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does the pre-order concept bugg anyone
PonyboyJR
Member Posts: 16
When did the pre order concept start to surface, it seems like in the recent few years game developers misused it by hyping their game to inconceivable heights and elaborating on game mechanics and gameplay that was excluded from the released versions of the game.
Dont know if anyone remember dark and light , it was hyped up to be so great and pvp was going to be amazing, my memory is hazy but i think something like 5000 people preordered, the launch didnt go well and the game eventually went AWOL , not many people got their money back.
Even world of warcraft promised minigames in their town taverns that was not included in the game, and also battlegrounds that they promised wasnt out until around half a year after launch.
And most recently a game i played Age of Conan had been way overhyped and failed to delivery meaningful pvp content that they claim was the soul of the game, even now they are undergoing balancing changes and only stalling on their community by adding boring , rehashed dungeons , with no sight of their intent for endgame changes.
I do know that its a matter of individuals and opinions , i have no say in what someone does with their money neither is this thread about that. What i feel is that the pre order concept has been abused to entice and lure in their potential customers for the sole goal of profit and no consideration towards their audience. It is almost akin to breaking a written contract when they fail to deliver their full product as they described.
Mortal online has been pretty hyped up , i took a look around and found only a few gameplay videos, on their website it is not even clear what the full extent of gameplay will be , no mention of raids,endgame or crafting. And they are going to have pre orders in 2 weeks, it was actually scheduled earlier than that, i am doubtful 2 weeks will reveal much more about the game.
Please no flames, just civil discussion.
Comments
You just described the biggest issue MMO companies have in regards to advertising their MMO. They announce the game too early, and promise things they might not be able to fulfill.
Excuse my slight fanboyism here but companies should take a hint from SE- announce the game closer to the release date, when you are sure about what you can and can't implement to the game at launch.. and the hype won't be as massive either. This might do wonders in regards to players' expectations about the game.
You just described the biggest issue MMO companies have in regards to advertising their MMO. They announce the game too early, and promise things they might not be able to fulfill.
Excuse my slight fanboyism here but companies should take a hint from SE- announce the game closer to the release date, when you are sure about what you can and can't implement to the game at launch.. and the hype won't be as massive either. This might do wonders in regards to players' expectations about the game.
Yeah i agree to that, i really like what the new star wars MMO is doing keeping everything close to themselves until they finalise it.
By SE u mean sony entertainment?
I am thinking of like a really hyped up sony game but cant think of any.. maybe its like a double edged sword not to advertise so much.
I never really bought into the concept. I think I might've pre-ordered one thing in all the years since it was introduced.
The main purpose, far as I can tell, is ensuring the store you're buying from has the copy when you get there on release day (since preorders let them know how many copies they're guaranteed to sell.) Most really big releases, this isn't a problem. Medium/small releases it might be, but I was never really one who had to have a game on Day 1 so it was never important enough for me to give my money away ahead of schedule.
Since the advent of getting most of my games through Steam, pre-ordering has lost even more..er..steam. Although I suppose they have their own form of pre-ordering when you buy a game early to pre-load it, and I have done that a few times.
"What is truly revealing is his implication that believing something to be true is the same as it being true. [continue]" -John Oliver
Pre-orders are nothing new, mmo or otherwise.
The example of Mortal Online you give is an interesting one. First of all, the hype seems to be coming from players, for the most part. The devs are giving information out, but they're talking about what's in the game and what's not in there. There being open about what is planned, and what will be available for the release. They're letting everyone know upfront, not misleading like so many other companies have done.
Square-Enix.
FF14 announced June '09, comes out in '10. Been in development for 5 years.
I like the idea of pre-orders if the game has an open beta so you can see what it actually is.
Once upon a time....
Though reading on what they have released so far i dont know where the hype is coming from, it seems just like a good concept they have but nothing really amazing like lets say star wars the old republic where they are planning voices for every npc and player.
Though reading on what they have released so far i dont know where the hype is coming from, it seems just like a good concept they have but nothing really amazing like lets say star wars the old republic where they are planning voices for every npc and player.
Another great example. What is amazing for you is not amazing to others. Those looking forward to Mortal Online would ridicule you for days by claiming that "voices for every npc and player" is an amazing advancement in gaming. Voices are fluff.
Mortal Online is offering an amazing open world that a certain group of gamers have been begging for. Large sieges, broken alliances, loosing all of your loot when you get ganked... There are so many things this game can offer.
What does your Star Wars offer? A cute little story and some voices.
That being said, I'm looking forward to Star Wars as well, I'm a big fan of the KOTOR series. The game will have it's entertainment value. And for all of the things it lacks, I'll being playing MO to get.
