I wanna talk about DLC. I bought a physical copy of Fire Emblem Engage. I also bought the DLC. I had to go out to take someone somewhere and wait, so I brought my Switch. The game was running before I left home. Had to connect to the internet to resume the game while I was waiting for the person.

I don't often preorder, but when I do it's because I know I won't regret my purchase, and I know I want a physical copy to arrive on day 1. Of course I know there's some risk, but if I felt a game really was that risky then I would wait, I just buy the ones I feel are safe bets.

I know what developers and series I like, and if one of my favorite games is getting a sequel I know I'm playing it. Even if the sequel isn't quite as good as the prior game I liked, they're never bad enough for me to not want to play them at all.

I suppose it helps that my tastes lie far enough outside the kinds of mainstream AAA games that are prone to totally botched launches that I've never been truly burned.

I don't bother pre-ordering anymore. Can't afford to. Most AAA games are £60-£70 on release (up to £90 if you want the Upgraded Super Deluxe Gold version). I wait until a game goes on sale before I buy it. By then all the bugs have been patched and most of the DLC has been released so you get a better experience.

You don't need to pre-order anything except limited edition collector's releases of which there will be relatively few physical copies. You don't need to pre-order EA Sports titles, Bethesda titles, Halo, Gears of War, Assassin's Creed, Call of Duty, and especially not digital games. Pre-ordering systems are inherently anti-consumer. Even systems that don't require a down payment on the game, still exist to prove to publishers that pre-ordering is a viable way to make money. Not only that, but your personal information is now in a database that you don't control or can consent to 3rd party access. Just don't do it.

I pretty much don't even buy a game after it's been launched now and I wait a couple of months to see what happens. They haven't bought out a game since Halo that I've cared enough about to even buy on day 1 and it's not like I don't have a fat library of other games I already enjoy.

We used to demand trials before buying before

We did? When exactly? Not when I was buying games for my consoles on the flea market and not when I got Rollercoaster Tycoon from a cereal box.

I just played the trial for Pikmin 4, then pre-ordered the game

every game has a built in trial these days. trial the game for up to 2 hours in the first 2 weeks of buying it, and if you don't like it, steam refund it.

I stopped preordering awhile ago but honestly I just stopped buying games in general. I already have enough games to last me a lifetime and there is just so much trash getting released that I skip it all together.

I played the Lies of P demo for almost 6 hours. First pre-order in years.

Last game I pre-ordered before was Cyberpunk 2077, of course that turned out to be a huge lesson. I no longer pre-order anything, Lies of P was the exception because their push for people to try the game themselves along with their reaction to feedback was reassuring. Plus with early access to the game at a date that is perfect for me to dive in based on my schedule, seemed like a good time to show some appreciation.

I generally don't preorder games because I like to be able to watch streamers play a bit of the game to get an idea of what the game is like and if it's any good. However, I will preorder Nintendo games since their first party games are almost always good. I think the only first party Nintendo game I've ever played that I was disappointed with in the past 20 years was Skyward Sword.

I only preorder games that have a demo.

I usually only pre order when I'm 99% sure I'm gonna love the game and it's made by a company with a good reputation of having games be good at launch Ex: Zelda tears of the kingdom

I am going to keep pre-ordering games on solid platforms like Steam. The pros of pre-ordering tend to outweigh the cons. But people here, and on Reddit, love to exaggerate the cons of pre-ordering. As long as I can painlessly return a game if it turns out to be a stinker, it's not a big deal.

Stop it