I just saw this article on kotaku and it made me wonder why would anyone want to pre-order something that is not a limited, collectors edition?

When the new Xbox is launched, there might be slight shortages, but is waiting a week or two really such a big deal? And this isn't limited to the new Xbox, it applies to games as well. Why pre-order a game that's on Steam when it's a digital download? They're not going to run out of copies!

I just don't get it. If you pre-order, what are your reasons for doing so?

To be honest sometimes I pre-order games just because I am excited about them and pre-ordering acts as a bit of an outlet for that. It doesn't happen often, I could probably list the amount of games I have digitally pre-ordered on one hand. Skyrim, Fallout: New Vegas and Duke Nukem Forever :( are ones that come to mind. Other reasons are that you can sometimes grab it for a buck or two cheaper and there is a bit of a support the developer mentality behind it.

I guess the only real tangible benefit apart from the savings is that in some cases you can preload the game on Steam and play it as soon as it unlocks. I pre-ordered an Xbox 360 when they were released but that was because I worked at Target at the time and was able to grab one on double store-discount day, saving me about $60.

And if the Xbox One is even close to $899 like that article says then the joke is on them. Who pay that much for such a lack of power?

and Duke Nukem Forever

ouch.

Yeah, I can understand if the pre-order is at a discounted price. It was one of the reasons I picked up Kerbal Space Program.

$70 :(

I don't think it is an exaggeration to say that anyone that pre-orders is a complete moron deserving of all the pain they bring on themselves. :O

dem's fightin' words

If there's no benefit by way of discount or some sort of free add-ons (that people won't get if they buy after release), then it does seem like a fail to hand over cash months before you get anything in return.

I think fpot's got it - the benefit is the excitement of being part of something immediately. I think it is a poor economic decision - like buying a lottery ticket - but if the emotional boost you get from doing it is worth the cost to you, then have at it.

It's pretty rare that games offer pre-orders that don't include some sort of discount these days. I can't really think of one that has cropped up lately apart from GTA V. They could charge whatever they want for that title and people would buy it I reckon.

I only bother if there's something in it for me like a metal box or keyring or extra content that doesn't automatically unlock later. If all you get is content that will be available to everyone at a later date anyway then I don't bother. Not that I buy many games anyway. I'm pretty fussy about what I play, the last games I bought were crysis 3 and tomb raider, neither of which I pre-ordered.

Do kickstarters count? It's sort of half and half, but in those cases you're (probably, hopefully) funding the creation of the game also.

I've only per ordered games based on getting something out of it (beta, early access, discount, etc).

If you pre-order, what are your reasons for doing so?

I don't buy many games because 99.9% of video games are s*** but the games I do buy I usually pre-order.

All these reasons have been mentioned but the reasons for pre-ordering are:
- pre-load on steam
- discount
- play earlier (MP 'beta' etc)
- support indie dev (like kickstarter)

Plus it's only $50 and I'll buy maybe 2 games per year. This year it was SC Heart of the Swarm and Company of Heroes 2. I didn't pre-order HOTS and I pre-ordered COH2 because I want to pre-load and it came with the MP 'beta'.

I might also get BF4 this year and a pre-order gets you the MP beta.

but is waiting a week or two really such a big deal?

I know you are talking Xbox but in general Multiplayer games are most fun to play at release while everyone is discovering the game. It is only downhill after that.

Example:
When L4D (and L4D2) was released everyone in versus mode would play very cautiously as the survivors. It made for really fun and tense games. Eventually everyone figured out that it was easier just to speedrun through the maps which made it very hard for the infected team unless you had proper coordination. Any noob on either team would be abused and isnta-kicked from the server. Yeahhh it got a lot less fun.

^^ that and if you wait a few weeks for games that have player level ups, you'll be a level 1 playing against an entire server of level 50's (or whatever). For games like BF / CoD that means you get stuck with crap guns (usually) while everyone else has the good stuff.

I just saw this article on kotaku and it made me wonder why would anyone want to pre-order something that is not a limited, collectors edition? When the new Xbox is launched, there might be slight shortages, but is waiting a week or two really such a big deal? And this isn't limited to the new Xbox, it applies to games as well. Why pre-order a game that's on Steam when it's a digital download? They're not going to run out of copies!I just don't get it. If you pre-order, what are your reasons for doing so?

In regards to the console pre-ordering, it can be a matter of months, not weeks, if you don't pre-order.

It took ages for stuff like the Wii to get out on the shelves, so pre-ordering was just a way of getting in a queue. Same holds true with most console releases these days, since they tend to do small first runs and build a frenzy in all the crazy fanboi's who want one badly for no real reason other than "it's the new Xbox!"

As for pre-ordering, there's no real reason to do it anymore unless you're one of those crazy "I must have the box copy" people. Only time I ever pre-order is if I get something for a game I was going to play anyway, or if it gives me a discount (aka ArmA 3 / Minecraft / ETC).

I've only per ordered games based on getting something out of it (beta, early access, discount, etc).

this, and occasional added bonuses later such as beta access to a game I really want to sink my teeth into

because it is quite often insanely cheap. e.g. I paid $45 for COH2 and paid $47 for BF4. and also to sound cool

yeah most of time i pre order thinking im getting good deal getting all these extra before it comes out... but normally its just waste...

Nope don't care.

Grab anything I want from ozgameshop and happy to wait 10-12 days (quoted delivery) to save $40-$50 per game.

I hate to agree with fpot but he's right. Sometimes you get so excited about a game that it's so awesome to hand over your 10$ at EB and know that you'll get your copy in your hot little hands on the release date.