And that leads to another thing, like what Mortal online and Aion is doing, u need to pre order to get into their betas. They'd probably have a stress test open beta where everyone can test their game, but is it alright for people to pay for an unfinsihed product? I think the only place it happens is in the gaming industry, and to be frank i think its ridiculous.
I have to agree on a few points here. Companies shouldn't release as much info as they do. Also a lot of hype does come from players who read to much into text on a screen. I generally like to try a beta or a trial before I buy a game, no ones "opinion" really matters except what you think of the game.
On the hand of pre-orders, no, I don't mind them. I do however not like when companies offer early access to the game with them.
With the topic of SE, I think they announce FFXIV to soon
. I have to admit I am hyped about that game, but I will just have to wait and see.
And that leads to another thing, like what Mortal online and Aion is doing, u need to pre order to get into their betas. They'd probably have a stress test open beta where everyone can test their game, but is it alright for people to pay for an unfinsihed product? I think the only place it happens is in the gaming industry, and to be frank i think its ridiculous.
Both games have had ways to get in on the beta without purchasing. Beta access is just an added incentive to pre-order.
Is it alright for people to pay for an unfinished product? Of course it is! We're perfectly aware of what we're doing, and we're fine with that.
Preorders for Mortal Online are a bit different, however. MO is being done on a budget. They are building the game to cater to a small niche market. Those of us waiting for it are grateful for this game, it's what we've been waiting for, and we want to encourage it's developement. We know this game will never be a blockbuster like WoW or Aion, but preordering is our way of letting them know they're on the right track and we want them to keep going. It sends a message to other devs and lets them know that there are more markets out there that are untapped, and will encourage further development.
Iirc they were planning to announce it in TGS but Sony pressured them to do it at E3 instead... I didn't mind
.
Iirc they were planning to announce it in TGS but Sony pressured them to do it at E3 instead... I didn't mind
.
I didn't say it was a bad idea, I just have to wait longer
.
And that leads to another thing, like what Mortal online and Aion is doing, u need to pre order to get into their betas. They'd probably have a stress test open beta where everyone can test their game, but is it alright for people to pay for an unfinsihed product? I think the only place it happens is in the gaming industry, and to be frank i think its ridiculous.
In these cases you get a 'perk'. You still pay for the finished game but as a bonus for prepaying you get a sneak peek at the game. They do not pay for an unfinished game since they will get the 'finished' game when it is released like everyone else who pays. They just get to play an unfished version as a bonus.
The thing about preorders is that they involve you giving them money ahead of time in exchange for certain perks. Teh company gets your money earlier (and thus can earn interest on it) and you get extra services like beta access, promotional gifts (t-shirts, books, etc) and most importantly you are guaranteed a copy as soon as it hits the store.
The main problem wiht preorders in recent history has been that the perks really are not that great and you get into a bati-and-switch situation. The worst had been that yoru preorder would sometimes not actually guarantee that your would have your copy on release day since the less scrupulous stores would simply sell the copies to whoever wanted one and then hope that they would get more before the preorder customers showed up.
I do not usually do preorders since the perks are not really that important to me or are irrelevant. ie I will not need to reserve a copy of the game because I can pick it up at any local store anytime I want due to my location.
Though reading on what they have released so far i dont know where the hype is coming from, it seems just like a good concept they have but nothing really amazing like lets say star wars the old republic where they are planning voices for every npc and player.
Another great example. What is amazing for you is not amazing to others. Those looking forward to Mortal Online would ridicule you for days by claiming that "voices for every npc and player" is an amazing advancement in gaming. Voices are fluff.
Mortal Online is offering an amazing open world that a certain group of gamers have been begging for. Large sieges, broken alliances, loosing all of your loot when you get ganked... There are so many things this game can offer.
What does your Star Wars offer? A cute little story and some voices.
That being said, I'm looking forward to Star Wars as well, I'm a big fan of the KOTOR series. The game will have it's entertainment value. And for all of the things it lacks, I'll being playing MO to get.
Really?
I don't think that'll go over very well. Trust me it sounds good on paper, and it'll be all right for the first month-2 months, but when people start gaining decent levels and gear....yeah..
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Though reading on what they have released so far i dont know where the hype is coming from, it seems just like a good concept they have but nothing really amazing like lets say star wars the old republic where they are planning voices for every npc and player.
Another great example. What is amazing for you is not amazing to others. Those looking forward to Mortal Online would ridicule you for days by claiming that "voices for every npc and player" is an amazing advancement in gaming. Voices are fluff.
Mortal Online is offering an amazing open world that a certain group of gamers have been begging for. Large sieges, broken alliances, loosing all of your loot when you get ganked... There are so many things this game can offer.
What does your Star Wars offer? A cute little story and some voices.
That being said, I'm looking forward to Star Wars as well, I'm a big fan of the KOTOR series. The game will have it's entertainment value. And for all of the things it lacks, I'll being playing MO to get.
