Annoyed by Release Dates

Frythan

Frythan

CAGiversary!
I know this is nothing new, but I am annoyed with games all releasing in time for Christmas. I had a summer without any great new games to play, and now it seems that all the games I have been looking forward to for years are coming out within weeks of each other. It went from a lack of games to a flood of games. With games like Little big planet, spore, fallout 3, Starcraft 2, gears of war 2, fable 2, and more all coming out at once, I am forced to choose the best of these games and overlook the other good games. Games like too human, viva pinata, and banjo kazooie which are not exactly blockbusters, but games I would like to play are coming out too, and they will certaintly be overshadowed by the bigger titles. The one upside to this is that since they are all coming out at nearly the same time, I will have to wait to play some, and when the next game drought comes, I can pick them up for hopefully $40 or less. Is anyone else annoyed or is it just me?
 
Starcraft is out this year?

And yes, it sucks. It makes me sick to think that I'll be spending nearly 200 dollars on October 21. Oh well, at least I should have my job by then.
 
Buy multiplayer games now, wait for price drops or Gamefly the other titles later. In the end its cheaper if they're all bunched together because then you can't possibly buy them all new. I expect my spring to be filled up with games like Fallout 3, Banjo, Too Human and GH:WT and I'll be spending a lot less to play them then.

The only thing that sucks is that people may move on to the next multiplayer game before the previous one gets old (GOW2 is going to kill Saints Row), but after watching people leave GTA:IV in mass after less than a month to go back to COD 4, I don't think it matters that much when they're released.
 
No self-respecting CAG is buying games at release if there isn't a major discount involved. Proper CAG behavior is to leave them be until they've been marked down by at least 40%. Since different games get marked down at differing paces, the resulting stream of properly priced games should get you through the whole year with more game choices than time to play them.

Problem solved.
 
[quote name='epobirs']No self-respecting CAG is buying games at release if there isn't a major discount involved. Proper CAG behavior is to leave them be until they've been marked down by at least 40%. Since different games get marked down at differing paces, the resulting stream of properly priced games should get you through the whole year with more game choices than time to play them.

Problem solved.[/QUOTE]

This. Nothing says you have to buy every game at release; they're not going anywhere and they'll only get cheaper.
 
[quote name='epobirs']No self-respecting CAG is buying games at release if there isn't a major discount involved. Proper CAG behavior is to leave them be until they've been marked down by at least 40%. Since different games get marked down at differing paces, the resulting stream of properly priced games should get you through the whole year with more game choices than time to play them.

Problem solved.[/quote]

That's stupid. Being cheap is all about getting the best value for your money and making small sacrifices to save a few bucks. There is infinitely more enjoyment from playing a big multiplayer game online when it first comes out. Not to mention you can get 100+ hours of playtime as well. You can't attach a price to that and if you could it would be way more than the $10 max you would save by waiting.

If you don't buy major new multiplayer releases when they first come out it usually isn't because you have a choice. There is a difference between being cheap and being poor.
 
[quote name='jkanownik']That's stupid. Being cheap is all about getting the best value for your money and making small sacrifices to save a few bucks. There is infinitely more enjoyment from playing a big multiplayer game online when it first comes out. Not to mention you can get 100+ hours of playtime as well. You can't attach a price to that and if you could it would be way more than the $10 max you would save by waiting.

If you don't buy major new multiplayer releases when they first come out it usually isn't because you have a choice. There is a difference between being cheap and being poor.[/QUOTE]

You're making some really big assumptions here. Let me dispell your illusions.

First, not everyone cares what other people are playing. I, for one, couldn't give a damn about the latest massive multi-player circle jerk. Means nothing to me. When I interact with other humans I want the real thing, not over a wire. I regard gaming and masturbation as solo activities. Multi-player is not equivalent to sex. It's just masturbating together. On the rare occasion I play a game with somebody else, they're in the same room. But generally, gaming is for when I don't have anything with other people going on. When so few of the people you encounter online could pass a Turing test it's hard an improvement over single-player.

Second, if the most you save on game purchases is $10, you're doing it wrong. I rarely pay over $10 for a game. I recently picked up Id's DS dungeon crawler, Orcs and Elves for $9.99 new at a Gamestop. I'd had my eye on it for quite a long time and most places still price it at $30.

