figures greatly increases the chances that sheeple will view the game as something they must have.

(Ethical self disclosure: I have at times been been guilty of being a sheeple myself. :eek:)

Plus, back in the day it seemed the only games that had pre-order available were the blockbusters, and maybe they are trying to carry that image through with today's games, even though you can now pre-order pretty much anything and everything
 
Preordering is pointless. Most games that are possible of selling out, they accept more preorders than they have.... so you still have to wait in line =\
 
i only pre order on something i know i definately want (RA3 , FC2 ) i would nevr pre pay for an item why would you?, i use the pre order function to make sure the game arrives on release day i cant say i have ever seen a game run out of copies in the UK (esp PC games) just saves me a walk into town
 
Lol you guys do realize you can cancel the pre-orders right? And obviously put cash down, so you're refund is immediate, and not CC (which takes a few biz days).
 
a preorder is money. as a business, i want money. how is this difficult? how is this a scam?
 
I agree with the above. How is pre-ordering a scam? No one is forcing you to pre-order. You can cancel your pre-order and get your money back at any time. Where is the scam? I pre-order if I happen to be in the store and I see a game coming out that I want. I get an email from one of the employees reminding me about a week before the release date that I preordered and what, if any, balance I have remaining.
 
Pre-ordering isnt as much a scam as it is a way for companies to make extra money. The 2-3 months gamestop holds onto your $5 is 2-3 months it can invest that money and make a return on it. $5 may not seem like a large investment, but $5 x 200,000 people is. Not a scam, just a way to get a little bit more money out of someone.

And as for needing to preorder. Bestbuy always has stock. I walked in and bought the WOTLK collectors edition without preordering Thursday afternoon with no issue.
 
Pre Ordering is not a scam but a way for companies to make extra money. Also to make stores save on money too. How?

First you give them your money so they make interest which is some extra money. Second they have a better estimate of how many copies they should put in a store.

Also companies might give people that preorder extra stuff just for preordering. They know it is worth the extra money they put in to get the money first.
 
Almost every game when first released is full of bugs, many of which are gamebreaking or very nearly so.

For this reason, I have never, nor will I ever, preorder a game. It has to be out at least a month to give time for all the fools who had to have it NOW NOW NOW to buy it, report bugs, and the devs to patch the biggest of those before I'll be ready to buy any game.
 
Several flaws in much of your logic. The only time I've preordered, there was no money taken. Amazon didn't bill my card, never did, and then I canceled.

Steam... there are no physical copies to reserve. Yet I think they still had pre-orders for the digital download Oo
 
Menelmarar said:
Several flaws in much of your logic. The only time I've preordered, there was no money taken. Amazon didn't bill my card, never did, and then I canceled.

Steam... there are no physical copies to reserve. Yet I think they still had pre-orders for the digital download Oo
Click to expand...

That's so you can pre-load it.
 
riot8ap said:
I was watching TV lastnight and ads from EA kept coming TV telling you to pre-order a certain game. This had me thinking about why companies are pushing pre-orders lately (or maybe it is I noticing them more).

My theory is that game companies allow you to purchase the game ahead of time because they're trying to beat the bad press and user opinions of their product.

Basically it has me thinking that pre-order is a way to publish a crappy game and still get big bucks. I know that when you pre-order you *sometimes* get a discount and *sometimes* some free goodies so there are some advantages if you are after the free goodies.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

You're somewhat right. Think about how much money the company made off Farcry 2 pre-orders and first day releases. The game was terrible, but because no reviews were out the hype over-whelmed everybody. Heck, you can find it for $30 shipped on ebay for 360 now.
 
Dome said:
a preorder is money. as a business, i want money. how is this difficult? how is this a scam?
Click to expand...

The way places like GameStop push it, it might be considered a scam. Every time you go in there and purchase something, they ask you if you would like to preorder some game. Then they go on the spiel of you having NO chance in hell to get it if you don't preorder through them. I can't stand that crap. Almost always, even on games such as GTA4, Halo 3, etc I can pick up the game for the same price at Target/BestBuy/Walmart/etc the same day AND IT ISN'T ALREADY OPENED!
 
If you are preordering through Gamestop (stupid to, they're overpriced), what you are getting isn't already opened. They sell a fair bit of brand new, unopened software...they just happen to also have used stuff too is all.
 
I dont have anything against pre orders, some places do it better than others though.

I never pre order unless I know I will like the game. If I am unsure I wait for the demo.
I pre ordered TF2 and L4D after many reviews and video's I knew I would like it and I do :)

Although I have never pre ordered a physical copy, I only do it on steam since I know I will want it and I can reload the files making life easier.
 
And I thought I was the only one who does this ...

dterror said:
Almost every game when first released is full of bugs, many of which are gamebreaking or very nearly so.

For this reason, I have never, nor will I ever, preorder a game. It has to be out at least a month to give time for all the fools who had to have it NOW NOW NOW to buy it, report bugs, and the devs to patch the biggest of those before I'll be ready to buy any game.
Click to expand...
 
It gets people talking and helps to improve sales. Plus, like you mentioned, a lot of gamers buy based on hype, so if the game turns out to be a flop a week after release, the bad reviews don't hurt the initial sales quite as bad.
 
The last two games I pre-ordered, were through amazon.com. I just viewed them as being able to put my order in at my convenience, instead of having to log on and order the specific day it was available. Clear Sky dropped from originally $40 to $37, which wasn't charged until the day it shipped. The same thing happened with Warhead, but I canceled the order myself as I figured I'd just go down to CC and pick it up that day. Nothing was charged, no hassle, just a simple click of a button.
 
Fallout 3, pre-ordered at Amazon.ca, 2 months before launch... 1 week after launch, still not sent... No message, no explanations. Cancel order, went to nearest store at 1h30 form home (I live very far, I know...), bought it. :( How can Amazon be back-ordered?????

Spore. Pre-ordered form Amazon.ca. Same thing. 1 week after launch, still waiting, not even a message or explanation... Cancel order, went to a store again, 1h30 by car, bought it. :(

Bestbuy, Crysis Warhead pre-order... they sent it 2 weeks after the launch date! I had to wait, since I couldn't go at the ''nearest'' store... :(

Sigh... :( Really annoying... Why can I pre-order if I always have to wait 1 or 2 weeks before they even ship it??? It's not like BestBuy and Amazon.ca are small places with limited inventory...
 
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