Are Pre-Orders A Good Thing Or Bad Thing For Gamers?

Love 'em? Hate 'em?
Deal, or no deal?

What do you think of video game pre-orders. Are they an awesome way to make your game special? Or are they another tool to get an extra buck out of gamers?

I don't care about the promos. I use preorders as a layaway option mostly. I can't always afford to just dump 60 bucks all at once.

@GameSpot: I'm sorry but I can't vote ether of these polls. But I will say this, I only do pre-orders when I do a lot of research on a game that I'm gonna be enjoying for months to come. I pre-order Witcher 3 cause I know I'm gonna have fun playing this game and I wasn't disappointed at all. I'm really looking forward to Fallout 4 but I'm not gonna pre-order it though cause I got done my research so far and it's not worth pre-order. Are pre-order good/bad, it depends on the gamer to make that call if it's worth a pre-order. I had my hits/misses in the past. Edit: Voted: It's Not that Simple.

The concept of pre-ordering is great and I'm glad that the option exists to do so. It's extremely useful if the game is going to be released in limited quantities, e.g. Xenoblade, or there is a financial incentive to pre-ordering, e.g. knocking $20 off the price; however, the practices of exclusive content, which is often extemporaneous but none-the-less can become confusing if each store offers different content, and the constant badgering that a lot of brick and mortar store employees are forced to do to keep quotas up are unpleasant experiences.

In the end it's a practice that is useful, especially if you want niche games and physical media, to the consumer, and I think forum goers can often be a little too totalitarian on their ideas about what is ruining gaming.

I'm in the gray area when it comes to this topic. I will say that I "NEVER" pre-order games for extras, it's more of making sure I get my copy on day 1 if i get the disc version or having it pre-loaded on my system if I get the digital version.

@davillain-: You know, that's fair. I've added a third "It's not that simple..." option. Thanks for the feedback!

@GameSpot: Thank you for adding a 3rd poll. I voted already and your welcome for the feedback.

I've been burned enough times to not pre-order games anymore. Whether it's a logictical error on a retailer's part, or games launching in a low quality state, I just don't feel it's worth it.

I think that they can be both good and bad. I have no problem pre-ordering a game if it appeals for me to do so. I also have no problem passing on one if it doesn't.

As long you can refund, there is no harm.

Pre-orders aren't really the problem. It can help judge interest in a release, so they are okay with me as long as they are refundable.

What I DO HAVE A PROBLEM WITH is pre-order bonuses. If you buy the game brand new- everyone should be getting the same product. No extra maps, no skins, no weapons, no bullshit. That's an issue. Taking content out of a game to use as a bonus is so terrible.

What if it was content created specifically for the pre-order contract? It wouldn't be content taken from the game but content that was created for the pre-order.

The only people that don't benefit from pre-orders are the customers.

To me, that's the same thing. "Content made specifically for dlc" to me means "content that should be in the game anyway"

It's not pre-orders I hate, so much as how desperately the studios push them while pushing games out the door half-baked.

I'd feel more comfortable pre-ordering stuff if they prioritized making the game work from day one over retailer exclusive nonsense.

Hmmm... well that's one way to look at it although if retail companies are footing the bill for this exclusive pre-order content to be made then I would argue that it's not content that should be in the game anyway because it is content that was made on a budget from outside the initial development budget pool.

Unfortunately, game development is a black box, so we can only speculate at financial and developmental decisions, but, fortunately, most of this content, which is often inconsequential, is released to markets after the launch, so if it is content you really want, for example Alien Isolation's Last Survivor mission which was originally a pre-order bonus exclusive to certain retailers, then you can purchase it.

@GameSpot: I preorder but only for financial incentives. I have GCU and that paired with the $10 preorder bonus means I essentially get new games for $38. I of course do not open the game until the reviews come out and then I decide. Worst case I just return it and it is no big deal.

Years ago they were a great way of securing your new game. These days they are just a means for devs/publishers to guarantee some cash on launch broken or not. Normally broken.

The real problem is pre order *bonuses*.

But there's also an apparent war going on against complete games, because so many are buggy, and missing content and for this reason I don't pre order unless I trust the company completely which is rare these days, plus I rarely spend $60 on a game anymore.

Depends on the bonuses - if I am going to pre-order I want some good physical bonuses. For example just pre-ordered collectors edition of Tales of Zestiria Collectors Edition due to the fairly good assortment of in game AND physical items... plus the bugs should have been worked out as it has been out in Japan for a while now.

Wouldn´t say pre-orders are great but they are not bad either

They are ok and i do not have a problem with them at all, i have burned myself a few times on a pre-ordered game but that was due to the game not living up to my expectations.

My opinion on pre-orders are the same as Eric Cartman's: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AV69DyOuzbE

I think they've allowed for an ever creeping lack of quality in games at release. And segmented the idea of a complete product into, many different versions which again lowers the over all value of their products. Been against them since they started being a thing and will be as long as the video game industry continually puts out unfinished and broken products at the detriment of the consumer.

From a consumer perspective, the quality of pre-orders depends on the game and we cannot know until we have experience with it. If it is an act of faith, by nature, it does not have any logic involved. If it is a belief that has a strong reason to accept as reasonable then it is a rational decision. It can be said that not all purchasing decisions are rational and from a philosophical view, the faith-based ones are "bad" because they occur without logic. If that is the way that a decision is made then that purchasing history is not an indicator of reliable planning.

Contrarily, if pre-ordering is done rationally then it is good, again, from a philosophical view. It makes sense, it is a good argument, and it is reliable.

i kinda made a blog about this :3

Except there's no commitment to purchase the product.

@TheSeptopus: Not really dude... you can always go back but can you go back after you received it? No... it sounds like a commitment to me, yes...

As long as the game is unopened you can return the product after you receive it. It's called a refund rather than a cancellation at that point.

@TheSeptopus: Oh my God! Really?! Dude, thank you so much! I hope you become the next President of US! I'd never would've found out the difference between those details if it wasn't for your enlightenment!

Well, well, well, I guess the "big cock in your mouth" as Cartman says comes after you open and play the game then realizes the game's shit, isn't it, my super intelligent internet friend...

with Steam refund's I guess you cAn take the risk and ask for a refund if it's not good. ..

This is an enitrely different issue than commitment to purchasing a game after you've reserved a copy.

consoles don't offer that though

Depends on a bunch of factors that differ from one individual to the next. Pre-orders come in very handy for securing niche titles, and for people who don't live in the city or near a physical store.

For games I'm interested in purchasing on day one, it's much more convenient for me to pre-order and get same day delivery online than it is to drive a long distance to a store and pick it up.

For titles that don't normally sell well, a pre-order shows devs how much interest their games will generate.

On the other hand I don't see the necessity of pre-ordering blockbuster titles and the so-called "bonuses" that come with them are often crap and give very little incentive to buy them that way. When they offer content that can only be received by pre-orders, that's the worst of all and a poor way to do business imo.

Pre-orders are a sales tactic to get the gamer to purchase the game early. However, I like being able to pre-order through GameStop because it is another payment option for me that works like layaway. My concern though is that if pre-order is used to gauge interest, the store might not stock the game if it was not pre-ordered by someone.