PLEASE. STOP. PREORDERING. GAMES.

Suicide Squad is yet the latest example of the video game industry failing to deliver what was advertised and further proof that there is no quantifiable benefit whatsoever in forking over money prematurely.

Also someone needs to explain what the actual net gain is from preordering a digital game. I get preordering a limited run physical game (like the original Katamari Damacy) but downloads don't sell out, it's not like the servers will run out of 1s and 0s to download.

I cannot think of many other consumer items other than video games where the industry routinely encourages and expects their customers to buy their products basically sight unseen.

The only effect from preordering games is for developers getting lazy and not delivering their best product plus the fat greedy execs can brag during the next earnings call about how many sheep they tricked into buying their games prerelease which yields earlier booked revenue which yields fat bonuses for said overweight execs.

Yeah I kind of agree with this sentiment. The AAA industry is driven by pre-orders. It's how they make a lot of their money.

Just don't pre-order.

Ignore the incentives, most of the time it's bullshit anyway like a few days early access or some cosmetic items.

If we want to change how the industry operates, we need to stop pre-ordering.

Already pre ordered FF7 Part 2 deluxe, ToCS 3+4 and Unicorn Overlord deluxe edition. Used to be against pre ordering but honestly on this issue its up to buyer where they put their confidences. Other than ToCS 3+4 which is just a remaster of a game so fking hard to find physical version in my region, none of games I pre order is confirmed to be good but I placed my trust in them. My misfortune if the games busted.

Nobody asking me pre order but I just want to support devs and series that I like. I have confidence in what is presented thus I committed to it.

@sakaixx: I really don't get the supporting the devs thing.

I am a pure mercenary when it pertains to anything I buy. I will give my money only when provided a quality product, it is purely transactional. I feel no loyalty or need to support anyone if they do not make a quality product or service that benefits me. Whether their business fails or succeeds is not my problem.

The developers don't care about me so I don't care about them. One way loyalty is only for fools and simps.

Agreed, especially in this digital age.

No.

Dragon's Dogma 2 day-one

That's a good mindset, which I don't share. If I think devs doing a good job creating what I like I support its a simple emotional connection. Idk how many times I bought average rated jrpgs like Resonance of Fate or Caligula Effect but I want them to continue make those.

@sakaixx: I don’t buy mediocre stuff. You’re fine giving money for substandard products and services, I’m not.

Excellence should be rewarded, incompetence must be punished. Not giving developers money for mediocrity tells them they need to do better. It is purely transactional.

@GalvatronType_R: Agreed 💯 percent.

Pre ordering games is like arranged marriage. You buy games without even seeing the final product. This may be the reason we are seeing so many half baked games in the past two to three years.

Grow up guys. You need to love the game before falling head over heals into it. At least watch Digital Foundry review before spending your parents money on it. I think gamers who preorder are mostly young ones who don't know the real value.

I will keep not pre-ordering games. I simply see no reason to.

Pre-ordering bonuses? I hate those.
Being able to play a few hours early? I'm not 5, I can wait.

I used to avoid pre-ordering games. As I've gotten older, I just want to play the game early rather than wait for years for a good price drop. I am at a point in my life that I don't have time to wait anymore, and would rather play it now and sell the game once completed it.

What I don't really understand is playing in early access, you know you're getting an unfinished game and things aren't going to feel the way they should, and you know content is going to be missing.

I usually pre order video games I know I will like. Now a days there is plenty of info and videos of games before release that should help people in deciding to pre order or NOT!!!

Indeed.

And if anything is going to dictate whether a developer is going to be good or bad, it's bad management and misguided business decisions.

Lack of pre-orders didn't turn Bioware into a crap developer, for example.

The "Supporting the developer", at least when it comes to large-scale development, is nonsense.

This is the exception, I feel, to the general "don't pre-order" rule. I generally do not enjoy pre-ordering from larger developer-publishers because that is a strictly business-minded decision.

