Pre-orders, as well know, has become the staple for video games these days. 

 

Pre-order and unlock the golden silent ultra omega super suit mk. 5!

Pre-order from Game Land and get the GL-themed map pack!

 

Stuff like that. But, something I've noticed is essentially how useless much of pre-ordering is. The only good point is if you're worried a game is going to sell out, so you want to secure a copy (which doesn't always work, I've heard.)

When I say useless, I mean those bonuses, because it honestly seems that while many games claim the extra content is a pre-order only bonus, I've still seen regular shelf copies having those bonuses.

 

I just bought FF Type-0 today, and I was aware that pre-ordering would net you the FFXV demo. However, when I strolled into GameStop today...what did I find? A Day One copy of Type-0, with a picture on it declaring it having the demo, sitting on a shelf.

I can think of many other instances than just this. Red Faction Guerrilla had a pre-order only map pack, but you can still get that pack by entering in a special code.

KH:3D is much the same, with many copies already having those special AR cards....or you can just view em online.

 

I realize there are many reasons why this is. Companies want to get as much early cash as possible, companies don't want to leave people out, etc. 

 

I just find it strange that pre-order bonuses aren't really that special at all. I'm sure in a month's time you'll still find new copies of Day One Type-0, still including that FFXV demo.

 

Anybody have thoughts to add, or any memories recalling other games that follow this trend of offering these bonuses, but just handing them out to anyone later?

Scalpers.

 

There's also those who do so for collection purposes, especially if the bonuses are physical item(s).  

Edited March 22, 201510 yr by OmegaForte

well i pre-ordered bloodborne because it comes with the soundtrack and the artbook. also at the midnight release i will be able to socialize with people who are fromsoft fans like me. we can talk dark souls during the wait.

but hell, thats just me 

Well most games come with the pre-order bonuses when the inevitable GOTY edition comes out these days. And honestly, I'm okay with that- the only game I can recall that honestly has pre-order only content was Fable 2 which gave you power armor reminiscent of Halo and what was basically an Energy Sword. It was legitimately only obtainable by pre-ordering the game, meaning that for the rest of time, I'll never get to use that stuff in Fable 2, and that drives me crazy. That it's not a hassle to get "pre-order only" content most of the time is more or less a good thing.

 

Also yeah, lots of times pre-ordering guarantees physical goods- My 1.5 artbook was easily worth the pre-order, for example.

Edited March 22, 201510 yr by HeyMouseSayCheese

Well most games come with the pre-order bonuses when the inevitable GOTY edition comes out these days. And honestly, I'm okay with that- the only game I can recall that honestly has pre-order only content was Fable 2 which gave you power armor reminiscent of Halo and what was basically an Energy Sword. It was legitimately only obtainable by pre-ordering the game, meaning that for the rest of time, I'll never get to use that stuff in Fable 2, and that drives me crazy. That it's not a hassle to get "pre-order only" content most of the time is more or less a good thing.

 

Also yeah, lots of times pre-ordering guarantees physical goods- My 1.5 artbook was easily worth the pre-order, for example.

 

well i pre-ordered bloodborne because it comes with the soundtrack and the artbook. also at the midnight release i will be able to socialize with people who are fromsoft fans like me. we can talk dark souls during the wait.

but hell, thats just me 

 

I suppose I glossed over that. It is kinda hard to get the physical stuff, but I also feel that stuff like artbooks and soundtracks might be sold later as well.

I just pre-order to assure that I can get a copy on day one. Most games I get these days don't even have bonuses since they're Nintendo games, so I really just do so to make sure I can go get a copy. I'm not even that worried most of the time, I just do it because I'd get it day one anyway. The only one I'm really worried about is Xenoblade X, because of the crap that happened with the original Xenoblade in America. Of course, even that doesn't seem to be a major issue here.

I hate pre-orders. Absolutely despise them.

 

For a recent example, let's take the Shulk amiibos.

I had no idea Shulk was pre-order only in my area. So, I walk in on the day it was released and they told me, "Sorry, we don't have any. It was pre-order only."

So now, I can only get a hold of one if I pay double the amount on eBay. That's just not worth it for me.

They say they do it so they know how many people want it, but that's stupid to me. I wanted it, why did I have to pre-order it?

 

Another example, Kingdom Hearts 1.5.

I dislike any pre-order bonus that is exclusive to the pre-order. The artbook could've been sold seperately, but it's exclusive. Why? To "reward" the people who pre-order? Why? It's pointless, if they wanted to buy it, they would buy it anyways, regardless of the bonus.

 

An even worse example is Assassin's Creed Unity, and by extension, all games that have in-game material as exclusive bonuses.