Guess what? It plays exactly the same for $10 as it does for $30. The difference is that I also picked up a couple of $10 PSP games in the same purchase instead of just the one game. More fun and variety for the same money because I could wait for it. It isn't as though I don't have a massive backlog of other cheap games I've yet to play.

For instance, last month TRU was knocking an additional 20% off clearance games. Score! I picked up enough games to keep me busy for many months, such as Prey for the Xbox 360 for $4. It'll be every bit as much fun as it would have been at its original $60 price.

If you need a crowd of other people to enjoy a game, that is your expensive problem. Me, I get everything I want for cheap. Eventually.
 
I'd rather save $5-$10 at launch PMing the Fry's ad than wait indefinitely for a price drop. Not buying shitty games is a better way to save money.
 
[quote name='epobirs']You're making some really big assumptions here. Let me dispell your illusions.

First, not everyone cares what other people are playing. I, for one, couldn't give a damn about the latest massive multi-player circle jerk. Means nothing to me. When I interact with other humans I want the real thing, not over a wire. I regard gaming and masturbation as solo activities. Multi-player is not equivalent to sex. It's just masturbating together. On the rare occasion I play a game with somebody else, they're in the same room. But generally, gaming is for when I don't have anything with other people going on. When so few of the people you encounter online could pass a Turing test it's hard an improvement over single-player.

Second, if the most you save on game purchases is $10, you're doing it wrong. I rarely pay over $10 for a game. I recently picked up Id's DS dungeon crawler, Orcs and Elves for $9.99 new at a Gamestop. I'd had my eye on it for quite a long time and most places still price it at $30.

Guess what? It plays exactly the same for $10 as it does for $30. The difference is that I also picked up a couple of $10 PSP games in the same purchase instead of just the one game. More fun and variety for the same money because I could wait for it. It isn't as though I don't have a massive backlog of other cheap games I've yet to play.

For instance, last month TRU was knocking an additional 20% off clearance games. Score! I picked up enough games to keep me busy for many months, such as Prey for the Xbox 360 for $4. It'll be every bit as much fun as it would have been at its original $60 price.

If you need a crowd of other people to enjoy a game, that is your expensive problem. Me, I get everything I want for cheap. Eventually.[/quote]

Your entitled to your opinion but viewing gaming solely as a single-person activity will limit your gaming choices going forward. Find a few good people you like to play online with and stick to your friends list.
 
[quote name='undiegnome']Your entitled to your opinion but viewing gaming solely as a single-person activity will limit your gaming choices going forward. Find a few good people you like to play online with and stick to your friends list.[/QUOTE]

Been there, done that, the rewards were not to be had. Simply not my idea of fun.

Considering that my backlog of unplayed games is in the hundreds, I somehow doubt my single-player preference is limiting my choices. Finding periods of free time when I'm in the mood to play is a far greater obstacle.
 
[quote name='jkanownik']That's stupid. Being cheap is all about getting the best value for your money and making small sacrifices to save a few bucks. There is infinitely more enjoyment from playing a big multiplayer game online when it first comes out. Not to mention you can get 100+ hours of playtime as well. You can't attach a price to that and if you could it would be way more than the $10 max you would save by waiting.

If you don't buy major new multiplayer releases when they first come out it usually isn't because you have a choice. There is a difference between being cheap and being poor.[/quote]

I must also disagree with the above. I am not sure how a multiplayer game exactly changes between release and some months later. You may have a somewhat larger player base to fight against, but they will still fade away eventually into the core group you likely will be sticking with.

While I am not entirely sure what game you mean exactly, I will give a few examples for myself. For the PC, I was pretty late in picking up The Orange Box. I waited till it at least hit $30 before I bit on it, and I still enjoy games like TF2 just as much as the people who were there the first day. I play the exact same game for nearly half the price and a little patience.

Sometimes waiting is the best option. What if you run out to buy a game and it fails completely? There are maybe only 10 people online at a time to ever play against. I would be glad I waited, where I could investigate the online status of a game to see how well the community and game itself held up. I waited to purchase Gears of War for the PC till it was more reasonable, but it was a must buy because my friends had it, and we wanted to do the coop part. The online community, due to Windows LIVE!, completely failed. Something I am glad I knew before the purchase though, and what to expect instead of being utterly disappointed. Last time I tried (quite a few months ago), there were two servers total.

