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[Greddleok]

I guess I just don't see the problem in getting burned every now and again. There are also times when the public or critical consensus is that the game is bad, yet I've loved the game. Just like there've been times the consensus is the game is amazing, and it turns out to be a floating turd (cough, GTAV).

Games that have mixed opinions tend to be more interesting than those that are universally praised.

 

[……forgetit]

Is that why there are multiple angry threads on NMS? So many gaffers fell for the hype.

No man's sky was a bit different in that there were no reviews before hand. And now that it's out I'm pretty sure we all know why.

 

[Mexen]

No Man's Sky LOL

 

[Clear]

If you can't afford to make a mistake/be disappointed: Don't buy that movie ticket, download that album, get that book, go to that concert, and most of all don't buy that game!

Its entertainment, and therefore always subject to the vagaries of personal taste and expectation. It is what is.

 

[Oersted]

If you can't afford to make a mistake/be disappointed: Don't buy that movie ticket, download that album, get that book, go to that concert, and most of all don't buy that game!

Its entertainment, and therefore always subject to the vagaries of personal taste and expectation. It is what is.

Movies, books and albums are very rarely disfunctional at release

 

[Shiggy]

Simple for me:

never preorder.

Tell that to someone who wanted Fire Emblem Fates: Limited Edition or Classic Nintendo Mini: NES. Sometimes it pays off to preorder (though very rarely).

 

[Anth0ny]

still blows my mind that people fall for shit like no man's sky

knew that was a scam from day one

when something sounds too good to be true in this business, it is

 

[Kintaro]

I think you're preaching to the choir here on GAF.

LOL What? GAF is just as prone to falling for the industry's tricks as the regular consumer. DLC, Season Passes, Hype Culture, etc. It's all here baby!

 

[SlickShoes]

So far the only thing I have been burned on was Halo: MCC I thought it couldn't possibly be as bad as people were making out and even bought it discounted, but it was horrific, worst game experience of the generation. It reminded me of the 90's when you could just buy a broken game and had to live with it.

NMS I was fine with, I bought it for £37 and played it for two weeks, then sold it for £38 the other day. Pretty much any game with a slight risk of crushing disappointment I will buy physical so that I can just offload it like that, removes the risk for me.

 

[Clear]

Movies, books and albums are very rarely disfunctional at release

Games, software generally in fact, has always been prone to bugs/unintended exploits.Its the nature of the beast and is never, ever, going to change due to the software/hardware interface being about more than simple playback.

Truly egregious game-breaking problems on console games are really rare, and PC is a bit of a funny case as the sheer amount of hardware/software variation often means that something that works flawlessly on one config has severe issues on another. Its the downside you get from having an open system.

Either way, it is what it is, if you don't like it find another hobby.

 

[jdmonmou]

Stop acting like a bunch of addicts incapable of free-will and take some responsibility. Pre-order a game, you're taking a gamble. Buy a season pass, you're taking a gamble. Trusting all the hype before waiting a day or so and reading the reviews, same. People know this, it's not new news.

Paying customers have a right to complain. Thank goodness they do. Otherwise developers will repeat the same bad practices. Their feedback is a gift.

 

[Steve Youngblood]

I have a few thoughts. Firstly, I do agree that I grow weary of consumer outrage. Now when I say "consumer outrage," I don't throw constructive feedback into that category. I think sometimes the two get unfortunately conflated. When it comes to the former, I very much agree with the premise of the OP. A lot of this stuff is avoidable, so it just becomes tiresome watching people not learn from past mistakes and instead opt to continue hopping on the hype train only to literally or figuratively yell about it on the internet when it doesn't meet their expectations or when a distasteful business practice affects the game. "I'm so fucking sick and tired of being burned by Day One purchases!!!" OK... then don't buy games on release date?

Still, criticism needs a place to be aired. When the latest hyped up game isn't getting stellar reviews and/or sales or lackluster, there's a place for a conversation as to why. I don't like the idea of erring too far in the opposite direction of extreme consumer outrage into the territory of suggesting that if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all.

