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[Mibu no ookami]

There is never a worse time to buy a game than to buy it at launch. It goes without saying that everyone knows that games at launch have the least amount of features, the most amount of bugs, and the highest price.

There is little to no incentive in buying a game, particularly a single-player game at launch and I think the industry is going to see fewer and fewer sales of games at launch over time. I'm honestly surprised that people still pre-order games digitally as if there was some digital scarcity. This is especially puzzling when there are little to no pre-order bonuses included.

There are entirely too many games on the market for this pattern to be sustained, to release buggy games at 70 dollars, only to release a DLC a year later, and then release a deluxe edition with the DLC and the patches 2 years later for like 40 dollars.

Unfortunately, I think the industry will take the wrong lesson from this and try to emulate Nintendo and keep their prices high. Hopefully, competition makes that difficult. They still know that the vast majority of people are still going to buy full price within the first few weeks/couple of months.

I guess my question is, why are people (you?) buying these games at launch?

 

[ProgenitorCastle]

To form my own opinions on games before the group mind decides the status of a game

 

[Mibu no ookami]

To form my own opinions on games before the group mind decides the status of a game

Why is that dependent on buying a game at launch? You can't make up your mind separate from others?

 

[Danjin44]

I bough 99% of my games day one with barely any problems, they only game I experienced with major bugs was CP2077 and didn't even bought that day one.

There is little to no incentive in buying a game, particularly a single-player game at launch

Easy, I want to play the game I'm excited about as soon as possible.

 

[Gaiff]

To form my own opinions on games before the group mind decides the status of a game

Which can be done at any time.

I said it before and I'll say it again: buying games on launch is paying the most money for the worst version of them.

 

[Cert.in.Death]

Correct

 

[ProgenitorCastle]

Why is that dependent on buying a game at launch? You can't make up your mind separate from others?

Which can be done at any time.

buying games on launch is paying the most money for the worst version of them.

That's false in several cases. Some games morph over time with forced updates, like Sonic Mania for example. The boss fight with Metal Sonic where you could attack him directly was changed into a Sonic CD style race, which is a neat homage to that game but giving no option to return to the original version of the fight is an erasure of that original version...in an official sense, there's no way to revert back to that version because of forced updates in today's digital centric landscape

 

[Humdinger]

Easy, I want to play the game I'm excited about as soon as possible.

Yeah, that is a good reason.

It's been a long time since I was that excited to play a game, though. I'm usually fine with waiting a few months. So, even though I'm not bothered by these issues as much as Mibu is, I end up sidestepping them by waiting. I can't remember the last game I bought right at release... It would've been years ago.

Saw this earlier today, seems relevant:

 

[Chronicle]

I completely disagree TS. I buy day one and enjoy from day one. I was fortunate to not have bought Cyberpunk day one. My spidey senses were tingling. Other than that, I've faired well. Bought GOW ragnarok and enjoyed it fully.

I see where you're coming from though.

 

[KàIRóS]

Technically you're right, but you would have to change the human brain and how we perceive things to see any significant difference, humans crave new things, we can't help it, it's in us to be excited about new shit be it good or bad.

And the numbers show it, games or pretty much any type of entertainment sells the most at "launch" and the game industry actually has it easy since devs can actually fix the game after a faulty launch and start to make numbers, we have 2 good examples in No Man's Sky and Cyberpunk, the film and music industries don't really have this advantage, if a movie or song flops at launch it tends to remain a flop.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

why are people (you?)

No, I'm a slime

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

I think we have a problem with QUALITY CONTROL for SOME GAMES at launch.

See: Cyberpunk as a massive example.

But even titles like RE4:R and Horizon FW are at fault to a much lesser degree. It's unacceptable to have terrible looking/controlling games of established series at launch.

Just delay the game.

 

[brian0057]

Buying games after a few months > Buying games at launch.

 

[Rayderism]

Us gamers are an impulsive bunch. Many of us just can't stand to wait when a new game we want releases. I'm guilty of being impulsive when it comes to new games. But it's just like hot peppers, even if it burns me, I come back for more.

