Poll: Why preorder? Why NOT preorder? (Day One DLC incentives)

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

I've got no problem with day one DLC.

Think of it like a special edition or pre-order bonus, but unlike most of those bonuses...the extras are still available to those who wait and get the game later on.

It also doesn't bother me, because those people who wait about a year or more are likely to benefit with a far superior version of the game (game of the year for example) for much less money.

this. its basically shafting the used market so the dev's get paid (which i can understand).

goty or full on editions come out within a year or so after the first game so for those people who are super stingy/greedy about money dont have to worry about day one dlc, since they usually end up waiting another year for the goty edition.

 

[manythings]

Wait, do you mean stuff like Project $10 where publishers try to recoup what they lost from used sales, or do you mean stuff like Gamestop's "Get Overpowered crap and let us beat the game for you!" pre-order bonuses.

I'm okay with the first, hate the second.

I don't know about gamestop stuff, this is the first preorder I've ever made through them.

 

[MMMowman]

For PC it's fine I'll just mod it in. I'm not paying 3-6 dollars on extra content nor am I pre-ordering for it because I wouldn't know how good it would be.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

not everybody has a credit card or a paypal account. These people don't feel like they are getting any compensation, while others luck out.

If i had a card or an account, I'd do it, but I just can't.

90% of stores handle preorders and usually only require ?5/?10 euro deposits.

Nowhere near where I am. The closest EB Games is an hour away from my place, and I'm not driving that far just to pick up one game.

 

[manythings]

not everybody has a credit card or a paypal account. These people don't feel like they are getting any compensation, while others luck out.

If i had a card or an account, I'd do it, but I just can't.

90% of stores handle preorders and usually only require ?5/?10 euro deposits.

Nowhere near where I am. The closest EB Games is an hour away from my place, and I'm not driving that far just to pick up one game.

That sucks an unfortunate amount of balls.

 

[jpoon]

I'm not a fan of it, on most games it makes me not want to buy the game at all but I do still get caught up in it for major releases.

 

[Spencer Petersen]

I remember when buying a game meant getting 100% of a game.

Bioware DLC is, frankly, terrible, so cutting game content to reintroduce it as half baked, overpriced, completely ancillary wastes of time just to make a quick buck doesn't sit well with me.

I think someone at Bioware completely missed the point at what DLC is. DLC is supposed to rekindle the audiences interest in the game in the future in order to encourage returning to the game to replay it. This turns the game into more of an investment that you can return to many times in the future. Launching with DLC doesn't make sense, as this isn't encouraging you to come back or replay at any point in the future.

To me, this is a carefully orchestrated farce by the devs (or EA) to make the game appear bigger than it is. Launching with DLC makes a game look bigger and more of a value, when in reality you are getting "free" DLC that should have been in the game in the first place.

 

[Kapol]

For those saying that they don't like it because it feels like it should already be on the disk, I think that's fairly obvious. After all, if it can be downloaded on the first day of release, normally it's finished by the time the game goes into production. I think the 'people who buy it new get free stuff while people who buy it used have to pay for it' is a good way to help the company keep earning money and, in my opinion, is a good thing.

DLC that you can only get by pre-ordering though (such as the Exiled Prince) is a little unfair. Though I pre-order my games at Gamestop, as I only have to put $5 down and if I decide I don't want it, I don't have to buy it. I think the pre-orders that make you pay for the entire thing and make it impossible to cancel are unfair though.

So basically, pre-ordering bonuses are good as long as nothing too major is being missed by the people who don't or can't pre-order it (such as character skins). Day-One DLC, such as those that come with new copies of the game but not with used copies, are also good in my opinion.

 

[Lancer873]

Well, I appreciate it if it's just something small, like an extra costume. It helps motivate people to buy new rather than buy used, after all. That being said, I don't pre-order very often unless it's a game I know is going to be good, as in for sure, 100%. LittleBigPlanet2, for example. I pre-ordered the collector's edition with release day shipping for that. Yay, sackboy plushy! I also kinda liked the pre-order content for the Patapon series, which lets you download a demo with a bonus item at the end... I kinda like it, even if you're able to get the demo without pre-ordering by just waiting a few more days. =\

 

[Another]

Hey its better then removing content from the disk and selling it to you later.

 

[chieften]

It's just punishing you if are on the fence, and don't want to buy it until you see some reviews. Personally, I don't like it but I don't think it's a huge deal.

Them releasing a DLC trailer before the game actual comes out makes me angry though.

It pisses me off to, but I talked with my dad who is an analyst with the industry, not specifically with consoles but he does consulting for IBM and Intel and so on. So likely what happened, other than a cheap way to get a couple extra dollars is that the parent company of the developer, in this case EA, set a timeframe for release at the beginning of production. And as they move closure to it the developer sadly has to usually cut some material or push it back to be separate from the actual release. So there is no logistical cause for there to be a dlc on release other than they want money and don't want people to wait a week and then hunt for a used copy to save a few bucks.

 

[mad825]

personally, I really liked DA:O and pre-ordered it straight-away before the SE and free DLC were announced. I also pre-ordered TW2 straight away after buying TW from the Steam sales mid-way though playing the game.

generally, sequels are not very bad they just may not be better than [insert predecessor] therefore I pre-order them with some confidence that it's going to be good.

