r/videogames • u/Nickulator95 • Aug 13 '26

Image / Video It's baffling just how many people doesn't understand this

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If you're someone who pre-orders games, you're an active participant in the constant enshitification of gaming. Doesn't matter what game it is, you're contributing to a scummy corporate tactic that serves no positive benefit to the player.

It made sense with physical copies that had a limited quantity, now it's an outdated tradition from a bygone era.

9.0k Upvotes

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42

u/def_tom Aug 13 '26

Try not to tell people what to do with their own money.

-3

u/Mojo_Mitts Aug 13 '26

Actually yes I will, do you think all this money spent has no effect on the Gaming Landscape at large?

Surely nothing bad will happen if tons of people spend a lot of money on a pre-order of a digital-only release with no real gameplay footage out yet.

Not that there’s any choice anyway, we’re all at the mercy of Whales and Addicts.

7

u/Ill-Description3096 Aug 14 '26

Then don't buy it. Nobody is forcing you to do it. If it's truly that shitty and people hate the game then it will tank anyway.

8

u/NetJnkie Aug 13 '26

If it sucks you refund it. Y’all worry about dumb shit.

3

u/Emotional_Solid6538 Aug 14 '26

You are right. But not much use telling shii in reddit, majority of people who do preorders or hype gamers wouldnt see any of this and would buy anyway. If its about changing trends of gamers as a whole reddit wont help u

0

u/zgillet Aug 13 '26

Don't tell me what to tell people to do.

Only a Sith deals in absolutes.

-37

u/Nickulator95 Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26

I'm definitely kicking up a hornets' nest, but I'm just tired of hypocrites who contribute to the enshitification of the games I like. All the upvotes on my post but downvotes on my comments is just proving my point. Let's see just how many people feel targeted in here.

Shit eaters will happily find any reason to justify their shit eating, but never take accountability or apologise when they contribute turning something into shit that didn't used to be.

9

u/Sledgehammer617 Aug 13 '26

Sometimes its cuz I want to support indie/small devs as much as possible like with the original Hollow Knight, Undertale, Hades, etc.

Very often pre-order comes with early access...

How does playing an early access indie game or smaller studio game make me "an active participant in the constant enshitification of gaming"?

If I'm playing a game day-1 of release its generally because I DONT WANT to see reviews; I want to form my own opinion.

I can always resell it after playing if its a physical game, and often do if it wasnt a great experience.

8

u/Cautious-Dot4143 Aug 13 '26

would love to see some actual proof that preorders have actually affected a game at that stage. seems like you're just mad about the direction the industry goes and need someone to concentrate your anger at since you can't gather the gall to go at the corporations themselves

7

u/SimisFul Aug 13 '26

Maybe the downvotes are because you're wrong instead of proving your point, did you consider that possibility OP?

10

u/KJAdrenaline Aug 13 '26

Tell me how pre ordering games is the cause of that?

6

u/def_tom Aug 13 '26

Preordering games doesn't enshitify games.

6

u/Hayate-Artwork Aug 13 '26

How in the holy mother of fuck do the downvotes "prove your point?"

They in fact prove the opposite of your point lol.

4

u/NetJnkie Aug 13 '26

lol. Downvotes aren’t proving your point man. It’s proving you’re wrong. Preorder and if it sucks I refund it. Easy.

Worry about yourself.

5

u/Leading-Arugula6356 Aug 13 '26

Speak for yourself, I’ve played a ton of great games the last few years, I can’t think of a recent game I bought before launch date that I didn’t enjoy. I’m sorry you apparently aren’t great at judging which games you will like, that would be very frustrating

10

u/Soulblade32 Aug 13 '26

Preordering a game doesn't contribute to gaming getting worse. Buying $20 skins in every game that releases does.

-1

u/FearlessVegetable30 Aug 13 '26

no it does. they can go "look at how much money we made without showing any content besides a cgi trailer, lets focus more on a trailer next time and then just release an unfinished game and update it after its out"

3

u/Haseo08 Aug 13 '26

And if they do that, they lose my faith and I won't pre-order or buy the next game day 1.

0

u/FearlessVegetable30 Aug 14 '26

you realize how backw3ards that is through right? why not just do research before spending money and taking the loss?

2

u/Haseo08 Aug 14 '26

Because I typically know what I like and I would prefer not to spoil myself too much. I also very often disagree with reviews, they rarely ever match my views on a game. I also haven't had that situation happen yet. I only "research" when I'm on the fence.

I also don't buy every hyped up game.

0

u/FearlessVegetable30 Aug 14 '26

me too, but i still look at game play before making a purchase. i use reviews to see game play. not to go "oh this game got a 5/10 PASS"

a short 3-5 minute video wont spoil anything and is being dramatic

1

u/Haseo08 Aug 14 '26

It spoils enough for me. But reviews also tend to talk about and show more just 5-10 minutes of gameplay.

Also if it's in a known series then I typically know what the gameplay will already be like. Take GTA6 for example. Yes, they haven't shown gameplay, but I already know it's gonna be like GTA5 already because why wouldn't it be. Haven't pre-ordered it or anything, just anspoilers.

Only thing I would really care to know is how are the story and characters in a game, but that tends to get spoilery.

1

u/Haseo08 Aug 14 '26

I'm also gonna get it and play myself regardless if I read reviews anyway, so what does it matter?

1

u/Soulblade32 Aug 13 '26

If someone preorders after only seeing a cgi trailer then they are idiots lmao.

0

u/CarrAndHisWarCrimes Aug 13 '26

Then I’ll refund the game after I’ve played it 🤷🏻‍♂️

2

u/10Werewolves Aug 13 '26

Hah. Good luck with that. Steam is generous, but you're more likely to never get your money back with Playstation.

1

u/CarrAndHisWarCrimes Aug 13 '26

Well good job I buy games on Steam then ?

1

u/10Werewolves Aug 13 '26

Good on you in that case. I'm thinking about the GTA 6 release where folks already preordered it for console.

1

u/FearlessVegetable30 Aug 13 '26

but why not just wait until you see reviews and actual game play. its such a weird mindset. you also cant refund on consoles...?

your logic is so strange and no one every applies to anything besides video games. then wonder why the gaming industry is int he state it is

3

u/Haseo08 Aug 13 '26

I rarely read reviews or watch gameplay trailers anyway. They tend to spoil the game for me. If the game ends up being bad then I just won't buy their next game day 1.

3

u/CarrAndHisWarCrimes Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26

No one knows if I like a game better than I do, so I’ll just play a game and see if I like it and refund it if I don’t.

1

u/tiger2205_6 Aug 14 '26

Reviews only tell you what someone else thinks, it's not gonna show you how much you'll like it. Unless they're talking about glitches or something. I love the newer AC games and plenty of people shit on them. And gameplay sometimes looks boring but is fun to play. Any souls game doesn't look that fun to me when other people play it, but I love them. If waiting for reviews and gameplay works for you that's great. Personally I prefer to preorder and see for myself. With some exceptions of course.

-1

u/TheEuphoricTribble Aug 13 '26

Investors are who you need to be angry with then. Not preordering. It’s investor pressure to get X feature in Y game Z gamer didn’t want that’s why we have enshitification. Gamers wanting the game early hardly is why.

-2

u/Icy-Shelter720 Aug 13 '26

Agreed, never tell people how to spend their money, but I think op is just letting people know the consequences of doing this to those who don't know. He didn't say you should stop pre ordering in his post, he's just venting out.