Do you ever feel "obligated" to buy a game?

T

The Lamp

Member
The industry sucks. Sometimes a really cool/neat idea for a game releases, and it's depending on those initial sales to have any chance of seeing a sequel, or hell, have their makers keep their jobs in time to make a new game.

Do you ever purposefully buy and/or make room in your life/time/budget for a game just because you feel like you "have to" in order to support the game's success? Or maybe that's not the whole reason, but it's part of the reason why you buy it at launch/the first week? Or maybe it's a game like Xenoblade Chronicles, where the rarer it is, the more you feel like you "have" to buy it. I'm feeling that pressure myself because I never got to try it but it's getting harder and harder to find at GameStops.

As much as I wanted to try PSASBR, the reason why I bought it at full price was partially because of this; I wanted to support the idea of more multiplayer fighters and I wanted to see a better sequel with more characters after publishers would have the chance to trust the IP more.

So that got me thinking.

Has anyone else done something like this before?

Hell I have games in my backlog that I never finished that I bought at launch just because I felt like I had to. I'm probably just weird.

It sucks that the industry is in a state that so many new games end up floundering, and yet at the same time I feel burdened because I don't have enough money for all the games I like and then publishers turn around and go "Weeeeell nobody bought our game, your fault consumers, guess we just have to fire everybody and never use this IP again."

EDIT: I'm also having trouble adjusting my hobby to my new lifestyle/schedule so it ends up in me buying more games I like than I actually have time to play...

EDIT 2:
Don't get me wrong; I don't necessarily mean buying a game you have zero interest in or don't like or you know you wouldn't ever enjoy. Obviously I'm not going to buy a game if I wouldn't like it, but sometimes I buy it at launch to really support the franchise/dev.

The games I have in my backlog are games that I really want to finish someday...lol
 
Absolutely not. I'm no charity. If the game doesn't appeal to me I won't buy it, no matter who developed it, or if they're struggling with money.
 
I don't really care about Metal Gear Rising, but I already preordered it, and it's a series I love, by a developer I love. I don't actually think it's going to be a very good game though.
 
I bought tales of graces f day 1 because I really wanted xillia.

Platinum games, I buy all their games, I don't even bother with reviews. It would suck so hard if they went out if business.

Call of duty, friends wanna play online gotta have the latest Call of duty. I don't even like the multiplayer much anymore.
 
Absolutely not. I used to feel obligated to buy games back in the N64/PS1 era just because they were praised or got good reviews and got burnt over and over.

Now I have a strict policy of trying a game before buying it first.
 
After I bought Defense Grid for only $2.50 and subsequently sank about 50 hours into the game, I felt strongly obligated to support the DG: Containment Kickstarter they did.
 
No I don't think so. I only buy a game I truly am interested in playing, the more interested I am the earlier I will buy it.

I usually tell my friends about the game if it ends up being something I like, if it's flawed I'd tell them to wait for a price drop.

I don't usually buy multiple games day 1, I only buy the one I'm interested in playing first.
 
No, I spend money on what I want, where I want and how much I want. If a developer or publisher can't satisfy my criteria, it's not my fault.
 
I felt obligated to purchase The Last Story and Xenoblade at first just because of how hard people worked to get them to come over here in addition to being a huge jrpg fan, thankfully those games were awesome so I wouldn't have minded either way.
 
Nope. never.

Sometimes I feel persuaded to try a game that I normally wouldn't based on word of mouth. Sometimes that ends up good and other times not so much...
 
Solstice said:
Nope. Not at all. If a game looks appealing, I'll buy it. If not, I won't
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Exactly. Why perpetuate the career of a dev who's work you dislike? I don't get it.

If I want a game, and I know the dev could do with the support, I'll try to buy new, and close to release.

Otherwise, I pick it up whenever it drops below the magic £20 line.
 
I felt obligated to buy Duke Nukem Forever despite the bad reviews because of its development history and the reputation it had garnered (plus I was still quite keen to check it out)

...Needless to say I won't be doing that again. :|
 
StuBurns said:
I don't really care about Metal Gear Rising, but I already preordered it, and it's a series I love, by a developer I love. I don't actually think it's going to be a very good game though.
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StuBurns, you are one of my favorite posters of GAF, but.. why? Why would you pre order a game if you think it's not good?
I can even understand wanting to support Platinum Games, but shouldn't you support them when they do stuff you actually like? Otherwise you're shooting yourself in the foot.
--

Personally i keep it very simple:

1) I buy what i think it worth the asking price, in terms of enjoyment.
2) I will try to support what i want to see more of, while not supporting what i don't want to anymore (i.e: not buying The Walking Dead, because of Telltales shit attitude).

