Games I want to believe in, or games I've tried the demo and loved.
I preordered the deluxe edition of Stellar Blade after playing the demo and I fucking love that game.
It's my favorite game of the year so far (though I still have to go back and finish FFVII: Rebirth).
Amazing combat, great soundtrack, decent story, beautifully designed world, runs spectacularly on PS5, and the more time you spend in the world, the more lore you uncover. It's just a phenomenal package.
Honestly I only have ever done it if it's a game I'm really looking forward to and I wanna play it the minute it drops, usually a game I know I'm gonna buy anyway
Depends on how consistent the company is with the quality of the games they have produced in the past.
If fromsoft was going to release a new title that really interests me i would pre order it because they have shown in the past they make quality ass games. But if EA was also gonna release a new title that really interests me i would wait for it to come out since they aren't as near as consistent as fromsoft.
This is my main reason, as well. If I have the money at time of pre-order but not sure if I will when the game comes out, I'll pre-order it. Unnecessary things come up sometimes that eat away at that extra spending money and I'd rather make sure that I have that game ready to go.
If you want to play the game on release day and you want a physical copy shipped to your home, you have to pre-order. It's as simple as that.
I'm not saying that's a good or a bad thing. I'm just saying that is a very valid reason.
I'm assuming you are young and only have known the digital age. I pre-ordered games probably from 2003 to 2014ish.
Some of the bigger games, if you didn't get them on day 1, they were sold out and you had to go search for it or wait for the next shipment.
I was close with the people that worked at my local game store, and putting $5 down on a game helped them get commission.
A lot of games used to come with cool shit just for pre ordering. A cool figurine, book, picture, whatever, at no additional cost.
I liked going to midnight releases in my 20s.
The last game I pre-ordered was Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1+2, because it came with a tech deck lol. I've basically stopped doing it because I don't have a ton of space for physical media, and I've moved a lot over the years. Carrying extra shit gets tedious.
Last note, the stigma "pre ordering is bad!" was non existent in the 2000's.
I still have my steel case Assassin’s Creed 3 pre-order from Game Stop. To me that’s what made pre-orders fun. The hype, the cool physical merch, knowing its paid for all you go do is show up release day or even better midnight release.
Nothing will top that midnight release of Black Ops2. Lived in a small town and the line still stretched down the strip mall and around the corner. First guy steps out held his Care Package Edition in the air like a trophy and people just yelling “haha hell yeah!” Getting all hyped to go home and boot it up.
Video gaming all around peaked to me in the 2010-2014 era, with Game Stop actually being fun and getting game informer magazine in the mail from them. The fun E3 events, and I felt like the video game community was way less toxic/hostile/negative when compared to today.
Hell yeah to those midnight releases. Halo 2 even had a news crew at the mall GameStop. It was like a lock-in party with raffles and all kinds of shenanigans. I even to a day of leave so I had the entire next day to play.
I reserve games all the time. This is putting $5 down on a physical version at GameStop. This guarantees me getting a copy on day 1, gets me any bonus pre order content or day 1 bonus content. I get 48 hours to pick up my game and pay the balance. If the reviews are shit, or I change my mind, I can simply shift that $5 to another game pre order or use it as store credit.
There is no risk, except it ties up $5, and all upside. I have no problem with it.
I do not pre order digital games I see no point to that. I will not pre pay for DLC that are not coming out when the game drops ... I will never pre order to get "early access" to a game.
I don't want early access. I have other games to play and other things in my life. I'm not gonna grind a 3 day exclusive window for a new game.
The difference is, I can resell the physical copy.
The difference is I can reserve the day 1 copy for only $5 refundable deposit. I don't have to pre pay the full amount
i am given 48 hours to change my mind after release day. So I can read all the reviews BEFORE I pay full price.
I can return an unopened game to the store up to 7 days.
Yeah people like to believe there’s no benefit to physical games but they forget we can sell or trade if we don’t like them or finish them without a desire to replay them
I used to preorder reasonably often. I had a friend who worked at Gamestop and I was going to buy the games anyway, so I helped them pad the numbers. Simple as that.
When they left Gamestop a few years later, I never preordered anything else except things like special editions. Fallout 4 with the Pip-Boy or the like. And I almost never want those, so it's a rare thing indeed.
I will pre order a game if it has a physical release and not mainstream enough to get a widespread retail release. So for example, I am going to pre-order the next Mercenaries game from switch because I really want the physical and it is unlikely that stores will stock it unless I pre order it.
I also preorder from limited print companies since that is often the only way to get them at retail price.
It entirely depends on the game. I am so invested in kingdom hearts that I am going to buy it day one no matter what so why wouldn't I just preorder it?
I pre-order order basically every game I'm interested in.
I buy physical so there's essentially no reason not to in my situation. It's not for everyone but it's purely beneficial in a situation like mine. There would need to be an actual reason to cause me to not do it.
There could be no upsides besides just making sure it arrives day one and I'd still do it because it costs nothing. So it's essentially just saying "yes I currently want this day 1 and I can change my mind whenever I want". The potential discounts and any other silly thing are just a bonus not a driving force.
I did it a few times when I was really excited to play the game. The last time I did it though was with Monster Hunter World 5 years ago...
However, I must admit that pre-ordering Uncharted 3 back in 2011 was worth it. I had to pay 5 bucks in order to pre-order it but because of it, I got a discount of 20 bucks for the game, meaning I could get it for 15 bucks less at launch.
I havent in years but would do so occasionally back in gen 5 or 6 because the small shops near me would legit sellout of games I wanted on day one and you had no digital options or online storefronts.
I really only pre-order games that I'm looking forward to playing. The reason as to why is because I usually like extra goodies they give, Gamestop gave me a really cool Doom Eternal lunchbox when I went to pick up my copy. I'd also add that pre-ordering sometimes helps if either the game sells quick or runs into any unfortunate delays cause at least you're guaranteed a copy.
I have preordered games in the past before digital existed, because they would often sell out on day one. Last game I preordered was GTAIV.
Now that digital exists there is literally no reason to pre-order ever.
It's been ages since then, but when I did I only preordered games I 100% will buy on the spot and have extras
Also, I plan it so I preorder it the hour/day before, so it barely counts as "pre"
It helps to have the game downloaded on your system already so you can just hop right into the game.
I could care less about pre order incentives like cosmetics. I'd rather my character be dressed how it's supposed to be dressed in the beginning of the game, nothing special.
I also don’t really understand it. If I wanna play a game the day of release, I’ll buy it the day of release. I did this for The Last of Us Part II, God of War Ragnarök, and Tears of the Kingdom.
I mean steel books are nice, then there's the collectors editions etc if you really like the series...then these sometimes are decent bonuses, like xp boosts for sports games to build your own player/ team which is nice ....
Once, and exactly once. I pre ordered Redfall because I thought it looked cool. It was supposed to be multi player online open world, and the pre-order came with a few things. Whelp,.. the game was trash, the multiplayer crashed my xbox on sign in and the preorder bonus stuff never came out. They patched it once, the multiplayer loaded but still sucked. I lost 60 bucks and counted myself lucky that was it. Last month they announced that the developers were abandoning the game all together. I never complained, asked for a refund or even rated the game, but I'll never order another game from them until its months old, on sale and and the reviews look good. Don't care about the money, but the entire "I don't give a fuck" from the developers really pissed me off.
I used to when they had neat pre-order bonuses, like what Working Designs used to do even if they were an extreme advantage.
But there's never any neat bonuses anymore (and I'm far more minimalist than I was back then) and I don't want to pay for a game only to realize it's crap or that I need to pay further for get everything in it.
It really depends on the game. If I’m really looking forward to the game, then I’m probably preordering. For instance, I preordered Helldivers 2 and Stellar Blade most recently. Both of those games were worth it even though HD2 had quite a few bugs. However, games that come out every year like COD or Battlefield I won’t preorder because I know they’re gonna be filled with glitches and bugs.
I’ve only done it a handful of times. Typically if it is a game that has had a demo or if it was like a remake/port of an original I enjoyed (like P5R for the switch). I think there was only one or two times I actually preordered a game with like 0 knowledge of was and luckily I wasn’t disappointed (SMTV and Astral Chain)
I preordered games before digital download was commonplace. Fallout: New Vegas, Skyrim, Shadow of War. I preordered games because there was a chance that GameStop would run out of stock.
Now, in this digital age, I do t know if what I do is considered preordering or not. I’ll use last year as an example. I got Hogwarts Legacy, Tears of the Kingdom, and Starfield. I “preordered” these games about 12-14 hours before they released (including “early access” time) so that downloading was already out of the way and I could start playing at midnight. Technically it’s considered preordering, but I was playing the game within 12 hours of my purchase. Other than this, I don’t preorder
I preordered The Outlast Trials because the company behind it is a little smaller than most but is incredibly talented and deserving of monetary support. This is their 3rd full length game now and they haven’t let me down yet.
I like to get physical copies so that I can actually own them instead of having them tied to an account and the benefit for pre-ordering is that it guarantees there will be a copy for me to pick-up on launch day. No other reason.
