Game On: Why you should never preorder a video game

On March 17, PlayStation premiered a video showcasing Hogwarts Legacy, an ambitious effort to make the Harry Potter world come alive in a vast, open-world game. The initial gameplay and graphics look impressive and certainly place the title in AAA territory – Warner Bros. has clearly spared no expense.

But when it comes to video games, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. When Cyberpunk 2077 was released in late 2020, the underlying game was excellent but suffered from a plethora of bugs and embarrassing oversights and did not run smoothly on older platforms.

If the game had been released by a smaller, more humble development team, there’s little doubt that it would’ve been met with significant praise despite its shortcomings. But it came from CD Projekt Red, the Polish developer responsible for the Witcher – expectations were high, and when they failed to meet them, gamers overwhelmingly panned Cyberpunk 2077 despite its redeeming qualities.

That said, if someone drops a hard-earned $60 to buy a game on day one, it should work, and it should work well. People were right to be upset then and numerous times before when they’d been similarly scammed. And yet gamers continue preordering video games long before they’re even in the hands of professional critics. Why?

I blame two things: FOMO and the hype train. With regards to the fear of missing out, when I strike up a conversation with fellow gamers, they’ll often ask me what I think of whatever the newest hot game is. It’s difficult for some to admit that they haven’t played said game – they want to be in on the latest cultural movement in gaming because they’re passionate about their hobby. Meanwhile, the hype train is painful to watch unfold over and over again.

First comes the vague announcement – next, the rumors – then, a teaser trailer – and sometime later, a gameplay trailer. This is when many feel it’s safe to preorder a game – after all, if the gameplay looks good, it’s sure to be fun, right? Not necessarily. It’s worth keeping in mind that gameplay trailers are composed of heavily edited seconds-long clips that were grabbed from hours of footage – they’re selling you on the absolute best moments alone.

Sometimes they get really sneaky by releasing an early demo of a small portion of the title, which plays flawlessly while the rest of the game is uninspired, glitchy or both. That’s what happened to me with the notorious Sonic ’06, which I preordered for $60 and sold for pennies years later. Twelve-year-olds don’t come by $60 too easily, so I was really burnt by that one.

Hogwarts Legacy looks good so far, but one gameplay trailer ultimately doesn’t prove much. It’s always best to at least wait until professional critics are permitted to broadcast their reviews. Even then, critics and the general populace can have different tastes – the Last of Us Part II received top-notch ratings from journalists but mixed reviews from everyday gamers.

If you follow these tenets, you’re not likely to play too many games on day one, but does it matter? Single-player games essentially stay the same forever, whether you buy it brand new or years later. I can understand wanting to hop on fresh multiplayer titles, but when even the likes of Halo Infinite launches with a tiny selection of maps and no level editor or custom games, it’s proof that sometimes you’re better off waiting for developers to release a few major content updates.

When games were limited in quantity, preordering made sense. But with the vast majority of games today launching digitally, it’s just a needless gamble now. Publishers know this, so for about 15 years now, they’ve been putting “preorder bonuses” into games, but they almost always amount to some paltry bonus or underwhelming cosmetic for your character.

Only when enough people stop preordering games will publishers feel the pressure to release finished, polished games instead of rushing products out the door and patching them up later. I urge readers to vote with their wallets, see through the hype and do their part in making the gaming industry a more honest one.

Riordan Zentler can be reached at riordanzentler@gmail.com.