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Whoever thought about introducing preordering in the video game industry is genius

Jindrax

Jindrax

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 28, 2017
1,454
Slow day at work had me thinking about this, whoever decided to introduce this was a genius.

Regardless of your feelings towards the concept, you have to admit, they nailed it.

They allow you to purchase a game, not released yet, not completed yet, solely based on hype. If later the later the game turns out to be crap, too late buddy you've already paid!

In some instances (I'm thinking about steam?) you can get a refund if certain conditions are met, but mostly it's easy money! Especially in the early days. And when you think about it, what reason do you have to preorder a game? Especially these days when you can get everything digital, it's not like webstores run out of copies to sell to you. There's no reason to do so yet people just keep doing it. Amazing!


Don't even get me started on those types of DLC that are just features from the main game, ripped out and charged at another 10 bucks a pop. GENIUS
 

rude

Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,812
It felt necessary for niche Japanese stuff in the PS2/GC/DS days. Back when stores would get ~5 copies of an obscure title.

I don't think I would've gotten to play stuff like the original Odin Sphere or Digital Devil Saga without pre-ordering.
 
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In Amber Clad

In Amber Clad

static and disarray
Moderator
Aug 26, 2018
5,501
London
I pre-order quite a bit, and have done for years. Whether that's to lock in a cheaper price, or sometimes, just because I might forget later, it's a useful convenience for me.

I've never put any money down for a pre-order though, and I never will. That seems a bit mad to me.
 
khamakazee

khamakazee

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
3,937
People used to preorder to guarantee a copy because stores only oder so many. Not really genius, just common sense.
 
Aztorian

Aztorian

Member
Jan 3, 2018
1,456
I can pre order almost every game without having to pay up front. Only when pre-ordering special editions I have to pay a percentage of the price upfront. I can convert the pre-order to a standard version if I change my mind along the way so. The whole pre-ordering debacle doesn't really affect me. It's almost never neccesary to pre-order anyway. Unless it's some hyped up Nintendo thing, there will be enough stock.
 
MonadL

MonadL

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,888
rude said:
It felt necessary for niche Japanese stuff in the PS2/GC/DS days. Back when stores would get ~5 copies of an obscure title.

I don't think I would've gotten to play stuff like the original Odin Sphere or Digital Devil Saga without pre-ordering.
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Yeah back then preordering made sense for smaller titles. Present day preordering a title makes absolutely no sense. Even the preorder bonuses aren't worth it in the end.
 
ShinUltramanJ

ShinUltramanJ

Member
Oct 27, 2017
12,949
Preordering physical copies made sense for titles that may not have high print runs, and you wanted to ensure you could get one.

Preordering digital is just dumb.
 
Phil me in

Phil me in

Member
Nov 22, 2018
1,292
Online stores such as psn never charged you until the game released. They've only just started Charing at point of purchase.
 

Wiped

Banned
Nov 2, 2017
2,096
Most of the time in the UK a pre order is not payment. A pre order was basically invented here as a way for shops to gauge interest levels and order enough stock.

So if a shop gets 500 pre orders and normally sells about 1000 walk-in copies in week 1 for an average game, they will order stock of 1,500 copies.

Digital pre orders are just a scam.
 
Ænima

Ænima

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,513
Portugal
Jindrax said:
They allow you to purchase a game, not released yet, not completed yet, solely based on hype. If later the later the game turns out to be crap, too late buddy you've already paid!

In some instances (I'm thinking about steam?) you can get a refund if certain conditions are met, but mostly it's easy money! Especially in the early days. And when you think about it, what reason do you have to preorder a game? Especially these days when you can get everything digital, it's not like webstores run out of copies to sell to you. There's no reason to do so yet people just keep doing it. Amazing!
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Most pre-order stores let you refund before the game releases or they just remove the cash from ur account once they ship the game.

I pre-order the games i want a couple days before release, not only i get them to play sooner, i pay less for them as well. Physical games are cheaper than digital ones in my contry and on pre orders they usually offer goodies (got alot of t-shirts and key-chains from pre-orders) and have an extra price discount that usually goes up by 5€ once the game is released.

So a pre-order lets me get to play the game around 1 day earlier, pay less for it, and sometimes get pre-order goodies. And if the game was not shiped yet i can always ask for a refund. Yup, its Amazing.

I dont pre-order or buy digital games at full price.
 
OP
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Jindrax

Jindrax

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 28, 2017
1,454
Yeah, as regards present day I'm mostly talking digital pre-orders on the various platforms.
 