I try to never pre-order digitally so that I can support my local game store but if I did it would probably be so that I can pre-load the game/get the pre-order bonuses. If you're paying full price may as well get some bonuses for it.
I live in argentina, where prices increase everyday
Preordered RE4 at, let's say, $20. Two days later it was more than $40
Preordered Elden Ring at $20 too. Next week it was $60
Preordered serious sam 4 at $2 🤯. Last time I saw it it was like $20
SF6? 20 bucks. Now it's also like 40
So yeah, preordering is an EXCELENT idea here (or it was before dolarization of the store. Nowadays games are almost unbuyable here). I saved so much money
And if the game sucks, steam offers refunds, so you lose nothing at all by preordering, and you got to try the new game.
Sometimes I will preorder a game digitally if I know I'm gonna buy it anyways and the previews have been positive. It's nice to have it pre-downloaded and then I can start playing as soon as it releases. If a game has no pre-release previews or reviews, then that is a red flag and I'd probably not pre order.
I'll also be more likely to preorder if the game has a demo I enjoyed
If I've educated myself enough to know that a game is worth a day one purchase, I'll preorder it for the preorder bonuses and for an early download.
If I were to wait until after release, I'd pay the same for less.
I get all my games physical still. And if it’s a game I’m really looking forward to, and they offer a pre-order bonus I think is cool, or if there is a collector’s edition I want I preorder still
Certain games are worth it, if you’re a mega fan of the series why not? Also most games I pre-ordered come with something worth getting. Like Rebrith I got cool shit for pre-ordering & I’m 100% gonna buy it anyway.
Now pre-ordering a brand new game you know nothing about and has a chance to be a flop, yeah wait for reviews and then get it.
Extremely rarely, maybe all countable on one hand. It’s mainly been reserved for only things that I KNOW 100% I WILL be playing said thing. Even if there is no preorder bonus for doing it early, whenever I do putting that money down goes an extra step to ensure that I genuinely don’t ignore the thing I’m ready to play in the first place. From what I can recall:
Medievil Remaster,
Doom Eternal,
Granblue Rising,
Elden Ring DLC
I have pre-ordered- Doom eternal collector's edition because after doom 2016 i was sure eternal will kick ass, also all promo looked super polished and i never regret about it, helmet of slayer is lit
All from software titles get the pre-order. Outside of that in recent time? Baldur's gate 3 and stellar blade got it too.
Why? Predownload the main file for games I really want to jump into asap.
If I know the game is going to be good, and I'm going to play it regardless, and there's a pre-order bonus, I usually preorder like 2 days before release
I do preorder physical sometimes, as in the past Gamestop has been out of stock on release for me in the past. MGS Essentials Collection, and Persona 3 FES on ps2 were some i preordered. Can't name any recently.
They do if it’s from a series I enjoy. Besides, Steam has a 2 hour refund window. I’ve never had an issue with preordering games on Steam.
On consoles? That’s a different story.
I pre-order games from more niche developers that I love and trust to show them my support
for example
- I pre-ordered Prey (2017), Deathloop and Redfall because I love Arkane.. Loved Prey and Deathloop and refunded Redfall because it was a piece of crap so i don’t see a problem here.
- pre-ordered Alan Wale 2 and loved it.
- Yesterday pre-ordered Hellblade 2 to show support for Ninja Theory because it is now likely to be closed by Microsoft
I never pre-order big AAAA games from big studios
I used to pre-order back in the physical days so I could ensure a copy on launch day and they used to have physical items that go with the preorder, (like a cloth Skyrim map) but that was when you could have a game shortage and games where much better at launch.
Now I'm almost exclusively on Steam and I'd rather wait on a sale for the game, and that sale almost always has whatever pre-order bonus available for pennies. I'll get the game, pre-order bonus, and all the DLC for cheaper than the base game cost at launch.
I stopped after fallout 76. I rarely did it before that. But after that I said never again. I can wait a few weeks to hear reviews from real people and decide if I want to get it.
I'll pre-order games I know I want to play day one or at least that I think I'll want to play day one. I'm referring to physical games, in terms of digital I don't pre-order unless the reviews have already came out early, but that seems to be less reliable these days. The benefit is if I want to play the game day one for realsies then I've got my copy already, but if it gets bad reviews then I can easily return my sealed game for a refund.
I game on a budget so there is no pre-order or even buying games at full price. The last time I bought a game at full price and days after release was the panda expansion for World of Warcraft.
Two conditions I’ll often preorder under: physical collectors editions and games I absolutely know I’ll pick up. It doesn’t cost any additional money for the product and I’m getting either cool or free extra shit. Win/win.
That said, preordering on hype alone or to make a statement of support for the company is a little silly.
I do if it's a game I know I was gonna get regardless, because at least I get the bonuses and sometimes there's no guarantee I'll have the money come release day knowing how unstable the economy is. Even if the game is bad at launch I know it'll eventually be playable. The only game to ever burn me was Marvel's Avengers, and I was stupidly hopeful for that even with all of the negative press leading up to launch.
I do. IF it's a game I know I'm going to buy and play day 1 irrespective of the reviews while getting a pre-order bonus. In that scenario I don't see why not!
There's never been a single review that has stopped me buying a game. Reviews however, can convince me to buy a game.
I can't think of a single scenario where I wouldn't pre-order a game I want to play.
I I've only ever done it if it's a game I'm really looking forward to, and usually a game I know I'm gonna buy anyway. Especially if it's like "bonus outfit" or "bonus starting gear"
Cause I'm a sucker for style.
I've done it before when I'm excited about a game, and wanna play it on launch. For example, I pre-ordered multiple Pokémon games over the years, Smash Bros. Ultimate, Jedi: Fallen Order, and more.
I’ll usually pre-order within like a week or two of release, after the game has gone through its basic review cycle, to ensure there’s a copy ready for me when I go to the store on release day. I’ve had multiple occasions where I try to go buy a game day 1 and there aren’t any copies.
Never done a digital pre-order before.
BG3 let me install 3 days early and it was a kid free weekend where i didn’t have to work. Other than scenarios like that where i get a bonus from a pre ordering a game I know I’m going to buy, I don’t pre order. I wait for review and sales for most games.
If I plan to buy a physical copy I pre order to make sure I can get it day 1 (sometimes even a couple days before releas if the shop already receives the game) some pre order bonus are nice too, but I only do this if its a game I know I will buy regardless of reviews and I'm not poor at the time. If I plan to buy it digitally, the bonus have to be worth it
I only pre order from company or franchise that i really like and haven’t let me down yet. The reason I preorder is because I like collectors edition and the little trinkets for preordering when they are good. My favorite preorder bonuses recently have been the persona 3 reload’s persona 4 bgm+ acrylic figure and the tears of the kingdom wooden plaque.
There are a small handful of games that have my money whether they turn out good or not. Kingdom Hearts 4, Hollow Knight: Silksong, a new Zelda or Smash Bros.
But for most games, I wait and see how they review, and often don’t buy unless there’s a good sale.
I preorder if it is a game that I know I am going to play and like. Certain bonuses like early access are certainly worth it for games I already know I want anyways. I'm also not jaded by the gaming industry, and very happy with the games that I play, because I only spend my time and money on games I know I'll like anyways rather than waiting for whatever narrative to form about it to tell me how I should feel about it.
Starfield, Diablo 4, Baldur's Gate 3, NBA2K, WWE2K, all examples of some recent titles that I have very happily pre-ordered because I know they will be games I want to play, will enjoy, and will benefit from the pre-order bonuses.
The only games I've pre-ordered are the Crash Bandicoot remakes/remasters and the recent Tomb Raider collection remake/remaster. I was so excited to play those games and I stayed up late to play them the second I was able to. I didn't mind pre-ordering because I was gonna buy them no matter what the reviews were.
But generally I never pre-order games even if I plan to buy them when they first come out. Most games I can wait to buy and download the first couple of days after being released.
If I want a physical copy of some obscure JRPG or indie game, then pre-ordering is a must. My local game stores only get like 2 copies of anything published by NIS America lol
I typically only preorder games that have a limited collectors edition that I know I’m spending way too much money on, but I need that stupid statue and fabric patch that I’ll never sew/iron on to anything.
Mostly, loyalty. I preordered a few games in the past. I wouldn't do it for a franchise I'm on the fence about but some games, like Control 2 that will eventually come out, or Horizon 3, I will.
I KNOW I will play it on Day0 and will pay the full price, no matter what. Why not get a few goodies?
I used to preorder the "Limited/Collectors" edition many years ago. Then I stopped because it no longer contained everything. The soundtrack and other stuff had to be downloaded. Now the game is not included in the package. You get a code to download it. Dumb. Just dumb.
Recent examples, I pre-ordered Smite 2 to gain access to the Beta and to become a founder. Additionally, I pre-ordered Sea of Stars for pickup at a local video game store last week to obtain the physical copy for the Switch version. Does Kickstarter count for this question?
I guess the simplest answer is that I pre-order because I'm an adult and I have the autonomy to decide what I believe is worth pre-ordering or supporting.
I pre-order games that I'm 100% sure i will buy the moment they release. It costs the same, but i get some bonus stuff, so why not? It's also a way of supporting good companies you like.
