Preorder Digital Games
Some very smart companies, like Apple, Samsung, Sony, Electronic Arts, and basically all tech-related companies achieve something incredible.
Before the product even hits the market, they generate such a level of excitement that they often run out of stock in the first few weeks. So in order for their product to reach their most loyal customers, they offer the option to preorder and be among the first to try it.
That sounds great, but you have to understand that as a consumer, it’s an act of trust. For example, remember the iPhone 4 with its antenna issues, or the Xbox 360 that overheated to the point of melting? In both cases, the problems were fixed in later versions, but if you preordered that gadget, you got the defective version.
For physical PC games, it makes 100% sense because patches can arrive via web updates. But when it comes to a digital copy, preordering makes no sense — you can buy and receive the copy whenever you want, and there is never any risk of running out of stock. Digital copies are unlimited.
When you preorder a digital copy, you lose the ability to do any research or read reviews about the game before buying it. So essentially, you’re assuming the financial risk of the company. Put it another way: if I’m making a game and I manage to get enough preorders, I can afford to not finish it properly and deliver junk to my buyers — after all, I’ve already gotten the money.
As long as consumers keep preordering products, especially digital games, companies will prefer to spend their resources on marketing rather than on the design of the product itself.
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