Is there any point to buying on release any more?

I think it's a good thing that we now have the Steam refunds going on. Look at what recently happened to the Batman game. I hope that developers start to put some actual time and effort into their games now otherwise they'll not make as much as they used to.
 
Sem said:
preoderig can but useful in the digital age due to games like with GTA5 and Witcher where you could download 10s of gbs of data and have the game playable the momment its relased
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I didn't know this!
Although, I'd still rather wait to make sure the game is actually any good...
And by any good, I mostly mean does it work properly.
 
I watch the trailers and play betas / demos to see if I like a game, if I do I pre-order it. If I haven't had the chance to play it before release I see how many of my friends are getting it and if enough of them are I'll get it to play it with them.

I must have a lot more of a relaxed position when it comes to games, as long as the basic principle of the game works I'm fine with it. Problem is people are still stuck in the days of no-DLC extras, DLC has been a thing for so long now that you might as well just accept it as it's going no-where.
 
I had to stop buying games on release a few years ago, bar a very few exceptions, as they are generally broken. They have fooled me more than once on this, so I have stopped buying games on release as they do not work properly. Wait for the patches and drivers (although even they do not fix some games).

The only games I’d get on release would be GTA V or Half-Life 3 or Portal 3 or some other singularity. Although, I very nearly did not get GTA V on release as GTA IV was an appalling performance disaster and even Portal 2 didn’t work properly on release (not to mention the launch disaster of half-life 2!) so if even Valve can’t do it, then apparently nobody can. Wait til the people who did buy it on release have found the major bugs and they have been fixed (hopefully!), or else wait for the sales and get it half price (and working properly).

It is too risky to buy a game on release as, in general, they simply do not work properly. Devs know that millions of kids will NEED a game on release, so, sadly, if you join that group you are paying (usually a premium) to do their bug-testing for them. I will wait until it’s done.
 
chroniclard said:
Bought plenty of games on release/Pre release and had relatively few issues. Some exaggerating going on. :)

Not expensive either, generally loads of deals Pre release.
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There is no need to exaggerate, virtually every single game I have bought on release has had some significant problem, like it won’t start, or you can’t even log in, or their servers are jammed or performance is appalling, or it’s still in beta (or alpha!) or there are no decent drivers for it yet or you had to go through Games for Windows Live (remember that? *shudder*).

Even great games were a disaster on release, WOW, HL2. Do you remember BF4 on release? That was fun wasn’t it? Dead Island devs released the wrong version of the game! There’s too many to mention. I’d like to see a list of all the games that actually worked properly on release day. It shouldn’t take too long to compile the list.
 
Thread summarised in one post:

"I'm never buying on release again, thieving ******* developers!

Except for (insert AAA title here). I'm SO hyped for that" :D
 
I bet most of us have at some point bought something before or on release because of the excitement. The next smartphone, a book, a GPU, maybe even a car or a new-build house. Ever gone to the cinema rather than waiting for TV release? The list goes on.

Do your research, weigh up the risks and make a decision. If you trust the company, feel the price is fair and affordable and feel confident the money you are spending is worth the risk then go for it. Being excited about something new will generally cost more than waiting a few months, it's not exactly a new technique to sell stuff ;)

Me? I've pre-ordered Fallout 4 because I want to play that game the second it comes out and am willing to pay a premium for doing so. It might be the wrong choice but I've done my research, I trust Bethesda to make a cracking game and feel I'm getting good value for money despite any bugs on release. Bethesda know people will feel like that and will throw money at them. Supply and demand.

Sometimes you just have to pay up and jump on board the hype train. Choo choooooo.
 
Only two games I bought on release were World of Warcraft and Left 4 Dead 2 as well as other Valve products few days after release since I trust the company.

Perhaps ironically after posting in the thread originally I pledged $100 for Squad on Kickstarter albeit it was for 2 keys and I again trust the developers as they have almost 10 years of mod experience with Project Reality.
 
derv said:
Me? I've pre-ordered Fallout 4 because I want to play that game the second it comes out and am willing to pay a premium for doing so. It might be the wrong choice but I've done my research, I trust Bethesda to make a cracking game and feel I'm getting good value for money despite any bugs on release. Bethesda know people will feel like that and will throw money at them. Supply and demand.
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Bethseda, well known for shipping broken games. Really, you got yourself caught up in the hype despite claiming you never pre-order. There's only two questions to ask yourself

1. Does it cost what you're willing to pay? That's a subjective judgement everyone makes for themselves.

2. Does it do what you want? Something no one can know a year out from release.

We've seen broken games on release time and time again, yet people still fall for it. Even if it's a game you really want and are really hyped about, paying more to get a day one game that craps all over your gaming experience by being broken for a few months is only going to spoil it.

You're better off waiting till the game is confirmed fixed (either by reviews, early adopters or patched down the line) and then enjoy the game as it was meant to be, or ignore it if it's never fixed and just a shadow of all the big claims made by the marketing department.
 
I've not bought a game at release for a few years now, excluding GTA V.

Not so much because of any great anger about pre-order etc, but simply because

a) new games require beefier graphics, which cost a lot
b) new games cost a lot compared to 1-2 year old games
c) new games have more bugs compared to patched games

So in most cases, I don't see the benefit. It takes me long enough to get round to playing titles that I've got a lot of old ones to go through before the new ones come out.
 
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