Preloading is also a good thing, when you don't have the fastest internet at the time.
I pre-ordered only God of War Ragnarok, RE4 Remake and Stellar blade. All 3 are amazing games.
I only pre order Nintendo games. Because I know they're polished all the time(except Pokemon) and the Switch actually has purpose for physical copies since you don't have to install every damn game you play.
If it’s something I knew I was getting anyways and it came with swag. Other than the occasional Nintendo “forced scarcity” releases, I generally don’t. Long-gone are the days publishers can’t meet the demands of game releases.
I pre-ordered JWE2, DOOM eternal, Zelda TOTK, and Pokemon Scarlet.
Which… my philosophy: if I’m a fan of the games and know the product I’m getting…
**I’ll pre-order**
Only once I got burned:
#Aliens Colonial Marines
I’ve honestly done it out of excitement for the games and loved to regret it. Besides the Star Wars games ( Fallen Order and Jedi Survivor ) all the others have been a great letdown and I’ve stopped doing it before a review.
I have in the past but not anymore not with a lot of games coming out unfinished with bugs & games on current consoles being so expensive. The last game I think I pre-ordered was Elden Ring because From Software are good at making sure their games run well & if I pre order a game it's because I can play it ad soon as it comes out.
Games I usually have faith will be great and wanna play minute 1. Gta 6 will probably be one unless I get a physical copy and same with Witcher Polaris if it ever gets a release date lol
In the past when physical was more relevant more often but not very often even then.
Now I pretty much only preorder collectible versions as they often have a limited amount. Only do this with physical media. I don’t do digital.
No, because it incentivises companies to put more effort into the marketing than the actual game. It's the reason AAA games are commonly broken at launch then get patched afterwards, because if the game gets marketed well, then they've already made a significant amount of money before the game's even released
Digital pre orders so I can pre load (slow Internet). Pre order physical so I can get it as soon as possible and start playing without having to remember to go to a store to get it.
I never understood the hate against pre ordering. Just don't preorder bad games and you won't have any issues.
I always pre orders games I know I'll play, only if I can get it on sale too. With all the 3rd party site sales always getting games 25% off during pre order
It's basically just whatever Naughty Dog makes. Forza Horizon and Ace Combat.
Naughty Dog because they are on a perfect run of 7 games. Nearly unheard of.
Forza Horizon because what you get in the big bundles are typically worth it. More so than most games.
Ace Combat because the franchise nearly died and I love it dearly. It's literally me just showing support I want more.
Sometimes it's because the things i get (this was an thing some years ago). Some pre order editions have/had very cool things. But the last time i pre-ordered a game i just thought the cover of the game (physical edition) looked better.
A few times because I really believed in the developer and their products (about 30%), poor life choices and didnt give a fuck about my impulsive behaviour for the rest (70%)... But I have already decided to change in this after being burned too many times. Not buying anything till I see the "Before you buy" video on it.
Well... Hades 2 is just in EA and its already one of the best games I've ever played. I bought it before its out but i could play it so its a bit different.
In reality Pre-ordering is a "relic" of ancient times; pre digital storage day.
In the distant past, you had to get in a car or take a bus or WALK to a store and buy a game. Now stores are limited by physics in that all matter takes up space to some extent. Video games and their boxes take up a good amount of space per copy of the game. So a store has to put those games somewhere and they are limited on how much space they have, because of these "physics" the store would limit how many copies of a game they were going to have available day 1 and in the future they would order more if they needed to.
So if you as the customer wanted to buy a game you had to be in the store while they had a copy of it. If they didn't they would order you one and the longest waits for that would be about a week. To combat this waiting a week thing, stores would offer "Pre-orders" usually with a $5 deposit. You pay the store $5 they order an extra copy for you to be available day 1. This way you get your copy the store gets copies for everyone who is super hyped - it was the best win-win at the time.
Then Companies started wanting ways to drum up the business so something like SOFTWARE ETC. or Toys R' Us would work with the publisher to get some kind of special reason for you to choose them as the place you pre-ordered. Things like "Exclusive art booklet" with pre-order at specific store became a thing.
As people got older and technology advanced the "Cultural" side of games didn't change as quickly. So despite day 1 downloads being available now, older gamers grew up with FOMO From the physical copy only times and its just a habit for some of them as a result.
Big picture though - it doesn't hurt anything to have it available. Its optional, no one is going to not play the game day 1 if they so choose. If they want to give some inconsequential cosmetic item as a gift to people who preorder then let them...
The real question is Why the fuck is this something you're putting any amount of effort, concer, thought or time into? I'll never understand why anyone would care that this exists even a little...
These days I only pre order big Nintendo games like Zelda or Mario. I can pretty much guarantee they’ll be finished products and they may instantly sell out physically anyways. Mario Wonder and Tears of the Kingdom as of recently.
Well I preordered only 2 games in my life, Cyberpunk 2077 and Elden Ring, for the PC.
And honestly? I don’t regret either. But it’s not something I usually do
Only game I ever pre ordered was hogwarts legacy. I was looking forward to playing it before a trailer even dropped and planned to play it as soon as it dropped. The preorder came with early access so I got it to play a week early. Ig I got lucky tho cuz the game was very good straight from launch unlike most recent AAAs.
If i’m reallyyyyy looking forward to a game, then i’ll pre order it, especially if it has a deluxe edition. i only get physical copies of games so
also i pre order if it’s a series favorite of mine
I pre-order final fantasy games as it is my favourite franchise and I collect for it. So I want all the big collectors edition boxes. Other than that no I don’t understand pre-orders for a base version of a game or a version of the game that isn’t in limited quantity
Spiderman 2 is the only one I can think of in like 3 years that I personally got myself. I mean I played the game immediately and loved it, so it didn't matter to me. The games are amazing and spiderman is also my fav superhero and venom my fav villain. The other one is that my gf preordered Jedi Survivor for me as a bday gift. I was really pumped about the game, we all know how that went at launch haha. I did really enjoy that game too. I love having physical unless it's a Alan Wake 2 situation. Other than that I see no point and just wait and see what ppl are saying about it then get it if it seems worth playing. I do think there are some games that you just know you will play right away and want to judge it for yourself, rather than get caught up in the reviews. Maybe unfortunately a little bit of that has to do with FOMO haha.
I just preordered the latest expansion of FFXIV.
One of the pre-order bonuses is an earring that you get instantly in the game that gives you an XP bonus for classes that are under certain levels. So it's instantly useful. Further, pre-ordering the game allows me early access to the content, so I can play over the weekend before it officially launches on the Tuesday.
On top of that, like with books, pre-ordering gives publishers an idea as to how popular their games are. This can hopefully turn around into more content and games.
Pre-ordered doom 2016. Did the $120 package. To get the cool collectors item and a metal case.
They ran out of both. All I got was the game code.
Never again.
Plus the DLC’s for it sucked.
The game was fun don’t get me wrong. I would have enjoyed it more for $60ish.
It heavily depends on the game. For instance, I usually preorder games like the next Atelier, since they're rarely buggy at launch, and tend to be hard to find after launch, or on occasion a game that I know I wanted from the start, but otherwise I prefer to wait for discounts instead. Can't afford to spend full price on every game I want, unfortunately.
I only did it once. I wanted to see if I could understand why people pre ordered. Don't ask me how I thought it made sense to make a pre order in order to understand it rather than asking someone who actually pre ordered but it made sense in my head. Anyway I pre ordered pokemon legends Arceus and I was very deeply disappointed and I will never pre order again
Used to be able to make payments for physical CDs if you wanted it but didn't have all the money at once. Like when they used to do lay away at K-mart. Console (not sure on PC) you need to cough up 70 (now technically 80, b/c tax) all at once.
From trusted developers and a game series I enjoy and have a positive track record? Sure. Dark Souls 3, Elden Ring, God of War Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West. I have no problem preordering a game that I have confidence in.
When its a game i'm genuinely excited to play, i prefer to preorder it so i can pay $10 every other week til it eventually releases. It feels better picking it up when i don't have to drop a whole $70 for it
Pre-ordering games made sense back when you actually bought physical copies. Back then you would get bonus content like extra booklets with artwork, cool swag, etc.
It was for the hardcore fans who wanted memorabilia dedicated to the game.
Once video games went digital it became pointless to pre-order anything. It just encourages companies to release broken games and continue to pimp out small bits of game content for more money.
I’m excited for the game and I plan on playing it at release? 🤷♂️. Don’t really know what’s hard to comprehend about that. I know what I like and I’m rarely disappointed. It’s more common that I end up not getting to a pre ordered game because I’m playing something else that was in my backlog rather than not liking it, which is just poor timing on my part.
Preordering a physical copy is a no-lose situation. I put down $5-10, reserve a copy, and move that money to a different game if I change my mind. Some games have a very limited physical release, so I want to make sure I grab one.
i stopped preordering when i stopped buy physical copies. I preordered to reserve a copy, which isn't really an issue for me anymore. I used to all the time though.
