When did preordering games get shoved down our throats ?

I don't remember ever hearing about the concept of preordering until I got my PS2 way back in 2003.  I went to Gamestop and bought a PS2, Devil May Cry, GTA: Vice City (I have yet to play GTA 3 but I can't imagine how bad it has aged), and Metal Gear Solid 2. The clerk asked me if I wanted to preorder Devil May Cry 2. I told him at the time I wasn't even sure if I was going to like the first one since I was only buying it based on the fact that I had seen a friend play it and he seemed to have a blast. He countered me with the gem that the first game is awesome so the sequel has to be even better because unlike movies, video game sequels are always bigger and better. I told him if I liked Devil May Cry I would be back and preorder.  So I dodged the DMC 2 bullet even though he was right that DMC 1 was indeed awesome. 
 I took a bit of a videogame hiatus from 1999 to early 2003 based on being poor, so when did Gamestop start with this
 preorder nonsense ? I have yet to preorder a game because I like to read reviews first or buy games on impulse and it seems like the practice has seeped into regular stores like Target and BestBuy.

The most ludicrous thing I can remember is being told I can't buy a game from Gamestop on the day it was released because I didn't pre-order.  Do they still do that?  I don't pre-order from Gamestop anymore, but I do from Amazon provided they offer a $10-$20 credit voucher for future game purchases.

" The most ludicrous thing I can remember is being told I can't buy a game from Gamestop on the day it was released because I didn't pre-order.  Do they still do that?  I don't pre-order from Gamestop anymore, but I do from Amazon provided they offer a $10-$20 credit voucher for future game purchases. "

I don't know. I think it has become really bad in the recent 2 or 3 years when ingame-material became part of preorder bonuses. I fully reject this concept and I don't do preorders as a matter of principle.

Not sure about the US, but it's always been easier in the UK..  Online retailers tend to be far cheaper than actual stores, plus most of them will ship the game out early, resulting in you getting it a day or two before release.  It's been like that since I remember.
 
But more recently we've definitely seen an increase of games having collectors editions and/or pre-order bonuses.  Simply because it encourages you to buy the game when it's brand new, rather than waiting for a price drop.  And I have to say it's rather effective.. I had no intention of buying Bayonetta until it dropped to £20-ish.  But getting a free replica of one of her guns definitely pushed me to pre-order and pay the full £40 it.  So it's not really surprising we've seen this type of thing more and more.
 
Though I will say getting bonuses like that is fine..  cutting out game content and giving it out as pre-order bonuses feels far more underhanded.
I want rewards for buying early, not to be punished for wanting to wait.

dont understand this thread. whats the problem on preordering?

" I don't know. I think it has become really bad in the recent 2 or 3 years when ingame-material became part of preorder bonuses. I fully reject this concept and I don't do preorders as a matter of principle. "

" @PenguinDust said:

" The most ludicrous thing I can remember is being told I can't buy a game from Gamestop on the day it was released because I didn't pre-order.  Do they still do that?  I don't pre-order from Gamestop anymore, but I do from Amazon provided they offer a $10-$20 credit voucher for future game purchases. "

Yes they do, but rather than tell you you can't buy it, they will tell you they don't have it even if they have a stack of them right there. If you ask about the stack of games you want to buy that are right there they will tell you that those are reserved for people who pre-ordered.   As far as pre-ordering goes, the first time I remember running into it was at EB Games in the mid 90's back when EB was still EB and not GameStop with a different logo. "

As someone who doesn't always have time to go to Gamestop on launch day, I've gotten into pre-ordering on Amazon with day-of delivery. Guarantees I get the game and i usually get a $10 credit.

i've never really had an issue with the gamestops close to me.  i usually preorder games just to have the peace of mind that i can go into the store the day it comes out and buy it.  most of the employees only mention preordering games once i am checking out and if i say "no thanks" they drop it all together.  

Personally I pre-order every game I want, just so I know I get a sealed copy and don't have to hunt around for a copy. 

" dont understand this thread. whats the problem on preordering? "  

" I don't know. I think it has become really bad in the recent 2 or 3 years when ingame-material became part of preorder bonuses. I fully reject this concept and I don't do preorders as a matter of principle. "

When DLC became popular enough that game retailers can entice customers by bundling pre-orders with store exclusive DLC content.
 
That was the fall for you.

" @AnnouncerGXZ said:

" dont understand this thread. whats the problem on preordering? "  

 The problem is you are giving companies money for a product that is not finite. I live in very small town in Indiana, and I get any game on release day, no problems. You are giving GameStop money which they invest and draw interest from, for a product to which there is no rarity. Amazon's method of not charging you until it ships is much more ethical, though not as an efficient business model.   There is nothing wrong with pre-ordering. A lot of people live lives that do not allow them to make to a video game store every Tuesday. However, with much more consumer friendly options out there, I do think gamers should have an issue with fellow gamers who pre-order from GameStop or any other company that requires a monetary deposit on a non rare commodity.   Now for Special Editions, etc, I can understand it a lot more. However, as a previous poster mentioned, Amazon will deliver release day   "

Pre-ordering is really only for the benefit or the publishers and retailers so that they can gauge how many copies to produce and how much space they should allocate on shelves. 
 
