Why Do You Pre-Order Games?

[gettinmoney662]

The only benefit I could see for pre-ordering a game is if it comes with exclusive bonuses. Otherwise, what's the point? I have never seen a game that is completely sold out in a certain region on launch day.

[Maklershed]

I pre-order from Amazon for two reasons: Usually the pre-order is $56.99 to begin with (and no tax) and if for some reason the price drops between the time I pre-order and the time the game releases I automatically get the lower price.

[Arakias]

Sometimes preordering it is one of the only ways to get a hold of it. like MGS3 Subsistence LE
or for the above reason regarding amazon.
or for the free crap.
or for the awesome knowledge that the game will be sitting there waiting for you at release.
i think that about covers all the reasons to preorder something

[Darknyss]

I pre-order from Amazon for two reasons: Usually the pre-order is $56.99 to begin with (and no tax) and if for some reason the price drops between the time I pre-order and the time the game releases I automatically get the lower price.
This. Amazon is great for pre-ordering.

I have also used GS pre-orders to get the exclusive demos/betas/in-game content. Usually, I don't end up buying the game. I just move the $5 to the next one.

[Puffa469]

As other have said I preorder from Amazon, and only Amazon.

No tax and free ship, and a price discount on games not even out yet? Can't beat that.

Outside of the Amazon thing, I preorder for three main reasons.

- It's a game I HAVE to play the moment it's released. These games are rare, but everyone has some 'ZOMG I have to play this the first moment I can' games.

- It's a niche game that I feel will be in short supply, and may quickly dissapear as soon as it's released. I like to support small developers/publishers that make games outside of the ordinary. Companies like Atlus, and NIS.

- There's some preorder shwag I want. - This is not reason enough, I still have to want the actual game, but preorder bonus' can get me to bite on a game that I may normally have waited for a price break on.

[Kelegacy]

I don't preorder. I find it silly--it's more of a marketing ploy by stores to guarantee sales for themselves even before a game is released. I can always find the game I want at any store in town on launch day--if I decide to buy a game on day one. That's very rare these days for me since I'm a certified cheapass.

I haven't preordered a game since FFVII back in 1997.

[plasticbathmonki]

I only preorder when there is a decent in-game bonus or a beta key attached to it.

[botticus]

Amazon Gold Box. Combined with other discounts, the dozen games I have preordered on Amazon (which I could cancel at any time if I chose and require no money down) are generally $10-$15 cheaper than I would pay at the store.

I do have Scribblenauts preordered at GS for the ridiculous rooster hat, but I might change my mind on that in the next month.

[Jmclark]

I don't. I was gonna preorder GH5 from Gamestop, until I realized it was silly, since GameStop doesn't ship until the release date. (There's no GameStops around me)

[limelight022]

You guys dont wait for reviews and demos to come out first? Id be pissed if i spent $60 on a game to find out its crap.

[Maklershed]

I've researched and seen enough gameplay footage of any game I'm interested in to know that I want to pre-order it. I don't much care about reviews. Almost every game gets an 8 anyway unless its uber great or really terrible.

[life.exe]

You guys dont wait for reviews and demos to come out first? Id be pissed if i spent $60 on a game to find out its crap.

Most people only buy games on release day that they were gonna buy even if the reviews are bad. I'm sure tons of people bought the new HP game on release day, it got mediocre reviews but some people don't care about reviews and just want to play the game because they love HP.

[GuardianE]

I pre-order for a bonus/discount. That's it.

[PhaperPlane]

I pre-order sometimes to avoid dissapointment if the game I want is out of stock on the day of release when I want to buy it and due to pre-order goodies, codes etc ;)

[dmaul1114]

I haven't in a long time.

Now I seldom even get games around launch and usually wait several months to get them off Goozex or when there's a deal for $20 or less.

[benjamouth]

The only time I ever pre-order games now is if I'm getting a big discount (i.e. Batman AA for $42 on Amazon) and I only like to pre-order from Amazon.

I've been stung by a couple of games in the past (Gears 1, Halo 3) where I've been sucked into the hype. I probably only pre-order 1-2 titles per year, which isn't many considring I probably average 1-2 games per week over a year.

I don't think any pre-order bonus is enough to justify paying full price for a game that will almost inevitably be in some kind of sale in a couple of months.

[Ryuukishi]

I usually only preorder for bonuses (various Atlus games), unusually excellent deals (Batman: Arkham Asylum for ~$43), or $30 portable games that come out around $26 after Amazon's normal discount and Quick Picks discount-- how much lower will they really get, you know. Only rarely do I preorder a game just because I absolutely have to play it on day one, though I do have Left 4 Dead 2 and Rock Band Beatles preordered right now. :)

As for preordering vs. just going somewhere and buying it on day one, I get all my games on Amazon and between their preorder guarantee, various discounts, and lack of shipping and tax, there's no reason not to preorder, especially if it happens to show up in my Quick Picks.

