Video Game Preorders Are Out Of Control

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I'll let you guys decide whether the author of this editorial onto something, or just on something. ;)

Hey, gamers. This is what companies think of you. All your HYPE and message board partisanship and obsessive need to pre-order (though note most of these editions don't need a preorder, but come on) a game based on a title and a trailer has led us to this, the stage where a company like Ubisoft can lay this out, look at it with a straight face and think, yup, some of these suckers will pay up, just like they always have.
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The last game I pre-ordered was The Last of Us, before that was The Old Republic and before that The Matrix Online.. you can see why I am hesitant to pre-order anything now a days.
 
The last game I preordered was Street Fighter II for SNES, cause they actually used to run out of carts at launch all the damn time.

Pre-order a digital download? Why the fuck would I do that?
 
Did RAGE make you rage? :D

jk. I did too. That and the SWTOR. I don't pre-order anymore. I wait for GOTY editions. :(
 
Last game I pre-order was BF3 for obvious reasons.
Enjoyed the game but I haven't pre-ordered since.

Now if devs/pubs released "finished" games, then maybe I'll take the plunge again.
 
Last one I preordered was Skyrim for PC.
Yes, I went to a Gamestop for it and stood outside in the freezing cold for it, but I did with a good friend who was also there to pick up her copy of Lego Harry Potter.
Grant it, I'm pretty sure she was the only one there to pick THAT game up, but between her and the other 100+ people in line it made for some great conversations about previous Elder Scrolls games and what we were looking forward to in Skyrim.
Kind of took me back to playing hookie from work and camping overnight at a Bestbuy with my brother (before he went crackhead) to get the original Xbox, Halo and a 2nd controller.
Its all good times when you pack a bunch of us nerds together, even those of us that really don't know we really are....
 
Kaitian said:
That game was awesome on the N64. Is there a remake in this day and age anyways?
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I haven't played the remake, but friends told me it sucked.

The team that made Goldeneye did make some other first person shooters that were fun to play. They made the original Perfect Dark, and then three Timesplitters games. IMHO all of these were improvements over Goldeneye, as great as it was.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crytek_UK
 
I think you're safe pre-ordering if the reviews are out and positive.

People who pre-order before the review embargo is lifted are acting irrationally.
 
pjargon said:
I think you're safe pre-ordering if the reviews are out and positive.

People who pre-order before the review embargo is lifted are acting irrationally.
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Pretty much. The business of giving a megacorp a collective interest free loan in exchange for some sort of psychological contentment: best scam the vidgame industry has devised.

There was a time that preorders made a little more sense - when it was a physical copy, finite copies were produced and there was a real possibility of not being able to get a copy on release day.

But with the exception of preorders bonuses, to preorder a digital copy of a game is out and out madness.
 
I learned quite a while ago.

Also, PREORDER used to imply DISCOUNT. These days it just means rip you for MSRP and buy it off the shelf on launch day $10 cheaper.
 
out-of-control.jpg
 
MavericK96 said:
Oftentimes they are not free later, either. Though that's a different discussion entirely...
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Fricken tell me about it... I just started to replay Arkham City and it keeps bugging me to enter a freaking code for catwoman... each and every time I start the game arrrrggg.
 
Blizzard said they have already sold over 1 million pre-orders of the next WoW expansion that doesn't even have a release date yet.
 
When companies promise features which are absent from the released game, that is when enough is enough. Stopped pre-ordering due to deceit.
 
Blame Gamestop.
"Would you like to preorder X" is a requirement.
Then they stuck up a deal with Devs, order the game early through Gamestop, get special Gamestop only DLC.
Kind of BS to me, I shouldn't have to preorder a game from Walmart, Gamestop and Amazon to get all the content.

The whole preorder, stand in line at midnight with 100+ other fans used to be a fun experience, now you can't walk through the door of someplace retail without getting hit with a preorder list.
 
The only thing I ever pre-ordered was my Xbox one... Totally regrettable decision, two weeks after launch you could get it cheaper with additional games.

Last time I'll pre-order anything.
 
unless you're looking to get some sort of generally crappy extra via pre order, there is absolutely no reason to pre-order. The majority of games are not that good anyway, and waiting for a price drop makes perfect sense.
 
Paid full Price for Dark Souls
only other game I'll pre order is Destiny for the half billion they spent making and promoting it.
 
mwallek said:
unless you're looking to get some sort of generally crappy extra via pre order, there is absolutely no reason to pre-order. The majority of games are not that good anyway, and waiting for a price drop makes perfect sense.
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Oh come on, those extras are totally rad.
If you pre-order the new Wolfenstein, you can get a free demo of the new DOOM.

A free demo! How cool is that?!
You know, assuming the game comes out... knowing that the demo will be free anyways... and the demo is just a beta... um, why are we pre-ordering again?

Fools and their money.
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Oh, that's right! :D
 
We get partial games at launch, day one DLC, vendor specific DLC, preorder DLC, vender specific preorder DLC, blechhh! It is sometimes impossible to actually get the complete game without buying it multiple times, and even waiting for the GOTY does not always work anymore. I have all but left gaming over it. It doesn't matter if I refuse to preorder games, too many others are preordering for it to stop any time soon. What's the point? Well, my gaming dollars are going to other hobbies these days. Congrats, devs/pubs you have made one of my favorite past times "unfun".. You can keep your partial games, and I will keep my dollars.
 
I haven't preordered anything since FF7, and old cart games. There is almost no point for me since I could care less about a different gun or another outfit.

Consoles on the other hand I do preorder. I had two preorders for the PS4 and Xbone and just got the Ps4 after last years reveal and E3. Wife got it later bit that's on her not me :).
 
The last game I pre ordered was HL2, learned my lesson that time and it never happened again.
 
rudy said:
The last game I pre ordered was HL2, learned my lesson that time and it never happened again.
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I bought an ATI 9800 XT because it came with a code for HL2, then had to wait for them to actually release the game...
 
dali71 said:
I bought an ATI 9800 XT because it came with a code for HL2, then had to wait for them to actually release the game...
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ROFL as it turns out when HL2 actually released I purchased a used 9800XT from a guy who did exactly what you did. He wanted to have the best GPU for it and had to upgrade twice because of their 1 year late release. I mostly purchased HL2 just for HL2DM after it released they informed us there would be no HL2DM.
 
Never preordered. I'll wait 2 years when it is on sale on steam or under $10. Finish one game before buying next game. So, I am always never on time to buy new games anyway.
 
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