There are several different weapons you can get if you pre-ordered Assassin's Creed Unity at different retailers. To my knowledge, you can't get these weapons in any other way. Bullshit. Why not? It's part of the game, don't rip it out to "reward" people for pre-ordering your game. Let it stand on its own merits, and don't exclude others who don't pre-order. This is a really tame example, but I'm ranting off the top of my head, and can't think of a better one right now.

 

Now, my Gamestop and probably a lot of other retailers in my area are not even going to stock for any day one purchases, and only have enough for the pre-orders.

Why the firetruck is that a thing? You're going to just get more in a couple of days, why didn't you order for more units for the first day? Oh, that's right, you have to "reward" the people who pre-order. You're not rewarding them, you're penalizing the people who don't pre-order.

 

I found a video that expands on the issues of pre-ordering, but it's a bit long.

 

 

TL;DR Pre-ordering is bullshit. It's not rewarding people who pre-order, it's punishing people who don't.

I hate pre-orders. Absolutely despise them.

 

For a recent example, let's take the Shulk amiibos.

I had no idea Shulk was pre-order only in my area. So, I walk in on the day it was released and they told me, "Sorry, we don't have any. It was pre-order only."

So now, I can only get a hold of one if I pay double the amount on eBay. That's just not worth it for me.

They say they do it so they know how many people want it, but that's stupid to me. I wanted it, why did I have to pre-order it?

 

Another example, Kingdom Hearts 1.5.

I dislike any pre-order bonus that is exclusive to the pre-order. The artbook could've been sold seperately, but it's exclusive. Why? To "reward" the people who pre-order? Why? It's pointless, if they wanted to buy it, they would buy it anyways, regardless of the bonus.

 

An even worse example is Assassin's Creed Unity, and by extension, all games that have in-game material as exclusive bonuses.

There are several different weapons you can get if you pre-ordered Assassin's Creed Unity at different retailers. To my knowledge, you can't get these weapons in any other way. Bullshit. Why not? It's part of the game, don't rip it out to "reward" people for pre-ordering your game. Let it stand on its own merits, and don't exclude others who don't pre-order. This is a really tame example, but I'm ranting off the top of my head, and can't think of a better one right now.

 

Now, my Gamestop and probably a lot of other retailers in my area are not even going to stock for any day one purchases, and only have enough for the pre-orders.

Why the firetruck is that a thing? You're going to just get more in a couple of days, why didn't you order for more units for the first day? Oh, that's right, you have to "reward" the people who pre-order. You're not rewarding them, you're penalizing the people who don't pre-order.

 

I found a video that expands on the issues of pre-ordering, but it's a bit long.

 

 

TL;DR Pre-ordering is bullshit. It's not rewarding people who pre-order, it's punishing people who don't.

 

My biggest point was the general uselessness of some pre-orders seeing as many are available later anyways, but this raises another fair point.

I pre-ordered Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 one time. Being the idiot I was, I didn't realize that you had to go on their website and redeem the Juggernaut pre-order bonus character with a code on the bottom of your receipt, and that it wasn't included in the game at all. The really funny part is that the receipt you used didn't matter at all, and people could randomly use old ones to stock up on all the codes.

 

 

On the actual topic of redundant pre-orders, I've seen a lot of them, but I can't remember them at the moment. Will get back to this later.

Edited March 22, 201510 yr by Soul Eater Evans

In regards to the Day One Type-0 HD, it hasn't even been a week since the game released. It's entirely possible that someone who preordered it never went and picked it up on Day One, so they just left it there, and you were fortunate enough to nab it. That's how I got my Xillia 1 Limited Edition. I suppose there's always those one or two people who don't pick up their games, but I wouldn't always count on that.

 

I hate pre-orders. Absolutely despise them.

 

For a recent example, let's take the Shulk amiibos.

I had no idea Shulk was pre-order only in my area. So, I walk in on the day it was released and they told me, "Sorry, we don't have any. It was pre-order only."

So now, I can only get a hold of one if I pay double the amount on eBay. That's just not worth it for me.

They say they do it so they know how many people want it, but that's stupid to me. I wanted it, why did I have to pre-order it?

 

Another example, Kingdom Hearts 1.5.

I dislike any pre-order bonus that is exclusive to the pre-order. The artbook could've been sold seperately, but it's exclusive. Why? To "reward" the people who pre-order? Why? It's pointless, if they wanted to buy it, they would buy it anyways, regardless of the bonus.

 

An even worse example is Assassin's Creed Unity, and by extension, all games that have in-game material as exclusive bonuses.

There are several different weapons you can get if you pre-ordered Assassin's Creed Unity at different retailers. To my knowledge, you can't get these weapons in any other way. Bullshit. Why not? It's part of the game, don't rip it out to "reward" people for pre-ordering your game. Let it stand on its own merits, and don't exclude others who don't pre-order. This is a really tame example, but I'm ranting off the top of my head, and can't think of a better one right now.