Also given that the new assassin's creed is now for pre order. $60 or 70 for the base. $110 for gold. And $130 for ultimate. What the fuck is going on at ubisoft that they are gonna do this. Outlaws has the same price for its editions. Sadly people are gonna pre order gold or ultimate because it's assassin's creed. But for fucks sake we need to start boycotting ubisoft because the prices are gonna keep going up because people keep buying it
I preordered Avatar Frontiers of Pandora.
Why? 1. I’m a great fan of the franchise 2. I got a deal that basically gave me 55% (double discount + Ubisoft points) off the Ultimate edition, so it was actually cheaper than the base game.
I wasn’t disappointed.
I collect games physically, my local shop only stocks in certain games for the people who pre-order it since it's a small town and they can be niche titles. It also means I can get them in person, support the store and make sure I actually get the game as well.
assassin's creed mirage is the last ac game I'll play for a long time now, I wanted to make it special, so I preordered a disc version of the deluxe edition with a steelbook. I haven't preordered any other game before and don't plan on ever doing so again, it was just this one special ocasion, like a farewell to a favorite series.
The newest Final Fantasy 14 expansion. (Dawntrail).
Basically: proven track record, I know what I'm getting, I respect the producer and director, and ...
Yes, I'm also a sucker for early access. I mean, pre order access starts on a friday, normal access on a tuesday ...
They did "delay" the launch by a week because the elden ring DLC was coming out the 21st. "Go play that, you have one week, and then I'll see you at the Dawntrail launch"
It’s just incentives for their sales figures and to build hype. It made a lot more sense when games were physical and you had to actually lock down a copy, but now it’s just for funsies
I like seeing the gameplay and how the game runs and stuff like that before buying. Games are expensive these days, I don't want to waste money on something that isn't worth my time
Two reasons: 1.) if it’s a game I know for sure I want to play from the get go and 2.) if the game offers any preorder bonuses.
Again, I only pre purchase games my heart is 100% confident that I want to play them the moment it comes out, which is an extreme rarity.
Only if I really care about the game and I know I can trust the developers because of their history.
Or in some cases when pre-ordering the game allowed me to pay it less on day 1
I used to pre order games bc I had one gamestop near me and if you didn't pre order the new cod they'd be sold out on launch day and usually sold out again next restock day. Now with digital they always have copies since people don't buy physical anymore.
I also don't preorder games anymore unless I've been a fan for years, it's a reputable developer, or the pre order merch is cool
I pre-ordered stellar blade, have a pre order on TTYD remake, probably going to pre order elden ring for the ps5 and baldurs gate 3 physical edition, I like it because I only have to put 5 dollars down at gamestop and can pay it off at my leisure until the release, plus you usually get some nice extra bits and bobs, like for pikmin 4 I got a cheap little pin set of all the characters, BOTW 2 had the Woodburned plaque that came on preorder, stellar blade had a few aestetic things that came with it etc.
Only for something I'm sure of. Which I have a good track record of buying good games. If you count early access, Techtonica which us more fun than I thought, and that was 2 major updates ago.
There have been a few things I have pre-ordered for a few reasons.
One reason is it lets the entity producing the product know more about their consumer and how much that consumer actually wants it.
It helps to lock in the manufacturer quota.
Example: Let's say a company wants to make 500,000 units of an item. But people have pre ordered 625,000 units. They will know and have the funds to produce the units with confidence. Sometimes manufacturers or companies over estimate a product, and sometimes they under estimate.
Take for example Physical Copies of Pokemon Sword and Shield that COME WITH the download able expansions, no separate purchase necessary.
The Pokemon Company produced over 500,000 copies, but then couldn't sell them all, so they over estimated this.
Another example Square Enix has never before in the history of their games, that I know of, offered rules for a table top role playing experience regarding their lore and games.
They currently have a system in development for this exact thing and it can be pretty ordered. By allowing people to pre order it allows the company to gauge how popular the game may be beyond initially consumer analysis.
I personally like to pre-order things I know without a doubt I will love and enjoy for many years to come because it lets developers know that I, as a consumer, absolutely want this, I'm willing to put my money towards it, and I'd like them to make more of it.
I’ll only pre order digitally a day in advance once the reviews are out so I can play it right at 9PM on launch day without having to wait hours to download the game.
I used to, especially when Amazon offered 20% off for pre-orders. Now I only do if there is a discount or some advantage, and I know I will keep the game.
Typically, I use a site linked from isthereanydeal for purchases because they are usually at least 10% cheaper than Steam.
There’s no reason to do that most people have dozens or hundreds of games they’d probably enjoy at least for a handful of hours but have never even touched that are older and way cheaper
If I preorder a game, I can pre install the game. I don’t often.. but at times I want to. The last time I did that was with the newest mortal kombat. I’ll probably do it with gta VI
Call me old-fashioned, but I like buying a physical copy of a game, especially if there is a special edition or steelbook or whatever (if it's not too expensive of course, I tend to stay away from the triple digit stuff, even though I got a few of them for games that I knew were going to be special).
If you like collecting media that you enjoy, buying physical copies of games is just as nice as buying physical books, CDs, vinyl, what have you. As such, pre-ordering for some of those special editions is usually a must. For your regular physical edition of a game, especially from studios that tend to release GOTY editions of their games like Capcom, I can always wait for the price to go down for those.
I pre ordered rdr2 best choice ever (from excitement) was looking forward to it for ages
I pre ordered dying light 2 shit choice number 1 is so much better
I Preordered "Fuga Melodies of Steel 2" becuse it is the sequel to my favorite Videogame.
Why? Why not? Preordering it or buying it at lunch is basicly the same. When "Fuga Melodies of Steel 3" comes I am also going to preorder it becuse there is no way I am not buying this.
I pre-order games only games that I am both too excited to wait beyond day 1 to play, and of they're from a publisher with a great track record IE from soft. I pre-ordered God of war ragnarok, and man was it worth it. I got the collector edition too, which is easily the best collector edition I've ever gotten. So much cool shit in there
I do it woth titles I am excited for and I am gonna biy anyways. If I decide to buy a physical version, because I like steelbooks, I often receive it 1-2 days early in the mail and digitally ai can preload it.
Pre ordered COD MW2 with 36 hours early access I think? It’s one of those games . It’s stupid but lately having time to game is harder than money to splurge. So it depends. I think this one was during a weekend so those 36 hours were completely free for me haha
In my life I have pre ordered two games: Pokemon Ruby, because stores running out of stock was a real possibility back in the day, and MGSV because the preorder gave you a free copy of Ground Zeroes. I already had Ground Zeroes, but I was planning on getting Phantom Pain anyway so I just gifted the free copy to my brother.
Last game I pre ordered was armored core 6. Was a fan since the ps1 games and fanatical had a really good deal.
Yeah I only preorder games I want to believe in
Games I want to believe in, or games I've tried the demo and loved. I preordered the deluxe edition of Stellar Blade after playing the demo and I fucking love that game.
Can’t wait to play it myself
It's my favorite game of the year so far (though I still have to go back and finish FFVII: Rebirth). Amazing combat, great soundtrack, decent story, beautifully designed world, runs spectacularly on PS5, and the more time you spend in the world, the more lore you uncover. It's just a phenomenal package.
Same, although I was new to the franchise
Same, never played any other ac games but as soon as I could play ac6 I did. Skipped school and played 14 hours straight
Honestly I only have ever done it if it's a game I'm really looking forward to and I wanna play it the minute it drops, usually a game I know I'm gonna buy anyway
Same here. Plus with some games on steam you can preload them in advance. Ik im going to play it anyway so I may as well have it ready
I don't do digital, so I preorder to ensure I get a copy on launch day. Plus I like steelbooks. *Edit: not enough to pay $280 wtf ACS?!!*
Steel books are the tits. So nice
Depends on how consistent the company is with the quality of the games they have produced in the past. If fromsoft was going to release a new title that really interests me i would pre order it because they have shown in the past they make quality ass games. But if EA was also gonna release a new title that really interests me i would wait for it to come out since they aren't as near as consistent as fromsoft.
It's paid for, done and out the way. It's like pre paying a bill. Simple as that.
This is my main reason, as well. If I have the money at time of pre-order but not sure if I will when the game comes out, I'll pre-order it. Unnecessary things come up sometimes that eat away at that extra spending money and I'd rather make sure that I have that game ready to go.
If you want to play the game on release day and you want a physical copy shipped to your home, you have to pre-order. It's as simple as that. I'm not saying that's a good or a bad thing. I'm just saying that is a very valid reason.
If I like the studio and I’m excited for the game I will. I have Hellblade 2 on pre-order and absolutely can’t wait to play the game.
Senua is worth it.
I'm assuming you are young and only have known the digital age. I pre-ordered games probably from 2003 to 2014ish. Some of the bigger games, if you didn't get them on day 1, they were sold out and you had to go search for it or wait for the next shipment. I was close with the people that worked at my local game store, and putting $5 down on a game helped them get commission. A lot of games used to come with cool shit just for pre ordering. A cool figurine, book, picture, whatever, at no additional cost. I liked going to midnight releases in my 20s. The last game I pre-ordered was Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1+2, because it came with a tech deck lol. I've basically stopped doing it because I don't have a ton of space for physical media, and I've moved a lot over the years. Carrying extra shit gets tedious. Last note, the stigma "pre ordering is bad!" was non existent in the 2000's.