 

[Pimpbaa]

I agree, mostly about the price. Games are now 90 bucks Canadian for me now (that’s over 100 dollars with tax), I definitely wait for sales most of the time. Bugs being fixed by the time it’s on sale is a plus too. Or if it’s on game pass, I’ll get it there. Although I may HAVE to pay 90 bucks on Switch since Nintendo games rarely go on sale (I ain’t waiting for a sale for Tears of the Kingdom).

 

[radewagon]

I'm speaking as a console gamer, but I don't see the big deal. I can't even recall the last time I played a game at launch and felt like it was significantly compromised. I feel like it's just one of those arguments that gets overblown. A majority of games are fine on day one.

I do think it's kinda dumb the number of games that have a day one patch these days, but that's another story altogether. In fact, it kind of works as a great argument against what you're claiming is a legitimate problem.

EDIT: As for DLC and Deluxe Editions. I actually love Deluxe Editions. If you wait for a sale, you can usually get them for less than it costs to have gotten the DLC at release. Even better when there's a physical copy of the deluxe edition.

 

[diffusionx]

I'm speaking as a console gamer, but I don't see the big deal. I can't even recall the last time I played a game at launch and felt like it was significantly compromised. I feel like it's just one of those arguments that gets overblown. A majority of games are fine on day one.

Dead Space, check out some pictures of the launch game IQ especially on PS5.

You're better off waiting at least a week in every instance, these studios just cannot be trusted to launch a game in acceptable quality these days.

 

[Northeastmonk]

One on hand it’s awful and on the other the games themselves are still playable. It takes a massive catastrophe like Diablo III’s launch or the Diablo IV beta before it really matters.

We had people here having a blast with Dead Space, myself included. Not to mention Hogwarts Legacy. I saw a lot of technical problems. Did that stop it from topping the charts? I don’t think a lot of people in our OT waited.

What the problem is - each game (unless it’s a service game) gets a lot of its revenue at launch. So what doesn’t make sense is that you have millions of dollars spent on a game that you’re also saying needs more work before you should buy it. I don’t think a lot of people listen to that type of logic. It’s sad because day 1 hype is always exciting. It’s asking for people to get more bent out of shape and delay their purchases. Social media feeds on a game around the game’s launch and then its onto something else. That’s just how I see it.

 

[Mr.Phoenix]

Agreed. I personally hardly ever buy day 1. Only exceptions so far being GT7 and the next would be Tekken 7.

At first, my reasoning was that with single-payer games,I could wait a year, and get it at a lower price, but now, its that and the fact that these games come in hot and bugged out.

 

[Warablo]

Everyone wants to be apart of the hype so they buy the games anyway.

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

FOMO effects in any industry at work. If you feel the need to buy day one over your sense of delayed gratification for a better or cheaper game that's on you OP. If less gamers pre-ordered or day one purchased shite games we'd see less shite games or games released in shite states.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

I'm speaking as a console gamer, but I don't see the big deal. I can't even recall the last time I played a game at launch and felt like it was significantly compromised. I feel like it's just one of those arguments that gets overblown. A majority of games are fine on day one.

I do think it's kinda dumb the number of games that have a day one patch these days, but that's another story altogether. In fact, it kind of works as a great argument against what you're claiming is a legitimate problem.

EDIT: As for DLC and Deluxe Editions. I actually love Deluxe Editions. If you wait for a sale, you can usually get them for less than it costs to have gotten the DLC at release. Even better when there's a physical copy of the deluxe edition.

How is that an argument against what I'm claiming is a problem?

 

[fart town usa]

That's false in several cases. Some games morph over time with forced updates, like Sonic Mania for example. The boss fight with Metal Sonic where you could attack him directly was changed into a Sonic CD style race, which is a neat homage to that game but giving no option to return to the original version of the fight is an erasure of that original version...in an official sense, there's no way to revert back to that version because of forced updates in today's digital centric landscape

What a wild change.

The same can be said for terrible games. When I saw how awful the base PS4 version of Cyberpunk was, you bet your ass I immediately went out and bought it, lol.

