Worried about whether or not you should click the ‘add to cart’ button before the game has even come out? Pre-ordering video games has lots of benefits — for both you and the community.
Here are 5 reasons why you should pre-order games.
It helps make sure the game actually gets released
Making video games isn’t a cheap thing. As higher quality engines are built, it costs more and more money to spend hours making sure everything looks right, runs smoothly and is released on time. A pre-order shows big interest to the company and their distributor, taking away from the worry that the game may not sell many copies.
You join a community
After pre-ordering you get to join in on the fun of speculating about features, hunting down reviews and seeing what that shiny new disc that’s going to arrive on your doorstep is going to be like. Within communities of gamers, the conversations that take place can make hours fly by like minutes. The internet makes this even better, creating a space where fans can get together to share information. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the conversation and forget why you’re having it in the first place.
You can be a hero around your friends
When there’s a hot new title being released, it’s known that people gravitate to whoever has the latest game that everybody has been waiting to play. Cue many afternoons after work all sharing a controller with a que of people waiting impatiently for their turn. It’s always a good way to bond with friends, and it’ll make you extra-popular while the game is still in the limelight. Even when they get tired of playing, you’ve still got the game to play and first dibs on the controller, so it’s a win-win.
All the free swag
Pre-orders have turned into a great way to get extra stuff for your money. Fallout 4 announced that it was also doing a real Pip-Boy. Other games give you a free download to earlier entries in the series. Call of Duty: Black Ops III gave away fan favourite maps while Rainbow Six: Siege is offering 72 hours of Renown Booster. If you know you’re going to be headed to the shop to buy a game the day it comes out, it makes sense to sweeten the deal for yourself for your hard-earned cash!
The excitement
Knowing a game is coming in the post creates the kind of excitement that’s equivalent to a birthday or Christmas. This involves counting down the days till when you’ll be spending a night sat down losing yourself in another world. It’s the kind of excitement that grows as the days go by. The thrill of hearing the postman walk up the steps while you calculate if today is the day that is arrives. And when it does arrive and you rip open the package and fire it up for the first time — you’ll realise that pre-ordering was a pretty great idea.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng&v=0_9dLZCKOvQ
Originally published December 1, 2015. Updated November 29, 2022.