In the end, it is of course a personal choice. For me, I am not one to "keep up with the Jones.'" I go at my own pace and purchase them when I am ready. It's not like you get a status title of being an original player, making the newer ones oooh and ahh at it. To me, more than anything, it is better to wait to see how the game fares, and where it ends up in a few months once the hype is gone.
 
I've had my Xbox and COD4 since Christmas and I'm still playing COD4 every night. Sure I throw in a game here and there when I want a change, but I don't have to have the latest new release right away unless I absolutely know its a must have for me.

Hell, I can expect that a big release will hopefully show up in the trade forum for less anyway.
 
I actually just wait to buy holiday rush games... most of those games end up being mediocre and everybody trys to dump them on eBay afterwards.
 
[quote name='epobirs']Long rant[/quote]

You are an idiot. You made a generalization about all CAGs. I didn't make any generalizations, so of course you can come up with specifics to argue my statements.

When its all said and done I pay less than $5 a game and I play whatever the hell I want. Rant and rant all you want, but the fact is that I am a CAG whether you like it or not.

And the rest of you guys crack me up. If you don't like online gaming fine. That's your choice. Just because your experience doesn't match mine doesn't mean I'm wrong. I love online gaming with my friends and I buy every big release upon launch. At launch I know I'll always have someone to play with.
 
[quote name='epobirs']You're making some really big assumptions here. Let me dispell your illusions.

First, not everyone cares what other people are playing. I, for one, couldn't give a damn about the latest massive multi-player circle jerk. Means nothing to me. When I interact with other humans I want the real thing, not over a wire. I regard gaming and masturbation as solo activities. Multi-player is not equivalent to sex. It's just masturbating together. On the rare occasion I play a game with somebody else, they're in the same room. But generally, gaming is for when I don't have anything with other people going on. When so few of the people you encounter online could pass a Turing test it's hard an improvement over single-player.

Second, if the most you save on game purchases is $10, you're doing it wrong. I rarely pay over $10 for a game. I recently picked up Id's DS dungeon crawler, Orcs and Elves for $9.99 new at a Gamestop. I'd had my eye on it for quite a long time and most places still price it at $30.

Guess what? It plays exactly the same for $10 as it does for $30. The difference is that I also picked up a couple of $10 PSP games in the same purchase instead of just the one game. More fun and variety for the same money because I could wait for it. It isn't as though I don't have a massive backlog of other cheap games I've yet to play.

For instance, last month TRU was knocking an additional 20% off clearance games. Score! I picked up enough games to keep me busy for many months, such as Prey for the Xbox 360 for $4. It'll be every bit as much fun as it would have been at its original $60 price.

If you need a crowd of other people to enjoy a game, that is your expensive problem. Me, I get everything I want for cheap. Eventually.[/quote]

Prey for $4 is a bit much.
 
[quote name='jkanownik']You are an idiot. You made a generalization about all CAGs. I didn't make any generalizations, so of course you can come up with specifics to argue my statements.

When its all said and done I pay less than $5 a game and I play whatever the hell I want. Rant and rant all you want, but the fact is that I am a CAG whether you like it or not.

And the rest of you guys crack me up. If you don't like online gaming fine. That's your choice. Just because your experience doesn't match mine doesn't mean I'm wrong. I love online gaming with my friends and I buy every big release upon launch. At launch I know I'll always have someone to play with.[/QUOTE]

No generalizations? You mean, besides the presumption that online multi-player in the current fashionable game was even remotely a priority for me?

If fashion drives your choices, don't complain about cost. You're in a self-made trap, just like any woman who has to replace her wardrobe every time 'Vogue' tells her to.
 
Don't buy everything at launch. Just buy the one you want most and go from their after beating it.

1. You'll save money as there will be deals and price drops by the time you get to all the games you want.

2. You'll spread them out and can be playing some in the winter and summer droughts.
 
The CAGer thing to do is to get the best deal for the games they want, rather it is on day 1 or 1 year later.

Tons of people are going to be getting Gears of War 2 and they will get their money worth as much as the people that get it for $20 a few years later.
 
