For the love of God please stop pre-ordering video games

I have touched on the subject a little in one of my earlier posts but decided to expand on it since November sees a spate of new video games being released. This year I have made it my priority to avoid pre-ordering video games, and it has already saved me from buying into the lie that was No Man’s Sky. And I am pretty sure this mentality will save me plenty of cash and mental grief in the near future, but it seems some people have not reached enlightenment just yet and keep running into the same brick wall over and over again. History just keeps on repeating itself, games that failed right out of the starting blocks. The PC port of Batman: Arkham Knight was virtually unplayable at launch, Halo: The Master Chief Collection which had broken multiplayer for almost a year. SimCity and Diablo 3 which was unplayable due to unstable online servers and connections.

And most recently No Man’s Sky and Ark Survival Evolved, there is a reoccurring theme and pattern here, which can be addressed in three simple words: “Stop pre-ordering Video Games!” I have mostly contained my “FOMO”(Fear Of Missing Out) the entirety of 2016 so far, sure I might not get the game on release day. And sure I might only get it a month down the line. But I think it is a small price to pay. And honestly who want’s to play a broken video game on release anyway? And not to mention all the frustrations that come with that. Why do I need to content with massive day one patches, while trying to get my brand new game that was supposed to work at launch to run properly? And if you think about it this whole pre-ordering system is pretty fucked up. Sit down and just think about it for a moment.

Fanboyism and dodgy video game practises

Fanboyism as defined by Wiktionary is:  “Behaviour characteristic of fanboys; blind, aggressive devotion.”  Or to put it into simpler terms, a person or group of people known for a lack of  objectivity in relation to their preferred product of choice. All of us have been guilty of being and acting like a fanboy somewhere along the line. I was one of the biggest most obnoxious Nintendo fanboy out there, and in my eyes, they could do no wrong. Which brings me to my point, the biggest single reason why developers and publishers are knee deep in the anti-consumer, ant-gamer business practices, and broken releases is because of fanboys. There have been two notable games that have done this in the last two month or so, most notably Ark Survival Evolved and No Man’s Sky.

Ark Survival Evolved’s developers found it prudent to release a $20 DLC package for an early access game. Meaning they released a DLC package for a game that gamers paid them to finish which they have not yet, but instead released some paid DLC for a un-finished game. No Man’s Sky’s developers released a game based off promises and features that weren’t available in the final product, blatantly lying during interviews. There are many such examples to be found in the industry. And the number one reason these developers and publishers keep getting away with it is because of fanboyism, and the irony is not lost on me because we as gamers have bought this upon ourselves. The only reason these practices continue is because of the fanboys.

Where in the world is Sean Murray?

That is the million dollar question is it not? The man is harder to find than Waldo or Carmen Sandiego, and who can really blame him. All the lies and broken promises, not to mention the disastrous release the game had. It has been more than a month now since the games release, and I haven’t seen him being active on social media or give any interviews of any sort. Could it be he is hard at work fixing the countless bugs and issues the game has? Could be! Or could he possibly be hard at work on his tan in the Bahamas? Possibly. Or it could be possible that he got flamed pretty badly whenever he tweeted anything. Whatever the reason might be it would be nice if he at least communicated via official channels and offer up an explanation for the lunch and broken promises.

Even Sony has started to distance itself from the No Man’s Sky shit storm. And can you blame me or any other gamers for being highly suspicious of his absence and lack of communication, considering the number of interviews and articles he featured in before the games release? So excuse me if it seems like a perfect time to retreat from the spotlight and enjoy your newly found riches. He knows that his reputation has gone to hell in a handbasket and that nobody will take him seriously on future projects ever again. Save for the few gamers who are desperately trying to defend this mess of a video game. My guess is they are all on a yacht sailing in salty gamer tears, somewhere in the Bahamas, funded by preorders and lies.