Lastly, I feel like commenting that I also kind of grow tired of certain business practices automatically being regarded as egregious and worth writing the whole game off over. And by that I just mean things like DLC, microtransactions, season passes, and so on being seen as reprehensible transgressions that automatically ruin the experience. And this isn't me championing them. I'm also not saying that some implementations aren't worse than other. But I sort of dislike it when analysis of why these things only exists at the surface level. I.e. someone surmises that Game X is bad merely because microtransactions exist, for instance, without evaluating how they actually work in the game. I'm not telling consumers that they have to embrace them, but for better or worse they're pretty much here to stay. So instead of immediately just reacting to the news that there's a Season Pass with "fuck that shit!!!", it's probably worthwhile to examine what the proposed content is versus the content included in the cost of the base game..

 

[mattiewheels]

Even the savvy people on places like GAF seem to fall victim to the idea of needing to experience games the minute they come out, so they know they're taking part in the social media experience and the brain buzz that comes along with it. Liveblogging their initial experience with a game here on GAF seems to be a huge part of the gaming experience, and it ends up creating a reality distortion that tosses a lot of self-preservation out the window.

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

That said, never making a gamble is a great way to never be genuinely surprised. I made a leap with No Man's Sky and it didn't pay off, but I'm not sour about it and it won't be the last time.

Taking a chance now and again is good despite the falls.

Hype is toxic.

 

[Sayad]

/thread

Just to clarify: pretty much everyone here at GAF is educated in gaming, meaning we don't get duped as easily as other people. If a game sucks, you'll be hard pressed to find a faster place than here or reddit that lets you know the game sucks or is filled with microtransactions or is bugged as hell.

You must have missed Overwatch summer event threads. ;p

 

[NoctisVsStar]

I can tell by a mile when I won't enjoy a game. So don't matter the hype of a game I won't fall prey to a bad purchase. However, I'm not saying games i like will be critically acclaimed but from a personal standpoint I will enjoy it a lot.

 

[Oersted]

Games, software generally in fact, has always been prone to bugs/unintended exploits.Its the nature of the beast and is never, ever, going to change due to the software/hardware interface being about more than simple playback.

Truly egregious game-breaking problems on console games are really rare, and PC is a bit of a funny case as the sheer amount of hardware/software variation often means that something that works flawlessly on one config has severe issues on another. Its the downside you get from having an open system.

Either way, it is what it is, if you don't like it find another hobby.

I agree with you, with videogames it is not only down to the vagaries of personal taste and expectation.

It is what it is.

Paying customers have a right to complain. Thank goodness they do. Otherwise developers will repeat the same bad practices. Their feedback is a gift.

Hell, OP was burned by Street Fighter V and gave feedback.

 

[mike4001_]

Never Preorder

The Thread ?

 

[Durante]

Never Preorder

The Thread ?

Well, you can preorder on Steam.

 

[Senoculum]

I don't find it difficult to find simple pleasures in video games. I think there's a more problematic overtone in which people refuse to play great experiences because of some public relations incident or some business strategy.

Throw me in the camp that enjoys an A or AA title every once in a while. No wonder there's the perception that middle-tier games are dead -- no one plays games that hover around a 6-7/10 on metacritic...

It was easy for me to enjoy what No Man's Sky had to offer because I knew exactly what I was getting into (fuck your hype trains). It's my most played game at the moment and I think it's fantastic on so many levels. It's such a wasted effort to play a victim.

 

[GorillaJu]

I personally don't know how you can avoid getting duped and scammed. As soon as I see a game announcement that promises cool stuff I pre-order it without any thought or consideration into what's actually feasible.

My cycle tends to look like this:

1) new game announcement
2) insatiable hype
3) pre-order game
4) lose sleep while I refresh Gaf and post in the hype thread
5) defend the game resolutely when things look like they might not be exactly as the announcement trailer looked 3 years ago
6) Review embargo ends
7) 88 metacritic what the fuck those stupid journalists are dumb cunts who don't know a good game from a bad one this is at least a 94. If fucking MGS4 got a 94, this should be a 95 at least
8) get the game
9) it's not as good as I hoped
10) 88 metacritic is such bullshit those fucking journalist twats were paid off to score it that high this is a piece of shit I feel lied to and deceived. This is literally the worst game ever, what a fucking debacle, I can't believe I was ever hyped for this shit in the first place. Someone make a hashtag we need to demand more from Ubi/Konami/Sony/Nintendo/whoever
11) Damn guys I'm So FUCKING hyped for E3!!! Call of Honor 17 looks FUCKING sick!! (Return to step 1, repeat process)

I can't figure out where in that list I can just stop the whole thing from happening because the game industry just butt fucks me every year and I take it because they're rich businessmen assholes who just want to steal my hard earned money

 

[The Albatross]

I think you're preaching to the choir here on GAF.

