Why do people pre-order?

[DaveF]

I've been wondering this for a while: Why do people pre-order game systems?
Aside from Sony's PS2 blunder, it's not as if there's a shortage of these things. They're not limited editions that you won't be able to get a couple of weeks after launch. Plus, it's a pay now, play later venture, with no deal for order bundles or early.
I don't get it. Why pay now to get stuff later, when the toy will be around for the next three to five years?

 

[Dave F]

Because many people want the system on the day that it comes out, much like getting DVDs on the release date. While the PS2 shortage was extreme, you can pretty much count on sellouts on the opening day. It happened with Dreamcast, PS2 & GBA (although more GBA's were available in a few days), and will liikely happen with XBOX and Gamecube.
-Dave
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DVD List

 

[Brian Lawrence]

Wow a DaveF had his post answered by Dave F
At first I had to take a second look, but they are in fact two different people. I mean What are the odds of that?

[Edited last by Brian Lawrence on September 02, 2001 at 07:09 PM]

 

[NickSo]

lol.. i was a bit confused at first there as well...
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[Andre F]

I admit it....I like to play the latest and greatest as soon as I can. I've always been this way with games and don't plan to change anytime soon.
-Andre F
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-= Take your stinking paws off me you damn dirty ape! =-

 

[Scott L]

They're not limited editions that you won't be able to get a couple of weeks after launch.

Actually it was still hard to find a PS2 a couple of months after launch. It wasn't until April or May of next year that people started seeing them on the shelves and not on eBay.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

If you could get a console or game on the day it came out and not have to pay anything extra, why wouldn't you? Some people say that they should read reviews first, but reviews are available around a month before many games from magazines or websites that get advanced copies, so that isn't an issue. Also, some people play demos of games (like MGS2 or Devil May Cry) and then want to get the full game.

 

[Dean Cooper]

Well I preorder systems to make sure I'm not pulling my hair out trying to find one on launch day. It doesn't cost anything extra and takes the stress out of it. If I'm not that interested in the system I wont usually get it until it does or I find one really cheap. I usually take the launch day off work so I can go straight home and lock myself away uninterrupted for the entire day.
Dean

 

[DaveF]

Wow a DaveF had his post answered by Dave F...What are the odds of that?

Given the number of Dave F's running around the world, the odds are pretty good. Oh yes, we're everywhere, and soon we'll be in control...

At least with DVDs, they are generally on sale release day, providing some extra incentive to buy early. It seems consoles and games are priced full retail for pre-orders.
And the PS2 was a special case, with a truly botched launch.
Still, the answers didn't surprise me -- must have new toy now! But since there is almost nothing that I feel the need to have the moment available, I don't really 'get' it.
Vive la difference

 

[Gary King]

Well, after hearing reports from stores around the country, I decided that waiting to preorder an Xbox would leave me totally empty handed November 8, so I placed my order tonight.
And then (sadly enough), I spent the next two hours researching HDTVs...

 

[Graeme Clark]

I wouldn't call the PS2 a special case, just a sign of things to come. Even if was were able to deliver it's full 1 million units on launch day, it would have easily sold out and would have been hard to find one for quite some time.
The N64 release was similar. It was pretty hard to find the systems for a little while after it's release. And I think we may see similar situations with XBox and GC.
I think part of it is that most people like to be first, to have things that other people do not. It's no different than going to see a sneak preview of a movie opening the following week, or even going to see it on opening day instead of waiting until Tuesday when it's cheaper.
If you want a system as soon as possible to either show off, or just so you don't have to wait for when the other peasants are buying their systems, then there is no reason to not pre-order. It's not like you're buying it off of E-Bay for a rediculous price.

when the toy will be around

Toy? The fact that you consider these things toys may partially explain why you don't understand why anyone would pre-order.
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[Sean Oneil]

quote: And then (sadly enough), I spent the next two hours researching HDTVs...[/quote]
Oh Boy, are you in for it now.

Assuming that you want to stay within a reasonable (subjective term) price range, I can tell you from experience to stick with 'Mitsubishi', 'Pioneer Elite', or 'Toshiba'. You can make the Mits look Real nice with quite a bit of tweeking, but this can require special calibration via a laptop computer reprogramming the EEPROM inside the set. The Toshibas, when last I checked, were a bit more tweek friendly. I still prefer the overall sharp image you can get from a properly calibrated Mits WS set. See if you can find a dealer with some properly calibrated Tosh, Mits, and Elite units side by side and compare.
And when playing video games on a RPTV, turn that contrast setting down!!!

[Edited last by Sean Oneil on September 03, 2001 at 03:30 AM]

 

[Carl Johnson]

People pre order because it's cool to be first in line to try something new. Would you ask this same question of someone ordering a new book from their favorite author before it hits the shelves?

 

[Dave F]

And then (sadly enough), I spent the next two hours researching HDTVs...

Don't feel bad Gary, I spent 2 hours on Sunday researching component cables.

...Maybe I should start researching a 12 step HT program...
-Dave
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DVD List

 

[Gary King]

I'm actually more in the market for a smaller, Direct-View HDTV (a slightly smaller reasonable price range). I don't want to break any significant price barrier, since I plan on eventually replacing it with a front projector.
Aside from the lack of an anamorphic squeeze or 720p (aargh), there's an entry-level RCA that has caught my eye. I figure an HTPC (or perhaps even the Xbox) will take care of the anamorphic squeeze for me, so it's a question of whether $1200 (Amazon is running a special, with no shipping charges) is worth it for a TV that does 480P, 800x1080i, and 800x600 VGA. Performance-wise, Home Theater magazine indicated that it was fantastic (near-perfect color gamut, very flat grey scale).

 

[DaveF]

Toy? The fact that you consider these things toys may partially explain why you don't understand why anyone would pre-order.

What are they, if not toys? They're not appliances, computers (you know what I mean), cars, investments, art, or home improvements. Video game consoles are toys -- things we play with for entertainment.
Expensive toys, to be sure, but toys all the same.

 

[Rusty Ray]

you could say the same thing about computers, or dare i say, dvd players as well....

 

[Dean Cooper]

Actually, I would say that anything that is used for entertainment is in a general sense, a toy. Hell I think corvettes or Hotrods are toys, very expensive toys but a toys just the same.
Dean
[Edited last by Dean Cooper on September 03, 2001 at 04:32 PM]

 

[DaveF]

you could say the same thing about computers, or dare i say, dvd players as well

And I would

http://www.dictionary.com/cgi-bin/dict.pl?term=toy

 

[Graeme Clark]

Ok, it's a Toy then.
But... Game Consoles still carry the stigma of something that a child plays with (a toy perhaps?) and any normal person will grow out of them. Something like a car, DVD player or a Palm Pilot does not. They are a grow ups toys and when you do refer to them as toys, people don't think of Tickle Me Elmo and Candyland.
The impression I got was that you thought of these a childs toys and can't understand why anyone would want one on the day they're released.
[Edited last by Graeme Clark on September 04, 2001 at 04:00 AM]