🚀 go-pugleaf

Sheldon England <sheldo...@netscape.net> once tried to test me with:

> Not criticizing but just curious: what's the rush? Why do people
> want/need to play the game the day it's released? 
> 
> Is it just bragging rights? ("I played it before any of my friends.")
> 
> I've observed that the marketing hypsters in the game and movie biz want
> you to do just that -- slap down your cash immediately before anyone can
> warn you about how good/bad something really is. They hype it up with
> ads or "unbiased" gaming mag reviews, collect cash from the early birds,
> and laugh all the way to the bank before the complaints and criticisms
> appear. 
> 
> Personally I prefer to wait for version 1.1 or 1.4 when they fix it,
> when the game is half the issue price, and when my computer can handle
> the system requirements with no problems whatsoever. 

I rarely buy a game when it first releases for the reasons you state.
But I can understand why people do it. It's exciting to experience the
game along with a bunch of other people, to share that comraderie, 
and especially in the case of an online game, to experience it when 
everyone is (nearly) on equal footing rather than after the pros have
master it and can pwn all comers. Even in non-competitive online games,
like WoW, experiencing the game when it is brand new is an experience
not to be missed, because you are the pioneers of that game world, and
you and your peers will dictate the entire ambiance and mood of that
particular server. Not to mention you'll experience a fresh economy,
not one that has been warped by gold farmers and a super-top-heavy
citizenship.

Even in offline games like Oblivion it is exciting to share your 
experiences with lots of other people enjoying it on web forums, usenet, or 
wherever. Getting your friends to all get it at the same time too can make 
it more fun for everyone.

But certainly there are major advantages to waiting. Getting the expansions 
as part of a package deal. Patches. Lower price. Real reviews. Etc.


-- 

Knight37 - http://knightgames.blogspot.com

Once a Gamer, Always a Gamer.