Disagree. I think he's shouting into the wind here.

OP is entirely right, yet there will be a dozen complaint threads about X, Y, Z in gaming over the next 3 days, and most posters will seem to suggest that they're powerless against the tide of consumer abuse.

 

[Aters]

My problem is that I often buy good games (or well-received games) that I don't like. The Witcher 3 for example.

 

[Jacksinthe]

While I don't disagree the onus is most definitely on the dev/pub to be forthcoming about a product they are trying to sell you.

That said everyone should be more mindful without a doubt.

 

[Oersted]

Disagree. I think he's shouting into the wind here.

OP is entirely right, yet there will be a dozen complaint threads about X, Y, Z

OP made such a thread.

 

[Bumhead]

I tend to manage this quite well.

I think a combination of being happy to make the occasional blunder and generally knowing what I want to play keeps me safe. It's been literally years since I've angrily or irritatingly been annoyed by a purchase.

No Mans Sky was an exception to that. I wasn't really on the hype train for that (I'm one of those that thought it looked interesting but got bored of seeing it a couple of E3's ago) and my expectations were relatively stable. Picked up out of curiosity and ended up hating it. It's one of the most frustrating and least satisfying games or purchases I've made in years.

 

[OneUh8]

yup. And I try and warn all my friends who don't bother and just buy games if the "look cool". They don't always listen and buy bad games anyways. Oh well.

 

[NeonBlack]

I think you're preaching to the choir here on GAF.

That hype train tho

You see a lot of people buy games because they've hype themselves up for an experience. Like, we all know about bullshots but you will always find the thread where people are mad the game doesn't look like it's e3 premiere.

 

[JCX]

Pre-ordering isn't inherently bad, provided the companies have a good track record of releasing functioning games on Day 1 or if the game is expected to have a low number of units produced physically.

Now y'all who keep pre-ordering the latest AAA biu fest annually need to stop so they get the message.

 

[Dunkley]

Simple for me:

never preorder.

Pretty much, not even on games like Persona 5 which I personally am really excited for.

Never trust the hype tho, save the excitement for when the game actually turns out to be good.

 

[MisterR]

Really? One look inside the amount of No Man's Sky threads and you get the feeling Sean Murray personally robbed quite an amount of GAF members and maybe even shit into the fridge of some.

Even more impressive is that most of the people who bitch in those threads didn't even buy the game.

 

[Bar81]

going by some of the NMS forums, I don't think he is...

There it is. Shocking how many people got suckered on this one. Dev making crazy claims with maximum vagueness and most of this forum bit it seems.

Pre-ordering isn't inherently bad, provided the companies have a good track record of releasing functioning games on Day 1 or if the game is expected to have a low number of units produced physically.

Now y'all who keep pre-ordering the latest AAA biu fest annually need to stop so they get the message.

It absolutely is. Maybe if you've played a demo and liked it but buying on track record is a horrible strategy - just ask anyone investing in funds based on that strategy. And buying into the hype is the reason the industry is where it is in terms of quality to garbage ratio.

 

[Figboy79]

Some folks in this forum and others think they must own every game ever that is released.

I pretty much stick to genres I'm interested in, and do my homework. I make sure that even if the game is in a genre I like, that the games art design and gameplay mechanics are my cup of tea. It really isn't that hard to avoid hype. I definitely get excited for games, but it's my own excitement, not feedin off of the hype of others.

I think the last game I did that with was one of the Atelier games, because the Vita thread was going on and on about it. Bought it on sale, installed it, played for about two hours and was like, "Hmmm," not feeling this." I also bought Stein's Gate off of a recommendation from a trusted friend, and I played three or four chapters before uninstalling it. And I like visual novels! I just couldn't get into it.

Not every game is going to be for everyone, even if a large portion of the community is going apeshit over it. I like to make up my own mind about a game, and no longer buy them because of reviews or hype.

