Why Do Gamers Insist On Getting Games On Midnight?

[Quesa]

Trying to get through newbie zones before they're absolutely flooded is the only reason I'd do it, thankfully I won't be playing any more games that reward that kind of behavior though. The only games I got at midnight were WoW and BC. I got into WoW so fast a friend of mine who worked at Blizzard thought I must have been an employee too.

 

[Bowler Hat]

Simple. Due to our Morlockian (is that even a word or is H.G. Wells spinning in his grave right now?) living style, we can no longer risk exposure to sunlight.

But in all honesty, I think the hype surrounding a game's release and a couple of good gaming friends and a midnight release can be a great experience. Much like the advanced screening of a film, albeit without the comfort of a cinema. Or popcorn.

 

[go-10]

I just see it as a gamers gathering I'll go to any midnight just to meet other gamers and talk about geeky things
yeah its more of a social event than a release thing, and yeah I know the whole "well if you want to socialize go to a party or a bar" but no its not the same, at least at a midnight its 100% I'll meet people with interest in video games that most likely want to talk about video games at a bar I'll just meet douches and take a whore home at the end of the night... its what I always do at bars, and no not a whore that you pay for just a girl that has WAY too much mileage than the average human being should be allowed

 

[Fappy]

Hype. I really can explain it any better than with that one word. People get excited.

 

[The Pinray]

Why do gamers complain about other gamers doing something that in no way affects them?

I fall asleep around three or four in the morning, and I wake up at noon. I have plenty of time to play when the title releases at midnight.

This is not some intellectual conundrum... Back to Mass Effect 3 I go.

 

[Ando85]

I mean, won't you be tired once you get home? Why don't you save your energy and get in the morning? The game will still be available most likely tommorow anyways. I mean, I've gotten Skyrim and Duke Nukem Forever at midnight, and the next day, I didn't have the energy to play it. Maybe it's just me. Also, it's not like you usually get something for going at midnight.

Well I stay up really late anyways so being tired isn't a problem. I'll be sitting around awake anyways might as well go get my game. It is also sometimes fun to talk to the other people waiting and such.

 

[Kyle Donovan]

Because those who get it at midnight probably want to play it as soon as possible.

That was easy..

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

No clue, seeing how games are released broken on launch in 7 out of 10 cases these days it makes the most sense to wait a few years after release with buying something, by then the price might've dropped 95% as well.

This is why I don't get people who buy on day one period, let alone at midnight. In fact, having gone to a few midnight releases for Harry Potter books back in the day, I totally get the social aspect of a good midnight release; it's like a party for the fans, and even if there isn't anything organized going on, you're still hanging around with a bunch of people, all of whom are fans of something you're a fan of. Buying a videogame on day one, on the other hand, is just insane. It's $60 up front, usually in need of patching, will have a ton of DLC released over the next few months that is likely to double the price, and will probably have a complete edition down the road that contains everything fully patched for $20. Plus, games aren't like movies where you sit there for a couple of hours and then you've seen it; they take so long to finish that people actually complain when they drop under 10 hours. My library spans a time period from the 80's to the present, and even the games I've bought just in the last few months go back to the early 90's, all of which are great games, and which combined could take me an entire lifetime to get through just once. What I'm saying here is, why the rush to get the latest game on release day? It'll still be there down the road, and before someone mentions multiplayer, if it's any good, that'll be around, too. My copy of Unreal Tournament '99 can attest to that much.

 

[BlitzkriegHawk]

A few reasons:
a)impatience (2nd biggest reason)
b)way to create sale estimates to judge how well a game will sell (so companies can increase advertising and such over the next few weeks)[marketing perspective]
c)social experience ("I played it first")
d)fits in with some people's sleep schedules
e)addiction to the medium
and finally...
f)the experience of being part of a release, human's enjoy being part of a hyped collective (biggest reason)

I really would never do it myself even though I'm up until 3am most nights because I have enough games that I can wait another week or so to play one that just came out but some people don't have as long of a to-play list as I do (or enough patience).

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Since Arcades died out around the time of the Ice Age and I can't afford to go to conventions and, I'm not important enough to get into E3 or similar events, the midnight release is about as close as I can get to big gaming get-togethers/events. It's not so much about buying the game but gathering around with like-minded people and socializing to me. That's just me of course. I haven't been to a midnight release since...shit, probably New Vegas I think so I'll been missing out recently (technically I could have got ME3 at midnight but that's only because I work at night after my store is closed)

As the OP said though, 99.9% of the games that do midnight releases can be found the day of release and more often than not at anyplace that sells game software. The only games you may not be able to find on day one are the limited release ones and I don't mean 'limited release' like Super Mario All Stars Wii I mean, games like Sniper: Ghost Warrior or, Dynasty Warrior Gundam 3; games that are hard to find for reasons you don't quite understand.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Since Arcades died out around the time of the Ice Age and I can't afford to go to conventions and, I'm not important enough to get into E3 or similar events, the midnight release is about as close as I can get to big gaming get-togethers/events. It's not so much about buying the game but gathering around with like-minded people and socializing to me. That's just me of course. I haven't been to a midnight release since...shit, probably New Vegas I think so I'll been missing out recently (technically I could have got ME3 at midnight but that's only because I work at night after my store is closed)

As the OP said though, 99.9% of the games that do midnight releases can be found the day of release and more often than not at anyplace that sells game software. The only games you may not be able to find on day one are the limited release ones and I don't mean 'limited release' like Super Mario All Stars Wii I mean, games like Sniper: Ghost Warrior or, Dynasty Warrior Gundam 3; games that are hard to find for reasons you don't quite understand.

To this day, the only two games I ever paid full price for were the KoF 2002/2003 bundle and a GBA dungeon crawler called Mazes of Fate, and in both cases it was because they were small releases that I would likely never be able to find if I didn't get them while they were still new. Everything else, I wait for a price drop or buy used.

 

[chrono16]

No idea. I've never done that. It helps that I have a crap PC and only just got a PS3. Before that, I only had an original Xbox, so only used games there, really. I think the closest I've ever bought a game, retail, that is, to launch is Battlefield 3, which I got a few months later. I didn't actually buy it though, got it from a friend who didn't want it really, and bought an online code thing. Still counts, I say. In fact, I only have about 3 non-used games. Resistance 3, Killzone 3, and James Bond Bloodstone. The first 2 came with the PS Move I got, and Bloodstone was out for a while when I got it.

I thought Bloodstone was a badass game. Too short though... and that thing at the end pissed me off...

 

[RagTagBand]

Because it's an event, a friendly social gathering, and sometimes you get free shit.

I go to midnight releases (of games I really want) with my friends, it's pretty fun to be honest. Considerably more fun than your average game purchase.

 

[PinkiePyro]

i never do the whole midnight thing but whatever if you injoy it go right ahead just dont go spewing spoilers all over the internet before i buy it

 

[redisforever]

I thought Bloodstone was a badass game. Too short though... and that thing at the end pissed me off...

I totally agree. I got even more pissed off when I remembered that the company who developed the game closed down shortly afterwards. I thought that after Siberia, the game would end, but it kept going. It had a nice Quantum of Solace feel, of 'grittiness', but a slightly more understandable plot, and it was fun.

That's my review there.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Sure I had never bought a game at midnight (I did queue up to get the Wii early in the morning thought) but I'm assuming it's either-

Some people in general don't like to wake up early.
Some people are more active during the night like you know, surfing the net during the night so it's workable for them to go out and get it at midnight.
Some people don't want to feel all panicking to get up early to go buy it when the shop first open up in fear of the game beign sold out.