Edited and abbreviated copypasta from my response to this topic on another forum:


The reality is that many gamers place a value on preorder perks and advantages. That people get mad over access to these things is absolute proof that they are not worthless regardless of their lack of physical substance.



Part of the disconnect is that the value is mostly in the enjoyment "feeling special" grants to the gamer. We don't want to recognize it because of what it might say about us, but we can't escape the economic reality of it. It means something to many gamers to be one of the first to play a game. It means something to be the first to hit certain in-game milestones. It means something to have in-game items that other players don't have access to. It means something to believe one has an opportunity to contribute to a game's development or direction. It means something to be able to dream/delude oneself about being noticed cheerleading/apologizing on a beta forum and being offered a job by the developer. It means something to show your loyalty to a brand or franchise.



Maybe not to you or me, but it does to a lot of gamers. Millions of them, in fact. And because these things do mean something to many gamers, they are willing to pay for the opportunity to experience them. If everybody felt ripped off by preorders, everybody would stop preordering, and they would go away.

... and all of that, you can do with a day1 purchase as well, because pre-loads are very rare.

Exactly, also how many times have people wanting to play a game on Day 1 have been burned by online connectivity issues or various bugs and glitches in the game affecting performance. Last year was an example of how the new generation games are just shoehorning in online features even for single player experiences, so they can advertise more crap to people while they are forced to constantly be online.

Here is totalbiscuit's latest warning not to preorder any game, including yesterday's pre-order release here on GOG which is selling much faster then any regular release.

https://twitter.com/Totalbiscuit/status/555056184492060673

Heh, just made a topic about a video summing all that crap up. I'm starting to really like the content Super BunnyHop produces

Since some people mentioned Total Biscuits stance on preorders with which I totally agree im leaving a link to his youtube video about the idiocy of preordering from 2013 for all to watch and think about.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf5Uj4XIT1Y

Already linked at the end of the OP, but thanks for another reminder. :)

I don't pre-order anything. Period.

And Total Biscuit rulez! ^^

Just watched Super Bunnyhop's video, and one of the snippets in the video got me thinking. The person in the clip said that consumers expect annual releases for a variety of reasons...and one of those reasons was so they would have something to buy their kids every year.

How much of the market is driven by gifts? Is it possible that most gamers are already savvy enough to wait for reviews before buying a new release, but parents/grandparents/friends/partners/pets aren't as savvy and most pre-orders or day 1 purchases are those intended as gifts?

No, people are idiots. They keep pre-ordering no matter how many times it bites them in the arse.
Gifting is a part of it, but certainly not most of it.

Unfortunately I have to agree :(

Post that shit in the topic man, I don't want to bump it myself yet want as many people as humanly possible to see the video because it's great. Besides, deriling, that I've always been speaking so strongly against! ... Ehm.

The biggest issue is overhyping the games before they release. As Total Biscuit said in his video for Aliens Colonial Marines example where the game was months before release on Nmb. 1 spot on the bestselling list and today nobody plays it. I learned after preordering Stronghold 3 never to preorder anything again. Probably the hype thing is also happening with Grim Fandango here even though preordering has nothing to gain you since the price and the content of the preorder is exactly the same as with the release version :)

Same here. That's a sickening pile of bullshit.
I hope one day people will wake up.

I just watched it and own none of the games he mentioned in the video, mainly because it is not my type of games. Reviews mean also very little to me, except they are detailed enough to figure out how the game works. Points on a scale usually give little information.

The games I currently have on pre-order are: Pillars of Eternity (I really enjoyed Divinity Original Sin which I pre-ordered IIRC), Witcher3 (No-Brainer for me) and now Blackguards2.

Take Divinity Original Sin for example, The reason for the pre-order, Divinity2 blew me away and is one of the best games I ever played. I was not disappointed but not impressed either. The main issue were the many times I had to start over and recreate my two characters, because you can screw up so easily (especially if it comes to persona of the companion, where more were added only long after release anyway). I actual took a break from the game for a couple of months, then came back, didn't make the same mistakes as before and had a great time from start to end. Maybe not 100% playthrough, but I tried hard to do everything (some side quests were unsolvable due to minor bugs). Pillars of Eternity is very similar and I like those games overall.

Blackguards1, man I hated the idea of fight after fight after fight. I never hit anything and died all the time. Even though I am like a Drakensang (the single player titles) veteran and should know a thing or two about the dark eye ruleset. I got frustrated because they translated it 1:1 and if you miss you do 0 damage (in other cRPG they change that to do a little damage at least). Once I pushed the weapon skills hard in the beginning, I started having fun in the game. The music and atmosphere is incredible for each map. The overall storyline is a little flat, but I enjoyed more the character development, tweaking every little point and slider. The characters here are no mannequin for your equipment. Now that I managed to learn to play the game, I just want to see the second part.*

And it is a decision like, do I order pizza or pre-order this game I am interested in today?

* the only other game, I had so much fun in fights is actual Eador Master of the Broken World. This is a really great game and has crap reviews, because it might crash once in 3-4 hours gameplay. Not a big deal, because it saves every turn.

I see pre-order as a reward for dev I trust, and had yet to be disappointed with any of my pre-order that I remember.

So why should I stop?

I don't buy Always Online DRM games so I had yet to pre-order any games that disappoint me. It seems all these disappointing games is link to AODRM, stay clear of it and I should be reasonably safe. The heavy curation GOG does is another safety net.

Well Technically Stardock Elemental:War of magic comes close, but they they work on it and give me free expansion fallen enchantress which is well received for their screw up on War of Magic so I don't see why I don't per-order from trusted developers.

In the end I see pre-order as dev/publisher staking their reputation for early funds, if they disappoint then they have no credibility for their next game and I won't pre-order for their next game. I just view the disappointing purchase as a last reward for their past good work unless they turn their reputation around.