I bought Watch Dogs because it looked cool, but it bored me to death after about 10 hours. I bought the Order 1886 because it looked cool, and I loved it. Sometimes you won't know what you're into until you play it. I grew up in a generation where you just kind of hoped for the best. I still own Friday the 13th on the NES as a reminder, so I never forget my shame.

I've loved bad games, and disliked good games. I've hated bad games, and loved good games. At least I made those choices for me, and not the hype train. My wallet has cried a few times, though (fuck you, Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness and Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2!).

Oh, and I LOVE No Man's Sky, since this is a stealth NMS thread. Once I beat Dark Souls 3 and play some Deux Ex I'll get back to it. I've sunk at least 30-40 hours into NMS so far and it's really addictive. The sheen will wear off eventually, but it's been a good, if jank time.

 

[Kyne]

For me it's the fucking collectibles.

Art books, steel cases, statues, etc.

I have been better about it lately. I almost bought into the Mirror's Edge CE with that Faith statue.. glad I didn't go through with it.

Next up was No Man's Sky. I really wanted that artbook.. had the LE ordered, and then was able to cancel it at the very last second. I'm glad I did. Game is shit.

Next up is the PSVR bundle ($500), The Last Guardian Limited Edition ($120), and Final Fantasy 15 Ultimate Collector's Edition ($290).

I love new technology so I'll be investing in PSVR regardless.

The steelbook and artbook for TLG are must haves as well. Plus I love the studio and want to support them the best I can. SotC was one of my fav games of all time.

FF15 is a bit ridiculous. I want the art book.. but $290? Worst case scenario I can resell for double the profit.

So yeah. That's how they personally get me.

 

[InfiniteCombo]

People take that stuff way too seriously. It's ridiculous.

Nobody is out to get you. Buy games you like. Relax.

It's pretty simple but if this forum is any indication a lot of people still like to make everything a fight.

There are more good games now than ever before. Go play some.

Preach it, brother! I agree with this 100%.

 

[Oersted]

I get that some features were promised that didn't make it into the game, but I honestly don't see anything there that wasn't obvious

Maybe the promised but missing features?

 

[Hyun Sai]

Once people stop pre-ordering in masses, they will stop getting screwed.

 

[NandoGip]

The true ultimate solution is to have other hobbies so that you're not really playing games when they release.

When I was young I used to preorder, then as I got older I would just buy some games as they came out. Now, my most enjoyable experiences has been once the full game has been patched and all DLC is out so that I can buy it as a bundle for cheap.

The only games that are worth it Day 1 are multiplayer games that your friends want to play together.

 

[Atomski]

I think you're preaching to the choir here on GAF.

Plenty of gaffers still preorder.

 

[Ralemont]

I grow tired of the slippery slope justifications for the constant outrage, as if people are unable to take things on a case-by-case basis and decide if something is truly over the line. The Xbox One always on/used game fiasco showed a situation where a corporation tried to creep into legitimately sucky territory and got checked. If something is egregious, this will happen. The reason DLC and microtransactions exist and continue to work isn't because corporations are force-feeding gamers something they don't enjoy, but rather because they are providing optional content that enough gamers do enjoy.

 

[Jacksinthe]

Even more impressive is that most of the people who bitch in those threads didn't even buy the game.

"I won't fault the guy for lying to you because he didn't lie to me since I didn't buy the game."

I don't think owning NMS is a prerequisite to calling out lies in the industry. Crazy, I know.

 

[CaviarMeths]

Well the reason I wasn't so upset about Street Fighter V is because I only paid $35 for it (Amazon.ca originally had it listed at $50, then pre-ordered during E3 30% off sale). So there's that.

But I find the best way to avoid disappointment is just to ignore the entire western AAA hype scene entirely. If there's a genuinely great game that comes out, I'll see a Game of the Year edition with all the DLC for $20 on the shelf of a game shop a year later.

The 3DS has been my main gaming platform this gen though and the burns have been few and far between.

 

[Teletraan1]

I don't preorder anything really. I don't even feel like taking a chance on a Steam refund for reasons I can't articulate. If it is a game series that is dear to you then by all means pre order it but I still have a very low level of trust that some shitbag publisher isn't going to do something behind the scenes that we aren't privy to that ends up compromising any game series. MGSV was apparently half a game. Sure the red flags were there with the drama surrounding Kojima/Konami and I am sure what was released is something that might appeal to the fans in some way but it was a major complaint that dragged the game down for a lot of people. I don't think any franchise if safe from any number of problems that could occur during development. Best to just wait until the finished product is here and then decide who to trust to tell me if it is good or not.

