Re: I don't understand pre-orders. Do you preorder?

On Fri, 7 Feb 2025 09:36:12 -0700, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action, rms
wrote:

I guess what I'm really asking is does anyone here pre-order... and WHY?
Do you get anything out of it?

>
  This gets asked periodically, and I have pre-ordered various title over
the years.  Anything kickstarter is a pre-order, with the attraction being
actually helping a project you like get funded, such as System Shock Remake,
Overload, Woolfe.  I pre-ordered Cyberpunk due to all the hype, pre-ordered
Stalker2 via a greymarket site to get a hefty discount.  You can see that
some of these weren't in true release condition for years, was that a huge
deal, well not really.  The last couple years in particular, with its
tsunami of 'free' games from retailers and release debacles has made us more
blasé and cynical, but pre-ordering can still be fun

Yeah. I bought into the System Shock Kickstarter because I wanted them to
have a budget for it. They mismanaged it, but I'm glad I was part of
actually bringing it to release.

I've never considered that pre-order, though. That's more like venture
capital. Will you get a game? Who knows?

Crowdfunding was also very successful in the case of BG III, but I never
understood people playing such a totally unfinished product. 'They just
added the paladin class!' Ummm... wat? Really?

That said, all products release unfinished these days, even on day 1.
It's just about the degree of unfinished you're willing to put up. Civ
especially. The first offering is often a bore compared to the full game.

So I'm talking about pre-ordering something you can't play until release
date.

You got a deal on Stalker 2, so that's a win. If it's something you're
going to buy anyway, reviews be damned, then a deal is a deal. Civ VII is
being offered at a full-price $70 pre-order. A price break would pique my
interest.

How was your experience with Cyberpunk, which wasn't finished until some
time after its release? Did you feel it was a waste of money?

I think I pre-ordered Witcher 2 to fully support the DRM-free philosophy.
I would not do so again for CDPR. Witcher 2 was disappointing.

--
Zag

This is csipg.rpg - reality is off topic. ...G. Quinn ('08)