FloatingDivider

FloatingDivider

Member
Oct 27, 2017
730
Pre-ordering physical goods made sense a decade ago when logistics and infrastructure issues actually meant stores would run out of stock for new hot releases. Pre-ordering digital items that can be infinitely duplicated and delivered to you through a cable plugged into your console or pc is a massive scam that should be seriously scrutinized if not outlawed completely. I honestly feel like lawmakers have ignored the videogame market for far too long and the amount of unconscionable, borderline illegal racketeering is at this point endemic and completely integrated.

Things like day one editions with content that's unavailable otherwise, special editions that include nothing besides the season pass for unreleased content, special editions that only include microtransaction currency, the entire lootbox/suprise mechanics systems, the always on DRM, the invasion of personal privacy through tracking schemes, etc... It's all a scam designed to defraud customers while obfuscating the actual value of what you're providing to them. I honestly feel like the videogame industry, and the software industry as a whole are disgusting, fetid, and amoral vehicles of customer exploitation.
 
JustJavi

JustJavi

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,116
New Zealand
I preorder because in New Zealand, if the first shipping of a game runs out, you can spend months waiting until more copies arrive.
 

DJKippling

Member
Nov 1, 2017
923
pre ordering exists for literally everything. It wasn't thought up for video games it just already happened for a lot of things so ended up happening for games too.
 
ShinUltramanJ

ShinUltramanJ

Member
Oct 27, 2017
12,949
Akita One said:
How so? The attacks against digital consumers here just boggles the mind. People who buy digital don't care either way. People get so offended on how people spend their money on entertainment.
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Sounds like you're the one offended. I'm just saying I feel it's dumb.

Unlike physical, there's no danger of a shortage of copies. You're literally guaranteed the game day one on digital. Being on PC I'm all digital, but I'm not in a hurry to give publishers my money months ahead of time for nothing. I'll buy my copy when it releases.
 
Akita One

Akita One

Member
Oct 30, 2017
4,626
ShinUltramanJ said:
Sounds like you're the one offended. I'm just saying I feel it's dumb.

Unlike physical, there's no danger of a shortage of copies. You're literally guaranteed the game day one on digital. Being on PC I'm all digital, but I'm not in a hurry to give publishers my money months ahead of time for nothing. I'll buy my copy when it releases.
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People who preorder digital games want them day one at midnight, or at least, without having to travel to get a physical copy.

It's not for nothing...people want to play the game immediately, without having to travel. People play these games right at midnight or early in the morning before work/school...often skipping work/school to play immediately. With physical you might have to go into a GameStop if it isn't to most popular release.

There is literally nothing dumb about someone preordering something they want.
 

Figgles

Banned
Oct 30, 2017
2,568
Preordering back in the day made sense, because you were making sure you could get a copy at release, and only had to put a few dollars down. Getting a refund was always an option... preordering digital is one of the dumbest things ever. Why? I don't understand it.
 
Petruccis Biceps

Petruccis Biceps

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,531
Back in the day it was required if you wanted to play day one, only needed like 5-10 bucks down. I still remember the first game I ever preordered was Ocarina of Time from Babbages. I remember I got a free zelda t shirt when I picked it up.
 
Transistor

Transistor

The Walnut King
Administrator
Oct 25, 2017
37,121
Washington, D.C.
Akita One said:
How so? The attacks against digital consumers here just boggles the mind. People who buy digital don't care either way. People get so offended on how people spend their money on entertainment.
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It's dumb because there is zero limit on the amount of stock for digital items. That's why pre-ordering originally existed, to make sure you got your stock. With digital, pre-ordering is basically just giving a company an interest free loan for a while, and sometimes it's crazy hard to get that money back.

The only time I ever pre-order for digital is to pre-load the game, and even then I only pre-order by, like, a day
 
Border

Border

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Oct 25, 2017
14,859
If not for pre-orders, how else are you going to get that sweet Gold cartridge version of Ocarina of Time?
 
BGBW

BGBW

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Oct 25, 2017
15,273
I've never paid for a preorder in my life and I've been preordering since the GameCube days (the console itself being my first ever preorder).

Never seen the problem with the system, you're just securing a copy for launch.
 
Dashful

Dashful

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Oct 25, 2017
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Wait. Who puts money down on their physical pre-orders? This hasn't been a thing in forever.
 
Watchtower

Watchtower

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Oct 27, 2017
11,637
Kyolux said:
Wait. Who puts money down on their physical pre-orders? This hasn't been a thing in forever.
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Every Gamestop pre-order I made 10+ years ago required at minimum $5 nonrefundable upfront. And I've heard of people paying full price and then bemoaning that they're now "stuck" with a shitty game. I always thought that was why online rage against "pre-order culture" was a thing.

Era threads regarding pre-orders have fascinated me quite a bit in this regard because of the general level of savvy usually displayed.
 