 

[JCX]

It absolutely is. Maybe if you've played a demo and liked it but buying on track record is a horrible strategy - just ask anyone investing in funds based on that strategy. And buying into the hype is the reason the industry is where it is in terms of quality to garbage ratio.

How is track record horrible? I only pre-order Nintendo games and JRPGs, sine they tend to work in my experience.

For example, compare Fallout 4 to Xenoblade X. Both launched late last year, but only one was full of gameplay-affecting bugs. Nobody should have been surprised by F4 since that's Bethesda's style. Similarly, X was not very buggy at all (encountered one gameplay-breaking bug in 90+hours), which shouldn't be shocking given their record on Xenoblade.

Of course you can't know 100% without playing the games, but fortunately, most of the games I like are made by devs who release fully functional games on day 1 .

I'm not talking about hype. I've been playing video games the majority of my life and have a strong idea of which publishers tend to release full games, which games will likely go out of print if not bought early, and how my tastes match up with games that are not yet released.

 

[Clint Beastwood]

Honestly, it really isn't difficult. There are a million and one sources of good reviews/videos, forums like this one where issues are reported within 3 freaking seconds of a game release and Steam refunds. Ignore the pre-release hype, stop trusting marketing departments and have a little common sense.

1. No, there's like 3 good sources of reviews. The rest or either "this game is shit" or "best game ever" without actually explaining why it is.

2. If everyone waited then there wouldn't be issues reported in 3 seconds of a games release, because instead of those people buying it they would be waiting and all we would have is IGN

 

[Bluenoser]

I only pre-order because I detest paying $80 for a game in Canada, so I take advantage of any discount I can.

That said, there's nothing stopping me from cancelling it before release, or even returning it at the expense of return postage to Amazon if the reviews are bad, so it's not as if I should ever get stuck with a game that sucks or I don't like.

I just sent back Deus ex because I forgot I had it on pre-order, and Human Revolution just wasn't doing it for me, so I didn't want more of the same. A $6 lesson, but better than holding on to a $75 game I will suffer through playing.

Cancelled Battlefront just before it shipped last year too because I was hearing bad things, and I'm glad I did.

 

[Oersted]

I had that mindset sort of by default for awhile, when I was working at a game store and writing for a blog, getting review copies of all sorts of games I'd never touch by choice.

I never hated this hobby more. I dropped gaming almost entirely for about a year. I think I re-played some Gameboy DQ remakes and that was pretty much it.

I guess some people just never get to that point, so they just constantly rage and vent on places like this instead. And they're also probably paying day one prices for the privilege, which... I just can't imagine. I at least had external motivations to play a bunch of games ASAP. Why do that to yourself for no reason at all?



Even with some of those features in, the basic gameplay was always going to be what we actually got. There was never a whole lot going on there, not a single time it was shown. It always looked like a spruced up version of what Spore already tried (and also overpromised on), with a dash of equally boring indie games like 3079 thrown in to be a bit more "game-y".

Simulating gravity while entering a planets' atmosphere wasn't ever going to change the core concept of what NMS is.

You saw it coming, sans the missing features you are downplaying.

Congratulations?

 

[Crossing Eden]

I feel you OP. Rarely am I not completely informed as to what i'm purchasing and whether or not is worth it as a purchase. The only exceptions are games like INSIDE where I go in completely dark.

 

[Kimaka]

I learned my lesson with Dragon Age 2. Never blind buy anything even from a developer you love. Haven't been burned since. There is really no excuse if you are on this niche ass forum and still surprised that Bethesda games have bugs.

There have been some games that I was ultimately unsatisfied with, but I rented those or waited for a price drop. I only pay full price for a game that I know exactly what to expect. No Man's Sky is the only game that I pre-ordered this year and I am happy with it. Sun and Moon might be the one other game that I will pre-order in 2016. It is Pokemon so I'm comfortable with buying without seeing any footage.

 

[down 2 orth]

OP knows whats up. Thanks for talking some sense, because it seems like there's a few people here who need to hear it