Why Bother With Day One Purchases?

Mark Withers from Platform Nation writes about game prices being reduced dramatically shortly after a games release, and it becoming a growing trend that started as a novelty and is now almost the rule that all new video games follow.

[mushroomwig]

Well in many cases people have been waiting to play certain games for 2-3 years, the temptation to play them on day one is too much to contain.

[blitz0623]

There's also preorder bonuses, along with limited or collector's edition that prompts a day 1 buy, but nothing beats the urge to play it as soon as it comes out.

[NecrumSlavery]

I pick up certain games day one. But if I can wait a day or so. There's always those guys that steal the games from walmart and sell them to gamestop the next day. I like getting used games cause $55 + edge card 10% = a round $50 for a new game. Not a major whoop-dee-doo but nice still. Here's a question: Are EA games going to drop in price if they want to make money on this Online Pass bullspit? If some one buys madden 2011 at 55 bucks used, they still have to pay another 10 for online play, which in the end getting a used game costs 5 dollars more than a new one. Seems a bit scammish there.

[HammockGames]

Amazon & others routinely run $10-20 promos. If you chain these together you can get a string of new games a good chunk below their usual retail price.

I haven't paid anywhere near full price for a game since I started doing this sometime last year (usually $13 to 23 below sticker price).

[morganfell]

I tend to preorder a great deal. My complaint is so often preorder bonuses have issues, fail to work, aren't yet available, etc.

[RageAgainstTheMShine]

GT5, LBP2, Killzone3, inFamous2, Uncharted 3, The Last Guardian, Twisted Metal

are some of the titles already worth more than full price day one purchase.

[R0me]

Besides titles like Uncharted 2 didnt get a price cut for a long time, I watched that at amazon (it finally got a price cut, because its platin now).

[deadreckoning666]

"Well in many cases people have been waiting to play certain games for 2-3 years, the temptation to play them on day one is too much to contain."

I can understand that. I just don't understand the people who complain about high game prices, but consistently buy games on Day 1. If most gamers didn't buy games Day 1, HD videogames would be 50 or 40 bux instead of 60.

[gtamike]

Because we have jobs and don't have to rely on parents :)

[Darkfocus]

you mean you live at home with your parents but have a job :P

Not everyone who lives on there own can afford games all the time collage/university is expensive and so is rent, electricity and food.

[MetalFreakMike]

Darkfocus is right about living on your own. I have to pay bills every month and sometimes I do not have money left over for games. It sucks but I rather have a place to live than have a ton of video games with no electric, water, or even a place to put my games along with a TV to play them on. When you live with your parents and work, then you have a lot of money to spend on yourself. Things are harder when you have your own place so video game deals help in the long run.

[ukilnme]

gtamike still lives with his parents?

[gtamike]

Thats news to me

[ProjectVulcan]

This is true. But also so many of our friends who play online play these games for a while and we want to play with them, but everyone eventually stops and moves onto the next thing. If you waited three or four months for a price drop on many multiplayer games, you wont be playing with your friends which is a huge thing for me and a big part of the enjoyment

[kneon]

I think the multi-player plays a big part for a lot of people, and it's not necessarily only about playing with friends. I find a lot of people get obsessive about their online rank in some games, low self esteem I guess. Anyway, if you wait then you start out well behind everyone else so you have to get going right away.

[CobraKai]

that and I feel some devs earned my support to purchase games day 1

[Blaze929]

Now adays, it seems first week/day sales are all that matters. I view the gaming industry as I do the music industry when a Artist I like releases an album. All people care about is first week sales and if that first week bombs then they potentially will not be able to make another album/game.

So if the game is a certified AAA game or something, no doubt I'll do my part and buy it day 1. If it's a mediocre game I wouldn't mind playing but not at $59.99, then I'll get it used or months later when it's cheaper. Some of these games that come out now at $49.99 and $59.99 know damn well they do not need to be priced at such so their fault.

And then some games like Assassins Creed now, i no longer buy day 1 because just two months later tops you'll be seeing it everywhere for $30 and under.

So yeah, if it's something like a Rockstar North game, 2K Game and other big name developers/publishers and AAA then I'll buy it day 1. If it's a game I really like but feel it won't sell well, I'll buy that day 1 as well like I did Dark Sector - too bad that still bombed both critically and commercially.

[t0mmyb0y]

.

[jessupj]

The author assumes this happens everywhere. It does not.

Here is Australia games don't usually get marked down until AT LEAST a year after release. And even then the game goes from $120 to maybe $100. It's pathetic.

[wicko]

I think most developers would like it if their game sold copies on day one too :p

[morkendo]

here in seattle,wa @ gamestop retail games dont go down til 6 months to a year and good lord GT5 will not go down til a year later if that at all.