 

Now, my Gamestop and probably a lot of other retailers in my area are not even going to stock for any day one purchases, and only have enough for the pre-orders.

Why the firetruck is that a thing? You're going to just get more in a couple of days, why didn't you order for more units for the first day? Oh, that's right, you have to "reward" the people who pre-order. You're not rewarding them, you're penalizing the people who don't pre-order.

 

I found a video that expands on the issues of pre-ordering, but it's a bit long.

 

 

TL;DR Pre-ordering is bullshit. It's not rewarding people who pre-order, it's punishing people who don't.

I can't say anything about Amiibos and the grief that they've caused.

But pre-order bonuses are just that - nifty little bonuses. Unless you're paying extra for stuff in some Collector's Edition, they're just free things that aren't even needed to enjoy the game. As for the in-game content/DLC, it is a bit BS, but then again, those things aren't needed to enjoy the game. As for things that cost extra, you just have to see if the extra goods are worth the extra cash. If they aren't for you, then that's that.

 

Now that I think about it, pre-orders are okay as long as they have enough copies to get through all the pre-orders and have some when the game is released. *cough*Majora'sMaskLE*cough*

In regards to the Day One Type-0 HD, it hasn't even been a week since the game released. It's entirely possible that someone who preordered it never went and picked it up on Day One, so they just left it there, and you were fortunate enough to nab it. That's how I got my Xillia 1 Limited Edition. I suppose there's always those one or two people who don't pick up their games, but I wouldn't always count on that.

 

I can't say anything about Amiibos and the grief that they've caused.

But pre-order bonuses are just that - nifty little bonuses. Unless you're paying extra for stuff in some Collector's Edition, they're just free things that aren't even needed to enjoy the game. As for the in-game content/DLC, it is a bit BS, but then again, those things aren't needed to enjoy the game. As for things that cost extra, you just have to see if the extra goods are worth the extra cash. If they aren't for you, then that's that.

 

Now that I think about it, pre-orders are okay as long as they have enough copies to get through all the pre-orders and have some when the game is released. *cough*Majora'sMaskLE*cough*

I get that some of them are bonuses that don't add to the game. Artbooks like the KH 1.5 one I raised above is an example of that. But why the pre-order? They could've sold it seperately. Then again, I don't have that much of a problem with them, since as you said, it doesn't effect my enjoyment of the game.

 

The thing that bothers me the most about the things that do add to the game, like the Tomb Raider pre-order bonuses mentioned in the video I linked, are how they are exclusive. They offered a whole tomb DLC on Day 1 of the release if they reached a certain amount of pre-orders. That DLC could very well have been in the actual game, with out being DLC or a pre-order bonus. It's beyond stupid in my opinion.

I get that some of them are bonuses that don't add to the game. Artbooks like the KH 1.5 one I raised above is an example of that. But why the pre-order? They could've sold it seperately. Then again, I don't have that much of a problem with them, since as you said, it doesn't effect my enjoyment of the game.

 

The thing that bothers me the most about the things that do add to the game, like the Tomb Raider pre-order bonuses mentioned in the video I linked, are how they are exclusive. They offered a whole tomb DLC on Day 1 of the release if they reached a certain amount of pre-orders. That DLC could very well have been in the actual game, with out being DLC or a pre-order bonus. It's beyond stupid in my opinion.

Both your points are valid. They could have just sold an artbook separately. (Although if they were to do that with 1.5 the book would have to be a bit better for it to be worth the money.)

As for pre-order DLC... Well, it's the same as normal DLC. The whole thing about having stuff that should already be in the game and not putting it in the game is indeed stupid. (But then there are things like costumes and such, which, again, aren't necessary, so we can let those be.)

I hate pre-orders. Absolutely despise them.

 

For a recent example, let's take the Shulk amiibos.

I had no idea Shulk was pre-order only in my area. So, I walk in on the day it was released and they told me, "Sorry, we don't have any. It was pre-order only."

So now, I can only get a hold of one if I pay double the amount on eBay. That's just not worth it for me.

They say they do it so they know how many people want it, but that's stupid to me. I wanted it, why did I have to pre-order it?

 

Blame that on Nintendo for failing on mass producing and their stupid mentality of "we make more amounts of well known characters, while for the lesser known characters, let's make less of them because we want to avoid them from being shelf warmers." 

TL;DR Pre-ordering is bullshit. It's not rewarding people who pre-order, it's punishing people who don't.

