Pre-ordering games, still? in 2011

I was just at the duke nukem forum and was reading people comments and a lot of people where talking about how they had pre-ordered that game and were very disappointed after playing the demo.

Why in 2011 where reviews are readily available for games pretty much the day that games come out would you risk wasting money on a game before you even know if its good or not? Its not like the store is going to run out of copy's and if they do go to another store lol it ridiculous. Its such a dumb marketing scam that Im surprised is still going on, the only incentive that they give you is some in game item. Really is that worth the $60 chance that the game is crap.

It's basically an interest-free loan for them (if you pay in cash). I never pre-order anything.

I was just at the duke nukem forum and was reading people comments and a lot of people where talking about how they had pre-ordered that game and were very disappointed after playing the demo.

Why in 2011 where reviews are readily available for games pretty much the day that games come out would you risk wasting money on a game before you even know if its good or not? Its not like the store is going to run out of copy's and if they do go to another store lol it ridiculous. Its such a dumb marketing scam that Im surprised is still going on, the only incentive that they give you is some in game item. Really is that worth the $60 chance that the game is crap.

LazyGamerX

Some stores offer extra incentives for pre-ordering, like bonus content, to encourage gamers to pre-order.

If you don't like it, don't do it, but don't whine what other people do it.

Yeah, bonuses and discounts are the only good reasons to do it, and of those, getting a discount is the only legitimate reason (preorder bonuses, especially retailer specific ones, are a sham).

I mean, for the next two days in Canada, if you preorder three or more games shown at E3 from Future Shop, you get $20 off each one. That's a pretty goddamn fantastic deal and definitely something that makes preordering worth it.

It's basically an interest-free loan for them (if you pay in cash). I never pre-order anything.

lKoRuPT

That's the wrong attitude to have, in my opinion.

A long time ago, I used to work for Gamestop, during around the time Grand Theft Auto III came out. I had a customer come in, buy a game, and I asked him if he wanted to reserve a copy of Grand Theft Auto. He told me "No, I can just come back, on that day of release, and pick up a copy." It was his choice and I didn't push the matter after that. Then, after GTA III was released, he came in and asked if we had a copy. We didn't get a lot of extra copies, only for the pre-orders. All of those was sold out. I told him this and immediately he flipped, angry about the fact that GTA III was gone and that he couldn't get himself a copy. Apparently, he looked into other stores and they didn't have it either. So I gently reminded him that he should have taken the time to put down $5 so that his copy is secured.

I do this practice all the time, to make sure that I am automatically guaranteed a copy of the game, whether it's a regular or collector's edition. That way, I don't have to worry about a copy at all. People should be taking the time to do this before jumping the gun.

I only Pre-order a game If I want it a day or two early.

I only preorder for the bonuses that you get. I don't understand where you're coming from about preordering before you play the game and wasting money because it turns out to be a bad game. If the game is bad I can just move my preorder to something else down the line and not get the game. (at least that's how it is at Gamestop, don't know about other stores) I preordered black ops last summer at Gamestop, but ended up getting it at Wal Mart and I ignored the preorder for a while. Few weeks ago they told me I had an unused preorder so I used it on BF3.

It's really simple actually. Don't preorder bad games. It's not as hard as it sounds.

I hardly ever pre-order games. I usually just wait until the price has fallen.

Amazon gives nice little discounts and doesn't require anything up front. I may get Arkham that way because I don't want to wait to play it, but I'd also like $10-15 off.

Companies like GameStop just like the itnerest-free loan, as others have said, and the whole "bonus content" for pre-orders is just a scam. EA drove me away from Dragon Age 2 with their absolutely ridiculous "long window" pre-order program.

Well, if you there is those hardcore fans that will buy a product regardless of its success, and afterall Duke Nukem is a franchise despite the length from the last installment. Pre-order offers discount and goodies + gamestop throws away their junk for free @ midnight launches, but I dont really care for that anymore.

Amazon gives nice little discounts and doesn't require anything up front. I may get Arkham that way because I don't want to wait to play it, but I'd also like $10-15 off.

Companies like GameStop just like the itnerest-free loan, as others have said, and the whole "bonus content" for pre-orders is just a scam. EA drove me away from Dragon Age 2 with their absolutely ridiculous "long window" pre-order program.

JonathanL

exactlly those "bonuses" for preodering for gamestop are a joke. You want me to preorder give something real like discount or giftcard for future purchase like on amazon and I know Kmart has good deals on new stuff but I donno about preorders.

I pre-order online, I ger extra stuff (like the Duke Nukem Beta code) and sometimes better value (Dragon Age 2 or godies from the retailer). Also I do not pay a penny for the pre-order, I get the game day 1 or even a few days earlier, I can pay them within 30 days. I can just make my pre-orders for 1, 2 months and I don't need to care at all, if I don't want the game, I can cancel it whenever I want without paying a penny. Why wouldn't I want to pre-order?

I preorder on amazon. 8)

I preordered Duke Nukem and played the demo, then cancelled my preorder

I pre-order sometimes, but 1 week before release at most. I don't see the point of pre-ordering many months in advance.Tykain

At least you'll know, months in advance, that a copy is waiting for you on release day. That's how I see it.

EA drove me away from Dragon Age 2 with their absolutely ridiculous "long window" pre-order program.JonathanL

[QUOTE="DJ_Lae"]Yeah, bonuses and discounts are the only good reasons to do it, and of those, getting a discount is the only legitimate reason (preorder bonuses, especially retailer specific ones, are a sham). I mean, for the next two days in Canada, if you preorder three or more games shown at E3, you get $20 off each one. That's a pretty goddamn fantastic deal and definitely something that makes preordering worth it.Da_lil_PimP

Yes, I still pre-order games, but sometimes it does depend on the game. If it is a game that just casually interest me, I won't be in a rush to play it so I will just get it a few months down the line under sales or pre-owned. But if it's a game I want to play a lot, then yes, I will pre-order. The reasons include getting it a day or two early, playing a fresh new game with the awesome feel that it's brand new and of course, the limited editions and whatnot is just a bonus. The last game (and only game so far) that I personally pre-ordered this year would be Homefront. I was going to pre-order WWE All Stars but it was like a week after or something, so I just got it a few weeks later as it would have been a lot of money. At the minute I am considering pre-ordering Duke Nukem Forever, as I really want to play that game. Not only that, but I have never been disappointed with a game that I have pre-ordered or bought brand new. I guess it's just because I know that I will like the game. Before Homefront, the last game I pre-ordered was Medal of Honor, and I bought The Sims 3 the day after release, I got many games at Christmas though. I do pre-order, but it can be a bit tough to pre-order these days, especially when money is tight and I don't like to spend my money as fast as I want many other things too.

EDIT: actually I'm telling a lie... I didn't pre-order Homefront at all... I am tired and I wasn't thinking straight :P. The reason I thought I pre-ordered it is because I got the Resistance pre-order edition as there were copies left, I got it a few days later. So yeah, I haven't actually pre-ordered anything since MoH last year. That will probably change with Duke.

I was just at the duke nukem forum and was reading people comments and a lot of people where talking about how they had pre-ordered that game and were very disappointed after playing the demo.

Why in 2011 where reviews are readily available for games pretty much the day that games come out would you risk wasting money on a game before you even know if its good or not? Its not like the store is going to run out of copy's and if they do go to another store lol it ridiculous. Its such a dumb marketing scam that Im surprised is still going on, the only incentive that they give you is some in game item. Really is that worth the $60 chance that the game is crap.

Pre-Order < Pre-Download