Do you pre-order games? (Plat Cast Topic)

[Bushido7745785]

Hey all! Hope you're doing well! 

 

As some of you might know, @ChernobylNinja and I run a podcast titled, Plat Cast, where we often as you fine people your opinions on different topics and discuss your answers on our show! 

 

This week I've decided to ask:

 

"Do you still pre-order games? Why or why not?

 

If you do, where? In a physical store or online?

 

If you don't, why? Did you get burned by a really bad game at some point?"

 

As for myself, it depends on the game. I've noticed this year, compared to last, that I've pre-ordered a great deal of many games and haven't been burned yet. I can't explain why other than a weird kind of "gambler's feel" that I was betting I would enjoy the various games I've been ordering. While back in 2016-early 2017 I was incredibly hesitant to pre-order anything after being burned by No Man's Sky. 

 

Tell us about your pre-order opinions down below!

 

We look forward to your answers as always and thank you all SO much for your support! We just broke 1,100 listens as of yesterday and we're both pretty excited! 

[GT__Jedi]

I used to pre-order games but was very disappointed with the various glitches that happened so that you could not finish the game.  You would have to wait for a patch from the developer.  That means you would set the game aside and have to come back to it.  By the time the glitches were patched, some of these games were now 1/2 price I had originally paid.  So this year I didn't pre-order anything.  

 

I am still on the fence about pre-ordering RDR2.  Do I or do I finish RDR and come back to the new game next year?

[Suparichie123]

Nope, never did and probably never will! I have countless games in my backlog, and I haven't played many of great games of the past 20 years, so I'll try to finish up some of them before buying new games  Also I am really stingy, so I can't justify spending 60 bucks on a single game, and I don't feel the urge to play new games on their release anyways haha. 

[Brawler]

I ended up getting a few new games this year and pre-ordered all of them. The incentive was the Amazon deal that gave me 20% off of physical copies and I pre-ordered most of the stuff I plan on getting before the deal went down. 

[JEDEDIAH]

Only if I have money, usually don't. I don't work. Pre-ordered SWBF2.

[Zenpai]

No. For several reasons:

 

• The more you wait before buying, the more the price decreases.
• The more you wait before buying, the more chances you'll have that a Game of the Year edition will all the DLC will come along, making you save even more.
• The more you wait before buying, the more resources there are online for you to use whenever you're stuck or just want to know more effective ways of progressing.
• The more you wait before buying, the bigger the chance that all those nasty bugs and glitches will have been ironed out.
• Too many games in my backlog for me to care about the most recent thing on the shelves.
• There's no actual need for you to pre-order games. Maybe in the 90's, when gaming wasn't the huge craze it is today, but now, with digital distribution and tons of different online stores... stuff never actually goes out of print. It's just pointless.

[BrunoBomb]

I don't usually make pre-orders because I already have many games to play while that game comes around or gets it's price down (which in Portugal a new game costs around 60-70 €).

 

I just made 1 pre-order and it was for Spyro Reignited Trilogy because... well, it's Spyro we're talking about, the 1st 3 games. And also because you usually don't find a new game (or 3 games) for 40€ so I just made the pre-order on PS4 and it seems ok at least.

 

Don't think I will do it again. I prefer to buy the game when it's already out.

[DrHambone]

I don't do pre-orders anymore. Unless it's a game I really want to play. I usually wait until a sale or buy a secondhand copy. Last game I pre-ordered was World of Final Fantasy on the Vita.

[UniqueWise568]

Yes. I preorder the games I want as sometimes I get them a few days before release.

[Berzerkgod313]

I Pre-order every single game i'm interested in, for two reasons. One, is that I pre-order from EB games, and they don't charge anything to pre-order, which means if i decide when it comes out that i don't want it anymore, i dont have to get it, and i have up to five days after release to decide that. Two, is that if i do decide to get it, it still comes with the pre-order bonus whatever it may be. In my situation there's no downside.

