I Buy Games for The Developers

[DEAD34345]

Sounds stupid to me (no offense intended). If you're going to give charity, wouldn't it be nicer to send money to people that actually need it? You're not personally gaining anything from buying a game you don't want to play (unless I'm missing something here) so you're just donating a bunch of money to a few giant corporations who won't even notice you've done it.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

No. I don't have the money to waste on games I'm not even going to play. So if I buy a game I hope to hell I'm going to enjoy and play it.

 

[Pink Gregory]

No. I reckon that gives off the wrong message. I buy games I believe are good, and hopefully my purchase will inspire more quality titles.

Also, what's the point of buying games to hardly play them?

Exactly what I was going to say. There's more to supporting a developer than just buying the game.

Much as it's your disposable income with which you can do as thou wilt; it just seems incredibly snooty to me, to buy it without the intention of playing it as if saying 'Oh, I won't trouble myself with this, but the proles will appreciate it.'

 

[Lightknight]

I buy games because I want to play them. The only times I've given money to the developers without game reviews was when they're kickstarting something and I trust their brand.

I mean, if this is buying vs piracy then I buy games because I'm not a thief. But even if I were I wouldn't even waste time downloading a game I didn't want. A company that does not produce products you want enough to buy does not deserve your business.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

I've definitely thrown some of the smaller companies like NIS and Atlus a bone once and a while and bought games that I wouldn't have gotten otherwise just to support them and to encourage more localizations.

 

[Wickatricka]

I wish I had that kinda money lol but no I'm the kinda guy the searches for treasure with a parrot on my shoulder. Just because I'm poor otherwise if I was rich then sure why the hell not but I would look to invest instead of just buy and not play.

 

[The_Echo]

Man, it would be nice if I could buy games that I have no intention of playing.

But sadly, I don't have that sort of expendable income. If I buy a game, it's gonna be something I'll play.

 

[Ticklefist]

I'm fairly likely to take a risk on something out of dev loyalty but to just toss money at them? Reminds me of when I used to double dip on comic books on the verge of cancellation. Buying both the monthly issues and the trade in hopes of keeping the book alive. Yeah I don't do that anymore.

 

[Haakmed]

How much is that guy making? I could be wrong here but most people buy games for entertainment. If you have the kind of money to just support a developer why have you not been buying my games for me then?

 

[BarkBarker]

I would never do it for just one side, I find difficulty in buying a game just to support the developer, or just to play the game, I buy games to do both, because only doing one is ridiculous, imagine the greatest game of all time being made by Lucifer himself, I DON'T WANT A SINGLE PROCEED TO GO TO FUCKING LUCIFER! Same with the flipside, how insulting would it be if people just bought your stuff but never tried it, if they just wanted to give you money, JUST GIVE ME MONEY, support products AND creators, a great man can make a terrible game, and a awful man can make a great game, but I'm not buying EITHER.

 

[Hero of Lime]

I can't say I do that, however if I buy a game new, I always think that I am contributing to the developer, which feels strangely good. A few months after seeing when the number of sales first comes in I like to think I'm one of the numbers of copies sold, especially if it is a developer or game I really enjoyed.

 

[Mycroft Holmes]

How can you know who the 'good' developers are if you haven't played their games? You literally bought a game just because of the most superficial quality, the art direction; so a game like FTL is fucked when it comes to you because they are more into gameplay than artwork that they can plaster around the internet?

You have to do both in order to be making informed decisions to the benefit of yourself and the market. Don't support awful developers and don't buy games just because you think a dev is good and then don't play the product.

imagine the greatest game of all time being made by Lucifer himself, I DON'T WANT A SINGLE PROCEED TO GO TO FUCKING LUCIFER!

Why not? He is only doing what God intended him to do, you know since God is omnipotent and all. Satan is about a evil as the CIA is anti-American. In fact some religions record the story of Lucifer as his fall being because he, unlike God, was anti-torture and instead wanted everyone to get into heaven.

 

[Saltyk]

I buy games for me. Certain developers may get more love, but that comes down to them making a quality experience. I don't want them to go hungry or lose their jobs, but I also don't have unlimited money to just give away. So, I need to have a reason to give my hard earned money away. Which means they need to make something that I want to buy and play.

That's just how it is.

 

[HavoK 09]

not really, actually its sometimes the opposite, sometimes i dont buy the game because of the developer/publisher who's behind it.

For example i try to avoid EA games well because of their bullshit all the time and how often they milk the games by making the game more appealing to a broader audience. Ubisoft for pc because of Uplay and for the times they bashed the pc community. Capcom when the game comes with the in-disc dlc.

I might have bought some of these game due to the fact that they were on sale since i didnt think the would be worth full price and even if they were the fact that x company made it or published it held me back

 

[Evonisia]

To an extent...

Of course I buy games for the experience first hand, but there's a large chance that I will buy "x" or "y" game because I like the developer and their previous work.

If I didn't like Bungie, there would be no way I would've bought Halo: Reach for example.

Because of Remember Me, I support it's developers and chances are I'll buy their next game if I hear about it's existence, regardless of it's subject matter (unless it's a genre I really didn't want to play).

 

[Random Argument Man]

I bought a copy of LA Noire for about 25$ because I wanted to try it and because I felt really bad for all those people who worked for Team Bondi. They worked extreme conditions (in their field) and have been abused time and time again. Most of them didn't even had their names in the credits.

I didn't find the game that great, but it still was a fun experience.

 

[crazygameguy4ever]

No, i buy games for the games not the developers. I mean i know which developers to avoid, like Bethesda,Gearbox,Spike, and Team Sonic , but as long as it's a good game with good reviews and the game isn't from one of those developers, i could cares less... , i won't buy a game and support the developer if it's not good .. even if it is from a devolper that like and usually makes good games.

 

[Gennadios]

I have a friend that I'm convinced wants to support every horrible developer out there. Every time some eurotrash game with lukewarm reviews comes out, it's a safe bet he'll be listed as an owner when I check the game's steam page.

Just a funny story, I buy games to support devs, but lately I've been spending very little money on gaming. 3 steam green light games in the past months that add up to about $60.

 

[ThriKreen]

One thing to note is that unless a developer isn't working under a publisher, purchasing the game to directly support them is a bit of a double-edged blade, because developers that don't self-publish generally seem to get a very small percentage of royalties from game sales after release.

Problem with that perspective though is that the publishers have bankrolled the studio already and the sales are to recuperate their costs for funding the studio.

By buying the game it shows the publisher that hey this studio is worth it for supporting for their future games, which could lead to future hits. Examples: Valve and Sierra.

By not doing so, the studio dies from their first release, because no one bought into it. Like Clover and Okami.

And it's probably far more important for said support if the studio is independent and not owned by a publisher - Obsidian or DoubleFine over Naughty Dog.

Even though there's a lot of indie games being released, I dare say 1% end up being worth it. So even with support, getting a worthwhile hit is still very, very small and hard to break in. Yet people complain about lack of variety out there.

You want better games, support studios that make those that are similar to what you want, even if you aren't going to play. Because by keeping them alive, there's a chance they would end up making a game you'd enjoy. I view it as an investment into the future. Granted it would depend on how much disposable income I have, but the odd <$20 game here and there that I'm not going to play isn't going to hurt me.

I'd still prefer the new AAA games to be cheaper on release though, buying 2 at $30 is a lot better than trying to decide for 1 at $60.