Buying Games on Launch Day: Do you do it?

When I was younger and lacked any real responsibilities, I was fairly free with my money. When the Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker came out on GameCube, I bought it on day one. When Halo and Halo 2 launched, I bought both those games on launch day. Things have changed, at least for myself, but I’m not sure if it’s because I’m getting older, or if in general, people are not buying games on launch day like they use to.

As a Canadian, I live and breath hockey, and therefore, EA’s NHL titles have always been day one purchases for me – yes, I was burned like many others over NHL 15! I don’t buy one day one generally, not for a long time at least. It’s partially because I have responsibilities now, partially because I don’t have as much time to game as I use to, but also because there is so much value in used and on sale games that I never feel like I need to buy a new release on day one. One of the biggest reasons I don’t buy one day one? With so much DLC being pumped out for most games, it makes more sense to wait for that Game of the Year edition with everything bundled in.

I’m not into shooters, and this also probably plays a role. People who love Call of Duty probably want to be online and gaining experience as soon as possible. But what about other titles? Monolith’s highly acclaimed Shadow of Mordor is coming out today. Reviews have been great, mostly sitting between 8.5 and 9.5/10. For any game, this is outstanding. So why don’t I have this preordered? Too be honest, I picked up Lego: The Hobbit for my Xbox One and Far Cry 3 for my 360; I don’t feel like I need a new game right now. Am I the weird one, or is this becoming a trend? After all, what’s the chance we see a nice sale on Shadow of Mordor in a few months for Black Friday (USA) or Boxing Day (Canada)?

Both Microsoft and Sony have yet to fully disconnect with their last generation consoles. In an attempt to keep them relevant, and to perhaps continue pushing sales of those consoles, amazing sales on digital games have been a weekly occurrence. That, coupled with all the free PSN titles and Games with Gold titles, keeps me busy with a steady flow of games I may have never played before.

The increase in amazing deals from Sony and Microsoft are probably courtesy of one particular PC game distribution giant. Perhaps we shouldn’t even get into the topic of Steam. Who on this planet, who is serious about gaming on multiple platforms, doesn’t have a steam library that boasts dozens of games yet to be played. Between Humble Bundle purchases and Steam sales, I know I have a steam library of over 100 games, most of which “I’ll play at some point.” 

So I put it out to you: What is your reason for purchasing a game on day one, or, why you won’t purchase on day one?