[marshmeowlo]

I pre-order games very rarely due to the fact that in 6 months most games drop by at least 50% of their original price. I have so many games to play through that I can wait to pre-order games cause I'd much rather get them for less than $60. I'm someone who doesn't think most games are worth the $60 price tag.

 

 The only games I actively pre-order are first party Nintendo games because most of the time the price doesn't go down that much on them. I did pre-order more games when Amazon was doing the 20% off for Prime members, but now that that's gone I'll probably stick to just pre-ordering Nintendo games I really want - which is kind of few and far between. 

[Pumpkin Head Cthulhu]

Only if it is a niche game that will not have a very large print run. Otherwise I wait a year for a "Complete/GotY/Ultimate" edition.

[gazdavis11]

I no longer pre-order games solely due to the size of my backlog. During the start of the PS3 era I used to pre-order games or buy games on release. As my backlog grew (mainly due to playing online games such as COD and FIFA)  I would find these new single player games I purchased that sat on my self still in their polythene would start reducing in price. 

 

My backlog is now that big I will rarely spend over £20 on a game because of the speed games now reduce in price following release. By the time I get round to playing it it would be pointless paying full price. There are exceptions such as the yearly FIFA game and others where there may be an online multiplayer element. Currently debating whether to get RDR2 on release.

[metamec]

Sometimes.  Rarely though, nowadays.  The price of a pre-ordered game is around the cost of a good night out where I live, so it's not like a tremendous amount of money for someone in work.  I just got tired of bugs that often occur with newly released games.  For example, I recall a Watch_Dogs 2 issue that meant no online play for 2-3 weeks and don't even get me started on AC:Unity.  Besides, why am I in such a rush to play freshly released games when I already own hundreds of un-played games on multiple platforms?

Edited October 13, 2018 by fauxtronic

[DizzyDavidson]

Yes, I pre-order 1-3 games a year. Ones I'm really excited for and want to play day one. Usually bonuses decide (if places offer different ones) where I pre-order but I don't really have a preference otherwise, I have gotten them from both online and physical stores.

I've never really been burned badly either. I mean sure, sometimes there are some bugs at release (like every year for F1 games), but as far as gameplay goes I always do my research before committing to getting the game.

[palmersib]

Occasionally I do pre-order games & if I do then it'll be from amazon, when I do end up inside a shop that sells games I usually see what's on offer or what's cheap & if it tickles my fancy then I'll buy it

[Froopy the Temmie]

I did for Crash Bandicoot: NSane Trilogy, Spyro: Reignighted Trilogy, Secret of Mana and South Park: The Fractured but Whole.

 

The preorder bonuses were pretty awesome (still haven't opened my Aku Aku mask keychain).  I think my favorite theme out of all of them will probably be either Crash riding Polar in a loop or Spyro standing in Dark Hollow.  That music always gives me goosebumps because of how calm it is and of course the extreme memberberries.

 

I don't really mind dealing with glitches.  None of the above were super terrible when they came out (minus Spyro of course because it's not out yet, lol).  Yooka Laylee gave me more trouble than any of the above games because of a wonky camera or difficulty spikes, but that wasn't a preorder.  

[Gisquared09]

I very rarely ever have buyers remorse when preordering a game, last time I regretted buying a game was probably Assassins Creed Unity and Need for Speed The Run. I can usually tell when I should wait for reviews for a game that I might want based on gameplay trailers. Also there are developers that I trust that I have no problem pre ordering their games such as Rockstar, Naughty Dog, Bethesda, or any Sony first party studio for that matter. Ubisoft and EA are games that I don’t preorder as their games are usually ones I can wait for a sale for and are nothing spectacular anyway. 

 

As for preordering I like getting physical copies as there is no better feeling than unwrapping the plastic from a game and experiencing that new game smell. Looking at my shelf of games is also very appealing for buying physical and my internet is very shitty so that deters me from buying digital unless there is a deep sale on a game. You can also share physical copies with your friends which is another plus. 

