The Old Sony Megathread

[Gabriel]

I'm hoping the Destiny alpha has finished downloading by the time I get a chance to play in a couple hours.

[TKz]

I don't seem to have gotten into the Destiny one. Which is a shame, as it's the only one I care about. >_>

[Gabriel]

I don't seem to have gotten into the Destiny one. Which is a shame, as it's the only one I care about. >_>

I pre-ordered the game and registered the Beta, so they just sent me an invitation through my PSN account to join the Alpha. If you want the alpha, pre-order, register your beta code and you should be good to go.

The game is awesome. I played for about an hour and it's exactly what I was hoping for - basically Halo on my PS4.

[TKz]

Nah, fuck that. I'm pretty much done pre-ordering games before I can either get a feel for them or read some reviews. Been burned way too many times.

Plus isn't there another Alpha or Beta or something coming for PS4 uses at the end of July?

[EWB's Best Poster.]

Mate, with review embargoes everywhere, waiting til reviews come out before preorder is pretty hard. I get the sentiment but just an impossible line to set.

[TKz]

Eh, not so much. The only challenges really come from games like Watch Dogs, which typically don't have a "Beta" (let's be honest, Titanfall/Battlefield/Destiny, it's a multiplayer demo) and still have a review embargo. You usually end up having to wait a week or so post-launch. But if it's a PC game, it's a simple case of waiting for the reviews to drop, heading to Steam and picking up the game.

I'm not saying I won't jump the gun on games like Dragon Age, where I'm so psyched I want to experience for myself and I basically know what I'm getting. But a title like Destiny, that's a new IP that I still don't have a feel for and have no idea if it'll be worth the price? I'm pretty happy to wait on that.

[apsham]

Pre-ordering is safe as hell around here - if the review comes out, I can just switch that money over to something else - or hell, at any point I can take my preorder off and use it on something else.

[Dan]

I tend to pre-order on Amazon. They don't take the money until the game is sent and they give you the lowest price they have it listed it while you have it pre-ordered.

[King Ellis]

Why pre-order? It's not like games sell out. Just go buy one, they'll have about 200 copies. :/

[TCO]

Why pre-order? It's not like games sell out. Just go buy one, they'll have about 200 copies. :/

I remember not being able to get Heavy Rain or The Last of Us anywhere on release weekend when they came out here. Generally I wouldn't pre-order but for big PS4 exclusives in future I probably will, they tend to sell out fast.

Not a chance in hell GTA V could be gotten on either console without a pre-order here either.

[apsham]

Why pre-order? It's not like games sell out. Just go buy one, they'll have about 200 copies. :/

Some games don't, sometime pre-order bonuses are worth the effort, here I only need to put down five dollars to have a copy saved for me for a week after release, it helps the people at the store with their numbers that the head office never shuts up about...

Hardline is pretty fantastic, I'm loving it so far - did some pretty awesome things playing with a friend last night, such as trying to rush some money bags back, losing our car, finding an oil tanker and driving away in that with me hanging out the window firing an RPG at a car that was chasing us.

Playing a bit of Destiny now - it feels fucking amazing. Like a Halo game I actually WANT to play.

[Gabriel]

Pre-ordering helps us with our numbers at the store level, but it also just kind of makes sense. Especially for games like Destiny, where pre-ordering gets you the alpha and beta passes, and there's absolutely nothing stopping you from cancelling your order and putting it on something else if you play the test builds and don't like it.

It also depends on where you live. Where I'm at, EB Games is the only dedicated video games store in the city. The only other places to buy them are big retailers like Walmart and Target. I always advocate buying from locally owned businesses first, dedicated niche stores second, and big box villains as a last resort.

We also don't always get a load of copies for every game. We were totally out of Watchdogs for the Xbox 360 for a week after release, and all of the stores around us were phoning to see if we had any, so I would imagine they had the same issue.

Plus, pre-order bonuses are always nice. It's not like it costs you anything extra to get them, unless you want a special edition... in which case, the only way to actually get one around here IS to pre-order, unless someone does and changes their mind when they pick it up.

[Maxx]

I don't seem to have gotten into the Destiny one. Which is a shame, as it's the only one I care about. >_>

I pre-ordered the game and registered the Beta, so they just sent me an invitation through my PSN account to join the Alpha. If you want the alpha, pre-order, register your beta code and you should be good to go.

The game is awesome. I played for about an hour and it's exactly what I was hoping for - basically Halo on my PS4.

Son of a bitch, I'd been waiting to get an email like everyone else. That code has been sitting in my PSN inbox for 2 days.

[Gabriel]

Another argument for Pre-Ordering games/supporting local game stores is that if you don't like having to hunt down an inept big box employee to get a game out for you (I'm talking to you Walmart... never having anyone in electronics) or if you don't like the employees at the game stores having to go into Sales Mode, the best thing you can do is support the local game stores.