But with smaller developer, "early access" is essentially beta testing. If you're passionate about a game and a developer is taking a gamble on a niche genre--like a space simulator such as Kerbal Space Program--then I think it's fine to buy into early access.

There are a few, well, I won't call them advantages, but I definitely view them as positives:

• Generally offered at a cheaper price than when the game is finished.
• Get to participate in development; whether it's providing constructive criticism of gameplay, helping to squash bugs, and other feedback, it's nice to feel like you're part of the process.
• You get to watch the game grow and develop over time and into a final product.
• Developer get's funding along the way of development, allowing them to remain independent (no need to sign to a publisher, take out loans, etc).

It's not for everyone; I think you really need to care not just for games, but have an interest in game development and really be an enthusiast, but if done carefully there's really nothing but good stuff to participating in early access.

I have had absolutely zero negative experiences with early access. But I'm also really careful about what I purchase.

What MOST gamers don't realize is pre ordering encourage devs to prematurely go gold, and ignore the QA process. Last year was golden year for buggy premature deliveries.

To me doing all that kills the interest in the final product, it's the job of the designers to figure that stuff out and entertain you as the gamer, and I might as well use that time to keep working on my own projects.

Getting in at a lower price seems alright if you have faith in the product too, but eventually it's going to hit a sale anyway.

I guess the enjoyment of this depends on your perspective. I can see that being interesting if you are unfamiliar with game development and are interested in being part of a new community and happen to have a lot of time to spend slowly going through specific parts of a game or just enjoy checking in on progress.

Great, I dont care. I think its none of anyone concern what you do with your money. If you buying day one or wait for reviews its your choice. Its transactional.

No, I think I'll continue.

Why would I pre-order something I will download in about a few mins?

You'd have to be some kind of weirdo to buy a digital item before you can actually download it 🤣

Stop ordering games - $0 every Game Pass game 😎 never loose money again buddy!! Ty uncle Phil!!

hehe it's a fight that's already loss bud. People are still gonna pre-order because they don't have the ability to resist and wait to see if the game is actually good or not. It's wasted breath really. Me personally I very rarely pre-order and usually get games on a Discount.

I tend to purchase or play games that have been out for a couple years already, I’ve only pre ordered one game (Diablo IV) and wasn’t overly impressed with it. I’d rather wait for a decent amount of reviews before spending money on a game now as I have bought a few on release and have been disappointed.

A lot of the complaints I see are from users who have defended some of the worst games in recent years so it's tough to take all that seriously. Seems the issue isn't preorders but overall bad taste or a lack of general awareness to shit gaming. However all means keep supporting your Overwatch 2's, your Anthems, & Cybertrunk launches; can't be your fault; heavens forbid.. it has to be the preordering folk lol.

Humor me.

For a few money isn't an issue but time itself.

Some of us work a lot of hours and have limited time to play games at home; if it's a game/ sequel I've been waiting a decade to play why would I refrain from playing it, when I booked the day off when it drops because someone who is known to troII and have awful taste on the board throws bad advice catered to people who purchase crappy games from developers they should have stopped supporting long-ago?

I'm pretty content with the standards of gaming the developers I support provide.

Seems like the only fools are the ones taking his words as the go-to.

Your money, your choices. Yet all in all my advice is; if a developer gives you a really bad game you bought? Stop supporting them, at least till they raise and gain some actual standards.

Many those preaching this mindset like a broken record support Ubisoft and Blizzard gaming from my understanding. Along with a few thinking Harry Potter was the "best game of 2023". So.. yeah

Nothing in this stupid thread has convinced me I'm not playing Dragon's Dogma 2 on the day it drops. And next year you can bet your ass I'll be doing the same for Monster Hunter: Wilds. Great games from developers with a stellar portfolio & proven backlog.

100% agreed.

I don’t preorder games but with physical copies on their way out, some games ship very little copies and my hand is forced.

Especially for niche games…

*appear*

Nah, I think I'll keep doing it. The games I want to play aren't really getting shipped in remotely sufficient quantities, and I'm extremely anti-digital in most cases, so preordering is the only way to make sure I get a lot of the games I want.

