What are your thoughts about pre-ordering video games?

I'll always preorder so I get the game day one. Fuck paying more for a preorder though. Or paying more for tacky preorder bonuses. They can all die in a fire. Just give me the basic vanilla game with no additional crap on the day of release. And that's only for console games. PC games you can just buy a cheap key on the day of release. No need to preorder anything.

I need a demo or extremely good previews/reviews or has to be something that I know I will buy regardless of reviews etc.
Or the game is something I want for my daughter and expect the physical switch editions to go fast.

Right now I have Octopath compendium edition, Pokemon Let's go and RPG preordered. And the pokeball.
Usually I just buy stuff on release or I might preorder the day before to preload it.
The last game I preordered before this was MHW for ps4 as it had a good demo.

There is no rebate for preordering in my country.

I pre-order rarely, but when I do, it's usually as a way of forcing a budget on myself. If I know for sure I'm going to get a game, I'll usually go ahead and pre-order up front to pay for it so I don't end up accidentally spending that money on something else. I don't ever do the "$5 down" pre-orders at Target or GameStop or whatever. There's really no point.

This year I've pre-ordered God of War and Destiny 2: Forsaken. I don't think I will probably pre-order anything else for the rest of the year. Maybe Spider-Man.

if theres a preorder bonus, then theres no reason not to. U can cancel at anytime and immediately get back what you put down. Only thing I hate is store exclusive preorder bonuses

If I do it, it's typically a day or so before release when I'm certain that I'm making an informed purchase. Otherwise if i'm not preordering then I'll just go to the store on release day or later and pick it up. It's not like it's going to be sold out unless you're getting a LE / CE. Usually preorder bonuses are nothing special and are things that are only going to be used for the first couple hours of playing before you ditch them for something else.

I make my preorders to cement Amazon discounts. Who knows how long that policy is going to last now though.

But I'd rather have my discount than not.

My thoughts are that I had never really heard of pre-orders before Vice City. The word at the time was you were going to have a hard time getting the game on release week if you didn't pre-order it. Not sure how true that was, but it was the first time I remember hearing about lots of people wanting pre-orders just to ensure they got the game. That really doesn't seem to happen anymore for base game releases. I can find any game I want at most retailers, so I never pre-order, unless I have a wad of cash specifically for upcoming game releases I 100% know I want, and I just want to pay early.

But now the industry has moved towards pre-order bonuses as the sole reason to pre-order. The junk is never worthwhile, and the premiums being paid for them are ridiculous. I've bought a few "collector's editions" over the years, and never feel good about the purchases down the road.

Basically, pre-ordering is for suckers and I don't know why gamers continue to do it. Amazon offered discounts for pre-ordering, and that was cool, but they're shitty discounts in Canada now I hear. I didn't do it that much but I could understand pre-ordering for a discount. But for a shitty vinyl figure and art book? Nah.

I only pre-order with the big boys, the games I know I'll want on day 1, no exceptions.

I do it sometimes, Its fine.

If its from a series and or developer you trust, I don't see a problem.

I used to preorder back when preorder bonuses were a thing. I wish my mom didn't stain and dirty up my Mario Sunshine beach towel, but it's just a towel I guess.

I'm exclusively digital so pre-ordering just doesn't make sense.

However, there are a couple franchises I'll pre-order sight-unseen, due to my positive history with the pub/dev (aka Farming Simulator, etc.).

When you're counting down the days to launch, it can be fun to see the green banner on the Steam store page saying you already own the game.

Durante said:

I only do it in 2 cases:

• On Steam, since it's risk-free
• On other sites if it is a game I really want and I believe that the price will be significantly higher at release
  (This happens sometimes with e.g. GMG or cdkeys preorder deals)

Other than that I don't see much point, given the immediacy of digital distribution.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Basically this.
Although I'll extend the second point to "if I really want it and/or the quality of the game and port are already a known quantity".

Like, I recently preordered Yakuza 0 for 13€ (outside of Steam). The quality of the game is a known quantity and the quality of SEGA PC ports is too. Of course, there's always a chance something happens, but for essentially a 35% preorder discount for a game I know I'm going to like I'm willing to take that risk, lol.
And as mentioned if you preorder on Steam you can always refund no-questions-asked.