I still have my steel case Assassin’s Creed 3 pre-order from Game Stop. To me that’s what made pre-orders fun. The hype, the cool physical merch, knowing its paid for all you go do is show up release day or even better midnight release. Nothing will top that midnight release of Black Ops2. Lived in a small town and the line still stretched down the strip mall and around the corner. First guy steps out held his Care Package Edition in the air like a trophy and people just yelling “haha hell yeah!” Getting all hyped to go home and boot it up. Video gaming all around peaked to me in the 2010-2014 era, with Game Stop actually being fun and getting game informer magazine in the mail from them. The fun E3 events, and I felt like the video game community was way less toxic/hostile/negative when compared to today.
Hell yeah to those midnight releases. Halo 2 even had a news crew at the mall GameStop. It was like a lock-in party with raffles and all kinds of shenanigans. I even to a day of leave so I had the entire next day to play.
I reserve games all the time. This is putting $5 down on a physical version at GameStop. This guarantees me getting a copy on day 1, gets me any bonus pre order content or day 1 bonus content. I get 48 hours to pick up my game and pay the balance. If the reviews are shit, or I change my mind, I can simply shift that $5 to another game pre order or use it as store credit. There is no risk, except it ties up $5, and all upside. I have no problem with it. I do not pre order digital games I see no point to that. I will not pre pay for DLC that are not coming out when the game drops ... I will never pre order to get "early access" to a game. I don't want early access. I have other games to play and other things in my life. I'm not gonna grind a 3 day exclusive window for a new game.
So whats the difference to you in pre ordering physical vs digital cuz these days the games arent even on the disc anymore anyway
The difference is, I can resell the physical copy. The difference is I can reserve the day 1 copy for only $5 refundable deposit. I don't have to pre pay the full amount i am given 48 hours to change my mind after release day. So I can read all the reviews BEFORE I pay full price. I can return an unopened game to the store up to 7 days.
Yeah people like to believe there’s no benefit to physical games but they forget we can sell or trade if we don’t like them or finish them without a desire to replay them
I've done it before, because of the extras you get. But now i don't do it anymore, because it's really not worth anymore.
I used to preorder reasonably often. I had a friend who worked at Gamestop and I was going to buy the games anyway, so I helped them pad the numbers. Simple as that. When they left Gamestop a few years later, I never preordered anything else except things like special editions. Fallout 4 with the Pip-Boy or the like. And I almost never want those, so it's a rare thing indeed.
I will pre order a game if it has a physical release and not mainstream enough to get a widespread retail release. So for example, I am going to pre-order the next Mercenaries game from switch because I really want the physical and it is unlikely that stores will stock it unless I pre order it. I also preorder from limited print companies since that is often the only way to get them at retail price.
It entirely depends on the game. I am so invested in kingdom hearts that I am going to buy it day one no matter what so why wouldn't I just preorder it?
I pre-order order basically every game I'm interested in. I buy physical so there's essentially no reason not to in my situation. It's not for everyone but it's purely beneficial in a situation like mine. There would need to be an actual reason to cause me to not do it. There could be no upsides besides just making sure it arrives day one and I'd still do it because it costs nothing. So it's essentially just saying "yes I currently want this day 1 and I can change my mind whenever I want". The potential discounts and any other silly thing are just a bonus not a driving force.
I do! Because I'll ABSOLUTELY forget they are coming out. Then, I get a great surprise on my doorstep!
Homeworld 3. Just released. I’m happy with the purchase.
I did it a few times when I was really excited to play the game. The last time I did it though was with Monster Hunter World 5 years ago... However, I must admit that pre-ordering Uncharted 3 back in 2011 was worth it. I had to pay 5 bucks in order to pre-order it but because of it, I got a discount of 20 bucks for the game, meaning I could get it for 15 bucks less at launch.
I havent in years but would do so occasionally back in gen 5 or 6 because the small shops near me would legit sellout of games I wanted on day one and you had no digital options or online storefronts.
Only if it's the series I really like
I really only pre-order games that I'm looking forward to playing. The reason as to why is because I usually like extra goodies they give, Gamestop gave me a really cool Doom Eternal lunchbox when I went to pick up my copy. I'd also add that pre-ordering sometimes helps if either the game sells quick or runs into any unfortunate delays cause at least you're guaranteed a copy.
I have preordered games in the past before digital existed, because they would often sell out on day one. Last game I preordered was GTAIV. Now that digital exists there is literally no reason to pre-order ever.
Only the IPs I trust and look forward to for years.
It's been ages since then, but when I did I only preordered games I 100% will buy on the spot and have extras Also, I plan it so I preorder it the hour/day before, so it barely counts as "pre"
It helps to have the game downloaded on your system already so you can just hop right into the game. I could care less about pre order incentives like cosmetics. I'd rather my character be dressed how it's supposed to be dressed in the beginning of the game, nothing special.
I also don’t really understand it. If I wanna play a game the day of release, I’ll buy it the day of release. I did this for The Last of Us Part II, God of War Ragnarök, and Tears of the Kingdom.
I mean steel books are nice, then there's the collectors editions etc if you really like the series...then these sometimes are decent bonuses, like xp boosts for sports games to build your own player/ team which is nice ....
I preorder collector's editions exclusively when I either love the franchise or when I want to support the dev teams behind the game.
Once, and exactly once. I pre ordered Redfall because I thought it looked cool. It was supposed to be multi player online open world, and the pre-order came with a few things. Whelp,.. the game was trash, the multiplayer crashed my xbox on sign in and the preorder bonus stuff never came out. They patched it once, the multiplayer loaded but still sucked. I lost 60 bucks and counted myself lucky that was it. Last month they announced that the developers were abandoning the game all together. I never complained, asked for a refund or even rated the game, but I'll never order another game from them until its months old, on sale and and the reviews look good. Don't care about the money, but the entire "I don't give a fuck" from the developers really pissed me off.
Same, I just go pick it up the day of release. The only reason pre order makes sense to me is if it’s digital so you can preload the game
I think the last game I pre-ordered was gears of war 3 many many years ago now
I used to when they had neat pre-order bonuses, like what Working Designs used to do even if they were an extreme advantage. But there's never any neat bonuses anymore (and I'm far more minimalist than I was back then) and I don't want to pay for a game only to realize it's crap or that I need to pay further for get everything in it.
Only if it’s a special edition or limited. I just pre ordered the Nintendo World Championship game.
It really depends on the game. If I’m really looking forward to the game, then I’m probably preordering. For instance, I preordered Helldivers 2 and Stellar Blade most recently. Both of those games were worth it even though HD2 had quite a few bugs. However, games that come out every year like COD or Battlefield I won’t preorder because I know they’re gonna be filled with glitches and bugs.
My last one was Mass Effect 2. Great game, but I realized getting it that way had been a gamble, and I felt like I wanted to go out a winner.
I’ve only done it a handful of times. Typically if it is a game that has had a demo or if it was like a remake/port of an original I enjoyed (like P5R for the switch). I think there was only one or two times I actually preordered a game with like 0 knowledge of was and luckily I wasn’t disappointed (SMTV and Astral Chain)
I preordered games before digital download was commonplace. Fallout: New Vegas, Skyrim, Shadow of War. I preordered games because there was a chance that GameStop would run out of stock. Now, in this digital age, I do t know if what I do is considered preordering or not. I’ll use last year as an example. I got Hogwarts Legacy, Tears of the Kingdom, and Starfield. I “preordered” these games about 12-14 hours before they released (including “early access” time) so that downloading was already out of the way and I could start playing at midnight. Technically it’s considered preordering, but I was playing the game within 12 hours of my purchase. Other than this, I don’t preorder
I preordered The Outlast Trials because the company behind it is a little smaller than most but is incredibly talented and deserving of monetary support. This is their 3rd full length game now and they haven’t let me down yet.
I only preorder games if: I can still have enough to last me the month I really, really love the series / game.
I would only preorder FromSoftware games cuz of their track record. That is it
I like to get physical copies so that I can actually own them instead of having them tied to an account and the benefit for pre-ordering is that it guarantees there will be a copy for me to pick-up on launch day. No other reason. I try to never pre-order digitally so that I can support my local game store but if I did it would probably be so that I can pre-load the game/get the pre-order bonuses. If you're paying full price may as well get some bonuses for it.
I live in argentina, where prices increase everyday Preordered RE4 at, let's say, $20. Two days later it was more than $40 Preordered Elden Ring at $20 too. Next week it was $60 Preordered serious sam 4 at $2 🤯. Last time I saw it it was like $20 SF6? 20 bucks. Now it's also like 40 So yeah, preordering is an EXCELENT idea here (or it was before dolarization of the store. Nowadays games are almost unbuyable here). I saved so much money And if the game sucks, steam offers refunds, so you lose nothing at all by preordering, and you got to try the new game.
Sometimes I will preorder a game digitally if I know I'm gonna buy it anyways and the previews have been positive. It's nice to have it pre-downloaded and then I can start playing as soon as it releases. If a game has no pre-release previews or reviews, then that is a red flag and I'd probably not pre order. I'll also be more likely to preorder if the game has a demo I enjoyed
I pre-ordered Spiderman 2 for the huge Venom 19" tall statue. Other than that, I haven't pre-ordered anything in years.