[mrsoy89]

I'll pre order a game on Amazon solely so I don't have to think about it again until it gets delivered. 

 

Plus I do pre order Collector's Editions cause, well you have to as most sell out pretty quickly. 

[ragnarok2887]

Usually, no.  I don't pre-order games as I like to wait, not only for a drop in price, but because a month or two after release, a game can feel drastically different due to patches and updates.  Also, as a self confessed completionist (love that sweet platinum ding), I like to play through a game and it's DLC all at once if possible.  Having to wait months between DLC being released can be frustrating.

 

I broke my own rule this month & pre-ordered my first game in several years when I pre-ordered 'Hitman 2'.  I picked up Hitman (2016) a few weeks ago and fell in love with it, but did feel that I'd missed out on a lot of content (most notably the 'Elusive Targets').  I guess I'm confident that I know what I'm getting with Hitman 2 (more of the same I hope).

 

Generally I feel pre-ordering is bad, but there are the odd exceptions.  At the very least, I always recommend to friends to wait until gameplay footage is released. 

[SystmOveRide]

Honestly it really just depends on the game, and the to what degree of hype and if I've watched anything about it at E3.

 

For example, I preordered the Pip Boy edition of Fallout 4. At the time I lived down the road from a major shopping centre and as soon as the Fallout 4 E3 stream here finished I went straight there and put money on the most expensive edition.

It was the same for Diablo 3 when that was coming out, generally anything by Bethesda or Blizzard I won't hesitate to preorder, if it's Blizzard I definitely try get the nice collectors box edition if I can too.

 

Otherwise I just have too many games at this point, and most pre-order bonuses aren't really worth it in my opinion now, also I have no room for statues and stuff haha, the most I'd preorder these days would be an edition that comes with the season pass, if anything.

[hsn963]

Only if there is a collector or limited edition, I'm interested in that may go out of stock, otherwise i wait for at least 6 months or a year, as jrdemr said.

[Feral]

Yes I pre-order games because the collector's edition of a game I wanted anyway has appealed to me. 

 

Nearly always in store. Only pre-ordered 3 games online because the edition wasn't available anywhere else.

[JoeyGlowey]

I'll pre-order a game if I think or know that it's going to be good. After reviews dropped for God of War a week before it's release saying how great it was, I pre-ordered it. I pre-ordered Marvel's Spider-Man before looking at reviews because Insomniac has a track record for making great games.

 

Meanwhile, BioWare wants to sell me their version of Destiny. I don't like Destiny that much, and BioWare keeps shipping games that don't really catch my attention (and haven't since Jade Empire and the og Mass Effect, tbh), and when EA forced them to push Mass Effect: Andromeda out the door in its buggy, unfinished state, that took away any assurance of quality for any EA published title. So, if Anthem gets good reviews upon release then maybe I'll give it a shot.

 

I used to be big on collecting physical games, but over time, it became tough to keep track of it, not to mention that every PS4 game disc requires you to install data anyway. If I'm going to have a game take up a substantial amount of space on my HDD (lookin' at you Red Dead Redemption 2), I might as well get the digital version that cuts out the act of physically taking out and putting a game into my PS4. Not having to get up every time I want to play something else is  l i b e r a t i n g.

 

Plus, digitally pre-ordering 1st party PS4 titles (like God of War and Spider-Man) can have some sweet bonuses, like extra in-game content, themes (not Spider-Man, tho. That one was farts), avatars, and a physical pin made by FigPin that gets delivered in the mail.

[Bushido7745785]

 

 

New episode is up gang! Thanks for all the great, and critical, answers! Really interesting to see all the factors that influence pre-ordering for you all! 

 

Thanks as always for your support and all the love! Make sure to subscribe and all that good junk to help us reach more audience members!