Buying games in 2015.Would you take a 'no pre-order pledge'?

No, Pre-ordering is great. It means I can plan in advance costs (in the UK when I pre-order online, I pay on shipment/dispatch, not when I pre-order). I get the lowest cost between now and sale (and usually better than the price for a couple months after - for instance, I got Dark Souls II and FFX/X-2 HD 30% off 3-months in advance).

It also takes a huge burden off my shoulders. Firstly, it means I can plan costs out beforehand and do tiny things like alter my lunch every day to be slightly cheaper with the knowledge that it's going towards something real (or, more likely, since I know I'll have the funds for this game I'm pre-ordering, it will allow me to save up further to allow for buying games that I may be interested in after release - possibly buying a CD or something as well that month).

Secondly, I like knowing what I'm going to be playing ahead of time. An annoyingly significant amount of my time is spent wondering what to play, just deciding beforehand "when this game comes out, you'll get it and will play it then" is comforting. I'm also one of those people who gets wrapped in the info. about a games development and I hate that - sometimes it ends up that I spend more time thinking about and reading up on potential games than playing great ones right now. Pre-ordering allows me to mentally close the book on a game: "you can find out when it comes out - and if there is something really bad about a purchase that you might want to cancel a pre-order for; believe me people will be loud enough about it that you won't be able to avoid it".

Thirdly, sometimes I just know I'm going to like a game. Reviews and opinions of anyone won't make a difference - I will like it, and that is that. I might as well set-up how I'm going to get it now rather than waiting for release.

I'm pre-ordering most of my games on digital in 2015. Gotta get that Torus level.

I'll pre-order Bloodborne and The Witcher 3, that's probably it. Pre-orders are annoying in stores but not that annoying via Amazon.

I will never understand people who feel the need to play things the minute they come out. With day 1, and sometimes (if the company's really scummy) after release embargoes means that you're taking a pointless risk buying something that might well be terrible or broken at launch. Wait a week, read the stories, then make an informed decision.

Started doing this lately. Get to see if it's any good by letting others play it, wait for patches to come out and get it a bit cheaper. The patching thing is what concerns me the most because I feel like it's just better to wait to get the "better" experience.

I haven't preordered anything for at least a year or two, there just isn't a reason to.

It used to be preordering meant you were guaranteed a copy of a game when some games were notorious for selling out. Nowadays even the biggest releases can be found either online or with a little bit of hunting at a few retail stores.

Even games I know I'll be buying day one I just wait and walk into any shop that sells them and buy it. Or if I'm purchasing something in advance it's only to pre-load the game so I won't be waiting at midnight to start playing.

Unless you know, 100%, that the game you're purchasing is something you will enjoy (even with server issues and bugs that every game could have) then never preorder. And if fewer and fewer people preorder then suddenly the industry will stop giving incentives to do so.

I haven't pre-ordered anything in 5 years or more. I won't take a blind pledge, though. The last thing I need is more junk mail showing up.

Eh it depends. I rarely pre-order anything though unless if its a game that I was really looking forward to but at the same time that in itself is also pretty rare.

Also when I say pre-order...It's more like a bought the game prior to the launch since I buy almost all of my games digitally now, which is even more risky (unless you buy it from Greenmangaming or Origin which actually have refund policies). I usually buy it after release or if reviews are out early and the reviews are good or rather if its middling but after reading the review I'm still convinced that I'd enjoy it, I'd buy the game before launch.

If I'm interested enough to want to buy a game on release (rare occassion) then I might as well preorder it. The chance of being disappointed closes in on zero anyways.

Though yeah, I tend to get games a bit late in general. Even games I'm excited for.

@shortbreadtom: I've been playing games for many many years and I've bought the majority of my games day 1. I can't think of a single game I've bought that has been "broken". The handful of the games I can think of that have suffered sub-par performance (Fallout New Vegas for example) I bought well after it came out and pretty much knew what I was getting into.

Maybe it's just luck and my preferences tend to steer me away from games that commonly end up broken, but if I really want a game enough to pick it up day 1 I've done plenty of research to know what I'm getting into. I am confident in my purchasing habits as a consumer. They have given me no reason to not pre-order and buy day 1 if I really want to play something.