Very rarely do I buy a game day one. I usually waits for discount so I vote with my wallet.

This is one of those threads I don't like seeing and seeing some of the user's posts are right/wrong is just so...

The whole point of pre-ordering video games back in the days when making physical was limited was because retailers like GameStop would only be getting shipped a limited amount of copies on release day. So, you were incentivized to pay $5 to pre-order a copy of the game instead of taking the risk that the game might sell out and you would not be able to play it on the day it was released was the whole point of pre-ordering in the first place and I'm sure some of you gamers didn't have problems doing that and I have done it many times when I was a pro physical gamer. I'm talking about during 5th, 6th, & 7th, gens.

But we do not have that problem anymore all thanks to the digital gaming world. The combination of being able to buy the game online, and not as many people buy physical disks from retailers anymore. The only possible reasons I can come up with for why people would still pre-order games are the ones who want to pre-download the game, or they want the pre-order bonuses. Still, the pre-downloading is a nice feature so you won't wait for a long time to download the game when midnight strikes and you lose your only wi-fi to do so. Pre-ordering Nintendo games I still do and I still buy their physical and I only pre-order their exclusive games on Amazon to be shipped right to my doorstep. If it's a game you know you're gonna play on day one and you know what you are in for, it is okay to pre-order the game and the company you trust.

I can tell you all this much. Pre-ordering is an outdated practice unless you are still buying physical, then by all means, and pre-ordering has its uses. Pre-ordering next-gen consoles is one of the main things I can recommend to do so. Next-gen consoles are very hard to come by when they are released and I will pre-order the next-gen Nintendo console whenever they announce it.

In some ways, Litchin has a point but for your case, I can understand you worked your butt off and have little time to play and trust me, I've been there and still worked my butt off. If its a game I wanna play day one, I always take my days off work when the game lands so I can stay home all day long. I'm doing that for Stellar Blade. I'm excited for it but I did not pre-order. I always buy my PS5 exclusives on digital.

My only point is, that everyone has the right to spend their money for whatever they desire, but there's nothing wrong pointing out advice such as Litchie is saying. He might be right, some of us gamers have patience and some of us don't.

Edit: If it helps, I'm also hyped for Star Wars: Outlaws coming from Ubisoft and Ubisoft has never disappointed me with their games (yet) but I ain't gonna pre-order that even though I'm hyped. I'm waiting for users reviews and if its a hit, I'll buy it. Just the many reasons to be excited but don't feel the need to pre-order.

Just my 2 cents how and how pre-ordering should be handled.

@davillain: I'm curious on Stellar Blade because I love 3D Hack n' Slasher Action games. Bayonetta, Ninja Gaiden, Devil May Cry. Some of my favorite games of all time.

I will wait on Stellar Blade though, only because despite the backlash I'm having a ton of fun with Dragon's Dogma II. & because that hype topic is deadier than Game Spot I'll note it's not perfect yet quickly become one of my favorite games of all time. If you are a fan of Dragon's Dogma? you'll love the sequel, no question. If you didn't care for it? nothing to see here. Level design in the open world is so dense and clever, so much fun to explore, namely in the end-game.

I'm very excited for the expansion.

My only point is, that everyone has the right to spend their money for whatever they desire, but there's nothing wrong pointing out advice such as Litchie is saying. He might be right, some of us gamers have patience and some of us don't.

Preaching your own take as an absolute never sits right with me that's all. Namely when the logic behind it seems hypocritical, everyone who has posted here has been playing games they wanted day-one, I've read them post about games on the day of release as well and how they're fairing.

I'm all down for patience when need-be. But don't give me bullshit and act superior because you don't have a game to be excited for currently.

Dragon's Dogma II is a sequel I've been preaching for longer than the Bloodborne goons have on these forums. So to make a topic telling me not to play a game, one I'm having a lot of fun playing (knowing that I would) get out of here!

It's the equivalent of_