Same with something like Resident Evil 6 on the PS3, Not that the game was outright broken, but the vanilla version has a lot of changes from the patched/permanent release. Buying day 1 on physical, like you mentioned, allows access to versions of games that will be lost to time when it comes to legit purchases.

 

[bitbydeath]

Gaming would be dead if people didn’t buy at launch.

 

[Daneel Elijah]

For me the answer depends on if the game is single player or multiplayer.
The multiplayer ones and especially gaas do not interest me most of the time so i dont care about waiting and know that most will be( if they are not already at launch) free to play sooner or latter. I dont like them because of skill issues, i really suck at them, and because i fell that you have to follow the meta of each different game if you want to be seen as useful in those games. I prefer being slow and that never go well. But in the debuts of some of those games there is no established way of playing and the skill of players is random; so I found myself able to play and have fun in games like robocraft for a time. So being first there has advantages for me, but it is rare.

Single players games are my prefered style of games and I often buy them day one. Outside of FOMO, that I don't think I have that often, I do it for a few reasons:
I have been recommended the game by a friend. In the case of indies games, i can buy the game that a youtuber I like will play, finish it and then see the video knowing what avaits me. And if its helps the makers of the game good for them!
Some games are known for their technical problems but are fun to play anyway like the from software games. I prefer to play them before too many griefers arrives and don't mind it being a little broken at times. Dark souls 1, the boss with the 2 dogs? I finished the game without ever knowing that it was patched after I beat them because it was too"difficult".
Some games like Sony flagship ones or Nintendo or new GTA are safe from most problems. So I could play them immediatly and have fun. Few reasons not to in consoles a least. Some games like the Uncharted are graphical showpieces and as such have relatively lower lifetime where the whow effect will work. So I play them not too late to not be unhappy if I would do it when I already saw better just before.
One problem with not playing a game when it is out is that the more you wait for it the more you will forget it/ loose the passion that you had for it or it's genre. I loved FPS in the PS2 era with games like medal of honor, timesplitters 2 and black. But I stopped playing them and didn't try the first call of duty ones. So I will not try the new ones either. There is so many games each year and so many mega hits that you can't play them all and i prefer buy a game that I know will interest me and is new to a game that I know will interest me and is a remake because the remake can wait but the new game has more chances of being forgotten.
Of course outside of games like GOW that deserve all the love I can give to them it is better to wait a week just in case before buying. We never know.

 

[Jesb]

Good thing we don’t need to buy games at launch anymore.

 

[Damigos]

You are right OP. This is called FOMO and its so strong that even when people know the potential problems or bugs or steep price of a game, they will still buy it day 1 or preorder it.

Personally, i never buy games day 1 except for Diablo, WoW expansions and Gran Turismos. Every other game must be in deep sale.

 

[GenericUser]

I don't know op, i bought RE4 remake the other day and it works fine. Sure, there are companies that are notoriously known for releasing broken games, but once you know the usual suspects, you can avoid these games at launch.

 

[ProgenitorCastle]

What a wild change.

The same can be said for terrible games. When I saw how awful the base PS4 version of Cyberpunk was, you bet your ass I immediately went out and bought it, lol.

Same with something like Resident Evil 6 on the PS3, Not that the game was outright broken, but the vanilla version has a lot of changes from the patched/permanent release. Buying day 1 on physical, like you mentioned, allows access to versions of games that will be lost to time when it comes to legit purchases.

I didn't know that about RE6! I wonder what the changes were

To this day, it frustrates me so much that the PC version of The Evil Within was altered from the Day 1 original version...the biggest changes are visual downgrades, presumably done for performance reasons. It bugs me because I experienced it with the original graphics, like for example in Chapter 9 the Ruvik randomized stalker moments felt much more like Resident Evil 3.5 with intense tint effects when he's actively stalking you and in later patches the effects in the PC version were so toned down or outright missing in other places...it's a travesty. I want to check to see if the Gamepass version is a different build of the game with the original effects intact. What's strange is that other versions like the console versions still have the original effects, it's just the PC version that got downgraded for the worse.