Dashful

Dashful

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Watchtower said:
Every Gamestop pre-order I made 10+ years ago required at minimum $5 nonrefundable upfront. And I've heard of people paying full price and then bemoaning that they're now "stuck" with a shitty game. I always thought that was why online rage against "pre-order culture" was a thing.

Era threads regarding pre-orders have fascinated me quite a bit in this regard because of the general level of savvy usually displayed.
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I pre-order a ton at EB games in Canada. Mostly through trade-ins during promotions. But otherwise they removed the need to put $5 down a while ago. And either way, you could always move that credit to other games.

And then there's also the satisfaction guarantee thing. I can return games 7 days towards something else, even opened.
 
Gifted

Gifted

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
1,359
Even back in the day when pre ordering first started you only had to put $5 down at GameStop and could always get the money back or put it towards something else, they also had WAAAAAAY better pre order bonuses like a MegaMan 15th anniversary wall scroll or Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time + Master Quest. They even gave many of the pre order bonuses well before the game came out. I put my $5 down to get the Zelda disc and then ended up taking my money and buying something else anyways.

With Physical games you can always return them unopened if you see reviews are bad before you play it and if you didn't look at reviews then pre ordering is no different than walking in and blindly buying a copy.

Digital pre orders where you pay up front are generally just for convenience and mostly lackluster pre order bonuses.
 
Dr. Zoidberg

Dr. Zoidberg

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Oct 25, 2017
5,210
Decapod 10
When I first started working at Software Etc. in 1992, we had two mechanisms for this kind of thing:

1. Reservations - This required a $5 deposit and guaranteed you a copy of the game on release day. In fact you only had a week to pick up your game after release or else we could sell it to a walk-in customer. This was clearly stated on the little carbon-paper form you had to fill out of which you kept a copy. We called everyone who reserved the night before the release. If you didn't pick up your game your $5 was refunded whenever you eventually showed up.

2. Call List - There was also a binder with pages dedicated to each major upcoming game (or software) where you could put your name and phone number down and we would call you. This didn't guarantee anything other than that you would be notified when the game came out so you'd get a leg-up on those who didn't.

We were a small store and it was fairly common to sell out of major releases (such as Mortal Kombat) in those days, so it made sense to take advantage of these mechanisms. We would report our reservation and call-list numbers to corporate weekly so we would get appropriate stock.
 
Watchtower

Watchtower

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Oct 27, 2017
11,637
Kyolux said:
I pre-order a ton at EB games in Canada. Mostly through trade-ins during promotions. But otherwise they removed the need to put $5 down a while ago. And either way, you could always move that credit to other games.

And then there's also the satisfaction guarantee thing. I can return games 7 days towards something else, even opened.
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I figured they had stopped, hence me clarifying the time frame. Nowadays I don't pre-order in general because quite frankly even the GOTY games are heavily restocked after 2-3 weeks and I don't really give a shit about day 1 bonuses anymore.

My point is mainly that I find it amusing how this forum seems to make a good case for pre-ordering by identifying how one can work around the current systems to not get screwed, when the major reason "pre-order culture" is both a thing and a common source of derision is precisely because people don't game the system and just fling themselves into the deep end. Or tl;dr "How to be a smart consumer", if that makes more sense. XP
 
Gakidou

Gakidou

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Oct 30, 2017
1,612
pip pip cheerio fish & chips
Yeah I was gonna say, it made plenty sense back in the high street store days before internet retailers really took off. I grew up in a rural area and pre-ordering a game would help the retailers know how much to order and there might actually be a copy of the game for you to buy when you drove all the way into town to acquire it.

I don't think ive ever digitally preordered anything, but I guess I have used kickstarter which many people might count. Modern preordering definitely has a lot of overlap, now theres a big grey area between funding the actual development and pre-purchasing a game. Still yeah, there's no big consumer benefit to preordering, the culture around marketing just sort of takes advantage of people's familiarity with the concept for the most part.
 
Flon

Flon

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Oct 27, 2017
1,120
I had to rely on pre-orders to guarantee a copy of a game when online retailers weren't a thing. I wouldn't have got Zelda: Wind Waker, Smash Melee and the Oracle games because of that, since anything Nintendo at the time quickly became out of stock due to limited print. It was never even a guarantee that you'd even get it on release since my area didn't have huge retailers.

Nowadays I rarely have to worry about stock of games anymore, everything is out on the day, preloads are a thing, online retailers have membership bonuses and discounts, etc. It's a different time.
 
Kouriozan

Kouriozan

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Oct 25, 2017
21,068
I pre-order because they only take the money when they dispatch it for delivery here, so I don't mind doing it months in advance (and you get to keep the lower price it'll have)
Sometime I even can get games day -1/-2
 
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