Why Do People Buy Broken, Buggy Games?

[KJM1280]

There is one problem with the "consumers have voted with their wallets" argument: the consumers haven't actually voted. Once you buy a game you're stuck with it. There's no returning a game for a refund. Sure, you can sell it for 5 to 10 cents on the dollar to a place like Gamestop, but once you've opened that packaging you can't return it for a full refund. So when you buy a game, particularly if you're an "early adopter" of the game, you have no way to know what you're getting yourself into until it's too late. The only alternative is to stop buying games entirely. That is the only vote that gamers have cast: crappy, broken games are better than no games at all.

 

[benedict78]

I'm not from the USA myself, but isn't there a law that if you buy a broken product you can return it to the store and get your money back? Surely this should apply to software and not only to hardware.

 

[eriko]

Good article, like you read my mind.

I'm now 100% DONE with buying any new PC game within the first few months.

And as a Crossfire user, I have twice the initial performance issues & bugs than most of you, so I've extra reason to continue.

Neither CoD AW, nor Far Cry 4 played well on day one... I am done.

 

[wekilledkenny]

I never pre-order games for exact same reason. If the game is good, I'll wait an extra month or two. It's not going to go bad or something in the meantime. I guess it is the "here and now" crowd that drives these pre-orders.

 

[itchyisvegeta]

I returned my copy of Halo MCC a few days ago. I may return my console to Costco, since I bought it mainly for that game.

 

[mamasan2000]

Buggy releases aside, what about Shadows of Mordor? Wasn't that a game that ran extremely well, few bugs etc? Or Dragon Age: Inquisition.

Pre-ordering is for suckers. If you have gamed for more than 2 years, you should know that. The content is rarely worth it. Some release the content to all at a later date. Either way, the bet is that that content, which is maybe worth 1$ also comes with a solid 60$ game, which is not the case too often.

Same is true with hardware. Avoid new hardware. Buy when it is at least a year old. That's been true for at least 15 years.
Ask youself this. Why do motherboards have Revision 1 and 2 versions? Why do they have BIOS updates?
Wait til its mature, otherwise you are just another beta-tester. This time a betatester of hardware.

 

[WyomingKnott]

Same reason we accept low-res MP3 "music" that's mastered to high and clips like a barber. We got used to it.