• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Is it wrong to pre-order a game for a beta key and then cancel?

F

Fliesen

Member
zeopower6 said:
Any kind of "preorder to get these bonus goods" -> cancel actions are kind of wrong IMO. Like in most other scenarios it's wrong so why is it so different with digital goods?
Click to expand...

Because it's a limited time beta. You're not getting an actual product, imho.

It's not like you having activated the 3 game keys that came with your Geforce graphics card, which you then returned.

I mean, what would the alternative be? - that we can't cancel preorders anymore?
 
B

brobban

Member
Of course not! From a consumer standpoint your only concern is to make the most informed purchase you can within your legal right. It's not illegal to cancel a pre-order
 
O

OmegaTreeFish

Banned
No and I dont thing the publishers expect anything less.

They release a beta of a game that you can only access if you preorder. They will be doing this under the asumption that overall they will get more preorders than if they didnt. The people who were going to preorder anyway will still do that. There will be a large number of people who preorder the game just to try it out and cancel or keep the preorder based on their experience. They know full well a bunch of people will cancel but they also know that they will get a large number of people that play the beta, love it and keep their preorder that they wouldn't have done in the first place. In the end the people that cancelled still gave them data to work with during the beta and the people that didn't cancel are additional sales. Its win / win for them.

Basically dont worry about it. They expect it to happen and I doubt they care at all. Its no different to preordering a game, seeing the latest trailer and thinking it looks bad so you then cancel it.
 
N

N7.Angel

Member
nope, doing it everytime with no regret, it's the opposite to be honest, it's wrong to force people to preorder just for testing a game you're not sure to buy.
 
S

Shadio

Member
I don't think so. The deal is that you get beta access for putting in a preorder. Once that's done you've fulfilled your side of the bargain and you should only keep your order if you actually want to buy the game. There's no requirement that says you need to keep it unless you buy from a place that doesn't allow cancellations.

If you feel obligated to go through with a purchase just because they gave you a little sweetener, that's up to you. It's entirely your choice, but you haven't made any promises to go through with it, just like an ordinary preorder.
 
P

ps3ud0

Member
I bought Destiny 2 purely for the beta to see if it had significantly changed from the first. I cancelled the order a few weeks back because the beta showed me enough that it hadn't.

I don't why that would be considered wrong to do...

ps3ud0 8)
 
S

Skronk

Banned
Not at all, it's harmless.

If you're feeling bad the last COD had an open beta at some point. They might do it again.
 
G

GeeDuhb

Member
I don't think so at all. If they specifically said "must keep the pre-order and not cancel it" it would be one thing, but other wise it is just how the system works. As many others have said, they are really just glorified demos/advertising tools which provide the developer with a little data at the same time. Just think how much games media coverage they get during the beta periods of these games. I guarantee you they sell more copies because of the beta than they would have without doing the beta anyway.

I am always one to at least keep the pre-order until after I play the beta. However, I think most publishers are hoping you pre-order it and then forget about it and get the game sent to you anyway. Regardless, you are not really doing anything inhumane at all by doing it.
 
O

OfTheOverflow

Member
Why should you? You're doing them a free service by testing their game for bugs, after all. Logically, they should be paying you.

If they want to lock the work you do for them for free behind a paywall, then fuck 'em.
 
Snoopycat

Snoopycat

Banned
I pre-ordered COD from Amazon a few hours back so I could try the beta. COD hasn't been much good for a long time now but I'm interested in the WW2 setting so I'll give it a shot. If I like it, I'll keep the pre-order.
 
O

ocean

Banned
This is publishers being nice. "Hey I see you've decided to buy my game before it's out and you get any reviews...so how about I let you try it first so you can make an informed decision on whether to keep this preorder or not?"

I mean it totally isn't this but hey, it sounds nicer.
 
S

Some Nobody

Junior Member
Sentenza said:
It's... morally questionable at best, no matter what excuse is used to justify it (see first reply).
Click to expand...

Gamers cape up for corporations faster than anyone I've ever seen.

No, it's not wrong. You're going into it with the mindset of "I'm always going to cancel it" , but the beta exists TO change your mind. If it fails, you wouldn't have been happy with the game anyway unless the beta's a catastrophic misrepresentation of the final product.