 

[StBishop]

I think the biggest problem is just the method by which they do this. I'm not against day one DLC, but I can't shake the feeling that they are just cutting out parts intended to be in the game and then making you download it separately when I'd rather be playing it instead of waiting for the proper files to be downloaded and installed.

I'd rather see them offer some other incentive than just in game items, weapons, NPCs and other maguffins. Perhaps an inside look into the Dev process while keeping you posted would be a nice incentive or give you gameplay demos as a thank you for adopting it early.

I pre-ordered the signature edition too, I just wish I got a little more now, rather than having to wait for another couple months.

There was the DA2 podcast series and, as far as I know, it is still going. Dragon Age legends (though I fucking Hate facebook) and the DA2 site. BioWare does more than most Devs with regard to updates. I'm also going to buy Cassandra's Diary aswell because it looks boss.

Cassandra's Diary? Where do I find info on this?

not everybody has a credit card or a paypal account. These people don't feel like they are getting any compensation, while others luck out.

If i had a card or an account, I'd do it, but I just can't.

On the topic of pre-ordering DA2 and in general, pre-ordering can be done in store too. If you don't have any means of pre-ordering games online then chances are you have to buy them in store.

All the DA2 Pre-Orders in store were upgraded to Signature Edition automatically.

not everybody has a credit card or a paypal account. These people don't feel like they are getting any compensation, while others luck out.

If i had a card or an account, I'd do it, but I just can't.

90% of stores handle preorders and usually only require ?5/?10 euro deposits.

Nowhere near where I am. The closest EB Games is an hour away from my place, and I'm not driving that far just to pick up one game.

I lived an hour away from the closest EB from the age of 11 to 17. I managed fine.

If you won't travel to buy games and don't have paypal or a credit/debit card.... how do you get games?

 

[StBishop]

My bad double post.

 

[JediMB]

Signature Edition, I think, is a brilliant idea. It's a great improvement on the standard Limited Edition model that video games have used for years at this point. Normally the really die-hard fans pay anything from $10 to $40 extra for their special packaging and extras, and in many cases a number of those special editions end up just collecting dust in the stores until their prices are lowered a number of months later.

With BioWare's model here, though, the special content and packaging comes absolutely free, there will (in theory) be no leftover boxes collecting dust in the stores, and all you had to do to guarantee yourself the whole package was to pre-order the game at some point in a 3 month window.

Then there's the regular pre-order DLC. Not as spectacular as the package you get with the Signature Edition, but they seem to be fancy (yet non-essential) bonuses. A leveling sword and a shield with an XP bonus.

And, finally, there's the "buy the game new" DLC. Besides the extra character that comes with Signature Edition, this is probably the most valuable of the extras: The Black Emporium. Basically a shop where your character can purchase the game's most powerful equipment pieces. Doesn't matter if you pre-order the game, buy it once the reviews are out, or wait a couple of months before picking it up, as long as your money actually goes to the people who created the game for you.


It may seem a bit much, but I think it makes sense. Fans who pre-order far ahead of time are rewarded, people are still given incentive to pre-order closer to the release, and people who buy the games used are penalized for not supporting the developers and the industry.

EDIT:

Funny thing for me, though? I haven't paid a dime for my pre-order yet. I could cancel it a couple of days before the release, if I wanted to. Heck, if I'd made the order and said that I wanted to pick the game up in their store rather than have it sent by mail, I could have just decided not to buy the game and still get the pre-order DLC codes sent to my e-mail account. I'm not one to abuse awesome retailers, though, so of course I'm going through with the purchase.

 

[JediMB]

People are also annoyed that the Steam preorder became available after this offer had ended, meaning no free DLC for Steam users. Now if free $7 DLC is the only thing they get extra for preordering so early, that's not too bad. But if it turns out that there's loads of other stuff, Steam users are going to be pissed off (plenty of them already are, but that's gamers for you).

Yeah, this is why it makes me angry the most. I got the first one off Steam, so for consistency purposes, and now it turns out that they only thing Steam people get are two stupid in-game items? What the hell?

I do find it a bit odd that Steam didn't get a Digital Deluxe edition of some sort for DAII. I mean, it obviously couldn't get the Signature Edition, since the Signature Edition is the "fancy packaging edition", but some sort of digital equivalent really should have been available.

But maybe this was just BioWare or EA wanting to support retail purchases over digital distribution.

 

[enriel]

Rock Band 3 Day One DLC - a 3 song pack for free with your pre-order.

Then, later you could pay for the same pack.

This is clearly the solution. My only issue with the day one DLC is locking people out of having nice things. If they release the material later anyway, just not for free, then it's totally cool. I'll pay for something that, yes, I COULD'VE gotten for free, had I pre-ordered, but...I didn't.

 

[Roxor]

I'm not in favour of selling something on Steam and only giving the customers who pre-ordered the game something nice. My problem is that I can't afford the pre-release prices of most games, even with Steam's usual 10% discount, so I usually end up waiting a year or more for either a price drop or a big sale on the title in question (or both).

Taking the other side and assuming I can afford to pre-order a game, including extras which can be purchased separately as a pre-order bonus is fine, as long as they can still be bought by anyone who wants them and who didn't pre-order the game.