[TC]

I only preorder when the price makes it worth it. Like getting $15.00 in codes back from Amazon with ODST or something like that. I never preorder for bonus items, ect. I'm not the type of person that collects things. Occasionally I might preorder if something has free release date delivery which saves me from leaving the office or stopping somewhere on the way home.

[lilboo]

I only pre-order from Amazon, since most games pop in my Gold Box, which is usually another 5-10% off the current price, which is almost always less than MSRP. That, ontop of the ECA discount program and the fact that I have Amazon Prime make it even better for me.

[msdmoney]

I rarely preorder, I don't need to have the new and shiny game on release day. The only time I preorder is when I can find a really good deal, like the Wii Sports Resort/Mario Galaxy TRU preorder, and not just $5-$10 off. Otherwise I'll just wait until it drops in price while I play all the other games everyone has forgotten about.

[62t]

Some LE do sell out quickly, such as Bioshock LE

[rlse9]

Last time I pre-ordered a game was Wind Waker to get the Zelda bonus disc with Ocarina of Time on it. Other than that, I can't remember ever pre-ordering a game.

[TC]

Last time I pre-ordered a game was Wind Waker to get the Zelda bonus disc with Ocarina of Time on it. Other than that, I can't remember ever pre-ordering a game.

Yeah that was a good one that I did as well. And Nintendo ended up sending me two of the bonus discs and I've kept one sealed.

The only other LE I've gotten was for Oblivion and ended up getting rid of that space eating box when the GoTY version went cheap.

[TruthinessFC]

Generally I don't preorder, as most preorder "bonuses"/swag are useless crap. Once in a while I'll preorder a game if...

-I can actually get it cheaper with Amazon Gold Box/preorder discounts/etc than I would buying it retail for weeks afterward. This is really the #1 reason. (Killzone 2)
-I'm a big fan of the game/series so I want the preorder junk/collector's edition, whether the bonuses are good or not. (WoW BC, MGS4..)
-In the case of many Sony first party games, it's not gonna get much cheaper than 56.99 from Amazon for awhile, so I figure I might as well get it early on because I know I want it. (Uncharted 2, LBP)

[Cage017]

I remember pre-ordering the first Metal Gear Solid for $50 because it came with a T-shirt and a notebook with artwork from the series. I really wanted to have it back then and wanted a guaranteed copy.

Since then I haven't, although I may buy one at work (Target) if they offer a preorder for Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. They have a deal where once you buy your preordered game, you get a $5 gift card. I believe the reserve price is only $1. Add that with my employee discount and it's a decent deal.

[un3xpectedfate]

I pre-order games that come with bonuses, like Atlus or NISAmerica releases. They have a lot of cool stuff.

[Kaoz]

The only game I have pre-ordered this gen was Madworld from Amazon. The had a 10 dollar discount if you pre-ordered it so I jumped, plus, I bit into the hype big on that game. And wanted to show support to the devs over at platinum games.

Normally I wont even buy games at their launch price, the only exceptions being games that I know wont drop for a while. (Mostly first party Nintendo games, Galaxy, brawl etc etc.) Or something I really cant wait to play (Madworld, GTA 4 Saints Row 2)

[sithmonkeyba]

i'm poor. i can out ten bucks a paycheck away and then six paychecks later. I have a new game.

[Scorch]

Eh.. I don't often anymore, but when I did, it was because I would rather know it's at one store versus driving all over town looking for it.. I can pick it up at my leisure and not have to rush out when it's released and hope it's in stock. If there's a bonus, cool, if not, doesn't matter.. it's not like I'm paying anything extra anyway

[jh6269]

I pre-order for the standard reasons people gave for pre-ordering at Amazon:

Free shipping
$3 - $5 off the new title (usually in lieu of the pre-order bonuses/garbage)
Low price guarantee
No sales tax
I only buy day 1 on games that I really like; hopefully, this will send a message to the developers/publishers to make more of those kinds of games.

And one of the biggest reasons is:
I've been waiting for a fricking year for this game to come out, I want it NOW.

[Persona7]

You guys dont wait for reviews and demos to come out first? Id be pissed if i spent $60 on a game to find out its crap.Reviews are for lamers. If I see that a game looks cool, I will get my moneys worth out of it regardless. I don't care what someone else thinks about a game. I care what I think about a game.

Even if the game sucks I play through it and give it a chance. But then again I rarely buy new releases at full price.