When our numbers are good, our bosses let us operate however we want, which is usually to stay laid back, have conversations with people in the store and ultimately let them decide. But when our numbers aren't good, our bosses are on our asses to grill you about buying the scratch replacement guarantee, giving you the flyer that tells you all about the sales that we in turn have to verbally communicate to you, strongly recommend pre-sales and/or other games for you to buy based on what you bring to the counter or what they're telling us to push... then we have to spend five minutes telling you about the membership program, even if we've never seen you before and you probably only visit the store once or twice a year.

I always tell my customers the same thing. If you want these stores to stick around, and if you want them to be enjoyable places to visit, you have to support them. Get a free membership card, insure your games (which I do recommend anyways, because as long as the disc is in one piece, we don't ask questions, we just get you a new one), do the surveys if you have time, pre-order things and help us out.

I use my pre-orders basically as a way to save up money. I put some cash down every paycheck on my orders, and if I change my mind on something, or something I overlooked is getting good reviews, I can always take that pre-order money and put it on something else. When they delayed Arkham Knight, I changed my pre-order to Destiny and bought a $20 PSN card.

[Colly]

Well now I don't want to go in at all. :/

[Gabriel]

Well now I don't want to go in at all. :/

Like I said man... the less support we get, the more we have to harass the customers that do come in.

The more support we get, the less our bosses harass us, the more enjoyable the experience is for everyone.

It literally takes a minute or two to sign you up for a membership card. It's free, and if you buy lots of stuff, you'll start getting discounts.

Insuring your game disc is $2 or $3 depending whether it's new or used, and there's no reason not to. I mean, if you get to the 10 or 11 month mark on your 1 year scratch replacement and the disc is still working, but it's a little scuffed up, bring it back and get a new one just in case. We can't play-test them. They just get sent back to be resurfaced and tested so they can be sold as used games anyways.

This is just the market that we live in, but if the support is there from the customers, it's going to be a good experience. It's definitely going to be better than a big box retailer, and it's more convenient than ordering from Amazon and not getting something on release day.

[Colly]

But if every time I go in I'm going to have to pray whoever was in before me was buying loads to avoid a load of hassle I'd rather just order online.

Fuck, last time I went in Game the guy working there ignored me for two minutes chatting to his mate, after which he told me they were selling PS4 pads for £15 more than I could've got it online, so I walked away. The bellend.

[Gabriel]

It's not a per customer basis, dude. It's a trending thing. If numbers over the last couple of weeks or months are slipping or just nosedived, then of course there's going to be an emphasis on maximizing sales. That's just business.

It sounds like the employees at your local store are twats, if they're just ignoring people. That's unfortunate, and is definitely a fine reason not to go in.

In regards to pricing, it's a business man. Places like Amazon and big box retailers can sell things cheaper because they can take a loss on certain product because it brings in foot traffic and increases sales across the board... and in Amazon's case, they don't have the same overhead because they're an online retailer, so their costs aren't as high.

At the end of the day, it's a business, and businesses need to make money. There's little to no mark up (and in some cases, we take losses on product) in new product at a videogame store.

If something is cheaper somewhere, I have no problem sending my customers somewhere else to get it, because I understand the need to save money where it can be saved.

But seriously man... Local Business > Niche Stores > Big Box Retailers > Online Retailers.

You're not just supporting a company. You're helping people pay their bills by keeping them employed.

EDIT: and if you have any issues with anything, there is an online survey that most of these companies do, where you can voice your opinion. Tell them about how the staff ignored you, how things were priced better somewhere else, or whatever else you think is wrong with the store. Don't forget to mention the things that you like though too.

We read these things. They don't get ignored, and our Head Office considers the surveys when making new decisions. They don't weigh in as heavily as profits do, but again, it's a business.

[TKz]

At what point does it become the customers duty to keep their local shop open?

I get that people need jobs, but at the end of the day, if Amazon is offering it at nearly £10 cheaper (because fuck Game and there ridiculous price structures), there's no way I'm going to a local to pay more, when I can have it delivered to me for free.

[Gabriel]

If you personally have no issue with it, then that's cool.

Me personally? I won't shop at big businesses if I don't have to, because I know how hard it is to get a good job, and to pay the bills. I've worked for plenty of big companies, and it's a never ending cycle. It's the Walmart Theory in practice. Pay your employees as little as possible, and don't give them full time so you don't have to give them benefits, and force them to buy from you because they can't afford to shop anywhere else.

I personally don't want to contribute to our society heading that way. But I understand when people go elsewhere for cheaper products. I don't have a lot of money. So I get it.