Largely play on PC and I just don't. I'll buy it after release so I can hear about bugs, and at possibly a deep discount down the road. Indies I'll usually buy at full price.

Only do it when it's games i suspect there might be a shortage on release in my city.

MetalBoi said:

What about 20% savings, special editions and niche games with limited prints?

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

A. Special editions are just extra plastic to throw in the recycling.

B. 20% isn't enough (unless it's steam where you can return games) to risk that the game isn't a piece of crap. If you're broke you're better off waiting a month and buying it at a bigger discount.

C. Still no protection from the game being ass so nope.

subtropisch said:

In this day and age I don't really see a good reason to pre order. Stores won't run out of game copies and digital games are obviously always available at launch. Considering the poor state some games are in at launch, the fact that often times pre orders are the most expensive way to get games and that you don't know yet if it is going to be any good I am not pre ordering anything.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

As someone who mostly only plays and purchases niche games, I'd have to disagree with the part about running out of copies. It's better to pre-order that stuff if you really want a physical copy.

And since I don't buy digital games on closed platforms, it's either pre-order or never play the game unless it gets a DRM-Free PC release.

For the bigger budget stuff I generally do not pre-order, and just wait for a discount instead.

I'll only do it if there are content bonuses like extra characters.

Rarely do I preorder. A couple of reasons to do so:

- I really, really want to vote with my dollars and show a company that I want this game, this franchise, this genre on this system. Example: Octopath Traveler
- Preorder incentives are too good and the game is almost guaranteed good. Example: Best Buy GCU > Spider-Man PS4

I think it's fine if you just want to engage in the excitement or there's a bonus. I only did it once as an adult and when I went to the store at lunchtime there was a giant line of people waiting to painfully look up and get their item. Ironically all pre-paid, so rather than stand in line I canceled and walked next door to a comparatively empty Best Buy and grabbed it.

Pointless, unless I want to ride the hype wave.

If I know I'm getting it day 1 then yeah it's good for me because I can get in and get out. If I got the money for it then I'd rather pay for it now.

I don't pay anything to pre-order until the day I pick the game up, and I can cancel at any time, so yeah, why wouldn't I? Zero risk, and I'm guaranteed a copy.

I wouldn't do it if I had to pay it off in advance.

I want people to stop telling me what to do with my money. So I worked 70+ hours for a couple of week and I take the money I made in 1-2 hours to buy a game, sue me.

Never. It's the stupidest practice in history.

If you want a game day one, why wouldn't you preorder? I don't get why this is considered a bad thing. Unless the game includes preorder bonuses which obviously shouldn't be supported.

I think that, basically, it exists for the stores to have the less possible in order for them to know all their order will sell then mean less loss.

I pre-order anything I think looks remotely interesting through Amazon to get the 20% discount and since there's no charge until release I can just cancel anything I decide I don't want with no cost.

All digital on PS4, if I know I'm buying a game day one - I'll pre-order it as soon as possible. Never had any problems with that, plus there is some nice digital stuff as bonus.

MetalBoi said:

Apparently saving 20% is "for suckers" and "the stupidest practice in history" and "pointless". >.<

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

If you cared about saving money you'd be better off never getting burned on a bad game and buying the good ones even cheaper a month later.

Kind of pointless.

A lot of people pre-order games when they very little or nothing about the games. I don't get it.

It's fine once enough information is released. Even then, people can wait an extra day or a few days just in case.

Stores aren't going to run out of copies like they used to. It's pretty rare when that happens (usually for very niche games) and you also have the option of buying the game digitally. Otherwise you can just pick up the game on release.

The pre-order bonuses aren't usually good, so I rarely pre-order. And when I did, it was through Best Buy's Gamer's Club because it's such a great deal. I used to go to midnight releases before, but now I'd rather save some money.

But now I only play on PC and buy everything digitally.

This is off-topic I guess, but I also don't get why many gaming enthusiasts shop at Game Stop. What I mean is, they pre-order their games there when other stores have better deals. I tried convincing some friends to get the Best Buy Gamer's Club membership but I guess saving money wasn't interesting enough. lol. I understand people that don't have a Best Buy around and would rather not wait for a few days for new releases to ship.