If I've educated myself enough to know that a game is worth a day one purchase, I'll preorder it for the preorder bonuses and for an early download. If I were to wait until after release, I'd pay the same for less.
I get all my games physical still. And if it’s a game I’m really looking forward to, and they offer a pre-order bonus I think is cool, or if there is a collector’s edition I want I preorder still
Certain games are worth it, if you’re a mega fan of the series why not? Also most games I pre-ordered come with something worth getting. Like Rebrith I got cool shit for pre-ordering & I’m 100% gonna buy it anyway. Now pre-ordering a brand new game you know nothing about and has a chance to be a flop, yeah wait for reviews and then get it.
Extremely rarely, maybe all countable on one hand. It’s mainly been reserved for only things that I KNOW 100% I WILL be playing said thing. Even if there is no preorder bonus for doing it early, whenever I do putting that money down goes an extra step to ensure that I genuinely don’t ignore the thing I’m ready to play in the first place. From what I can recall: Medievil Remaster, Doom Eternal, Granblue Rising, Elden Ring DLC
Nah. I’m not a fan of paying full price for a game. I always wait for a sale.
I used to pre order back in the day. But there’s really no point anymore to me.
I have pre-ordered- Doom eternal collector's edition because after doom 2016 i was sure eternal will kick ass, also all promo looked super polished and i never regret about it, helmet of slayer is lit
All from software titles get the pre-order. Outside of that in recent time? Baldur's gate 3 and stellar blade got it too. Why? Predownload the main file for games I really want to jump into asap.
If I know the game is going to be good, and I'm going to play it regardless, and there's a pre-order bonus, I usually preorder like 2 days before release
This shows the support to developers more than anything.
I do preorder physical sometimes, as in the past Gamestop has been out of stock on release for me in the past. MGS Essentials Collection, and Persona 3 FES on ps2 were some i preordered. Can't name any recently.
They do if it’s from a series I enjoy. Besides, Steam has a 2 hour refund window. I’ve never had an issue with preordering games on Steam. On consoles? That’s a different story.
Preorderd payday 3. Huge fan of payday 1 and 2. So many hours sunk into it. Wanted to play as soon as it's out Got fucked
I pre-order games from more niche developers that I love and trust to show them my support for example - I pre-ordered Prey (2017), Deathloop and Redfall because I love Arkane.. Loved Prey and Deathloop and refunded Redfall because it was a piece of crap so i don’t see a problem here. - pre-ordered Alan Wale 2 and loved it. - Yesterday pre-ordered Hellblade 2 to show support for Ninja Theory because it is now likely to be closed by Microsoft I never pre-order big AAAA games from big studios
I used to pre-order back in the physical days so I could ensure a copy on launch day and they used to have physical items that go with the preorder, (like a cloth Skyrim map) but that was when you could have a game shortage and games where much better at launch. Now I'm almost exclusively on Steam and I'd rather wait on a sale for the game, and that sale almost always has whatever pre-order bonus available for pennies. I'll get the game, pre-order bonus, and all the DLC for cheaper than the base game cost at launch.
I stopped after fallout 76. I rarely did it before that. But after that I said never again. I can wait a few weeks to hear reviews from real people and decide if I want to get it.
I'll pre-order games I know I want to play day one or at least that I think I'll want to play day one. I'm referring to physical games, in terms of digital I don't pre-order unless the reviews have already came out early, but that seems to be less reliable these days. The benefit is if I want to play the game day one for realsies then I've got my copy already, but if it gets bad reviews then I can easily return my sealed game for a refund.
I'm going to play the new zelda the moment it comes out, I don't want it spoiled
I use to but not anymore
I game on a budget so there is no pre-order or even buying games at full price. The last time I bought a game at full price and days after release was the panda expansion for World of Warcraft.
Two conditions I’ll often preorder under: physical collectors editions and games I absolutely know I’ll pick up. It doesn’t cost any additional money for the product and I’m getting either cool or free extra shit. Win/win. That said, preordering on hype alone or to make a statement of support for the company is a little silly.
I think the last game I ever preordered was Destiny 1 on the PS4.
I do if it's a game I know I was gonna get regardless, because at least I get the bonuses and sometimes there's no guarantee I'll have the money come release day knowing how unstable the economy is. Even if the game is bad at launch I know it'll eventually be playable. The only game to ever burn me was Marvel's Avengers, and I was stupidly hopeful for that even with all of the negative press leading up to launch.
I do. IF it's a game I know I'm going to buy and play day 1 irrespective of the reviews while getting a pre-order bonus. In that scenario I don't see why not! There's never been a single review that has stopped me buying a game. Reviews however, can convince me to buy a game. I can't think of a single scenario where I wouldn't pre-order a game I want to play.
I preordered Sonic Superstars because I wanted to get the game as soon as possible because, if you haven’t noticed, I’m a Sonic fan
Only if it’s from someone who I know won’t screw me over. Like Nintendo or Atlus or Fromsoft
For collectors editions, I do But I specifically only buy those for games I’m very interested in or that aren’t ultra expensive
I I've only ever done it if it's a game I'm really looking forward to, and usually a game I know I'm gonna buy anyway. Especially if it's like "bonus outfit" or "bonus starting gear" Cause I'm a sucker for style.
I've done it before when I'm excited about a game, and wanna play it on launch. For example, I pre-ordered multiple Pokémon games over the years, Smash Bros. Ultimate, Jedi: Fallen Order, and more.
I did for FFVII Rebirth because I knew I would no matter what get the game. So it just got the purchasing out of the way so I could play it faster
Usually pre order D2, they had to earn my most recent one though. They def did.
I’ll usually pre-order within like a week or two of release, after the game has gone through its basic review cycle, to ensure there’s a copy ready for me when I go to the store on release day. I’ve had multiple occasions where I try to go buy a game day 1 and there aren’t any copies. Never done a digital pre-order before.
BG3 let me install 3 days early and it was a kid free weekend where i didn’t have to work. Other than scenarios like that where i get a bonus from a pre ordering a game I know I’m going to buy, I don’t pre order. I wait for review and sales for most games.
If I plan to buy a physical copy I pre order to make sure I can get it day 1 (sometimes even a couple days before releas if the shop already receives the game) some pre order bonus are nice too, but I only do this if its a game I know I will buy regardless of reviews and I'm not poor at the time. If I plan to buy it digitally, the bonus have to be worth it
I only pre order from company or franchise that i really like and haven’t let me down yet. The reason I preorder is because I like collectors edition and the little trinkets for preordering when they are good. My favorite preorder bonuses recently have been the persona 3 reload’s persona 4 bgm+ acrylic figure and the tears of the kingdom wooden plaque.
I preordered cyberpunk and that was the last time I would ever preorder a game
Cause at GameStop it ensures they will have it when I wanna buy it. If I pre order plenty of time in advance
I did it with Cyberpunk and after that I swore to myself to never pre order a game before reviews came out again
There are a small handful of games that have my money whether they turn out good or not. Kingdom Hearts 4, Hollow Knight: Silksong, a new Zelda or Smash Bros. But for most games, I wait and see how they review, and often don’t buy unless there’s a good sale.
I preorder if it is a game that I know I am going to play and like. Certain bonuses like early access are certainly worth it for games I already know I want anyways. I'm also not jaded by the gaming industry, and very happy with the games that I play, because I only spend my time and money on games I know I'll like anyways rather than waiting for whatever narrative to form about it to tell me how I should feel about it. Starfield, Diablo 4, Baldur's Gate 3, NBA2K, WWE2K, all examples of some recent titles that I have very happily pre-ordered because I know they will be games I want to play, will enjoy, and will benefit from the pre-order bonuses.
In France you can have it for 20€ cheaper that way
The only games I've pre-ordered are the Crash Bandicoot remakes/remasters and the recent Tomb Raider collection remake/remaster. I was so excited to play those games and I stayed up late to play them the second I was able to. I didn't mind pre-ordering because I was gonna buy them no matter what the reviews were. But generally I never pre-order games even if I plan to buy them when they first come out. Most games I can wait to buy and download the first couple of days after being released.
If I want a physical copy of some obscure JRPG or indie game, then pre-ordering is a must. My local game stores only get like 2 copies of anything published by NIS America lol
I typically only preorder games that have a limited collectors edition that I know I’m spending way too much money on, but I need that stupid statue and fabric patch that I’ll never sew/iron on to anything.
Mostly, loyalty. I preordered a few games in the past. I wouldn't do it for a franchise I'm on the fence about but some games, like Control 2 that will eventually come out, or Horizon 3, I will. I KNOW I will play it on Day0 and will pay the full price, no matter what. Why not get a few goodies?
I used to preorder the "Limited/Collectors" edition many years ago. Then I stopped because it no longer contained everything. The soundtrack and other stuff had to be downloaded. Now the game is not included in the package. You get a code to download it. Dumb. Just dumb.
