Nowadays a lot of games, especially the big AAA titles, let you pre-order their game and promise you goodies on top of it. Skins, additional quests, special items or maybe even some sort of physical goodie. While pre-ordering makes sure you get your physical copy in time, more often than not it feels redundant in times of digital copies to even pre-order a game in the first place. So, is it still worth the hustle, or should both players and studios ignore the pre-order campaigns in the first place?
The Origin Of Pre-Ordering
To make sure we all are on the same page, we’re defining a pre-order as any time someone offers you an item on their website or their store that isn’t yet available for sale, but will be at a future point in time.
Companies use pre-orders to allow customers the opportunity to secure an item ahead of time so they don’t have to worry about it selling out on the first day. People would pay a few bucks or even the full price in advance so the stores would also have a deposit in case the customers would cancel or simply not pick up their order.
This was heavily practiced back at stores when physical copies of a game were the only way of gaining access to certain titles. People would cue up for hours, even before the stores opened their doors, to be sure they would catch a copy of their favorite game… And we are not talking about any collectors or special editions, no, no. We are talking about the simple hard copy of the base game.
Both game studios and retailers often had no idea how popular or anticipated their games would be, so running a pre-ordering campaign was the perfect way of figuring out the rough numbers. From the number of pre-orders, they were able to roughly deduct the number of customers and sales they would make. This allowed them to properly prepare for launch and not accidentally produce too many copies like Atari did back in 1983. But a lot has changed ever since the early days of pre-ordering video games and people have started wondering if pre-ordering a game is necessary in the first place.
The Pre-Order Revolution
As we mentioned in the previous chapter, pre-ordering started with the simple hard copy of the base edition. There was nothing special about it, no extras, no fancy goodies. It was a simple box with a CD inside that you could insert in the console of your choice.
The first small goodies were a simple thank you for pre-ordering the game in the form of keychains, posters, or some stickers. It was nothing special but studios quickly noticed that those goodies were more popular than they first thought. Fans and collectors were eager to get those extra items which raised sales significantly and made the studios rethink their strategies.
Pre-order goodies became more and more valuable, ranging from artbooks & soundtracks to figurines and other physical items. But not everyone was able or willing to spend so much extra money on pre-ordering so the pre-order goodies soon turned into fully fletched special editions, leaving the simple vanilla base game more affordable. While there would still be extra goodies for the base game as well, those freebies stayed simple like extra codes or simple skins that don’t add much to the game besides some visuals.
The Danger Of Pre-Ordering
While back in the day pre-ordering simply guaranteed you that you’d get your product before everyone else did, times have changed quite a bit.
Nowadays a lot of games are available for pre-ordering, especially on platforms like Kickstarter which brings a lot of risks with it. While pre-ordering used to be rather safe, more and more companies cancel their projects or simply scam people into pre-ordering their products even though they never intended to release them in the first place.
Another problem is the quality of AAA games. While AAA titles deliver their products as promised, they sadly aren’t what they used to be. The pressure of hitting their release date and not disappointing their fans along the line often leads to problems. More often than not, games get released in an unfinished state or (if we’re lucky) they push back the release date completely.
In the age of digital copies, it makes almost no sense that games are still pre-orderable. There is no scarcity of copies nor the risk of having to wait for hours in a line. So, why should we pre-order games in the first place?
When Is Pre-Ordering A Good Idea?
Despite the fact that the days of hard copies are over, there are still a bunch of situations where pre-ordering makes a lot of sense.
Early Access
Many games offer early access for their games which lets you play between 24h and even a week earlier than the rest of the players. This way they get some more extra playtesters before the big release so they can fix bugs or instabilities that might occur during the EA phase. This way you can get an edge on your competitors by getting an earlier look at the game itself.
MMORPGs Or Other Server Based Games
While with digital versions of the game, there is no shortage of copies, it also means there is no limit to the players. With MMORPGs or other server-based games, this can cause massive problems during their release. If a studio has no idea how many players to expect, it can lead to server overloads with endless cue times to get into whole server crashes if things go south. This is why a pre-order campaign can come in quite handy in times like this.
Special Editions & Other Goodies
This one is kind of a two-edged sword if I have to be honest. Special editions and other goodies are nice to have but sadly it often plays on people’s fear of missing out. While many studios still give their best to provide their fans with high-quality figurines and other things, there are a lot of black sheep out there that try to make extra money by scamming people into spending more than necessary.
A good example is the Final Fantasy Collectors Editions that come straight from Japan. Most of their games come with amazing figurines and a lot of extra goodies like the art book and more. One of the more disappointing collector editions in recent years was the one from Hogwarts: Legacy. Both the physical and digital goodies were under a lot of criticism for being overpriced and low quality which upset quite a lot of buyers. I personally got myself only the Digital Deluxe Edition because even as a huge Potterhead myself, that one was just not worth it to me. So, when it comes to pre-ordering things, make sure the products you’re getting are worth their money.
When Is Pre-Ordering A Bad Idea?
Now that we’ve looked over the times where pre-ordering is a good idea, we also have to cover the things you shouldn’t invest your money and time in. One thing we like to mention: We are also going to focus on negative trends in the industry that have had a rather negative impact on both the quality and content of games. If you still want to invest the extra money, it’s all up to you but we just want you to be aware of those traps.
Pay-To-Win Mechanics
A very negative trend with pre-ordering nowadays is that a lot of games include things in their pre-order which gives people an unfair advantage over others. Permanent buffs, strong weapons, or other unique items that make them stronger from the get-go. While this isn’t too bad in single-players, it is a plague in everything multiplayer. While pay-to-win mechanics are more common in free-to-play games, some studios have started to charge people on top of the base game which feels like a huge scam for many that they have to pay extra. Especially if it feels like a necessity to progress the game.
Extra Content That Should Have Been In The Game From The Start
This point is something particularly annoying and irritating. Some studios actually hide important quests, game features, or other things behind a paywall even though they are either story-relevant or feel like they make the game complete in the first place. While putting in some extra stuff and goodies for your players is an amazing idea, the base game should never be broken up into pieces in the first place. Sometimes it’s hard to discern if this is the case before buying the game but you can either watch playtests or compare it to older games to see where you’re at.
Bad Quality Goodies
The rough price of Collectors Editions lies roughly between 100-300$, especially AAA games that tend to sit in the upper part of that price range… But that doesn’t necessarily mean it is actually worth the price. Some studios try to cut corners wherever they can, so it’s important to watch out for those pitfalls. Are the posters paper or metal? Are art books included in the special edition hardcover or not? Is the figurine big or small? Is it chunky or delicate? Over time you really get a feeling for the quality and worth of a collector’s edition so don’t fret it if you struggle with it at the beginning.
Pre-ordering has become less of a necessity and more of a luxury. People don’t need to wait in line anymore to get their game so if we pre-order things, it’s only to make us feel good. Some extra goods here, some early access there… And there’s nothing wrong with that. The only thing we should avoid is supporting the sort of games that hide content and things like boosters behind a paywall to give people an unfair advantage if they pay extra. Rather invest your well-earned money in something more substantial and support the studios who deserve it.
Since you’re already wondering if pre-oder bonuses are worth their salt, maybe you’re also interested in the reason behind collectors & special editions:
Collectors Edition Or Base Game: Why Can’t They Just Make One?
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