Really?
I don't think that'll go over very well. Trust me it sounds good on paper, and it'll be all right for the first month-2 months, but when people start gaining decent levels and gear....yeah..
Yah, it's definitely not something for everyone, but it's something a lot of players have been asking for. That's one thing that will encourage grouping, to avoid ganking. As far as gear is concerned, this makes crafters even more important in the game as well. That will actually be a key component of our guild: Offering protection to crafters.
At most online stores, your credit card isn't charged until the game is shipped.
The people playing in the closed beta got a beta key for saying they MIGHT buy the game. You can cancel the order. How is that ridiculous since the company is letting anyone who's interested try it out.
youtube.com/gcidogmeat
Given the wide gap between what mmo devs promise (offer, hype, whatever) and what is actually delivered, pre-ordering something you really have no idea you'll like just doesn't make much sense. I've learned my lesson. Especially with mmo's where the expectation/hope is that if youI like this game, you'll be playing for years. So the disappointment is of a greater order.
My new mmo approach now is not to play anything that hasn't been out at least 6 months AND comes with a free trial. Consideing the increase in mmo's being launched combined with the general decrease of their launch quality and gameplay quality, its a rewarding approach.
is that some kind of joke or smth?
there is 3 kinds of hype that i know about:
1) Dev Hype
ala AoC or WAR, where devs promised the pacific and gave us a broken glass of water
Player Hype, which subdivides into:
2) Player Hype from people that have played the game
ala Aion, where everybody that cared a damn played the chinese versions, and then gave their opinion (in general terms, a very favorable opinion)
3) Player Hype from people that never played the game
ala MO,where barely anybody has had a chance to play the game,a selected few are under a strict NDA contract,and all the praises come from hypeaholics based on several minutes videos where the devs show you only what they want you to see, no more,no less.
imho only 1 hype is valid, and MO isnt getting any of it...
Pre-ordering any game without a demo is kind of stupid, specifically when it comes to MMOs. Developers bribing people with shinies and extras to get some early cash is a sure sign something is wrong with the game. $50 isn't a lot of money, but its the principle of the matter. Last time I pre-ordered a game was in the 16-bit era when certain RPGs were hard to come by and you were lucky if a store got 4 or 5 copies=)
When the hype is coming from players when theres no video proof of features, you can chalk that up to mass stupidity as well. Hasn't Dark&Light and Darkfall taught people anything yet=) Mortal Online seems to be following similar footsteps.
Normally i would agree. But in the case of Aion, $5 to play in several beta weekends will give one a pretty good idea if they want to plunc down the balance on release day. Without the beta key, no i would never pre order an MMO or any other PC game for that matter.
and i thought this gone be about exclusive content or early start for preorderers, what does preorder have to do anything with game hype?
its first time i hear about minigames in towns for wow either. been playing since early betas till recent ,
The only reason companies continue to offer pre-orders is that people are stupid enough to take them.
If it's really so important for you to have a useless piece of in-game garbage that comes with the pre-order, well, you don't always get what you pay for. Other than that, there's absolutely no rational reason to pre-order anything....it's been a long time since a game sold out on the first day of release, or at least wasn't available again within the first few days.
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im to lazy too use grammar or punctuation good
does the pre-order concept bugg anyone?
It doesn't bug me personaly, but then again I never used it as with MMORPG I really see no reason what so ever to pre-order a game that might still be changing allot.
I don't feel the concept is flawed, I feel people seem to have a hard time dealing with conseqence as to me I see no one forcing anyone to pre-order anything as it's free will for all. When people take responsibilty for their own actions they will look specificly what's in store and those with experiance definitly can already make pretty accurate geussing as to why you shouldn't really pre-order a MMORPG unless you are atleast 75% sure the game will be the right game to you, but then again with MMORPG's we never really know untill we really have put some play-time in the game to make a opinion if the game is right for you.
Personaly I would say DO NOT PRE-ORDER (sorry gamecompany's) but order the game or buy it at release or after a few months of release, I mean we have seen some pretty high class game company's delivering us MMO's, but all of them needed some time to get it right, for some it took a few weeks/months, a few started ( unfortunaly to late) to bloom after a year or so.
So anyone still pre-ordering simply don't believe the HYPE, but believe what YOU will see, having the chance either by trial/demo/beta to get to know the game. Else try to take some responsibilty if a pre-order might not have turned out to be what you wanted it to.
I don't think the pre-order concept is bad, but how devs and companies now use it is.
In the past pre-orders were there because companies normally could not produce enough copies of the game for release, and the pre-order was there to guarantee yourself a copy upon release day. It was also normally $5 - 10 and was taken off of the retail price when you came in to pick up your copy of the game.
However, now dev's are using the term " pre-order " to charge their customers full price for a game that is not " released ".