Pre-ordering is useful for budgeting and money management. Not once I have paid the full price of a game or product in one visit by pre-ordering it. This was what it was built for. It's a system that allows people who need to manage their money (because either their paying job sucks ass or mommy and daddy aren't there to make your purchase for you[we've all been there, don't lie about it]) over time (days, weeks, months) to fully pay off a game they want new and can't afford to drop $60+ on it (let's not forget collector's/limited editions). Whether or not it gets pre-order bonuses is completely unknown to me. At this point, if a bonus is announced, then the lucky people who preordered without the incentive are rewarded in that sense. If you're feeling punished because you could have had something by preordering it, but didn't, then it's only your fault, as you should know the outcome by now.

Pre-ordering is useful for budgeting and money management. Not once I have paid the full price of a game or product in one visit by pre-ordering it. This was what it was built for. It's a system that allows people who need to manage their money (because either their paying job sucks ass or mommy and daddy aren't there to make your purchase for you[we've all been there, don't lie about it]) over time (days, weeks, months) to fully pay off a game they want new and can't afford to drop $60+ on it (let's not forget collector's/limited editions). Whether or not it gets pre-order bonuses is completely unknown to me. At this point, if a bonus is announced, then the lucky people who preordered without the incentive are rewarded in that sense. If you're feeling punished because you could have had something by preordering it, but didn't, then it's only your fault, as you should know the outcome by now.

Then manage your money correctly, instead of relying on an outside dealer to do it for you. I've also never heard of anyone who pre-orders for that, besides you. Most people do it for getting the game on Day One "guaranteed."

 

The reason the bonus is there is to get more people to pre-order. They're not even rewarding the people who pre-ordered before giving the bonus, not intentionaly. They are specifically doing so to get more people to pre-order the game.

 

Why is the fault put on me? It shouldn't be common practice. It's stupid to exclude a group of people from content that contributes to the enjoyment of the game you're buying.

I only recently started pre-ordering games and I only do it if they have some decent content to give.

 

I pre-ordered Tekken Tag 2 and got a nifty poster along with four additional characters and a bunch of costumes, I pre-ordered 1.5 and got the cool artbook case, and I pre-ordered Naruto Storm Revolution and got a bunch of costumes plus a free OVA (I had a problem with getting some of them though, but it didn't have anything to do with the publisher, it was just my local Gamestop being dinguses.)

 

All in all, it depends on what you get and how you spend your money. Personally, I'm a bit of a collection whore, but again, I only get what interests me and what I afford, and I don't pay for games where I can't get all the content unless I pre-order it. DragonBall: Xenoverse was an exception because, well, I got the game for free. Though it is slightly annoying that I missed out on one character and two costumes and hopefully it'll be on digital stores soon for those who didn't get it. 

To be fair, Square didn't mean pre order to get FFXV, they said get the Day One edition and secure it through pre order. Don't know if it was mentioned.

Then manage your money correctly, instead of relying on an outside dealer to do it for you. I've also never heard of anyone who pre-orders for that, besides you. Most people do it for getting the game on Day One "guaranteed."

 

The reason the bonus is there is to get more people to pre-order. They're not even rewarding the people who pre-ordered before giving the bonus, not intentionaly. They are specifically doing so to get more people to pre-order the game.

 

Why is the fault put on me? It shouldn't be common practice. It's stupid to exclude a group of people from content that contributes to the enjoyment of the game you're buying.

No one's relying on an outside dealer. Why should I place $60 on a game that's months away, but I can still preorder it for at least 5 buck.

 

I've noted the incentive, so I've no idea why you're restating it. It's rewarding in the sense that someone who preordered the game before that incentive was there, now has that bonus.

 

It's not illegal or anything for them to do, so it's fine for it to be there. If you missed out on it, really wanted it, then you should have preordered it. You're not entitled to any bonus whether or not you preorder, so it's a fault all of your own.

preordering, at least in Canada, used to be a valid way to ensure you would get a game, since often games would outsell whatever stock we got. Back during the Gamecube eramy friend had to preorder Smahs Bros Melee, and I had to preorder Zelda Twilight PRincess, among other things.

Nowadays, unless you're Nintendo, games always have plenty of stock, preordering has been reshaped into a tool to serve hype manufacturers like E3. They convince you the game will be great, and you in turn give them your money before the game is finished.

Every preorder is a confirmed day one (or at least first week purchase) which for many companies is the most important week of sales, if not THE only week that counts.

So yeah, in summary

Or you can just check ebay to be sure with a demo:

http://www.benl.ebay.be/itm/FINAL-FANTASY-TYPE-0-HD-WITH-FINAL-FANTASY-XV-DEMO-ACCESS-PLAYSTATION-PS4-NEW-/181688742119?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2a4d7e30e7

Edited March 24, 201510 yr by KH4Real