Do you typically buy games when they come out?

[Stewie Plisken]

With extremely rare exceptions of games I really, really want to play on launch (e.g. MGSV) or pre-order goodies that count (again, MGSV), I almost always wait for a good deal. I have yet to play GTAV, which I'm certain I'll love the hell out of if I ever get to play it, because I have yet to see a sale that I find fitting for my disposable income. So, for other games I care a hell of a lot less about, they get postponed for entire years if need be (and it's usually the case).

 

[llsaidknockyouout]

By the way, I'm not a cheapskate. I just don't feel comfortable in investing my money in something that will drop in value really fast. Especially, if I'm likely not going to be playing it often after a month or two.

 

[Stewie Plisken]

It's funny how after 10 years, we still haven't gotten used to the price of $60. I haven't either and for all the years that the standard price was $50 I don't remember ever thinking that "$50 is too expensive for a video game" but that is my first thought every time my son asks for a new game or I see one coming out that I am interested in. $50 was a sweet price point, I don't think $60 will ever be since it's been a decade and we still aren't ok with it.

I have bought a few 3DS and Vita games on launch but those are only $40.

I get angry when I think about the actual cost of a modern AAA console game after the DLC. Fuck, they even try to pre-sell the damn DLC.

Eh, I don't know if the extra 10 bucks are an issue in and on themselves. Perhaps they were at first, but I'd argue at this point the problem comes from the way we view games. The industry is a lot bigger, it's worth a lot more, it has a lot more variety and content and via constant sales and digital distribution, we've become accustomed to accumulating a lot of games at lower prices. I mean, 60 bucks is 60 bucks, it's a considerable amount of money for a videogame, but I don't think we're content with spending just that 60 once a month or two. Perhaps this is only my experience, but the 50 I'd spend back in the PS2 era was a relatively rare expense. Nowadays, game purchases become a weekly thing, especially on the PC.

Of course, DLC plays a part in this too. I'm a lot less motivated to spend 60 bucks on a game that I know I'll have to spend another who-knows-how-much on at a later date to get the complete product. That alone makes waiting for bundles and sales a no-brainer.

 

[Story]

Yes I do. But I rarely play new games in general it will be maybe one or two a year for example.

 

[shrekfan246]

Blizzard have around 10 years of trust fostered but I am starting to feel a little more like holding onto my purse with them lately.

So... Warcraft III or WoW?

(Jokes about how long it takes them to release new games.)

OT: I prefer to buy games before they've been announced. Even better is if I can get them in some form of time frame that uses the square root of -i.

 

[Something Amyss]

About the only games I get at or near launch are games I'm going to play with friends and likely have a time limit. Most recent example is The Division. Not exactly my GOTY, but if I wait six months my friends will probably be playing something else.

 

[CaitSeith]

Well, no. My motto is "Day-one and pre-orders: avoid them as hell!"

 

[Dandymanx]

Not anymore, too many fumbles, outright stupid and greed by supposed AAA game providers.

I've donated to Kickstarters for games I've really wanted to happen but other than that its strictly Humble/GOG/Steam sales only.

 

[Silvanus]

Pretty rarely. Last game I bought on (or close to) release was Yoshi's Wooly World, apparently.

 

[Ihateregistering1]

I very rarely buy them day they come out unless it's a game I'm really, really excited for.

My game backlog is already big enough, so I'm not in a rush, and a good chunk of the time nowadays it's best to give the developers a month to clean up the release issues anyway.

 

[FirstNameLastName]

No. The cutting edge is expensive, glitchy, of unproven quality, and all these negative attributes will only fade with time. Unless it's a multiplayer game (which may become a ghost town by the time the price is low) or a story driven game (which may be spoiled) then I don't see any reason to pay full price.

 

[Ryallen]

I didn't until last year, when some REALLY good games started coming out and I started getting more hours at work. Truth be told, for some I regret buying them and some I don't. Live and learn, I suppose.

 

[CrazyCapnMorgan]

The only time I bought games on day one was back during the days of the SNES up through the PS2 era. Nowadays, I wait a while because I have no trust in the gaming industry anymore. It is a very rare occasion if I pick up a game when it first comes out. The last game I picked up on day one was Borderlands 2 and my brother, my uncle and I had an absolute blast getting to max level and end game content. I believe that was....what? 3 and a half years ago? Maybe?

 

[Dr. Thrax]

Nope.

I live on a limited income, have for over a decade, as a result, I have never been able to keep up with the console generations. Usually I'll get a "current gen" console about half a year before the next gen is about to be released. With games being a luxury and my limited income, I need to make damn sure I'm going to get my money's worth when I make a purchase. I wait to read player reviews and gameplay videos on YouTube, and even then I'll still sit for a few weeks before really deciding on adding something to my "To Buy" list. Since renting games is no longer a real thing anymore (RedBox does have a very limited game selection, but they usually always carry whatever's new), and game demos are also pretty much gone, ensuring I actually want to play a game is pretty much crucial. It makes buying games a hassle, and generally spoils things, but I don't want to buy something I won't actually enjoy.

 

[RedDeadFred]

I almost always wait for Steam sales and Humble Bundles. The savings are usually big enough that I can establish a big backlog to get me through to the next ones. Hell, I didn't buy anything during the last sale because I'm still enjoying the games I've bought previously. Even more so than that, there have been almost no games released in the last few years that I have been overly hyped for. I think I've been disappointed enough times that I just don't get hyped anymore and no longer care about day 1, or even year 1 purchases. The one shining exception is The Witcher 3 which is in my top 3 games of all time. I bought it during the first month of release.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I haven't pre-ordered a game since...probably Fable 3 and for the most part I don't buy games when they first come out. It seems like first-party Nintendo games are the only ones really worth buying sooner rather than later because of two major factors. First of all, Nintendo games don't generally see price reductions unless they make it to Nintendo Selects or whatever it is...Tropical Freeze for example is one that I didn't expect to have a reduced-price version. The other reason I would grab a Nintendo game sooner rather than later is limited production. Kirby's Return to Dreamland on the Wii seems to be the best console Kirby game in years-and-years and yet it seems like Nintendo only produced it in very limited quantities. I would assume Star Fox Zero will also be produced in limited quantities because SFZ (much like KRtD) could easily be the last big game for its console (what big Wii games came out after KRtD? Remember, that Kirby came after Syward Sword).

Outside of Nintendo, I wait until games hit $20 or less unless it's something I'm really interested in. I still don't have a PS4 which sucks but hey, I got my copy of Thief the Reboot and Wolfenstein the New One for less than the price of a large pizza each.

The last game I pre-ordered (and I feel like this was a good move on my part) was Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden. I pre-ordered that because the bonus was a digital copy of Super Butoden 2 (a Japanese fighting game I couldn't other obtain by legal means). Neither game was great but it was still less than the standard $50 - $60 triple A price so I'm still counting that as an overall good buy.

 

[Dango]

No, probably because I can't afford them, but also because I'm not really gaining anything from getting them right away.

 

[Worgen]

Sometimes, usually only if there is a discount. I bought Guilty Gear xrd as soon as it came out since they have it for a great price, it was like 30% or 40% off so it only ended up being 20 or 25 bucks which I was more than willing to pay.

Its very rare that Ill do a full $60 game at launch though, maybe if there is a collectors edition I want or if its a game Im getting for multi that I know wont have that forever like cod or something.