Anyone else getting away from the habit of buying things at launch?

Since I have come to college and been way busier and more frugal with my gaming, I now never buy anything at launch. It has been extremely beeficial, as I feel early adopters of new games/consoles are the first to get shafted. Also I save a lot of money waiting on price drops and always have a steady backlog of good games to play.

The downside isI kind of miss that initial boom of active online play games have when they first drop.

@Mercenary848: Oh absolutely. I rarely buy a launch game. The few I have done lately have spurred me away from doing so as well (Forza 7). With games not being whole (withheld content, aka dlc/packs) for a year or more after release, it's just horrible. Add in bugs, missing features, etc, and it's just not a great value most of the time.

I really wanted For Honor. Saw it on Steam for 24 bucks just barely, but I wasn't even interested because I know I'd need some amount of DLC that'd take the price near new price or more, for an old game.

Some new titles I'll still have to get (Rockstar will make me double dip console/pc every time, and it's worth it) but generally I'll just wait for a great deal.

More than anything, I HATE how corporations won this battle. Watch how many people drop into this thread/related threads to defend corporate practices. It's like the consumers have become shareholders instead of passionate hobbyists. It irritates me every time I see people talk about how great a deal a particular piece of dlc is, or how that monthly fee is worth it, or how a season pass is REALLY a great value. It disgusts me when corporate psychologists win over on the consumers this way.

Anyways...I'm happy to pay 40/60 bucks for a complete game a year or so after it's release. A few select titles I'll buckle on, but for the most part, I have found myself becoming more and more disgusted with these practices.

I've wanted Elite Dangerous for years, but with the dlc packs, even on sale I'm still spending near 60 bucks for an old game. Recent commentators on steam have claimed the devs have increased the grind as well. As a business owner with a family and 3 kids, I just cherish what little time I get to play games so I don't have time to mess about with "grinds."

I haven't bought launch games in a long time. I don't play many online centric games so I haven't needed to because single player games can be purchased at any time.

Hardware yes... I never buy hardware day one nor do I pre-order. I wait at least several months.

Software?... Well that depends, I bought BF1 day one because I played the Beta flawlessly and had a blast. Doom?... I waited a while, its a SP game and I have a huge back log. No really going to pre-order or rush out to buy a SP game that will take me a week end to complete. I ended up getting it for £22 three months or so after launch from GMG.

Exactly man. There are some games like mario, zelda, GTA, timesplitters(like that willl ever happen), Pokemon, etc that I just HAVE TO HAVE. But usually I will wait for a complete edition, or grab the games once they have been patched to completion.

I hear you on grinds. I can do it for maybe 30min to an hour before bed, but usually I prefer a nice single player experience I can pick up and put down whenever(same with online).

And yes, we spend so much time defending systems that do the same shit. We all should have collectively said no to these practices years ago. But that would mean going against corporate masterrs.

Nice. I am split between wolfenstein two pack(want to play these before getting the one that just dropped) or nioh for my next purchase. Both single player games that came out awhile ago lol.

@Mercenary848: I'm glad we agree on some things. I know there a lot's of us out there that "get" the corporate practices. But the masses have been swayed already into the mindset.

By hell, I've had to try and teach my son on multiple occasions about corporate structures holding back content, splitting up a game, only to charge piecemeal down the road in hopes (that work out for them) of more profit. It's a psychological battle. Either you understand what's going on (games use to come complete for a price, now it's broken up on purpose to extend the time people are willing to shell out what they will) or the corporations convince you it's "worth" it.

I try to teach my kids anything is "worth" what people are willing to pay. With a great deal of gamers being fine with this practice, the rest of us more informed hobbyists pay the price in waiting or more cash for the games we enjoy. I don't blame people. Psychology is what it is. The gaming community in general is pretty young, and thus don't have the best consumer habits to shape the industry. The corporate players have all the power in this industry and for good reason...they CAN get away with it. The consumers have deemed this stuff "worth" it.

Nah, if I want it I get it. I really don't remember regretting buying any system at launch.

Lol I have seen a couple of your posts on OT and PG, you seemed like one of the more level headed posters. I agree it is a lot to do with psychology(one of my degrees) and economics(one of my major interests). There is also a level of shame in not buying the complete version of games. "Oh you didn't get the new dlc, well we can't all play together" if they cant get you, they will get you through your friends.

Games that force me to grind are a big no-no. That includes games with loot crates and micro transactions. It seems like in those games, the first 5 levels or so are normal, then all of a sudden it takes 20 hours to gain 1 level.

Just tired of it really.

I dont buy a game at launch ever since the original Destiny...

Got tired of seeing games go down in price shortly after I bought them at full price or GOTY/Complete editions later on wich are by far a better deal. Nowadays if you're an early adopter, you're being screwed, plain and simple.