I can tell you right now that I probably will be pre-ordering Persona 5 as soon as I can from Amazon. Then I will pay it off over a few months, instead of paying the full price all at once. Just like I did with Dragon Age Inquisition. I just find it convenient to do that and not have to go anywhere to get the game.

I've definitely lessened the amount of preorders I take up per year, but there'll always be a select few games that I want to see for myself regardless of critical reception or what have you.

I don't think I've ever been burned by a pre-order. Heck, I probably would've pre-ordered the new Pokemons but I kinda want them digitally.

But I have pre-ordered less and less each year. I have so many other games to play, and I like seeing if my computer can handle games before I get 'em.

I guess I would considering I've never had to pre-order a game. I'm from a pretty small community that has three different game stores in it. Never had a problem getting a game on release day.

Nope. I pretty much only preorder niche Japanese games that get brought over though. It doesn't happen very often but still I don't want to take a chance with a game I'm interested in being hard to find or selling out and having to pay inflated prices on ebay or something.

I'll stop pre ordering games when YOU admit that people are obviously not dogs.

I pre-order games I know I want and that have awesome free bonuses. The risk you take is on you.

I don't see the point in taking a pledge against pre-ordering...There's nothing wrong with pre-ordering. The problem is certain publishers and developers I know.

Like I've pre-ordered Geometry Wars 3 for Tuesday, and I'll pre-order Dying Light, Witcher 3, Metal Gear Phantom Pain on XONE, and Mortal Kombat X when those get near.

I'm way more comfortable pre-loading games now, than I ever-ever was fuckiing with GameStop. My last GameStop game was Red Dead, and now I've been clean ever since. 1,642 days clean, baby.

The concept of preordering because of limited quantities is mostly null and void nowadays (except for more niche and nintendo titles). You'll always be able to get your copy. Now it's all incentives such as bonus weapons or a short side mission that just aren't worth it, granted you can cancel the preorder unless it's digital

No. If I pre-order a game, it is usually through Amazon. I usually get release day delivery, and I'm not charged until my order is shipped. I don't pre-order very often, but when I do, it's usually a game that I'm going to buy regardless of what game reviewers say. There is no benefit for me waiting until the day the game is released and then ordering it online, or driving to a store on launch day. If I don't pre-order, then it's a game I'll likely wait for a sale on.

Best buy has been giving $10 gift certificates for pre-orders. So, basically Monday before release I look at twitch-twitter-forums. If it sounds entertaining and I know I'll play it, I pre-order. Generally, 3rd party disk games. Games I know I will go back to I buy digitally this gen. Halo, titanfall, destiny, forzas, I forgot what game I digitally bought on the ps4... like a game like wolfenstein is a disc game. play it, uninstall it, and put it in a box until I play it again maybe. Very few games I trade it. If If I'm ever in a rut, I want a library of games to play to keep me preoccupied.

That's a pretty well-reasoned argument not to pre-order, but I'll tell you a few reasons why I often do. First off, sometimes I absolutely know I'm getting a game, so why not get it ASAP? This is especially true for online-heavy and/or "big" releases. Playing it and discussing it with everyone else is half the fun. Secondly, sometimes the incentives are well worth it. For example, with Halo:MCC, MS gave $10 to your Xbox account if you ordered through them. Good stuff there. I could typically take or leave some of the fairly pointless pre-order bonuses like weapon skins, outfits, and other bullshit like that, but money is a different story. Furthermore, spreading out expenses is kind of nice. I have the money to where $60 isn't a big deal, but with several new games showing up around the house right now that would normally get the wife bitching about my spending around the holidays, I can honestly say that I budgeted for and bought this shit back in June to make her STFU. So that's fun.

It seems like your concern is that you'll get stuck with a shitty game. Well, that's certainly possible, but it's also possible to be cautious with what you pre-order. I'm yet to get really burned on a game I pre-ordered. The MCC is about as close as I've come because of the current matchmaking issues, but there's no way MS won't get those fixed, and there's more than $50 worth of game on the single-player campaigns alone. I do feel for the people who got the shaft in situations like Aliens: Colonial Marines and #DRIVECLUB where the final product isn't anything close to what was promised, but the gaming community probably needs to learn some patience, humility, and perspective from stuff like that anyway. I mean, Forza Horizon 2's VIP stuff didn't work right for a few days and people acted like Playground Games was Bernie Madoff, even though it was fixed quickly, in addition to FH2 being a fucking great game. Some of the entitlement is out of control. That's not to defend publishers releasing inexcusably buggy/unfinished games *cough* AC:Unity *cough*; I'm just saying it isn't the end of the world if a game isn't what someone hoped it would be. No one made them pre-order it.