 

[Tarnpanzer]

I don´t get why so many write about "FOMO" in this thread.

What is FOMO about playing SP-games a few months later?

 

[Fredrik]

Well yeah. Best strategy is waiting for patches.
Downside: You may have the story spoiled.
Upside: You get the games in better versions for less money or on subscription services.

 

[kicker]

There's far too much affection for developers. It's why you end up with people preordering totk and then admitting they aren't excited by what's been shown so far.

What's the point of being part of the launch hype if the launch hype is spoiled by queue times, waiting for day one patches or stuttering and crashing?
People just don't want to restrain themselves with games.

Just this year so far we've had Atomic heart, Wild hearts, Wo long, Callisto, Company of Heroes 3, Sons of the forest, Pharaoh, all having launch issues.
Maybe it's just pc gamers getting screwed

 

[DenchDeckard]

There is never a worse time to buy a game than to buy it at launch. It goes without saying that everyone knows that games at launch have the least amount of features, the most amount of bugs, and the highest price.

There is little to no incentive in buying a game, particularly a single-player game at launch and I think the industry is going to see fewer and fewer sales of games at launch over time. I'm honestly surprised that people still pre-order games digitally as if there was some digital scarcity. This is especially puzzling when there are little to no pre-order bonuses included.

There are entirely too many games on the market for this pattern to be sustained, to release buggy games at 70 dollars, only to release a DLC a year later, and then release a deluxe edition with the DLC and the patches 2 years later for like 40 dollars.

Unfortunately, I think the industry will take the wrong lesson from this and try to emulate Nintendo and keep their prices high. Hopefully, competition makes that difficult. They still know that the vast majority of people are still going to buy full price within the first few weeks/couple of months.

I guess my question is, why are people (you?) buying these games at launch?

You're so right, great post. I try my best to hold off now, my pile of shame is large so I have plenty to play.

I got caught in the hype for resi 4 becuase I love the game but even that has taught me to wait. I'll be trying my best to wait at least a month on most purchased games now due to how developers are treating them.

I think God of war is the only game in recent memory that didn't launch borled? Hats of to ssm.

 

[The Cockatrice]

I bough 99% of my games day one with barely any problems

 

[Feel Like I'm On 42]

The industry does have a launch problem. The pathetically rushed, broken, full of rediculous issues that should've been noticed and fixed before release, bug ridden launches where these companies are now charging $70 IS A PROBLEM.

 

[Danjin44]

Really? This year so far I bought Fire Emblem Engage, Octopath 2, RE4R, Atelier Ryza 3 and Dead Space Remake day one and none of them were broken.

 

[The Cockatrice]

and Dead Space Remake

Just because youre ignorant or blind doesnt mean they werent broken. Dead Space Remake had broken VRS and the textures looked like horseshit, we had a full topic about it even here on gaf.

Dead Space remake: post-patch PS5 + Series X/S performance analysis

Oliver Mackenzie investigates the Dead Space 2023 remake on PS5, Series X and Series S. Does the latest patch fix the issues that held back image quality?

www.eurogamer.net

As for the rest of the games in your list, I havent followed them but I doubt they have 0 issues. RE4R has huge deadzone problems for example.

 

[Nitty_Grimes]

Pre ordering games and paying for something that isn't finished three to six months in advance probably doesn't help either.

 

[Danjin44]

Just because youre ignorant or blind doesnt mean they werent broken. Dead Space Remake had broken VRS and the textures looked like horseshit, we had a full topic about it even here on gaf.

http://[URL][URL]https://www.euroga...emake-ps5-xbox-series-xs-performance-analysis

[/URL][/URL]

As for the rest of the games in your list, I havent followed them but I doubt they have 0 issues. RE4R has huge deadzone problems for example.

I played Dead Space remake in PS5 and I didn’t have the issue other than sometimes when I reload my save the camera gets stuck in save spot, other than the game was far from broken and as for RE4R again PS5, pulling head shot no problem and I heard that issue was mostly on Xbox.