Fvck hype. Seriously. Bought Shadow of Mordor GOTY edition yesterday for a mere 16€. I'm playing it three years later when it's hype has died, sure, but it's the same game with all the DLC for 54€ less. I'm good with that

I only buy games during Xbox Live and/or MS Store sales, excpet for MS First Party games that interest me. Also with Xbox Live Gold and EA Access, i have less reason to buy any games. Less time to game and by the time i get around there free in EA Vault or Xbox live Gold Deal.

Finally with MS, i also signed up for Bing Rewards where i cash in points for game discounts or put towards a month of xbox game pass if i want.

I have the new order... I didn't really enjoy it as much as I thought I would, so I have zero interest the new colossus. Doom was a blast and can't wait for Doom 2.

DLC and microtransactions don't bother me as long as they don't negatively impact the game. I think it's ok for developers to ask for money to extend the life of the game. My issue is when the base game is broken or the DLC is a blatant rip off. I think having more choices is better for the consumer then trying to appeal to just one person. If someone wants to buy DLC, and you don't, why do you care? If you want to wait for the complete version, then go right ahead. I think more choices is better.

Yeah man, Destiny was the last game Ijust bought. Traded it back(I never trade in games) promptly. It wasn't a bad game, I just felt jipped. I feel like that was when I really noticed the shiift.

Interestingly (to me at least) the increase lately in demos/betas has steered me away from buying several high-profile games I was planning on buying. I was able to tell within the first few hours how bad ME: Andromeda was and after finishing the singleplayer portion of the demo and haven't even considered buying it (maybe when it is $15). I actually had more fun playing the multiplayer portion for my remaining 5 or so hours. After playing the PC demo for Destiny 2 I decided not to buy it because of all the changes they made from the original (which I really enjoyed post-TTK), basically the Crucible was boring as shit with the smaller teams, smaller maps, glacially slow ability recharges, and increased time-to-kill. Same thing with Battlefront 2 actually. All the annoying design decisions from the original are still there only now they bolted on a ridiculous P2W lootbox scheme.

That is 3 AAA games within the last year (4 if you want to add Battlefront 1) that I was planning on buying day 1, but decided not to after playing the demos.

Only games I generally buy at launch are multiplayer games and thats to not get too far behind on the learning curve. Oh and indies to support the devs of games I like.

It doesnt really matter when you play a single player AAA game so might as well wait for the GoTY edition holiday sale. I play single player games once to completion and never play them again.

yeah i don't spend much on games, usually just buy old or used for around 20 bucks, i'll wait for a psn sale usually

I stopped buying games at launch years ago. And it's been longer for consoles. I have a huge backlog that I am playing through and most games drop in price so soon after launch.

I definitely don't buy consoles at launch. I usually wait for a nice bundle, or in the case of the Xbox One X, a 2TB model, IF I get one at all.

I buy Nintendo games at launch because they don't go down in value or price. For PS4, I wait for the holiday sales.

I only buy on launch games that are part of my favorite franchises or those that have really peaked my interest which happens very rarely.

Nope! I pre-ordered my Switch during the reveal event, got it day one, haven't regretted it since

Probably still get a game here and there at launch in slow seasons, or if I really must have it ASAP, but right now, toward end of year, best just to wait a few more weeks for those Black Friday / Cyber-Monday deals and other holiday sales.

Depends on what game it is, I still buy'em day one if I know this is legit good game.

Only the World of Warcraft + expantions and Mario odyssey.

Most of the time. I game less nowadays and not butthurt if I miss out launch day titles.

With hardware, I'm a sucker for new technology; always something better than what I have. This is in terms of consoles. I'll most definitely pick up the next Playstation when it comes out for example. And as of now, I've been enjoying my Xbox One X greatly.

In terms of software, well that depends on the game. Anything Rockstar makes I'll buy on day one. I'm a sucker for open world games as well; despite how many exist these days. Depending on the game, I'll watch videos on YouTube, check out some gameplay, see how the story works, read into it a little and then wait on reviews and form my decision from there. I'll always buy just the base game and I don't think I have ever purchased a season pass, I personally think it's a waste when a year or so down the road they'll release a "complete" edition.

This is why if a game is released, I like to wait a bit and see how the games doing a few months down the road or so. If any new patches or changes have been made to improve the game and so forth. I still haven't played Final Fantasy XV and I'm waiting for a "complete" edition to hit soon...lol.

Madden NFL 2005:Collector Edition was the last full price game I bought.

Software it depends, I don't regret buying games on launch day, I don't play online so it doesn't matter when I purchase the game.

Systems maybe, I wanted to buy a Switch at launch but I didn't because I got a PS4 a few months before the Switch was released.

The last system I purchased at launch was the Wii U.

Pretty rare for me to buy a game at launch these days. Mainly because I'm always so damn overloaded on games as is, no need to add more to the pile. Being able to buy it cheaper down the line, or avoid it if it sucks is just an added bonus. Of course there are some games I just have to buy at launch. I think this year I went day 1 on Nioh, BotW, Tekken 7, and Odyssey. And all of them were great. Think my next day 1 game will be DBFZ in January.

