I mean, if the choice I face is to spend $50 buying a new game made for a mass market (and then having another $50 squeezed out of me through DLCs), or spending $100 on a game that's tailor-made for a much smaller market with a narrower demographic... that second option is really not looking that bad at all.
Chris Roberts wanted $20 million.. we gave him near $100 million. I think the publisher model is quaking right now.
Actually it's true preordering games is the most stupid thing you can do, as there is no reason to throw your money n almost finished game that would be made regardless, without any knowlege if it is good. On the other hand, crowdfunding is about creating the game that would not be made if not for your money. The risks may look the same, but the reason someone asks for your money before release is very, very different. There have been many instances of publishers prolonging review embargos just to cash in on preorders, because the knew that no sane man would buy their game(ever heard of Aliens colonial marines?), while with crowdfunding they are actually asking for money before game is made, so even if they don't deliver it's not used as a way to get money for sub-standart product. And most importantly crowdfunding is for just that - funding. it's to get money to make a game, not to gain income from a game that is already funded but not doneIt's one thing to preorder games, but a lot of people will always be wary of plopping down money months or years before their game materializes.
Firstly, I don't think God needs to be brought into this . Secondly, you're wrong, because you're making a very broad, sweeping statement, based on just a few experiences. Yes, obviously there are publishers that abuse pre-orders, fool people into buying a bad game, and so on. But that's not anywhere near the end of the story. For small developers who work with a publisher, pre-orders can be crucial. A small developer cannot afford to wait until the game is successful to sign a contract for the next project. Usually, they will sign a contract before the previous project is finished. Pre-order figures can help them enormously by strengthening their position in the negotiations. Equally, even for a large publisher, pre-orders provide vital information, allowing them to make projections about post-release sales and so on. Such projections help publishers to work out their financial standing, which in turn keeps people's jobs stable. If publishers were entirely reliant on post-release sales, things would be much more unstable for employees. Job security would be greatly affected. This, in turn, would affect the quality of games being produced. As an industry, we already have a very hard time hanging on to veterans - many game developers leave the industry after ten years or so, because they want greater stability. That's bad news for customers. The lack of pre-orders is far worse for gamers in the long run than the occasional abuse of pre-orders by publishers.Actually it's true preordering games is the most stupid thing you can do, as there is no reason to throw your money n almost finished game that would be made regardless, without any knowlege if it is good. On the other hand, crowdfunding is about creating the game that would not be made if not for your money. The risks may look the same, but the reason someone asks for your money before release is very, very different. There have been many instances of publishers prolonging review embargos just to cash in on preorders, because the knew that no sane man would buy their game(ever heard of Aliens colonial marines?), while with crowdfunding they are actually asking for money before game is made, so even if they don't deliver it's not used as a way to get money for sub-standart product. And most importantly crowdfunding is for just that - funding. it's to get money to make a game, not to gain income from a game that is already funded but not done
So, for the love of god, please do not preorder videogames.
Sorry for a bit of OT rant but I really believe prordering hurts gamers in the long run
I'd say that it depends on how far in advance you are pre-ordering and your motive for doing so. If you order a week or two in advance so that you will have a reserved copy instead of waiting in a long line at the store and finding them sold out, then I think you should do it. But if you're talking about ordering months in advance when the game is still unfinished, then yeah I get your meaning.
Though it has to be said, this maxim dates back from days when Nintendo's consoles (the only technology Miyamoto has any experience with) had no possibility of patching a published game . There certainly are games out there that were bad or mediocre initially, and were made good using patches and/or DLCs.I personally subscribe to Shigeru Miyamoto's Maxim: "A delayed game can be made good, but a rushed game is bad forever."
Though it has to be said, this maxim dates back from days when Nintendo's consoles (the only technology Miyamoto has any experience with) had no possibility of patching a published game . There certainly are games out there that were bad or mediocre initially, and were made good using patches and/or DLCs.