The way I look at it, everything you buy is a bit of a risk. As long as you do your research and know what you're getting into, you can usually protect yourself. For those who are deathly afraid of getting a bad game and can't handle it emotionally or financially if that happens, yeah, I'd advise them to wait until a week or two after it comes out. For those who just want the game on the cheap, I'd tell them to wait as long as they can. For those who want to play the game as soon as they can and aren't going to flip their shit if it's not instantly perfect, I'd tell them to pre-order away. It's just a matter of personal preference.

Nope. Nothin wrong with pre-ordering a game just in case the store runs out.

Pre-ordering has always been a strange thing. But in 2015 I feel like there's less reason than ever to do it. All games can be purchased digitally on Day 1 so there really isn't a concern about stores being out of stock etc. (not true for people without solid internet connections, I know.)

I think the only reason I'd pre-order a game at this point would be if they had some awesome deal where you could get the game for $20 - $30 off that you see sometimes. But if that's not there then there isn't really an incentive. In-game pre-order bonuses do nothing for me.

oh okay. yea man i had not considered the budgeting aspect of it all. if you are going to get it anyway, why not spread the cost out? makes sense. and yea, not all pre-order stuff is nonsense. the halo:mcc is a damn good example of the bonuses being pretty awesome.

lol, youre right about some of the entitlement issues gamers tend to have at times. i try to not to be so irritable when it comes to those things, but my younger self wasnt always so reasonable unfortunately. nobody put a gun to anyone's head and forced anyone to buy anything, so a bit more caution would go a long way in protecting yourself from potentially bad products. gaming is a luxury after all.

thanks for answering man. you made some good points buddy.

I very rarely pre-order games, but when I do it is only for games that I know I will buy no matter what, and have faith that the team will not screw it up. MGS 5 Phantom Pain comes to mind, I have complete faith that Kojima will not launch a broken game like DriveClub, or Master Chief Collection.

I haven't pre ordered a game in I don't know how long, I've never had trouble finding a game.

Like @fattony12000 said, there is 1 valid reason for pre-ordering and that is the price of the game itself.

Either you pre-order because you want the game at or near launch and want to save money or you don't pre-order at all and just buy it later when it's cheaper.

Sure, after The Witcher 3 comes out.

I'm pretty good at deciding what games I want before hand. I hadn't pre-ordered a game I haven't liked yet.

I'm definitely not going to be pre-ordering weeks/months before release, but since Best Buy considers the Monday night before release as pre-order, I'm gonna keep doing it.

I preorder almost every video game because here in Canada bestbuy/futureshop has an E3 promo where you get 33% off all preorders. I preoder every game that looks ok and then cancel when it come time for it to come out and I don't feel like I want it. Not sure why people have such a hatred for preordering.

I've never pre-ordered a game and I don't plan to in the future, I don't think it's a bad thing or that people shouldn't do it but it's not for me. I pre-order vinyl records all the time because some of the labels I buy from often sell things out before they are released. If I was into owning physical copies of games I would totally pre-order.

The only game I'll preorder is Persona 5, just so I can pick it up at midnight and start streaming it immediately and for 24 hours! Anything else I can wait until the embargo is up.

Ill admit GMG is always tempting since preorders through them are often 20% off. Trying to show more restraint though.

Sure You've got my axe, I've only pre-ordered a few titles in my life ever anyway.

I have little need to play games immediately at launch, so there is virtually no reason for me to pre-order moreso now than ever

• waiting means I don't have to worry about server issues or day 1 patches
• waiting means I can see what the quality of the game is actually like upon release
• waiting means I don't buy into a multiplayer focused game that's going to have a community that dies off quickly, if the community is dead in a few weeks I don't want that game anyway.
• digital downloads means scarcity is complete non-issue, even if it is online stores made that largely a non-issue 10 years ago. Waiting no longer has any risk in this regard.
• waiting means I can get a version of the complete game, and not worry about getting nickel and dimed by overpriced DLC/Season Passes to have the full experience
• waiting usually means I can get the game at a significant discount or in a bundle with other games if I so choose
• My backlog is enormous anyway and waiting means it forces myself to actually play through older games I haven't touched.

