I have an important question for every gamer out there.
What is your opinion on video game pre-orders and their associated bonuses?
I posed this same inquiry to my colleagues on various social media networks (Facebook, Twitter, and Google+) in order to gauge my social circle’s general opinion on pre-order incentives. Some of the responses I received were amusing, while others were more serious.
Take a look below:
“What is your opinion on pre-orders…?”
“Exclusive camo DLC, thats why.”
“If it’s a game I want to play on release day, I pre-order it. If it’s a game I’m not sure about, I wait. However, digital pre-orders are stupid. There usually isn’t a price difference.”
“It is a stupid practice that needs to stop. There is no benefit to pre-ordering that wasn’t engineered by the developers. Day One DLC is bullshit, and so is any other downloadable content that comes out after release.”
“I wait until all downloadable content is out, and then I buy the Game of the Year editions. That’s how the games should be released in the first place.”
As you can see, there are mixed opinions amongst video gamers on the subject of game pre-orders and their related bonuses.
People that do pre-order games seem to rest on the fact that they are either receiving a digital, in-game bonus, or game-related physical items.
People that don’t pre-order video games justify their decision by deeming pre-order bonuses/incentives unworthy of their hard-earned cash, or sticking to their belief that it is a game industry practice that doesn’t benefit anyone. Another common reason for not pre-ordering is the belief that all “exclusive” pre-order content will inevitably be included in a “Game of the Year” (or something similar) edition later down the line.
In all honesty, there is an obvious financial and practical imbalance between the potential benefits of pre-ordering a game, or simply waiting until release day (or a price drop) to pick it up.
Whether a person pre-orders a game from Gamestop, an online retailer, or Steam, most bonuses are short-lived, usually consisting of cheap physical merchandise at best, or worthless digital items/upgrades at worst.
Totally worth it…
With Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare’s “Day Zero” pre-order incentive allowing those who pre-ordered the game to play it one day earlier (wow) than the “normal” non-preordering population, pre-order bonuses seem to be increasing in absurdity, while simultaneously decreasing in value. Either Activision’s projected sales of Call of Duty: Ghosts didn’t do as well as they expected, or they’re simply running out of ideas.
An interesting example of pre-order marketing is Assassin’s Creed Unity’s “Guillotine Prize Drop” system, where people who pre-ordered the game are allowed access to a sort of spin-to-win game, which doles out prizes every Friday leading up the game’s release. Prizes include trips to Paris or Ubisoft Montreal, free games, clothing/apparel, home entertainment systems, and (surprise, surprise!) in-game items. This particular pre-order scheme, while certainly not as ludicrous as Advanced Warfare’s, is still a business plan intended to drive up the number of game sales.
…because prospective Assassins totally played slots during the French Revolution.
The benefits of pre-ordering games becomes increasingly nil when considering digital games. There is currently a huge push towards digital/cloud-based games, which is already in full effect due to the success of Steam, PlayStation Network, and the Xbox Game Store, which essentially nullifies the only practical reason for pre-ordering physical copies of video games: The fear of possibly running out of copies. Which, in this day and age, is highly implausible.
On the other hand, gamers can pre-order digital versions of game as well. However, using the power of the internet, some game pre-orders can be found cheaper than usual (especially on Steam or greenmangaming.com).
Ultimately, it is up to the consumer (you) to decide whether or not to pre-order the most anticipated, upcoming video games. But keep in mind, you’re voting with your wallet. Most pre-order incentives are useless, and most game companies know it. However, they increase sales, so companies continue to try to find the cheapest way possible to make the bonuses look appealing so customers pre-order the game. It’s the same situation with “Day One DLC” and “Season Passes.” The more people pay for this “additional” content, the more companies will continue to ship out arguably incomplete games, and release content that should have already been in the game at a premium price.
…not even once.
In the same fashion, pre-orders, and their relevant incentives, are nothing more than a system to see how badly the gaming population wants their game. As humans, we desire to have things that others can’t. By releasing “exclusive” pre-order content in the form of retailer or console-specific bonuses, game companies tap into the innate competitiveness of human nature, thus boosting the sales of their games. It’s all about supply and demand. I know, the gaming industry is a business. Game companies and developers need to make money, and their employees need to pay their bills.
But man, I miss the days when gaming was about fun.
So now that you know my opinion on pre-orders, what’s yours? Let me know in the comments section below! As always, stay tuned to Gamerheadlines.com for the latest in gaming and technology news.
[show_avatar email=2355 align=center show_name=true show_biography=true]