Back on topic. Yes, the holiday rush is annoying. It leads to rushed, unpolished games and its intended purpose is questionable at best. Are moms really gonna buy their son Saint's Row for Christmas? I can understand releasing kids games at Christmas time, but the more adult-oriented games are usually going to be bought by the players themselves. Worthwhile links about this topic:

http://news.filefront.com/sesslers-soapbox-asks-why-so-many-games-this-november/
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_126/2686-Holiday-Rush
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20051025/hong_01.shtml

And a quote from one of those articles that I agree with:

I think the traditional holiday season blitz will increasingly become a detriment to the industry. As the median age of gamers continues to climb, I predict overall sales will sag as it becomes apparent that fewer and fewer consumers have either the time or the money to enjoy all the high-quality titles that are released. A more evenly distributed release schedule would allow today's gamers, who now increasingly have families and other financial responsibilities not faced by previous generations, to experience a wider variety of games throughout the year, rather than being faced with a glut of choices at precisely the time their budgets are strained the most. Furthermore, without the pressure to release games in time for the holiday season, we would see fewer half-finished games rushed out the door, an all too common product during this season that benefits neither developer, publisher, nor consumer. Gamers could rest (more) assured that the game they're buying is actually complete. Developers would (theoretically) have the time to polish their vision. And publishers would not have to convince skittish shareholders to bide their time in anticipation of a sudden end-of-year revenue windfall. Sadly, though obviously necessary, such a massive transition requires a leap of faith for the whole industry. One which will hopefully come sooner rather than later.
-Eric Braxton
Click to expand...
 
As others have said, play one game at a time and sell it if it isn't a favorite.

You do not need every interesting new release on launch day.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']Don't buy everything at launch. Just buy the one you want most and go from their after beating it.

1. You'll save money as there will be deals and price drops by the time you get to all the games you want.

2. You'll spread them out and can be playing some in the winter and summer droughts.[/quote]

winter droughts?
 
Well, first off, be happy you are playing games now. Some 10 years ago, everything worth playing was a 4th Quarter release. It wasn't until Resident Evil that you got solid games coming out throughout the year (heck, this year, every system got at least 1 major release that will compete for game of the year, be it SSBB, GTAIV, MGS4, etc).

As far as too many games coming out, I think you (and many others) have eluded to the right answers. Really, buy what you want to play right now, but don't try to play everything. Guess what, most games are just as exciting 6 months from now as they are now (and if they aren't, then it's only the hype your playing for, and it's usually days after a release that the hype begins to die and the hype machine moves on to the next big thing.
 
[quote name='epobirs']When I interact with other humans I want the real thing, not over a wire. I regard gaming and masturbation as solo activities. Multi-player is not equivalent to sex. It's just masturbating together. On the rare occasion I play a game with somebody else, they're in the same room. But generally, gaming is for when I don't have anything with other people going on.[/quote]


That's terribly pompous, convoluted, and self-important. You can tell someone that you don't give two shits about online multiplayer, but to belittle those that do care about it is absolutely pointless. I don't play games online all that much, but many times when I do it's with real friends who have their own houses and their own TVs and we can't meet up. It's as simple as talking on the phone with a friend from out of state. So, talking on the phone is now considered second tier interaction with people? I don't even know what you're trying to insinuate.

And your sex analogy was laughable at best.
 
With the exception of downloadable titles... Games generally drop in price by 40% to 60% in their first year. I'm going to buy one or two new games this holiday, and pretty much stay in the past for any other purchases. There's no need to buy everything now...
 
[quote name='StinkyCheese']winter droughts?[/QUOTE]

After the holiday rush, the late winter/spring tends to suck for games. I hardly buy anything (other than catching up on holiday games) from Feb through May as there's generally not much coming out in that period. Maybe 1 or 2 games that were slated for holiday season and got delayed until Q1.
 
good thing we got Capcom releasing RE5 in Q1 09. They did the same thing with DCM4 and RE4 as well, releasing it after the holiday
 
[quote name='keithp']This. Nothing says you have to buy every game at release; they're not going anywhere and they'll only get cheaper.[/QUOTE]

Says the guy with the SMT avatar. (Yes, I know of FES, I'm talking about Nocturne and DDS)
 
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