Pre-order crisis looms as 3.4m UK gamers hold off


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Fewer UK consumers are pre-ordering video games, MCV can reveal.
 
20 per cent of UK gamers say they are either pre-ordering fewer titles, or have stopped pre-ordering altogether.
 
This comes from a survey conducted by Ipsos Media
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It's hardly surprising considering some of the releases of games recently. Has there been a big title without day-one issues or a massive patch the first time you try and play it recently.

 

I used to pre-order games quite a bit when they were actually completed (for the most part) when they got released. Nowadays I like to wait to see how things pan out before I buy and I can say it's serving me well (Simcity I'm looking at you).

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Definitely makes sense, looking through the forums on Neowin, there are usually issues with day-one purchases. 

 

Hopefully this will force developers and publishers to release a complete product. 

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I know I'm not in the UK and all, but I stopped pre-ordering about 2-3yrs ago.  As the digital distribution really started to take off, I decided to just go that route.

 

I don't really care about trading games in, like years past.  But I also have become disciplined in what games I buy.

 

I now have 2 groups for games. I have my automatic, must have day 1 games.  And I also have my "That looks cool, but it can wait games"

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Hopefully this will force developers and publishers to release a complete product. 

 

You know what's -really- sad? That you had a need to type that sentence at all...

 

They shouldn't need to force them to release a complete product.. It should be automatic!

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I know I'm not in the UK and all, but I stopped pre-ordering about 2-3yrs ago.  As the digital distribution really started to take off, I decided to just go that route.

 

I don't really care about trading games in, like years past.  But I also have become disciplined in what games I buy.

 

I now have 2 groups for games. I have my automatic, must have day 1 games.  And I also have my "That looks cool, but it can wait games"

 

I'd hope that this "crisis" doesn't have anything to do with the method of getting games (digital distribution vs physical copies) but more to do with the poor quality of games that get released. Game breaking bugs, huge day 1 patches and the like.

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It's hardly surprising considering some of the releases of games recently. Has there been a big title without day-one issues or a massive patch the first time you try and play it recently.

 

I used to pre-order games quite a bit when they were actually completed (for the most part) when they got released. Nowadays I like to wait to see how things pan out before I buy and I can say it's serving me well (Simcity I'm looking at you).

 

Honestly I believe it has got to do something with the economy as opposed to a lack of products. A lot of entertainment brick and mortar stores have been shutting down all across the UK since around 2008.

 

Digital is good but I think people are just being a bit more picky in this current atmo.

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I'm gonna channel DPP here...

post-151617-0-65746500-1429790327.jpg

 

This is karma for all the day 1 patches and DLC. A growing trend of games like Assassin's Creed Unity getting released in appalling - sometimes barely playable - states, as well as deliberately holding back content to release as DLC meant this decline in pre-orders was inevitable. Why pay

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Meanwhile all of those and then some are now paying to beta test games through founder systems or Steams Early access... :/

 

It's a great deal for devs really. Let people pay you to find problems with their product, if something goes horribly wrong then they can just say 'it's not finished yet'.

 

That being said a lot of Steam Early Access games are Indie titles which probably wouldn't ever go anywhere without the funding from it. But of course there have been numerous accounts of people paying for early access and the game being completely unplayable and never going anywhere.

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Meanwhile all of those and then some are now paying to beta test games through founder systems or Steams Early access... :/

 

When this happens, you know exactly what you're signing up to. You're paying for early access to a game and the developer is getting feedback from you (bugs etc). The consumer is expecting a broken game.

 

What's not okay is when a game is released and consumers are expecting to just be able to play. Unity was horribly broken for most, Halo:MCCs matchmaking was a mess and GTA: Online had its teething issues...you get the idea. 

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Sure you know what you sign up for, however, I still don't consider it ok to PAY to to work for the developer, whether it's a major studio or an "indie"(an overused title today, where the majority of "indies" are actually sizeable well funded developers who uses the indie title for PR). There was a time when beta testing was awarded by at worst getting to play for free in the beta, but often also rewarded by a copy of the final game and even a name in the credits, sometimes even other loot for your JOB. 

 

Still have I paid for both founders and early access myself on a few rare games that I have really anticipated. 

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I don't see any point in waiting for most titles.  If you're a multiplayer gamer perhaps as there have been some fantastic launch failures lately, but for the most part things release quite good.

 

Of course there's Ubisoft, but I got Watch Dogs at launch and didn't find it horribly broken.

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I can't say I'm surprised about this news. After Destiny, I will never pre-order a game again. Doesn't matter what the game is or who made it. I am never being a day-1 buyer again.

 

Bloodborne was my first real test. I was totally looking forward to it, being a huge "Souls" fan, but my willpower held out. I didn't preorder, and I waited to hear from actual paying customers instead of shills that the gaming "journalists" have become. Thankfully a lot of people got the game early some how, and I heard/read a lot of real impressions and opinions before launch day. So I didn't have to wait long to buy it, confident that it wasn't a buggy, unfinished mess. And to top it off, Target was doing a deal for discounted PSN space money with the purchase of a new copy of Bloodborne. So it definitely paid to not pre-order from Amazon like I usually do. (Y)

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I can't say I'm surprised about this news. After Destiny, I will never pre-order a game again. Doesn't matter what the game is or who made it. I am never being a day-1 buyer again.

 

Bloodborne was my first real test. I was totally looking forward to it, being a huge "Souls" fan, but my willpower held out. I didn't preorder, and I waited to hear from actual paying customers instead of shills that the gaming "journalists" have become. Thankfully a lot of people got the game early some how, and I heard/read a lot of real impressions and opinions before launch day. So I didn't have to wait long to buy it, confident that it wasn't a buggy, unfinished mess. And to top it off, Target was doing a deal for discounted PSN space money with the purchase of a new copy of Bloodborne. So it definitely paid to not pre-order from Amazon like I usually do. (Y)

 

In Miyazaki we trust :p

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I haven't pre ordered any games in quite a few years. I think the last one I pre ordered was Mass Effect 2.

 

I was all set to pre order The Witcher 3 and Arkham Knight but after hearing about how both of those games already have dlc in the works before the games are even released I decided to wait until there are complete editions for them. And a cheaper price.

 

Yes I'm not in the Uk but I'm pretty sure people in the US are getting tired of these same recent trends too.

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Pre-ordering needs to die. I am not even entirely sure how it became popular outside of collector's/limited editions.

 

What are people worried about, that Steam will run out of downloads?

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Pre-ordering needs to die. I am not even entirely sure how it became popular outside of collector's/limited editions.

 

What are people worried about, that Steam will run out of downloads?

I preorder so I can preload so I can play as soon as they unlock it.

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I preorder so I can preload so I can play as soon as they unlock it.

 

of course, locking pre-loading to only people who who pre-ordered is a fairly stupid artificial limit to start with. and one that's not always universally enforced. 

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of course, locking pre-loading to only people who who pre-ordered is a fairly stupid artificial limit to start with. and one that's not always universally enforced. 

Wait you mean people don't spend money to give content to people who haven't paid for it?

 

shocking

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I preorder so I can preload so I can play as soon as they unlock it.

 

 

Which would be fine but pre-ordering has been exploited and it is no longer worth that slight convenience.

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They need to have embargoes lifted at least a week before release. This last minute stuff is BS!

 

After all the buggy games (UBISOFT) last year, I have yet to pre-order another game except for The Witcher 3. :p

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