Preorders That Arrive Before Release Date

[Speed]

As many of you will know, when you preorder a game, sometimes it will arrive early.

 

The question I was wondering was, do you play it straight away?

 

I'm aware that certain big games, MW3 is immediately apparent, have strict rules applied to those who play early, but do all games?

 

I know there's probably an official source on this, but I was more looking for some actual gamers' opinions, so post away :)

[Beav]

Don't pre-order games. I usually say "ile wait till its pre-owned and cheaper" :D I did hear people who played MW3 online before the release date were having there online ranks reset

[superhyper]

I do, as games usually get released a few days earlier somewhere else anyway :p

[GTAMADDOG]

Any new games that I get these days (for the PC) generally have some Release Date Checker thing on them, so on the off chance I do get a game before it's actually released I leave it. I don't know what happens if you do try and install a game before it's release day with one of these date checkers, but I prefer to just do these sorts of things by the book.

[Flo]

i dont pre order much, but when i do, that means im reallyyy looking forward to the game, and if i would get it before the release date i would pull the internet cable out of my xbox and then play the game offline till release

[The Queen]

It really is dependent on what game it is and what way it's distributed. I mean if it's with GFWL or Steam I tend not to play it early using a VPN as I would rather be on the safe side and play it when it's released. If it's able to be played early and arrives early or it's a game on console then yes, I will play it early because I can. ;)

[Eudemon]

I don't think that getting it 2-3 days early should be punishable at all and if you get it even earlier say when the US gets it then fair beans. I hate the fact that Activision thought it fair to basically hunt and threaten people who legitimately got the game early through no fault of their own as to be honest the game is out about 2 weeks before release to make it's way through the distribution and someone in that line of work is always going to get it before everyone else so should they be punished for it? HELL NO! Now if this person uploads a rip or downloads an illegal copy then fair enough take them to the cleaners but if your local game shop sells it to help stay afloat and beat the big players by a day or 2 then so be it.

 

We're almost at a stage now where everything we do is controlled by those who should have literally no say in how we do these things should we come across these items and games legitimately through no fault of our own.

 

Also most online retailers have to send their stuff out 2-3 days before release to guarantee release date delivery, should they only be allowed to send out on release day then business will tank.

[T1M]

The only game i've ever pre-ordered that came early was TDU2, and I played that as soon as it arrived.

[Speed]

Glad the majority of you went with "When it arrives" :)

 

I've been playing Assassin's Creed Revelations all day and it's not released till Tuesday 15th... Thanks Shopto :D

[calster17]

I do, as games usually get released a few days earlier somewhere else anyway :p

 

This!

 

Being in the UK, 90% of the time the games released on a Friday, where the US gets it on a Tuesday!(Current example, NFS:The Run). So I'm never actually playing it 'early'.

[TDUFREAK500]

I never pre-order games, why pay $120 for a game when it first comes when I can get it six months later for $70 - $80

[Camel]

Always play them on the day that they come if I'm not too busy. Why wait?

[TimBud]

Yep. As soon as it comes!

[t.]

In terms of the Xbox, so long as the copy is a legitimate retail copy you will suffer no repercussions. Microsoft have made this clear, they have means and ways of telling pirate copies from retails and act accordingly. This is a platform wide rule, whether the game is huge or small. I have someone on my friends list who always has new games early, sometimes up to 10 days early and he's still here.

 

I play games as soon as they arrive, I was playing that TDU2 over a week before release date. lol.

[Flo]

I never pre-order games, why pay $120 for a game when it first comes when I can get it six months later for $70 - $80

 

maybe because a game can be really interesting, and you want it the day it comes out? and you want to be SURE that you have a copy ready, not that it is sold out or some

[Eudemon]

I never pre-order games, why pay $120 for a game when it first comes when I can get it six months later for $70 - $80

Fair point but also remember that many games now have bonuses for pre-ordering and even though some are a waste, there are others that are damn nice like BF3's FREE B2K Pack when it comes out in December.

 

Hell yeah!

[Speed]

I never pre-order games, why pay $120 for a game when it first comes when I can get it six months later for $70 - $80

 

Fair point but also remember that many games now have bonuses for pre-ordering and even though some are a waste, there are others that are damn nice like BF3's FREE B2K Pack when it comes out in December.

 

Hell yeah!

 

Plus add in all the leaderboard style challenges games come out with now. If you've played last years NFS Hot Pursuit, you'll have seen Autolog, a feature which compares your race times with that of your friends and encourages you to try to become the fastest therefore adding replay value to the game.

 

Then you've got rivals mode in Forza 4, which is all about competition amongst friends.

 

It all comes down to how much you enjoy online I guess, the week Forza 4 was released ~15 of my friends on XBL were playing it, whereas if I were to go on now, I would struggle to find 3 or 4.

 

6 months on, will there be anyone playing?

[Eudemon]

I think with Forza especially a number are getting wise to the wait for the full cut price release within a year that always comes out now. Ok you may be late to the party but you can be sure there will be plenty of people old and new to race once you get on.

[Speed]

Especially with all the DLC that gets bundled in with the "Game of the Year Edition" now, I can understand why someone might wait, I guess I'm just too impatient to be honest.