The shame is, the last few games I've ordered have been massive flops.. It's a shame.. they often build up the pre-marketing before the release it's almost like they're ripping you off before you can realise the product is s***. (Stronghold 3, Skyrim Etc)

You can't really trust developers these days to produce really, really high quality gaming experiences.

I think it's safer to wait a month or two after the release and see what the forums say before you buy.

I preorder the day before release sometimes to get the bonuses, that's usually only with sequels though. I might be tempted to preorder through Green Man Gaming or any other site that allows stacking discount coupons to be applied to preorders.

They usually have a standard 10% off on preorders but you can sometimes get coupons anywhere from 25% - 35% that they will allow to stack and since that brings it down to around $30 it can be worth it.

I'd never preorder weeks in advance and never pay full price for a preorder though.

Nuclear Dawn was the best pre-order decision I've made. They released it in stages before the final release, we got to play with the developers and give feedback. The pre-release period was months long. Also the game died not long after release and now only has one or two servers to play on. If I had waited I'd have been pissed.
It's a good game but died because of team stacking. Compulsory auto-balance may have saved it.

got burnt big time by diablo 3

but that isn't to say I wouldn't have gone and bought it the day it came out anyway because I know I would have - so would there have been a difference if I hadn't pre-order? not really

will I pre-order dark souls 2? probably

The shame is, the last few games I've ordered have been massive flops.. It's a shame.. they often build up the pre-marketing before the release it's almost like they're ripping you off before you can realise the product is s***. (Stronghold 3, Skyrim Etc)

Okay honestly not being a c*** here but Skyrim massive flop? It's consistently been in the top ten of Steam's top sellers and if not at least in the top 20. I guess you mean you didn't like it which is cool, but what didn't you like about it? Apart from some flakey writing (which being a Bethesda game I saw coming from a mile away) I thought it was one of the greatest games ever made.

Here's where I see preorder games working: Beta invites.

Anything less and i'd rather buy online for instant access.

I don't buy many games at launch, i prefer to wait for steam sales/humble bundle deals.

Didn't pre-order God of War Ascension even though it's one of those series where I would normally pay full price without hesitating. I'm glad I waited a few months because I picked up the collectors edition at JB for $39 which was the same price they were asking for the standard edition.

I don't buy many games at launch, i prefer to wait for steam sales/humble bundle deals.

This basically. Waiting a short while doesn't hurt and it gives me time to play through other games fully before moving on to the next one.

Okay honestly not being a c*** here but Skyrim massive flop? It's consistently been in the top ten of Steam's top sellers and if not at least in the top 20. I guess you mean you didn't like it which is cool, but what didn't you like about it? Apart from some flakey writing (which being a Bethesda game I saw coming from a mile away) I thought it was one of the greatest games ever made.

I'm not exactly sure. There was kind of nothing new. Perhaps it's not a massive flop, but it wasn't something which I played and played and played like a few other games I have. I did give it a good 25 hours or so, made a few chars etc.. but it was nothing near morrowind, which I invested literally 100's of hours in.

Maybe it felt too much like fallout 3, too much like oblivion.. nothing really new. I find my mouse constantly hovering over the skyrim button in my games library and saying 'meh.'

I think it was perhaps the lack of multiplayer.. it was about time they did it and frankly the excuses they gave were very poor.

I'll revise the massive flop label.. it was a good fun game but didn't really live up to the build up within the gaming community beforehand.

It's why I really like the model pioneered by minecraft.. the buy into the alpha or beta and watch the game develop.

I'm currently doing it with arma 3 and paid something like 25 bucks for it. I'm a massive arma fan and it's good to be able to watch the game grow whilst not investing near the 100$ level.

An example of this build up is the new destiny game from bungie.. does it look awesome? YES Will I pre order it based on the hype..? Probably.. Will it be as good as the hype?? Maybe..

I only preorder games if I can get them for cheap. Got Sleeping Dogs, Tomb Raider and Company of Heroes 2 all for around $35

the last game i pre-ordered was bioshock infinite because it came with bioshock, xcom and civ 5 for free.

I pre-order games because normally:
* Offer a discount
* Come with free games (such as prequels)
* Allow Alpha / Beta access

I honestly don't mind handing cash over early and showing my appreciation for a game I know I will enjoy. My most recent purchases were Call of Juarez: Gunslinger which pre-ordered for $18 and come with a free copy of Bound in Blood. The other was the Company of Heroes 2 Digital Collectors Edition for $75 because CoH is an amazing game which for the most part flew under the radar when it was released, this come with Beta as most people have noted.

Only game I've pre-ordered was Diablo 3 and as paveway said got burnt!

I can't speak too much on pre-ordering games but I do it quite a bit for new album releases. Heaps of limited editions where you'll never get to see certain objects again, limited numbers of specific items and so on.

before you can realise the product is s***. (Stronghold 3, Skyrim Etc)

Skyrim? Really? Oh, hang on a minute, fpot's already replied to that. :P

It's interesting how different versions of games are loved and hated by different people. I bought Morrowind and hated it but thought Oblivion was good and Skyrim was awesome. Similar thing with Fallout 3 - was my first experience with the Fallout universe and thought it was great but wouldn't ever bother with the earlier ones and yet I've read a lot of hate for Fallout 3 by Fallout 1 and 2 fans.

I guess the two main reasons why I don't pre-order are that I don't like having someone else earning interest (albeit trivial amounts) on my cash when I've received nothing in return and that I'm sceptical of hype these days after having seen such failures like Duke Nukem Forever and Sim City more recently.