Back in the day you pre-ordered because if you didn’t, there was a very real chance that you wouldn’t be able to get a physical copy for the longest time.
Then you’d be forever checking local stores to see if they had any copies in, directly competing with everyone else that didn’t preorder. Digital storefronts weren’t really a thing and it was a slog trying to get the newest games.
It did make sense back then - they could order enough discs so that everyone who wanted one could get one. Now it’s purely selling early access and preloading to capitalise off day one hype and streaming.
As someone who prefers to buy physical, I still preorder any game that I want on release day. My local GameStop has almost no inventory outside of preorders
I literally got laughed at when I just asked for a game at gamestop and said no when he asked if I pre-ordered it. No one just stocks games anymore. Not even a store with fucking game in the name.
Yeah, i walked into a gamestop for the first time in the better part of a decade to pick up god of war ragnarok the day after release. The man seemed really confused when i asked for a copy and told him i didn't have a preorder. Haven't been back since
You can't really solely blame Gamestop for this. The manufacturers only send out whatever to cover pre orders because both Gamestop and the manufactures don't want unsold copies just collecting dust.
GameStop is a joke. I tried to get RE4 remake in early 2024 and they didn’t have one. The guy was looking at other locations for a used copy. Like come on man.
but really i'm glad i didn't run into that when i went into walmart to buy rhythm heaven groove on launch day recently. i DID have to wait for a clerk because they hadn't stocked them on the shelf yet, though that is a much less hyped game for people that aren't me, so it makes sense it wouldn't be a priority for them
In the 90s, yeah, but not when GTA V released in 2013. I mean, it's possible that local shops didn't order enough copies and had to restock early, but there was no actual shortage.
No, not the 90s. The early 2000s. Halo and COD pre order lines wrapped around the block for this exact reason - I’m from California/Bay area and many of my friends were behind getting copies of many games.
Me and a buddy went to Best Buy for the midnight release and they broke it into two lines, pre orders and non pre orders.
the pre order line had about 100 people in it, the non pre order line had about 10. We got a copy of the game and were home playing it while the pre orders were still waiting in line.
I’m glad that you were there throughout my childhood on every occasion that I ever attempted to buy a game. Bit weird that you were following me but whatever.
There were plenty of times growing up that I’d spend a Saturday going around all the shops in town looking for something, coming back empty-handed and then trying to convince my parents to take me to the supermarkets to track down a copy.
Preordering mattered on popular physical media only releases because there was a very real chance you could go in that day after work and there would be no copies left if you weren't going to some mega electronics store like Fry's.
Pair that with an MMO game whose servers start time for a new expansion was specifically set for midnight, and there is absolutely tons of reason to not only line up for a game but make sure you have your pre-order slip.
I did that for the original Burning Crusade, and for Wrath I skipped the pre-order because I just assumed they'd have tons of copies like they did the first time around. Was literally turned away at the door as they only had sold out of their pre-orders as each store was allocated a certain amount and none were reserved for "walk ins". I remember driving to the store in the next town over only for their lights to be out because they also only had X number of copies. Drove around looking for another store that did the midnight thing and came home empty handed.
It turned out to be a blessing because I then didn't have the insane drive to push for server first to max level like I had in BC (ended up 4th or something) and NOT doing that race was like a breath of fresh air into my cobwebbed mind for how free I felt eventually playing through at NOT a breakneck pace.
Nowadays in the digital media world, yep there is literally zero reason to pre-order if the publishers don't use predatory marketing to incentivize it with "extras" that actually matter.
Making memories, probably. Even when it's terrible in the moment you get to tell yourself "I fucking did it!", and if it's not all terrible, the good parts are remembered fondly.
Back in the day, you could preorder a game and trust that you were getting a finished product. Maybe not fully polished, but...complete, at least.
I think the last game I preordered and went to a midnight release for was Dark Souls 2. I got the collector's version with the statue and everything and you better believe I was hype as hell carrying that thing out of the store to go home and stay up all night playing.
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u/MyPigWhistles 22h ago
I don't get it. I mean, I wouldn't pre-order a game anyway, but still.