It's definitely flawed, but it's simple and it keeps headaches away, when i have to decide whether or not buying a DLC is right with the world.
I understand that some indies are struggling and all that, but if their game is not gonna give me anything of value, there's no reason for me to buy it.
It's not like they'd give me money when i'm in trouble, even though i have nothing of value to offer them.
 
I'm a space sim fan. Let that sink in.

So yes, I will throw money at essentially anyone who's willing to make a space game.
Even if it probably won't be any good.

I also buy games that don't interest me from smaller developers that I otherwise like and games which concepts I find intriguing .

It has given me a massive backlog.
 
Sometimes a sense of wanting to support something unique or different is totally a factor in my purchasing decision, it's only part of the decision, but yeah. Ultimately I buy games that I want to play.

I feel bad that I haven't bought Anarchy Reigns yet (I couldn't afford it at launch).
 
Nope. In fact I wait for game prices to lower unless it's something I believe is worth the $60.

The closest I come is a game Toshihiro Nagoshi is a producer/director of, but it's not so much "I want to help support the games" as it is "I will buy anything that man makes."
 
Don't get me wrong; I don't necessarily mean buying a game you have zero interest in or don't like or you know you wouldn't ever enjoy. Obviously I'm not going to buy a game if I wouldn't like it, but sometimes I buy it at launch to really support the franchise/dev.

The games I have in my backlog are games that I really want to finish someday...lol
 
Here's a question. Do you feel obligated to buy a non-used game? For example should I feel guilty renting games from Gamefly the first week they come out and just keep them for $40? I do this occasionally. I am certainly spending more on Gamefly in the end, but it's Gamefly who is getting the money no?
 
UrbanRats said:
StuBurns, you are one of my favorite posters of GAF, but.. why? Why would you pre order a game if you think it's not good?
I can even understand wanting to support Platinum Games, but shouldn't you support them when they do stuff you actually like? Otherwise you're shooting yourself in the foot.
--

Personally i keep it very simple:

1) I buy what i think it worth the asking price, in terms of enjoyment.
2) I will try to support what i want to see more of, while not supporting what i don't want to anymore (i.e: not buying The Walking Dead, because of Telltales shit attitude).

It's definitely flawed, but it's simple and it keeps headaches away, when i have to decide whether or not buying a DLC is right with the world.
Click to expand...
Well, it's an unusual situation. I'd played the demo a few months ago at an event, and I thought it was quite fun. I've wanted the ninja Metal Gear game since like '99 when MGS VR Missions came out, so it's been a long time coming. I love the series, and I love Platinum's games. So I was going to play it anyway, although I wasn't going to preorder it. Then they announced the special edition steel case, which I thought was slick. So, I thought if the game is good, and at the time I really didn't doubt it would be, I was going to want it, I was going to be keeping it, and I might as well get the nice case while I'm at it. Now I have the demo, and have really had time to mess around with it, I'm not very confident in it's quality, or it's ability to hold up for extended periods, so I'd be waiting for the price drop a few months later.

As I say, this is a very rare case, it's the second time I've ever preordered a game (well, unless you count stuff like buying on Amazon, which I don't), the first was MGS4, and I still have that. It's just funny timing really, because literally the next game I buy will be the first one I have out of obligation.
 
I did for starhawk. Played the closed beta so much I thought it was worth paying for full price.
Basically, my friend gave me a sweet tooth outcast code, since he knew I was playing starhawk but didn't want to get twisted metal. He had no interest in starhawk. I only got a bunch of other dlc from participating in the beta and a rift hunter code as well. All of these were cosmetic only, but they were pretty cool.

I have mixed feelings about what happened there. Paying full price for the game for me wasn't the problem, but the fact was not many others did and the game tanked when it launched. But I also got to blame sony, this game received no marketing and they let it fly by and crash down.

Lightbox interactive threw in all the dlc for free, and made the singleplayer free for PS+ and multiplayer $20 in september. Just a few months after it launched but I don't think it helped them out in their predicament.

Still an amazing game though, and whenever I have alot of free time I try to play it.

PSASBR, I only supported because I knew it would bomb and I expected much more out of the game when it launched. I genuinely enjoyed the beta, and I managed to snag a preorder deal at gamestop to get it for $35 and for crossbuy and day-1 that was a good deal, I could just sell if it I didn't like it. Also getting the preorder costumes as a bonus.