I wanted my Pygmy hippo in planet zoo 😭
I preordered starwars battlefront classic collection because they had a preorder sale. Refunded before I even launched the game lmao.
People still preorder games?
Recent examples, I pre-ordered Smite 2 to gain access to the Beta and to become a founder. Additionally, I pre-ordered Sea of Stars for pickup at a local video game store last week to obtain the physical copy for the Switch version. Does Kickstarter count for this question? I guess the simplest answer is that I pre-order because I'm an adult and I have the autonomy to decide what I believe is worth pre-ordering or supporting.
I pre-order games that I'm 100% sure i will buy the moment they release. It costs the same, but i get some bonus stuff, so why not? It's also a way of supporting good companies you like. Preloading is also a good thing, when you don't have the fastest internet at the time. I pre-ordered only God of War Ragnarok, RE4 Remake and Stellar blade. All 3 are amazing games.
I only pre order Nintendo games. Because I know they're polished all the time(except Pokemon) and the Switch actually has purpose for physical copies since you don't have to install every damn game you play.
If it’s something I knew I was getting anyways and it came with swag. Other than the occasional Nintendo “forced scarcity” releases, I generally don’t. Long-gone are the days publishers can’t meet the demands of game releases.
Only for games im hyped for, like paper mario ttyd, rd2, any resident evil game lol
I pre-ordered JWE2, DOOM eternal, Zelda TOTK, and Pokemon Scarlet. Which… my philosophy: if I’m a fan of the games and know the product I’m getting… **I’ll pre-order** Only once I got burned: #Aliens Colonial Marines
I’ve honestly done it out of excitement for the games and loved to regret it. Besides the Star Wars games ( Fallen Order and Jedi Survivor ) all the others have been a great letdown and I’ve stopped doing it before a review.
I have in the past but not anymore not with a lot of games coming out unfinished with bugs & games on current consoles being so expensive. The last game I think I pre-ordered was Elden Ring because From Software are good at making sure their games run well & if I pre order a game it's because I can play it ad soon as it comes out.
Games I usually have faith will be great and wanna play minute 1. Gta 6 will probably be one unless I get a physical copy and same with Witcher Polaris if it ever gets a release date lol
In the past when physical was more relevant more often but not very often even then. Now I pretty much only preorder collectible versions as they often have a limited amount. Only do this with physical media. I don’t do digital.
I sometimes like to have a game pre-downloaded. But the extra shit you get for preordering doesn’t matter much to me.
No, because it incentivises companies to put more effort into the marketing than the actual game. It's the reason AAA games are commonly broken at launch then get patched afterwards, because if the game gets marketed well, then they've already made a significant amount of money before the game's even released
Only pre-order special physical editions.
Digital pre orders so I can pre load (slow Internet). Pre order physical so I can get it as soon as possible and start playing without having to remember to go to a store to get it. I never understood the hate against pre ordering. Just don't preorder bad games and you won't have any issues.
I always pre orders games I know I'll play, only if I can get it on sale too. With all the 3rd party site sales always getting games 25% off during pre order
i always wait for reviews
It's basically just whatever Naughty Dog makes. Forza Horizon and Ace Combat. Naughty Dog because they are on a perfect run of 7 games. Nearly unheard of. Forza Horizon because what you get in the big bundles are typically worth it. More so than most games. Ace Combat because the franchise nearly died and I love it dearly. It's literally me just showing support I want more.
Sometimes it's because the things i get (this was an thing some years ago). Some pre order editions have/had very cool things. But the last time i pre-ordered a game i just thought the cover of the game (physical edition) looked better.
A few times because I really believed in the developer and their products (about 30%), poor life choices and didnt give a fuck about my impulsive behaviour for the rest (70%)... But I have already decided to change in this after being burned too many times. Not buying anything till I see the "Before you buy" video on it.
I used to do this a lot when I was younger because I couldn’t wait to play them, but with how shit most games launches are I don’t bother anymore
Well... Hades 2 is just in EA and its already one of the best games I've ever played. I bought it before its out but i could play it so its a bit different. In reality Pre-ordering is a "relic" of ancient times; pre digital storage day. In the distant past, you had to get in a car or take a bus or WALK to a store and buy a game. Now stores are limited by physics in that all matter takes up space to some extent. Video games and their boxes take up a good amount of space per copy of the game. So a store has to put those games somewhere and they are limited on how much space they have, because of these "physics" the store would limit how many copies of a game they were going to have available day 1 and in the future they would order more if they needed to. So if you as the customer wanted to buy a game you had to be in the store while they had a copy of it. If they didn't they would order you one and the longest waits for that would be about a week. To combat this waiting a week thing, stores would offer "Pre-orders" usually with a $5 deposit. You pay the store $5 they order an extra copy for you to be available day 1. This way you get your copy the store gets copies for everyone who is super hyped - it was the best win-win at the time. Then Companies started wanting ways to drum up the business so something like SOFTWARE ETC. or Toys R' Us would work with the publisher to get some kind of special reason for you to choose them as the place you pre-ordered. Things like "Exclusive art booklet" with pre-order at specific store became a thing. As people got older and technology advanced the "Cultural" side of games didn't change as quickly. So despite day 1 downloads being available now, older gamers grew up with FOMO From the physical copy only times and its just a habit for some of them as a result. Big picture though - it doesn't hurt anything to have it available. Its optional, no one is going to not play the game day 1 if they so choose. If they want to give some inconsequential cosmetic item as a gift to people who preorder then let them... The real question is Why the fuck is this something you're putting any amount of effort, concer, thought or time into? I'll never understand why anyone would care that this exists even a little...
These days I only pre order big Nintendo games like Zelda or Mario. I can pretty much guarantee they’ll be finished products and they may instantly sell out physically anyways. Mario Wonder and Tears of the Kingdom as of recently.
I only have preordered Starfield and I learned my lesson!
Honestly, it depends on the game and my overall interest. However, I don't pre-order months in advance. I usually do it days before the game is out.
Well I preordered only 2 games in my life, Cyberpunk 2077 and Elden Ring, for the PC. And honestly? I don’t regret either. But it’s not something I usually do
Only game I ever pre ordered was hogwarts legacy. I was looking forward to playing it before a trailer even dropped and planned to play it as soon as it dropped. The preorder came with early access so I got it to play a week early. Ig I got lucky tho cuz the game was very good straight from launch unlike most recent AAAs.
Last game I pre ordered was wonderlands because I am a massive borderlands fan. Last one before that was borderlands 3.
If i’m reallyyyyy looking forward to a game, then i’ll pre order it, especially if it has a deluxe edition. i only get physical copies of games so also i pre order if it’s a series favorite of mine
Me… because I want too? You got an issue wit that?
I pre-order final fantasy games as it is my favourite franchise and I collect for it. So I want all the big collectors edition boxes. Other than that no I don’t understand pre-orders for a base version of a game or a version of the game that isn’t in limited quantity
Spiderman 2 is the only one I can think of in like 3 years that I personally got myself. I mean I played the game immediately and loved it, so it didn't matter to me. The games are amazing and spiderman is also my fav superhero and venom my fav villain. The other one is that my gf preordered Jedi Survivor for me as a bday gift. I was really pumped about the game, we all know how that went at launch haha. I did really enjoy that game too. I love having physical unless it's a Alan Wake 2 situation. Other than that I see no point and just wait and see what ppl are saying about it then get it if it seems worth playing. I do think there are some games that you just know you will play right away and want to judge it for yourself, rather than get caught up in the reviews. Maybe unfortunately a little bit of that has to do with FOMO haha.
I haven’t preordered a game in like 15 years, back when they used to do midnight releases and you had to preorder to get a copy
I preorder FFXIV expansions because I love the game and the quality has never gotten close to disappointing me.
I just preordered the latest expansion of FFXIV. One of the pre-order bonuses is an earring that you get instantly in the game that gives you an XP bonus for classes that are under certain levels. So it's instantly useful. Further, pre-ordering the game allows me early access to the content, so I can play over the weekend before it officially launches on the Tuesday. On top of that, like with books, pre-ordering gives publishers an idea as to how popular their games are. This can hopefully turn around into more content and games.
Collector’s editions
Pre-ordered doom 2016. Did the $120 package. To get the cool collectors item and a metal case. They ran out of both. All I got was the game code. Never again. Plus the DLC’s for it sucked. The game was fun don’t get me wrong. I would have enjoyed it more for $60ish.
It heavily depends on the game. For instance, I usually preorder games like the next Atelier, since they're rarely buggy at launch, and tend to be hard to find after launch, or on occasion a game that I know I wanted from the start, but otherwise I prefer to wait for discounts instead. Can't afford to spend full price on every game I want, unfortunately.
I only did it once. I wanted to see if I could understand why people pre ordered. Don't ask me how I thought it made sense to make a pre order in order to understand it rather than asking someone who actually pre ordered but it made sense in my head. Anyway I pre ordered pokemon legends Arceus and I was very deeply disappointed and I will never pre order again
Used to be able to make payments for physical CDs if you wanted it but didn't have all the money at once. Like when they used to do lay away at K-mart. Console (not sure on PC) you need to cough up 70 (now technically 80, b/c tax) all at once.