But to each their own I guess.

Pre-ordering is bad practice because what if you suddenly get a life between now and when the game ships?

I only preorder for two reasons: I know without a doubt that I'm going to play the game anyway regardless of reviews or because I have the extra funds to buy the game now and might not have that available later

In the days of digital, it seems redundant to pre-order a game.

Also, do games even sell out anymore? It seems in this day and age you can walk on launch day and get a copy easy.

I used to preorder everything I wanted to get, but I've been trying to be a bit more frugal this year (i.e. save money for house projects) so I haven't preordered much of anything. It feels weird after a decade of doing so. But on the bright side, they'll be cheaper by the time I get around to buying them.

I've only made two exceptions this year. Dragon Ball FighterZ because I wanted SSGSS Goku and Vegeta right away, and Octopath Travler because I want the sweet "Wayfarer Edition."

I don't really have a strong opinion either way. If it's a game I know I'm going to buy at launch, ordering it early is fine. It's not really a concern as to whether it will be sold out or not, but basically it's something I don't have to worry about anymore. Only preorder I currently have is RDR2.

I've been all digital since the 3DS, so pre-ordering isn't really something that's a factor for me at all. If I'm 110% certain that I'm going to buy a game blind as soon as it launches, I'll pre-load for convenience's sake, but that's as deep as it gets.

Thoraxes said:

As someone who mostly only plays and purchases niche games, I'd have to disagree with the part about running out of copies. It's better to pre-order that stuff if you really want a physical copy.

And since I don't buy digital games on closed platforms, it's either pre-order or never play the game unless it gets a DRM-Free PC release.

For the bigger budget stuff I generally do not pre-order, and just wait for a discount instead.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

I am basically all digital so I didn't consider this, but there are definitely situations where pre ordering makes sense. Collectors Editions are another case.

Luchashaq said:

If you cared about saving money you'd be better off never getting burned on a bad game and buying the good ones even cheaper a month later.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

I buy a lot of niche Japanese games that get very small print runs. They can be a real pain to track down later if you don't get them at launch. As for getting "burned," I'd rather take a chance on a bad game then miss out on a hidden gem. If something looks like it's going to be really terrible I just cancel before it ships and don't get charged.

Just pre-ordered Octopath, Red Dead 2 and KH3 yesterday. Wanted to pre-order Last of Us 2 also, but it's not available yet.
Only pre-order games I really want. Other games are a maybe when they're on sale.

There's no reason not to if you know you're going to buy the game.

Most times you can get something extra out of it.

It's fine. Don't really see the point if you're preordering well in advance for a game that's gonna be a well-stocked though. I preorder niche games well in advance because stocks is never guaranteed. For hyped games I'll usually preorder maybe a week in advance.

But these days I go digital more than anything, and preloading is amazing.

I only pre-order from developers I really trust and/or I really liked its predecessors. Otherwise, I see no point in pre-orders; paying full price (or sometimes only with 10% which isn't enough) for a thing that gets better/patched over time and will cost less. Additionally, my backlog is big enough, so I'm not particular dry on games.

I have too big of a backlog to even think of pre-ordering anything. I know I'm going to buy Red Dead 2 day one, but that's it and I can wait until some reviews hit, just in case.

I really enjoy having niche games in physical media. I'll buy anything that Nicalis puts out on the Switch because of the little goodies that come with then, same with pretty much any Atlus or Nisa rpg. I'm also a sucker for steel books. I have every upcoming Nicalis switch release on preorder along with Yakuza Kiwami 2 and Assassin's Creed Odyssey gold edition (cuz Steelie), Fallout 76 Power Armor edition (huge fallout fan), Battlefield V deluxe, Monster Boy, Labyrinth of Refrain, Octopath Traveler Wayfarers edition, warioware gold, MegaMan x legacy collection, mega Man 11 amiibo edition, code vein, and Smash.

I currently have 0 games preordered, but I don't care what someone else does with their money.

Sometimes I preorder a couple of days before a digital release is available so that it's ready to play at launch.