When I got the game, I was really dissapointed with the User Interface, and then the singleplayer campaign which just seemed rushed and half assed. Content was another problem. Multiplayer was genuinely fun though, but overall it was decent and I don't feel burned by my purchase from the amount of hours I poured onto my vita version of the game (can't say the same for the PS3).

These 2 situations have basically pushed me away from day-1 purchases though. Sly 4 is releasing today, and I don't know how thats going to turn out. I'll pick it up eventually but my trust in sony has dropped considerably after the Twisted Metal, Starhawk, PSASBR, and LBP karting ( I didn't buy this one though) drops in 2012.
Just going to go through older games from now on.
 
I'd buy games localized for Korea under principle (proper localizing is becoming a rarity these days due to rampant piracy and a minuscule userbase) but I'm broke.

Maybe if I become filthy rich someday.
 
Well, no and yes, kind of.
I've played all Halos so far. Bought a number of expanded universe works (that is, nearly all of them). Played Halo 4... and thus kinda commited myself to the new Halo trilogy.
But the commitment is in that i want to see the story unfold and finish. I don't care about such things as "supporting the game". And there is nothing forcing me to get them day one, indeed i'm skipping the next Xbox till Halo 6 (and even then i might wait till price drop), then i'll get Halo 5 and 6 (and other Halos if any) and finish the story.

Collectors editions can push me to getting things early, if i really want them. Say, Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm. Have Wings of Liberty CE so i kinda want the rest of them too. And Blizzard artbooks are so interesting.

But these things are very rare. Don't give a crap 99% of stuff coming out. And i rarely get all the interesting stuff either.

Things i want are just because i want, not becase i feel obligated, even though it may seem like the latter.
 
Not really but i do buy everything Resident Evil related

Would not call it obligation, just sheer fandom


But the idea of buying a game because i need to "support" some idea or some individual who comes across as likeable is really a strange concept to me.

Ill gladly buy CoD each yearly despite some thinking i am a part of the "problem", because i know i will get a lot of value from that game
 
confession: i bought chulip on psn, even though i already own a copy. just to say 'thanks' to whoever took the time to make it available :) ...
 
RionaaM said:
Absolutely not. I'm no charity. If the game doesn't appeal to me I won't buy it, no matter who developed it, or if they're struggling with money.
Click to expand...

Exactly my thoughts. SO tired of everyone guilting people into buying a game to support a company that released it. I'm not charity and if it's garbage, I'm not buying it.
 
Nope, not obligated.

I'll buy whatever certain devs put out, but thats because I want it so bad.
 
No.
I buy games that I'm really looking forward to on launch or really cheap.
For other games that slightly interest me I'll wait for price drop at Play-Asia or Zavvi.
 
Yes. Sometimes I will support a Dev I like or a studio I don't want to see go under, even without be attached to the specfic series.

Sly Cooper 4, I am looking at you.
 
Dragon Quest games are the only games I ever feel obligated to buy only because I want to see more of them localized. Not worried about Square-Enix folding any time soon.
 
No.

But i do buy games from developers i really like even if they aren't that great because i want to support them and see them succeed. Take the devs of Path of Exile, i don't feel obligated to spend money on dumb cosmetic items because the game is Free 2 Play but i buy these dumb things anyways so i can get money to them because i want them to succeed and go on to do bigger and better things.
 
Cartman86 said:
Here's a question. Do you feel obligated to buy a non-used game? For example should I feel guilty renting games from Gamefly the first week they come out and just keep them for $40? I do this occasionally. I am certainly spending more on Gamefly in the end, but it's Gamefly who is getting the money no?
Click to expand...

There's been a lot of vehemence about this over the last few years since the rise of the "online pass." My assumption, though I may be wrong, is that Gamefly has paid some sort of compensation or fee to the publisher to stock the game they're renting out.

I've rented few games from them, and only ever kept one: Assassin's Creed 2. If I rent a new game, and Gamefly gives me the option to keep it for $20 less than the rate at stores, I'm going to keep it. I really don't think you should feel guilty as a consumer for looking for a better value. I think it's the ability to be in direct communication with devs on places like GAF, Facebook, and Twitter, not possible once upon a time, that sort of incite the feeling of 'needing to support.'

On used games in general, from this gen if I can find a new copy of a game for $15, $20, I'll try to shoot for that. From previous generations, used is more or less my only option.
 
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