Now here's where publishers can fuck themselves. If I get a price break or a tangible real world benefit to pre-ordering I might be tempted. But when you're just restricting already developed content to use as a "bonus" that's when you cross into bullshit territory.

" @Cerza said:

" @PenguinDust said:

" The most ludicrous thing I can remember is being told I can't buy a game from Gamestop on the day it was released because I didn't pre-order.  Do they still do that?  I don't pre-order from Gamestop anymore, but I do from Amazon provided they offer a $10-$20 credit voucher for future game purchases. "

Yes they do, but rather than tell you you can't buy it, they will tell you they don't have it even if they have a stack of them right there. If you ask about the stack of games you want to buy that are right there they will tell you that those are reserved for people who pre-ordered.   As far as pre-ordering goes, the first time I remember running into it was at EB Games in the mid 90's back when EB was still EB and not GameStop with a different logo. "

Because those actually are pre-ordered, why would they not want to sell a product? Jesus I swear all Gamestop customers think they're victims. "

" @PenguinDust said:

" The most ludicrous thing I can remember is being told I can't buy a game from Gamestop on the day it was released because I didn't pre-order.  Do they still do that?  I don't pre-order from Gamestop anymore, but I do from Amazon provided they offer a $10-$20 credit voucher for future game purchases. "

Yes they do, but rather than tell you you can't buy it, they will tell you they don't have it even if they have a stack of them right there. If you ask about the stack of games you want to buy that are right there they will tell you that those are reserved for people who pre-ordered.   As far as pre-ordering goes, the first time I remember running into it was at EB Games in the mid 90's back when EB was still EB and not GameStop with a different logo. "

Jesus Christ, what is with you people and your complaining about gamestop?  Oh wow, he asked you if you wanted to pre-order a game? Get out the rape kit and fly in Horatio Caine.  

" @thecleric said:

" @Cerza said:

" @PenguinDust said:

" The most ludicrous thing I can remember is being told I can't buy a game from Gamestop on the day it was released because I didn't pre-order.  Do they still do that?  I don't pre-order from Gamestop anymore, but I do from Amazon provided they offer a $10-$20 credit voucher for future game purchases. "

Yes they do, but rather than tell you you can't buy it, they will tell you they don't have it even if they have a stack of them right there. If you ask about the stack of games you want to buy that are right there they will tell you that those are reserved for people who pre-ordered.   As far as pre-ordering goes, the first time I remember running into it was at EB Games in the mid 90's back when EB was still EB and not GameStop with a different logo. "

Because those actually are pre-ordered, why would they not want to sell a product? Jesus I swear all Gamestop customers think they're victims. "

Not all of them are pre-ordered. They always get some extra. I have several friends who used to work there (GameStop) and several friends who still work there and all them of  have told me there are times where they will intentionally not sell a new game to a customer who hasn't pre-ordered in order to punish the customer in an effort to get them to pre-order in the future. Getting people to pre-order is to the clerks, stores, and publishers benefit. See wh1terav3n's comment above. "

" @thecleric: You'll never, ever see a release where Gamestop does not have more copies than they had preorders. Between the dwindling demand for a Day 1 purchase in the recession, to the number of parents who simply forgot they preordered something months ago, there will always be at least a half-dozen left over the next day.  They are liars and cheats, and are the pit of the video game industry. "

I wouldn't care so much if the stuff was made available after the fact to people who didn't preorder for a small fee - I didn't pre-order Mass Effect 2 at Gamespot because they were out of the Collector's Edition - now that I have the damn thing and learned how useless the bonus armor is I would have rather gotten the Gamespot Heavy Weapon, CE or no. 
I guess it's supposed to be a bonus for people who 'have faith' in a particular game but given how much they cost it's generally not worth the risk to buy something you haven't played.

I also think that it started to get big in the PS2/Xbox/GC era.  Though why I am not sure.  Don't remember preorders for the N64 being big.  I think it is because in that time, games got more high profile, especially in the media starting with the PS2 launch and the coverage that got.  I think the Wind Waker was the first game I ever preordered because you got that sweet Ocarina of Time disc for the gamecube.  But it sure is retarded, though I like the approach of Best Buy, where you dont get pressured, They have boxes you buy and they let you know if you get anything if you preorder the game.  Just sucks when they have something sweet, or a sweet preorder box and they run out.

Pre-order favors the sellor and who they sell for by lining up sales before reputation, by word of mouth or reviews,occurs. But it isn`t so one side loaded when you consider you get it on release day, and it is after all a matter of your own judgement, no one is forcing you. 
 
Futhermore, whats this need for gamestop..they really do take the money up front? I go with amazon and their frequent money off vouchers, I can only lose if my choice was bad. And I  sometimes pre-order from  Steam but that includes a unique direct download in the mix, besides  a probable discount.

