Poll: What makes you buy a video game

[Chamale]

I'm trying to figure out the distinction between how people buy video games and see movies in theatres, so please see my other thread here [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.203032-Poll-What-makes-you-go-to-the-movie-theatre]. Note that this concerns getting a video game at full price, rather than waiting for the price to drop and then buying it.

Mods: I know this poll is almost identical to my other one, but that's the point. I'm trying to see if we'll give similar results to each, and trying to capture every possibility wouldn't fit in 1 poll.

 

[Bobzer77]

I rarely buy something without checking out a demo or reading some reviews first.

The last game I got on a spur of the moment was Metro 2033 and while it isn't a bad game I just don't like it.

 

[oOPandemoniumOo]

Normally I just browse for a game, but I bought Super Mario Galaxy 2 (my most recent game purchase) on release day while purposely going out to get it.

 

[HippySecond]

anything starring Jack Black in a leading role, or with Bad Company in the title...

Other then that I guess what most people do, have a look at a few trailer, if the gameplay looks good, try a demo if available, and have a look at reviews of how it plays, usually I know what I'll like, i don't think I have bought any lemons *touch wood*

 

[Keava]

When i feel i might enjoy it, i buy it. There is no deep philosophy in how i do it, sorry to disappoint. I usually know what im interested in, and what type of games i like playing.

With nowadays money on marketing and amount of gaming sites, its hard to miss any release, so i know weeks earlier what im going to buy.

 

[Sonicron]

Since a crushing disappointment with the current-gen Turok I very rarely buy games at all without playing a demo or renting it first. The only exceptions to this rule come into play when both the gameplay looks solid and the fanboy factor is too big to ignore, in which case I may even pre-order a game; examples for this would be Batman: Arkham Asylum, Legacy of Kain: Defiance, Prince of Persia (2008) and the soon-to-be-released Transformers: War for Cybertron.

 

[linwolf]

I never buy a game until at least the first price drop, and more often the second.

 

[Marter]

When a game interests me and I've looked around and see that it is worth buying. Older console games I just buy if it looks fun though, as they are so cheap that it isn't worth my time researching.

 

[Megalodon]

Is it made by Bioware? If so I will either get it on relaease or when I don't have a slew of work. Otherwise I'll definetely wait a while and check it's good before i buy, I only have faith in the mighty Bioware any more.

 

[manythings]

Is it made by Bioware? If so I will either get it on relaease or when I don't have a slew of work. Otherwise I'll definetely wait a while and check it's good before i buy, I only have faith in the mighty Bioware any more.

100% my reasoning. TOR so far away...

 

[Megalodon]

Is it made by Bioware? If so I will either get it on relaease or when I don't have a slew of work. Otherwise I'll definetely wait a while and check it's good before i buy, I only have faith in the mighty Bioware any more.

100% my reasoning. TOR so far away...

Curse you for reminding me of the one exceptin to this rule. I refuse to have anything to do with MMOs, not even the might of Bioware can change that. I died a little inside when i found out they were making one.

 

[Bobzer77]

Is it made by Bioware? If so I will either get it on relaease or when I don't have a slew of work. Otherwise I'll definetely wait a while and check it's good before i buy, I only have faith in the mighty Bioware any more.

100% my reasoning. TOR so far away...

Curse you for reminding me of the one exceptin to this rule. I refuse to have anything to do with MMOs, not even the might of Bioware can change that. I died a little inside when i found out they were making one.

Nothing wrong with mmo's done well.

 

[swolf]

I rarely buy something without checking out a demo or reading some reviews first.

The last game I got on a spur of the moment was Metro 2033 and while it isn't a bad game I just don't like it.

This^. Except the last game I got that I didn't like was FF10 (and 10-2, got them on the same day so I wouldn't have to look and find the sequel later). If you like it, fine. I thought it would be an interesting intro to the FF universe but I couldn't really get into it. (I do like some turn-based RPGs...though the only one that comes to mind right now is Super Mario RPG.)

 

[Megalodon]

Is it made by Bioware? If so I will either get it on relaease or when I don't have a slew of work. Otherwise I'll definetely wait a while and check it's good before i buy, I only have faith in the mighty Bioware any more.

100% my reasoning. TOR so far away...

Curse you for reminding me of the one exceptin to this rule. I refuse to have anything to do with MMOs, not even the might of Bioware can change that. I died a little inside when i found out they were making one.

Nothing wrong with mmo's done well.

You are probably right, but they hold absolutely no appeal for me, so I was saddened when I found out my favourite developer was making a type of game I'm never going to play.
Wish they'r just made KOTOR3.

 

[sirkai007]

I buy it if Yahtzee likes it. lol

 

[Cornish]

I don't buy games at their full-retail price; as one I import them at half the cost and two I wait with the purchase most of the time so they are even cheaper to import. There's a few exceptions of course, but overall this is true for nine out of ten games I buy.

 

[Lightslei]

I don't buy games at release or go to the movies, so I guess I don't qualify in your poll.

What makes me decide if I buy a game is reviews from gamers who try to take an objective stance. Notice things like Halo have very subjective reviews without pointing out any potential flaw whereas a handful of honest objective reviews point out both the pros and cons.

 

[Bobzer77]

Is it made by Bioware? If so I will either get it on relaease or when I don't have a slew of work. Otherwise I'll definetely wait a while and check it's good before i buy, I only have faith in the mighty Bioware any more.

100% my reasoning. TOR so far away...

Curse you for reminding me of the one exceptin to this rule. I refuse to have anything to do with MMOs, not even the might of Bioware can change that. I died a little inside when i found out they were making one.

Nothing wrong with mmo's done well.

Wish they'r just made KOTOR3.

I have to agree with that though.

 

[R3dF41c0n]

There are few games I buy at full price, in fact I usually only buy one brand new game every 6 to 8 months. However when I do buy a new game it's usually the collector's edition and I've had it preordered for months. The last game I bought at full price was Star Trek Online (collector's edition) which was last February. The next game I plan to purchase at full price is StarCraft II (also collector's edition).

Any other game purchase is either from the cheap game bin or on Steam when there's a sale. It works for me because I cut down on how much I spend every month and I get to treat myself to a brand new collector's edition game about once (sometimes twice) a year.