Browsing Paul Barnett’s blog I came across a little post he made about lagging behind game releases. Paul says that he, on purpose, waits 6 months or so after the release of a game before picking it up. It’s not a bad policy. Paul notes that not getting sucked into the hype saves him from disappointment and I totally agree. I’m absolutely guilty of hyping myself so much for the release of a game to find out I should have waited – buyer’s remorse sucks. So whether it’s due to finances or just being completely cautious, having that kind of self control amazes me. Although being jaded through the years has taught me a few things, I still can’t help but stay current. I like to talk about newer games and I really love to play games when they come out because nowadays it isn’t too tough to spot a blockbuster hit from a mile away.
I wonder… will Paul wait for Warhammer Online?
Every time a new MMO comes out I say to myself, “Wait till they work out the bugs at release”. As release approaches I start a mantra “You can wait… you can wait”. Of course I can’t wait so I end up buying the game right at release and spend months essentially “late beta testing” the game (Some recent games have been better about that than others in the past).
I think waiting would be the best thing to do but I just can’t help myself.
I’m like Paul — I’ll wait half a year or so as well, because … well, I’ve been burned a bit too often and I don’t feel like having to pay money so I could beta-test a game for the company.
As much as some of these games can be trainwrecks at launch… like George and you Keen, I just can’t help myself. Hell, I’m even contemplating getting TR even though I know Pirates is due out for pre-orders in a little over a month.
It’s the lure of the shiny.
You know, I’m not like that with MMOs. I’m happy with EQ2, and I can’t see playing any of the others on the market at the moment. I’ve convinced myself that I will only play one at a time, and the only other game I play on the side at the moment is Call of Duty 2, and only in short bursts. I have yet to buy one of the next-gen consoles, but I’m getting the itch to make the purchase on one of them. I just can’t figure out which. I know once I do though, then that “keeping up” factor will come into play, wanting to play the new games once they release. But it is different on consoles than on computers, as bugs tend to be non-existant.
I’m the same way. I know release days and the weeks following can be awful at times, but its that “early adopter” syndrome that I can’t seem to escape. I want to be able to say I was there at the beginning, from the beginning. Plus I guess it helps me feel like I haven’t come late to the party and have to play catch up.