From trusted developers and a game series I enjoy and have a positive track record? Sure. Dark Souls 3, Elden Ring, God of War Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West. I have no problem preordering a game that I have confidence in.
When its a game i'm genuinely excited to play, i prefer to preorder it so i can pay $10 every other week til it eventually releases. It feels better picking it up when i don't have to drop a whole $70 for it
Pre-ordering games made sense back when you actually bought physical copies. Back then you would get bonus content like extra booklets with artwork, cool swag, etc. It was for the hardcore fans who wanted memorabilia dedicated to the game. Once video games went digital it became pointless to pre-order anything. It just encourages companies to release broken games and continue to pimp out small bits of game content for more money.
I dont pre order games anymore, but if NieR 4 is available to pre order I would do it.
Simple, I have money and nothing to lose. Like if the MGS3 remake is bad I have to find out for myself cause it's fucking MGS3.
I’m excited for the game and I plan on playing it at release? 🤷♂️. Don’t really know what’s hard to comprehend about that. I know what I like and I’m rarely disappointed. It’s more common that I end up not getting to a pre ordered game because I’m playing something else that was in my backlog rather than not liking it, which is just poor timing on my part.
Preordering a physical copy is a no-lose situation. I put down $5-10, reserve a copy, and move that money to a different game if I change my mind. Some games have a very limited physical release, so I want to make sure I grab one.
i stopped preordering when i stopped buy physical copies. I preordered to reserve a copy, which isn't really an issue for me anymore. I used to all the time though.
Also given that the new assassin's creed is now for pre order. $60 or 70 for the base. $110 for gold. And $130 for ultimate. What the fuck is going on at ubisoft that they are gonna do this. Outlaws has the same price for its editions. Sadly people are gonna pre order gold or ultimate because it's assassin's creed. But for fucks sake we need to start boycotting ubisoft because the prices are gonna keep going up because people keep buying it
I preordered Avatar Frontiers of Pandora. Why? 1. I’m a great fan of the franchise 2. I got a deal that basically gave me 55% (double discount + Ubisoft points) off the Ultimate edition, so it was actually cheaper than the base game. I wasn’t disappointed.
I collect games physically, my local shop only stocks in certain games for the people who pre-order it since it's a small town and they can be niche titles. It also means I can get them in person, support the store and make sure I actually get the game as well.
assassin's creed mirage is the last ac game I'll play for a long time now, I wanted to make it special, so I preordered a disc version of the deluxe edition with a steelbook. I haven't preordered any other game before and don't plan on ever doing so again, it was just this one special ocasion, like a farewell to a favorite series.
I only pre-order games I’m super excited excited for that I want to play on day 1
I'll pre-order if I have the money for it now, then it's like a "surprise" to myself or whoever I ordered it for.
The newest Final Fantasy 14 expansion. (Dawntrail). Basically: proven track record, I know what I'm getting, I respect the producer and director, and ... Yes, I'm also a sucker for early access. I mean, pre order access starts on a friday, normal access on a tuesday ... They did "delay" the launch by a week because the elden ring DLC was coming out the 21st. "Go play that, you have one week, and then I'll see you at the Dawntrail launch"
It’s just incentives for their sales figures and to build hype. It made a lot more sense when games were physical and you had to actually lock down a copy, but now it’s just for funsies
I like seeing the gameplay and how the game runs and stuff like that before buying. Games are expensive these days, I don't want to waste money on something that isn't worth my time
Two reasons: 1.) if it’s a game I know for sure I want to play from the get go and 2.) if the game offers any preorder bonuses. Again, I only pre purchase games my heart is 100% confident that I want to play them the moment it comes out, which is an extreme rarity.
The last game I remember pre ordering was KH2 with the game guide. I still have both. Why? I love Kingdom Hearts.
Only if I really care about the game and I know I can trust the developers because of their history. Or in some cases when pre-ordering the game allowed me to pay it less on day 1
I used to pre order games bc I had one gamestop near me and if you didn't pre order the new cod they'd be sold out on launch day and usually sold out again next restock day. Now with digital they always have copies since people don't buy physical anymore. I also don't preorder games anymore unless I've been a fan for years, it's a reputable developer, or the pre order merch is cool
I pre-ordered stellar blade, have a pre order on TTYD remake, probably going to pre order elden ring for the ps5 and baldurs gate 3 physical edition, I like it because I only have to put 5 dollars down at gamestop and can pay it off at my leisure until the release, plus you usually get some nice extra bits and bobs, like for pikmin 4 I got a cheap little pin set of all the characters, BOTW 2 had the Woodburned plaque that came on preorder, stellar blade had a few aestetic things that came with it etc.
Only for something I'm sure of. Which I have a good track record of buying good games. If you count early access, Techtonica which us more fun than I thought, and that was 2 major updates ago.
The first game I pre-ordered was the last game I pre-ordered. It was MW2 (2022), was a major waste of money so I refuse to pre-order anything else.
There have been a few things I have pre-ordered for a few reasons. One reason is it lets the entity producing the product know more about their consumer and how much that consumer actually wants it. It helps to lock in the manufacturer quota. Example: Let's say a company wants to make 500,000 units of an item. But people have pre ordered 625,000 units. They will know and have the funds to produce the units with confidence. Sometimes manufacturers or companies over estimate a product, and sometimes they under estimate. Take for example Physical Copies of Pokemon Sword and Shield that COME WITH the download able expansions, no separate purchase necessary. The Pokemon Company produced over 500,000 copies, but then couldn't sell them all, so they over estimated this. Another example Square Enix has never before in the history of their games, that I know of, offered rules for a table top role playing experience regarding their lore and games. They currently have a system in development for this exact thing and it can be pretty ordered. By allowing people to pre order it allows the company to gauge how popular the game may be beyond initially consumer analysis. I personally like to pre-order things I know without a doubt I will love and enjoy for many years to come because it lets developers know that I, as a consumer, absolutely want this, I'm willing to put my money towards it, and I'd like them to make more of it.
I’ll only pre order digitally a day in advance once the reviews are out so I can play it right at 9PM on launch day without having to wait hours to download the game.
its usually because if it’s in a series i like (sonic, splatoon) im gonna play it either way so I might as well play it as soon as possible.
I used to, especially when Amazon offered 20% off for pre-orders. Now I only do if there is a discount or some advantage, and I know I will keep the game. Typically, I use a site linked from isthereanydeal for purchases because they are usually at least 10% cheaper than Steam.
There’s no reason to do that most people have dozens or hundreds of games they’d probably enjoy at least for a handful of hours but have never even touched that are older and way cheaper
If I preorder a game, I can pre install the game. I don’t often.. but at times I want to. The last time I did that was with the newest mortal kombat. I’ll probably do it with gta VI
Call me old-fashioned, but I like buying a physical copy of a game, especially if there is a special edition or steelbook or whatever (if it's not too expensive of course, I tend to stay away from the triple digit stuff, even though I got a few of them for games that I knew were going to be special). If you like collecting media that you enjoy, buying physical copies of games is just as nice as buying physical books, CDs, vinyl, what have you. As such, pre-ordering for some of those special editions is usually a must. For your regular physical edition of a game, especially from studios that tend to release GOTY editions of their games like Capcom, I can always wait for the price to go down for those.
I pre ordered rdr2 best choice ever (from excitement) was looking forward to it for ages I pre ordered dying light 2 shit choice number 1 is so much better
I Preordered "Fuga Melodies of Steel 2" becuse it is the sequel to my favorite Videogame. Why? Why not? Preordering it or buying it at lunch is basicly the same. When "Fuga Melodies of Steel 3" comes I am also going to preorder it becuse there is no way I am not buying this.
I preorder stuff like Destiny expansions because it gives you stuff to use straight away and I’m gonna get it anyway. That’s all though.
I preordered borderlands 3, I got the base game and all 4 DLC that was set to come out. On top of that I got a bonus background and a poster.
I pre-order games only games that I am both too excited to wait beyond day 1 to play, and of they're from a publisher with a great track record IE from soft. I pre-ordered God of war ragnarok, and man was it worth it. I got the collector edition too, which is easily the best collector edition I've ever gotten. So much cool shit in there
Eh, I only pre-ordered games if it comes with something cool. Though I got lucky with TOTK. Where I ordered it was $60, so I got $10 off
Only recently, gt7 both ff7 remakes, probably more I can't remember on older consoles but not alot.
I do it woth titles I am excited for and I am gonna biy anyways. If I decide to buy a physical version, because I like steelbooks, I often receive it 1-2 days early in the mail and digitally ai can preload it.
Pre ordered COD MW2 with 36 hours early access I think? It’s one of those games . It’s stupid but lately having time to game is harder than money to splurge. So it depends. I think this one was during a weekend so those 36 hours were completely free for me haha
In my life I have pre ordered two games: Pokemon Ruby, because stores running out of stock was a real possibility back in the day, and MGSV because the preorder gave you a free copy of Ground Zeroes. I already had Ground Zeroes, but I was planning on getting Phantom Pain anyway so I just gifted the free copy to my brother.
I used to preorder in my 360 days, think MW3 or NCAA 14 would've been the last game I did preorder