[NYC_Gamer]

amazon=nice deals

[CAPT_IRISH]

i live on amazon. with all the discounts and money off your next purchase for preordering, its great.

[nefertis]

nuff said.

[GuruStarr78]

just picked up crackdown 2 for about 55 bucks and I get it on release day, with preorder content and 10 bucks off my next purchase....so yeah, its cool, but most games wont get my money on release date, unless I know theyre going to be great games with alot of replay value....otherwise, If it's a game I know I'm going to finish in a few days, I rent it and return it.....

there's too many games out there that are not worth 50 or 50 bucks.....especially when you can rent 'em and never play them again.

[Focker420]

Because when something awesome comes along you can't pass it up. I buy most of my games when prices drop, but there are a few titles that I have to buy day one.

[Fanb0y]

Most stores have deals for day one purchases for high-profile games.

[e-p-ayeaH]

I bother with day 1 purchase cause hype is killing me xD

[ForeAllEternity]

I've asked that question to myself countless times...after the transactions...

[DrJones]

Because you really want to play the damn game. Duh.

[washingmachine]

i actually buy the game months later cause im cheap like that,but if its a game i really really wonna play ill buy first day,but thats rare lol. here in uk games are only 40£ new so all i gotta do is wait a few months for the drop down to 20-25£ and that little money i did save goes towards other

[Neo Nugget]

I tried resisting with AC2 and tried to gamefly it for PS3. After 2 days of not getting it in the mail, I said screw it and dumped 65 bucks at walmart for the 360 version.

The next day it came. :/

[Emmettcelticfan]

I generally get it on day one or a few days after. But I miss out on some great title because im busy playing other games. i recently ordered Dead space on PS3 for a small fee of £6.99 and im looking forward to it arriving so i can fire it up. £6.99 for a great title is a steal. For 6.99 i could get 3 whiskeys on a night out, £6.99 for a game is a great deal

[Jammy2211]

Not sure I'm ever going to buy a full price game again. The simple fact is no game lasts full price for more then a month here in the UK now and you can save over 50% by just waiting.

For me the new release argument doesn't cut it either, if you stagger it you'll no doubt always have brilliant games to play which have been cut to £18 or less. Why would I buy that new transformers game at full price when I've yet to find enough time to play GOWIII, Heavy Rain, FFXIII etc which I can pick up for over half the price.

Erm yeah, good article and I agree it could be a worrying trend. On the other hand it might be playing right into the publishers hands? More impulse purchases and more retailer stock build up *shrug*.

[Unicron]

Because I like to support developers by purchasing quality titles, even if I don't get to it for a few weeks.

[BBAM]

1. If you're buying it day 1, it's probably because you couldn't wait for the title to come out any longer.
2. There's a reason it has a starting price. If people don't pay the developers for the games they make, then they can't carry on making games and keeping the industry going.
3. Its not just the Developers and Publishers that need the money, the industry as a whole is struggling after the Economic crisis.

Obviously waiting for a reduced price is a far cry from piracy, but it's still not something that should be done for every game. In my opinion anyway, I enjoy gaming and respect what's needed to be able to keep enjoying it.

[Mahr]

Normally, I would agree, but having spent nearly a decade waiting for Sin and Punishment 2, the joy of knowing that I will be playing it the instant I get off work tonight is well worth paying full price.

Also, early-adopters get the privilege of breaking in the top spots of the online leaderboards.

[SovereignSnaKe]

DIDO!!! :D

[Darkfiber]

Um, cause I wanna play the game when it comes out? I don't want to wait 3 years, then wait another 2 years after it comes out so I can save $20. It's not like we're talking thousands of dollars here.

[nefertis]

anticipation be killing me so I have too get it D1B. Playb3yond.

[NBT91]

Most games, if not all that I buy on day one are really big ones that I have been waiting for for a while and know the date of.. Why would I hype a game up and wonder when it comes out if I then do not buy it day one? And also, I can afford to buy them. Even if you wait for a price drop, it's usually not a whole lot cheaper and you have waited years to save yourself what 10-15 english pounds? Ehhh thanks but no thanks. I suppose only being 18 I don't have much else to save for right now (I mean no bills or such) and having a job gives me enough money but my point on it not saving you alot by waiting still stands.

[vampstreak]

i only get day one purchases if the game is part of my favorite series mgs,re,ff, ect... all the others can wait or just get it cheap on ebay and amazon. cause thats how i roll

[redsquad]

If absolutely EVERYONE waited until a few weeks after release for the 'price to be reduced', we wouldn't get half the games that we do.

