There’s a few things within this industry which really get on my nerves, and I mean really grip my shit. Download content, on-disc download content, EA. The list goes on.
That’s not to say I don’t love video games, I do, that’s why I have a website dedicated to the subject and I spend most of my waking time either writing about them or playing them, food is for pussies and sleep is an option that you can turn off.
The thing that’s really pissing me off at the moment is pre-ordering games. Some of you probably pre-order every game that interests you, some of you may never pre-order in your life.
Pre-ordering a game used to mean going into your local video game retailer or the small independent game shop that smelt like pot, and putting down a bit of cash to guarantee that you would get your game on the day it comes out. Simple, effective, no bullshit. Just pure business at its best. Those were the days and I bloody miss them.
Those days were only 7-8 years ago, and the industry has changed to accommodate the super needy and super stupid.
Now when you pre-order a game you go into your local video game retailer, smelly independent store (which there are now less of) or go online and put down the cash so that you can guarantee that you will have it the day it comes out. Seems simple enough. It’s simple business at its best. And it’s also complete and utter bullshit.
Quick, how many editions of Assassin’s Creed III are there? The Walmart Edition with exclusive pre-order bonuses, the GameStop Edition with exclusive pre-order bonuses, the GAME edition with exclusive pre-order bonuses, the Amazon edition with exclusive pre-order bonuses, the Best B- it, there’s to many to care about and not enough that give the full content.
Each retailer has their own “exclusive pre-order bonus” to entice you to place your order with them. So instead of having a game with a whole bunch of pre-order bonuses available to purchase wherever you like, you have one game split between many retailers all offering a different pre-order bonus.
What if you want the pre-order bonus from retailer X but also want the pre-order bonus from retailer Y? Tough luck, choose and live it. That’s how we are getting screwed over.
This isn’t even my main point on why pre-ordering is outdated and needs to be abolished, it’s just another reason to detest it.
When you go online or in-store and pre-order whichever game it is that you want, are you genuinely worried that you won’t receive your game on the release day? Do you think there is actually a chance that no shop in town will stock it? Maybe ten years ago when the only place’s to get a game on release day were the video game retailers, maybe even the odd bookshop that stocked a few games now and then. Back then it was a possibility, today it’s almost the opposite with supermarkets and stationary stores stocking the latest games. Even my local convenience store has the latest games available release day, and that’s just the place I go to get my morning newspaper.
I have never pre-ordered a game, and I see no need to. When Call of Duty: Black Ops came out, I happily strolled into my local GAME branch, late in the afternoon I should add, wandered over to the “Charts” section and picked a brand new copy off the shelf. After turning it over in my hands a few times and deciding that a “snatch and run” scenario would probably land me in some hot water, I paid for my game and went on my way.
I wasn’t just lucky and went to a shop that has few customers and only one left in stock, this was in the city centre at the store that had held a midnight opening and served over 900 people through the night. When I walked in the shelves were well stocked and I wasn’t the only person in the shop buying the game.
The point is, if I can walk into the busiest game shop in town and get a copy of one of the best-selling games ever, on release day, without having to pre-order or hold any hostages, are pre-orders really necessary?
That’s just my opinion, and as I’m frequently told to shut up and put my pants on, I don’t expect everyone to agree.
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