No need for Gamestop, sounds all their way! As for pre-ordering, i think it is getting garbaged up with all the embellishments outside of money back, but i have nothing against the concept. Whatch out though when they connive to make it seem neccessary that for a full or enchanced game, you must pre-order.

 @CitizenKane said:

" When DLC became popular enough that game retails can entice customers by bundling pre-orders with store exclusive DLC content.  That was the fall for you. "

"I went to Gamestop..."

Developers and publishers want you to preorder the game first of all. Second, if we are taking about gamestop, employees are told to drive new reservations (I work at gamestop). We are just trying to keep our jobs. So next time a gamestop employee ask you to preorder, don't be a dick about it. 

I guess preordering makes sense when you are buying an obscure JRPG or a 3rd Party Wii game (I really wish I would of preordered No More Heroes 1) but do you really need to reserve major releases ? They have to know they are going to sell an ass load of Modern Warfare 2, GTAs, Zelda, or Madden.

I don't know when it started, but when Gamestop stopped selling to non-pre-orders on the day of release, I made a point of telling them I wouldn't be buying new games from them anymore. They laughed, and said something like "where else are you going to get them?" I'm pretty sure that was for Brutal Legend. And since then, I've been ordering on Amazon, and it's been fine. Sometimes I've got to wait a day for shipping, but not always. What really got me was the arrogance of it all, that attitude that "you're going to do what we tell you to do, and like it." I don't hold to that. I aim to misbehave.
 
Some games, like Mass Effect 2, I went out of my way to get on Day 1. Most games, though, I wait for the first wave of reviews the week it comes out, then make my decision. Day 1 games are relatively rare for me, maybe once or twice a year. The shit they're shoveling to get me to pre-order doesn't quite do it for me. You always get the sense that they've just chopped out a bit of actual content and held it back as some kind of bribe. They can keep it. I doubt I'll be a regular Gamestop customer again. They've lowered how much they pay for used games, now, as well. Hardly a point to it.

When GameStop realized that they can make money by doing nothing and not having to meet their obligations/make it so that they don't have to.

Since GameStop.

I no longer will enter GameStop.  I hate any retailer that uses the Hard sell tactics. 
What bothers and confuses me is why the publishers continue to support Gamestop and others by giving them exclusive pre-order bonuses and then yell at the used game market they thrive on so much.  If the publishers want to get pre-orders at least make it the same everywhere, don't make me feel like I'm missing something because I don't want to support a specific retailer.

People need to stop bitching about EB jesus...

" When DLC became popular enough that game retailers can entice customers by bundling pre-orders with store exclusive DLC content.  That was the fall for you. "

" @Janzaruk said:

" @AnnouncerGXZ said:

" dont understand this thread. whats the problem on preordering? "  

 The problem is you are giving companies money for a product that is not finite. I live in very small town in Indiana, and I get any game on release day, no problems. You are giving GameStop money which they invest and draw interest from, for a product to which there is no rarity. Amazon's method of not charging you until it ships is much more ethical, though not as an efficient business model.   There is nothing wrong with pre-ordering. A lot of people live lives that do not allow them to make to a video game store every Tuesday. However, with much more consumer friendly options out there, I do think gamers should have an issue with fellow gamers who pre-order from GameStop or any other company that requires a monetary deposit on a non rare commodity.   Now for Special Editions, etc, I can understand it a lot more. However, as a previous poster mentioned, Amazon will deliver release day   "

You can't draw interest from a deposit. "

" Some people here need to seriously get their facts straight and understand exactly how marketing and business works rather than simply raging against the machine and assuming corporations are just out to get them. "

I went to Gamestop Tuesday to get Bioshock 2. The lady behind the counter politely asked if we wanted to pre order anything. My mom said no. We got the game and left. We moved on with our lives.
 
So yeah, people who complain about that come off as whiny bitches.

Game crazy does this too, it is bullshit as RsistncE says. The only reason I would want to go to a game store in the first place is to buy a physical copy of a game that just came out. If they can't provide that simple service to me, then they are entirely useless and their practice of forcing customers to buy pre-orders will cause their company has to die. Hell, Game Crazy is already going out of business and I'm glad.. The more services like Steam start to take over, the less we will have to deal with the bullshit of pre-orders on street release dates, and copies being withheld from paying customers.

It's shoved down our throats?  News to me.

What I really hate now is that people that preorder will get exclusive bonus items that cannot be unlocked in the game any other way. Also, what you get can vary from different stores, so if you want everything, you may need to preorder the game at more than once place. It's the dumbest thing ever. Preordering has become a ridiculously greedy scam. On top of that, Gamestop offers you an additional warranty when you buy a game, in case your game is broke. If I ever buy a game there and it's broke as soon as I take it out of the box, and if they won't let me exchange or return it, someone's going to die.

it first started around when ps3, xbox, gamecube was around. they noticed that people would do it. this generation when DLC started to come out for games. it was then they started really want people to preorder their games. usually they have something like a golden gun, some outfit, some kind of cool thing that u can get later in the game.