I've pre-ordered 2 games since 2006 or so. Dragon's Dogma and Abyss Odyssey, both times I did so were out of altruistic reasons. I thought both games looked dope and not enough people were talking about them, so I preordered to support the developers.

The last game I preordered was Fable II, soooooooo

I honestly just think it's hilarious when people get burned time and time again without learning their lesson. Publishers keep releasing half-broken shit because people keep letting them get away with it.

I don't really pre-order anything anymore. The only instances where I would if the game has a limited number of copies. Though, I've started to move to digital copies now so that's not really even an issue anymore.

Future Shop and Best Buy usually have pretty good E3 promotions, pre-order 3 or more get $20 off each, so that's another reason why I'd pre-order.

But how much have you really saved by pre-ordering a game early, getting it day 0, but unable to play it because it is pretty busted? Why not wait a couple of weeks or a month where $20 is becomes a trivial amount?

I pre-order games all the time, but mostly because going to midnight events is a ton of fun with my buddies. Usually the whole day we hang out, go grab dinner, some coffee, joke around and then when the clock ticks toward midnight go to our local EB Games. The dudes at my EB are also real cool and often hand out energy drinks and such to people they know. So the whole preordering thing becomes more about the process of picking it up then the actual game itself.

I'm just going to assume this is a poorly branded purity ring.

DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!!!!!

who gives a damn crap

I pre-order games on Steam and Xbone, if I'm able to preload them, so I can play them the moment it is released. I can't remember an instance in the last few years where I felt regret over getting a game, even if it was one I end up not liking. Playing games is the number two item on my list of things that bring me happiness. So if there's a game that interests me, I'm getting it. Reviews or other opinions on it don't matter to me.

The only games I'm preordering in 2015 are The Witcher 3 and Metal Gear Solid 5 because I know that I can trust CD Projekt to ship a working game, even if it's kinda buggy and over ambitious, and I have to play MGS5 before it's spoiled for me. I didn't preorder anything this year.

Is pre-ordering the cool thing to hate now? You can always cancel your pre-order you know. I only pre-order for games like Tekken and the Souls series. I haven't been burned so I will continue to pre-order. It is the chumps at Ubisoft and EA that put pre-ordering in a bad daylight. I trust the likes of Kojima, Harada and the Bloodborne guy to take all my money.

I forgot to mention one more feather in the pre-order cap. I once won an Xbox 360 at a Best Buy midnight release party. That alone puts me in the black for about five games that could be absolute shit, a tab I'm still WAY ahead on. So there's that.

It's sorta peculiar really, I consider myself a no-preorder kinda guy but when I think about it I actually pre-purchase quite a lot of games every year digitally. It all comes down to when I make my purchase desicion though. With how closely I follow the enthusiast press there are plenty of games I already know more than enough about to decide wether I want to buy them or not long before the release date, and the risk of ending up with something broken or completely unenjoyable has so far been extremely minimal. That's not to say every game I buy is a smash hit, but on average I'd say I only buy 1-2 games every year that are complete duds (and I'm ok with that). At the same time though there are plenty of games, even some of my most anticipated, I hold off on before I see post-release videos and reviews.

I mean, why would I spend so much time on this site (and similar sites) if all I cared about was the post-release verdicts ? (also, the fact that I live in EU means there's a lot of post-release style coverage pre-release here).

I just about never preorder. This past year I've done 2 which is kind of nuts cause prior to that I may have preordered like 2 games total in my lifetime. The two I did were GTA5, which I did for my first midnight release, and Advanced Warfare, which I did so I could preload it basically.

In the future I doubt I'll preorder much unless I do another digital one for the preload, but I bet it will be quite a while.

My last preorder was RDR so I was pretty lucky with that pick, but now I mostly just wait for steam sales and humble bundles. Most of my gaming with friends is more like UPF with hey check this out or just local multilayer games. Heck I still always go back to Counter-Strike and Red Orchestra for my online shooters so I'm not normal anyway.