Pre-orders

[Rick_D]

So this seems to be the new trend.

Thoughts?

I am undecided, it seems really sneaky and a way to encourage buying something before you know if it's good. Personally I do that all the time because I am a weak-willed peasant - but this seems somehow devious, yet understandable from a publisher point of view.

[AlexM]

No dice.

[Beck]

It's a good method at getting more pre-orders I bet. Very much the same as the pre-order bonuses like TF2 hats and such. It probably gets people talking and spreading the word to try to get more people to pre-order so they can unlock everything.

I like this method less though, since if the game doesn't sell well then I miss out on some of those bonuses I would have got from a normal pre-order.

I don't pre-order these days anyway unless it's a title I really want.

[Sprony]

My last preorder was Aliens:Colonial Marines so perhaps that's a bad reference point. But the last couple of years there has been a lot of focus on preorders and preorder rewards. I've done this three times and all of them were very disappointing.

I'm not going to fall for this crap again. Regardless of how long they withhold reviews or how many rewards and discounts they give me, I'm not buying it. I'll listen to the opinions of people and from sources I trust, I'll play demo's or beta's or I'll test it at a friend but I'm going to make damn sure that I know what I'm buying.

The only exception being Kickstarter. I'll gladly pay money to get stuff made that I really want to play.

Edited February 25, 2013 by SpronyvanJohnson

[Zyn]

Even though it seems like a way to indirectly pay for DLC's and bonuses on shipping, with enough people preordering, this tier-system of preorder-rewards does give off the vibe that "Oh? Not enough people preordered? Well fuck you then, we'll cut content!".

[Vilham]

why are people preordering digital games for some crappy in game item? I genuinely don't get it. Its not like you have to preorder like in the old days where there were limited release copies and no digital option.

[dux]

I don't get sucked into these dumb things. I do pre order games, but only rarely. Brutal Legend is on pre order on steam discount for example.

[FMPONE]

The whole idea of scarcity is pretty much obsolete. Pre-orders made a lot of sense when the alternative was waiting in a long line in the mall only to find out that EB games sold out and you wouldn't be able to play Halo 2 with your pimple faced friends

[Kedhrin]

pre-orders are mostly used to gauge interest to let marketing spends unleash or not.

i think most people want those free items, or a discount. i can see if i'm a huge fan of the game and i want everything the game has to offer, i'd pre-order it for that item.

[Izuno]

It's a big game for one purpose: get your money.

Best of luck.

[LiVinGHeLL]

I will never pre-order a game again unless I want something from the collectors edition.

Colonial Marines

[Minos]

I don't get why people pre-order games digitally. Except for getting TF2 hats for course (I actually did that with Deus Ex lol)

[Skjalg]

Is this a response to kick starter in a fashion? Because kickstarter is basically a pre-order thing now with unlocks..

[Taylor]

Publishers are getting increasingly worried by digital distribution for some reason!

[-HP-]

Well, i very very very rarely pre order games. There's rarely any point to it, unless the game will be released with a limited edition I really want to get my hands on, and I know it will sell pretty fast. Last example of this is bioshock infinite songbird edition.