 

[FunkMiller]

The video games industry would improve vastly, if dumbasses stopped pre-ordering games. Why the fuck are they going to make all that effort to make a game ready for launch, if you've already bought the fucking thing, sight unseen?

 

[The Cockatrice]

I played Dead Space remake in PS5 and I didn’t have the issue

Everyone had the issue lmfao. It wasnt a uncommon problem. It was a feature broken and enabled by force by the devs on all platforms. Ignorance is bliss I suppose.

 

[Kataploom]

That's why I only buy day 1 from Nintendo, if ever... I know the game I'll get will work flawlessly from the get go

 

[Hydroxy]

Paying full price for a game is like paying to be a beta tester. Waiting just 3-6 months and getting 50% discount for a improved version of a game is a no brainer. I understand some multiplayer games peak in player count at launch and die quickly but if that's the case those games weren't good enough to begin with if they can't sustain any players quickly after launch

 

[Neolombax]

Sometimes I get excited from a game, and there's a chance that game would be amazing. That rush of happiness when you get to play an amazing game on launch, and experience the hype together with like minded people is a really good feeling. That's why I buy some games day one.

 

[Lucifers Beard]

If it’s a big game like God of War then I want to play it day one so I have less chance of the game being spoiled for me. Simple as that.

Multiplayer games I generally get day one if I’m really interested in them. Buying these later down the line just means I get my ass kicked for longer as I don’t know maps or game mechanics that well.

 

[SleepySlippy]

There is never a worse time to buy a game than to buy it at launch.

Before launch is an even worse time. Just saying.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

I bough 99% of my games day one with barely any problems, they only game I experienced with major bugs was CP2077 and didn't even bought that day one.

This, and even with CP2077 I played it on XSX at launch with no major issues, I think it crashed once in 40 hours I put into it.

Once you figure out to ignore your backlog and sop spending money on countless promotions you have way more than enough money to buy a game Day 1 and enjoy it with everybody else right from the beginning. Bugs (if major) get fixed in hours, days tops.

 

[Mr Reasonable]

Yep, games used to try and incentivise early sales with free gifts and promo items. Now, you get a broken game, an apology and a promise to maybe look at what's going wrong. Also a "clear and present danger pack" that gives a character a new suit that everyone else has too.

I've posted this many times but I preordered Cyberpunk and am much less likely to preorder. I held off playing it because I knew patches were coming. By the time they stopped patching the game, it was available for half price. No need to buy anything unless you're going to play it immediately. No need to buy before reviews are up.

Incidentally, I got a Destiny bottle opener for preordering and still use it. That item probably cost them about 20p to make but it outlasted the game and still gets used.

 

[Drizzlehell]

1. Don't preorder because there's literally no reason to do it.
2. Wait a day or two until people start commenting on the state of the game.
3. If you're determined enough because it was a game that you've been waiting for since forever then you're gonna get it day 1 anyway, so who cares.

 

[Gandih42]

I completely agree - I feel like publishers (large ones in particular) have largely succeeded in creating a pre-order culture that is extremely unfavourable to customers and disincentives them to release a polished product on time.

I think it is great and even essential to be excited for new games, and playing on release can add extra value even for single player games. Especially given how interconnected people are online these days. It is a lot more fun (or at the very least, different fun) to be part of the discussion around your latest favourite game while it is in the zeitgeist. This makes it even more disappointing that so many major releases come out half baked and buggy.

That being said, thanks to digital releases one could in most cases very easily wait for reviews and previews to know the technical state of a game and still be able to play it on launch, so that gives customers some of the power back. But I don't think most people who aren't really into following games media are too bothered, so it's likely going to take more to change. I think we can also thank "Day 1 Patches" for part of this problem, although the possibility of patching also has some major benefits (when not used in a cynical way).

Personally, I very rarely pre-order games. Got too many to play as it is so there's not much of a point for me. So it is really only for physical collectibles I'd ever do it (steelbooks, I'm a steelbook whore), if I have faith in the particular game and developer.