[PSjesus]

Is just for most anticipated games,even I'd like to pay extra money to get some games earlier
Like uncharted or inFamouse hell i give Sony 500$for getting the last guardian before any one ;)

[Michael-Jackson]

I don't buy games on day-1, reason being because there's no point if you live in NZ/AU, it's a ripoff! importing ftw.

[Nihilism]

I don't know if you live in AU or NZ, but if you live in AUS:

www.aussiegamer.com.au

I found out about this site a few days ago. I bought Street Fighter IV for PC for $24...the cheapest I have seen it is $69 at JB HI-FI. I also bought Devil May Cry 4 for PC for $10

Here's the sweetener....free shipping. I got them both in the mail this morning. They only ship to AUS though so if your an NZ person :(

They also import games, and they seem a lot cheaper than other places. I bought ME2 collectors edition from gamestop in the U.S...shipping was $30, the thing it though ME2 CE with $30 shipping was still $30 cheaper than EB games ( $89 vs 119 ) Game.com.au didn't stock the CE...

[Nihilism]

I don't know why I still buy games on day 1.

They are overpriced as it is, if you look at production costs/advertising costs/purchase price it is clear that the profit margin is very very high for games.

I bought 4 games this week for $80AUS, new games cost that much. I think i'll be getting more discounted games from now on.

Pro Tip: online stores are cheaper. There are lots of items that are better from brick and mortar, games are not one of them.

[DRiX]

I haven't bought a game Day One in... seven years.

I just wait for a Steam sale. :)

[Chaylon]

There are some games that definitively need day one pick up, for example: SF4, GOW3, and the soon to come GT5, those games are simply EPIC...

[kingme71]

Sorry, I never buy day 1. I don't play multiplayer much at all, so the appeal to play with the pack is not there. I get my games on Gamefly and if I like them, I'll pay the much reduced Buy it Now price that Gamefly offers. I'm playing Bioshock 2 now and the Buy it Now price is $14.39 and I have a $5.00 discount, so I can get the game for $9.39. This game was released on 2/8/2010. By waiting 4 months, the game is now $50.00 cheaper and I still have the same great experience in single player and could probably find multiplayer still going on if I was interested. Plus, I could buy it for the $9.39 and probably trade it in to Gamestop for about the same price making it nearly free.

[archemides518]

i have a list of games i buy day one (with discounts of at least $12 off retail) and then i have a tiered list of games that i'll get eventually for 30 or 20 but there's a little room for variation there

[Chaylon]

I agree with you pal, variation won't kill us.

[RatFuker]

RELAXXXXXXXXXXXX

[Sigh]

damn gotta get me that!

[neogeo]

Last game I got day 1 was fallout3 at midnight. I stayed up into 7am playing it. I was 20 hours into the game before anyone I knew had even started it. That kinda made me feel good. Not having to hear people spoil anything for me early. I even kinda liked the feeling of waiting up late for a game.

[Vortex3D]

Most games today shipped have so many bugs and glitches. Why spend $60 or more on the day 1 when the game is broken? A lot of the pre-order DLC aren't that useful other than cool to have.

Wait a few weeks and some of the bugs would have been fixed and often the price of the game has dropped.

Most responses here are for those who have no self control. When already waited 1-2 years, what's the difference waiting for a few more weeks especially able to enjoy the game without as many bugs on the day 1?

Often I think gamers act like 10 years old kid, must have it now at any cost and condition.

[commander]

Most online games are day 1s for me. There are some single player franchises that deserve day 1 purchases. But more and more of the crazy deals keep popping up. I got blur(ps3) for 10 bux and Dead space for 10bux last week.

[Jdoki]

I used to be a total addict for Day 1 purchases. Even if I had a stack of unplayed games I had to buy the latest and greatest AAA as soon as it launched.

But in the UK, the speed at which new games drop in price has seriously accelerated. It used to be around 6 months before any sort of price drop on most titles. Now it's just not worth buying on Day 1, as waiting even 1 month can lead to some serious reductions.

[Viper7]

If you consider pre-orders as day 1 purchases even if mail doesn't deliver them on day one, thats the way I purchase the games that I just can't wait.

I live in Finland but buy 95% of my games from UK, simply because Ill save like 20-50€ per game which is a lot (new games are 69€ here =.=" ).

But mostly I just wait untill the games hit bargain bin, and discounts. Gamestation, Blahdvd and Canadian Videogame plus offer quite juicy deals every now and then.

Its kinda sad really, I can get the same games from UK for like 10-20€ and still see them marked as 50-69€ in the video game stores in my home country. But am I am not patriotic or rich enough to care.

[jagstatboy]

shooters that look to have really good multiplayer I tend to get day one so I can start ranking up asap...single player only games I tend to wait until there is a price drop.