If the beta DOES change your mind, you'll keep the pre-order. Honestly it exists to help you figure out if you care about a product or not.
 
1

120v

Member
betas are essentially demos now. i mean you're kind of "reneging your contract" canceling a pre order but if youre that underwhelmed its not like you're going to hell saving yourself $50 or so
 
O

orborborb

Member
its only wrong (slightly) if you have no intention of buying at all or intend to cancel it so you can buy it cheaper elsewhere, not wrong at all to preorder cause you're interested but then decide from the demo that its not worth the price that you previously thought it might be worth
 
R

rainking187

Member
I mean if you don't like the beta and no longer want the game then I don't see any problem in cancelling your preorder, but if you want to play the game badly enough that you would preorder just for the beta I don't know why you would cancel your preorder after getting the beta key.
 
B

BRocknRolla

Member
YoRHa No.2 Type B said:
Is it wrong to fuck a woman and leave her with the child behind?
Click to expand...

What is this bullshit? Am I in YouTube comments?

To the OP, I don't buy this whole, "It's morally wrong to lock a beta behind a preorder," business, but insofar as a beta is a way to sell you on a game, if it fails to do so, I don't think you should feel bound to the purchase.
 
D

DrkSage

Member
Nah, just look at it this way. You played a demo and didn't like it, you ain't gonna buy something you don't like.
 
F

Forearm Star

Member
Nope..

Well don't cancel and get your money back.. Switch it to the next game that has a preorder beta or what have you.

Everyone wins!!
 
O

Occam

Member
While I have never done this myself, in an era where demos no longer exist I can't really fault you for this.

And why should only people who preorder a game get to play the beta? That's crappy.
 
T

Tali'Zorah

Member
Nope. Big corporations, like most video game companies are, take advantage of people enough that it's perfectly okay in my eyes for the consumer to take advantage of the corporation once in a while.
 
H

Haly

One day I realized that sadness is just another word for not enough coffee.
Occam said:
And why should only people who preorder the game get to play the beta?
Click to expand...

It's supposed to be a reward/incentive for early adoption. It's basically "you've shown your trust in us so let us pay you in kind".
 
L

Lork

Member
Toki767 said:
It's wrong to lock betas behind pre-orders.
Click to expand...
This, but the problem is that it's the retailer is the one who loses when you do this rather than the publisher. Then again they agreed to implement the practice, which makes them at least partially complicit, so fuck em.
 
H

Head.spawn

Junior Member
Don't lock them behind a paywall. Simple as that.

My moral compass turns off when you try to reach in my pocket to test out your marketing device. Because lets be serious, most betas these days are simply final games with locked out content, sometimes it's the builds they use for events/conferences etc etc.
 
G

GlenChivas

Member
I might be getting old but I remember when what passes for a Beta now was called a Demo. They came on discs! With printed magazines!
 
W

watdaeff4

Member
TheDanger said:
This worked for me with Amazon a couple of times, is it a shitty thing to do?
Click to expand...

While this is the best answer:

Toki767 said:
It's wrong to lock betas behind pre-orders.
Click to expand...

In order for me to answer your specific question....are you 1)doing this intentionally (i.e. knowing you have no intent of keeping the preorder and just doing it to get the beta), or 2) did you try the beta, realized that you don't want to buy the game then drop it?

For #1 - yes, it is "wrong" or unethical.

For #2 - Nope. Not at all. so if you don't like the game and can get out of the transaction, you have every right to do so as long as it's legal.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

RENNSPORT Beta Key giveaway
11
474
CamHostage replied
Sea of Thieves now available for pre-order on PlayStation 5
2 3
103
5K
cash_longfellow replied
Stellar Blade is currently the 2nd most pre-ordered PS5 game on PSN and Amazon
Sales-Age 2 3
130
11K
John Wick replied
Riqa, a cancelled N64 game, is now out and playable on OG hardware and emulation
2
2K
VGEsoterica replied
Sea of Thieves PS5 closed beta is now pre-loading
2
99
3K
MonkeyClaw36 replied
Top Bottom