Always been an early adopter on hardware, but I think I'm mostly done with that. No regret on getting a Switch day 1. But the PS4 and WiiU I bought way too early.

In other words, *I have the feels about my opinion and am looking for a community that feels the same way so I feel like I belong and accepted because I need quick gratification to forget the failures in my life.

Personally I don't give a crap if anyone here does or doesn't.

I know the risks.

the ps4 was the first console i ever pre ordered (traded in my 360 and about a dozen games)

it worked awesome for the first few months then I suffered from the disc ejecting randomly during gameplay, it turned out I had one of the few "wobblestations", but hey I gave it some support and it's still going strong since 2013.

The XB1X was the second console I ever pre ordered and so far I've had 0 issues, but you need to give it some space because it runs hot.. but it's extremely quiet.

I stopped buying day one once game of the year editions started happening with all dlc included for less than the base game costs at launch. I don't play competitive multiplayer, so I never really feel like I'm missing out.

I did day one Zelda and Mario, but I knew they would be epic and Nintendo games take forever to go on sale.

Yes and no. It really depends on the type of game. With competitive MP games, I tend to buy them at launch. With single player games, I don't normally buy them right away. With a lot of games having season passes and micro transactions, they tend to drop in price a lot faster. If you are not "hyped" for the game, wait a few months and it will be at least 50% off. I am personally doing this for The Evil Within 2, Wolfenstein 2, and NFS Payback (waiting till free on EA Access).

These days it's foolish to buy a big studio game at launch unless it's Nintendo. I can't even remember the last time I bought a big release game on launch day. I almost never buy day one anyways, unless it's a game I REALLY want or an indie studio I know I enjoy/ want to support/ indie game I've been following and can't wait for.

Yup. A lot of the games now feel unfinished.

It's been at least 5 or 6 years since I bought a game on launch day.

Yeah I buy games on release day if it's a game I know I will like as I like to support devs who I believe make good games. The only time I wait is for games i'm on the fence about, then I will usually wait for a sale.

Stop buying consoles full stop, has there is jack shit I want to play on them anymore.

I never buy PC hardware at launch as there is never a rush, a new card isn't like getting a new system.

I do buy some games at launch, Got Fractured Butt Hole, Football Manager & FIFA at launch this year.

Depends on the developer and publisher. A Nintendo game or Naughty Dog game will come out polished. A Ubisoft game...well I'll need a few patches first

Its called a discussion lol ;), do you rather Ijust make a random thread bashing consoles? You cared enough to post lol!

You seem like the type to make bloated comments and look stupid after.

No, I'll still buy games day one if I'm really hyped for them

Some Nintendo are Day 1 because they never really drop in price. Naughty Dog games are Day 1 for me, love their work. But after my second child I backed off of day 1 purchases big time. I needed the extra money.

I day 1 a ton of stuff still... No ragrets.

Next day 1 will be Skyrim switch, the one after that will be Monster Hunter 5.

The games I'm very interested in I always pre-order and get at launch. Those that I am not too sure or I think I may not get my money's worth, I'll wait for a sale.

I learned a long time ago the virtues of patience, and that waiting just a little will reward you with savings. As I see it, paying full price is for suckers, and then there's waiting to see if there are any game breaking flaws on the release that should be addressed before getting into it.

Sure there are the rare exceptions for titles I just gotta dive into asap, like Mass Effect and Tomb Raider. But in 99% of the time I wait, and pay less for more content.

If there is one thing I would adamantly advocate is this; STOP *BLEEPING* PRE-ORDERING!!! The worst message we can be sending to publishers is that they can (even deserve) to make profits on a game before it's released, and before they've shown the merits of its quality and volume of content. This tells them they don't even have to earn our business, where it should really be that they have to first prove the game is worth paying for before we buy it.

The lesson to be learned here is; you benefit from exercising a little self control.

It's interesting because we've seen industry analysts making comments about how current business practice is not putting off consumers but to me these practices have only started biting hard in the last year or so, eg. as recently as D2 I was still hopeful, ME:A for me was the first major disppointment, but you know just a blip, well when D2 rolled around I was at first quite happy, actually had a story, some comedy yeah goofy but overall enjoyable, the story experience and multiplayer worth the price of entry. But then there's the big flash about "bright" engrams which you have to open the store front to redeem, and we give you three engrams pretty easy but then you gotta work a bit harder or you know you could pay, your choice though. Then there is the 100% random loot vendor system, no longer do you earn loot, now you earn a chance at some loot, cause you know all loot is random all the time, whether it's tokens or engrams you bought random loot is just random like it's totally normal and we didn't design this system to specifically manipulate weak willed people into parting with their cash by conditioning them to be accustomed to a 100% random loot system in all aspects of the game.

Getting back on topic, yes recent shifts in AAA game business practices have shifted my buying patterns away from Day 1 purchases.

Pretty much with the exception now and over the next 12 months or so of X1X, Halo 6, RDR2 and Sea of Thieves. Gotta have those day fudermuckin one, baby!!! :P