The benefits of being patient.
New console video games are released every month. I used to purchase at least one of those new releases each month. I’d read every preview, watch every trailer, and gather every snippet of news that was released about every game of interest. Then when release day came I’d be first in line to pick up my copy. There are two problems that come with buying new games the second they are released every month.
The first problem is not having enough time to finish some of the longer open world games. Before you are even halfway done. A new game is released that you can’t wait to try. Then the game you were currently playing gets put on the back burner. By the time you get back to playing it. You might have already forgotten key elements of the game. You could be totally lost of where you are in the story, or confused about the game controls. In some cases it’s easier to just start over. Then before you know it. Another game you’ve been anticipating comes out.
And so on…and so on…
The second issue with purchasing too many games at release, I touched on in a previous post. Quite a few of the games released each year are total crap. The majority of them are actually. I’ve learned to be very wary of glowing previews. You know who gets to preview a game? Someone who’s written glowing reviews, or previews for games released by that Developer before. Try writing a review about how you think a particular Game is garbage. Then send that Developer a request to preview their next game. Good luck with that buddy. If I represented that Developer I wouldn’t send you a preview copy either. You need to be skeptical of early test versions of games being demoed at E3 also. Half of the time these demos are being presented on state of the art gaming computers. The image quality, and frame rate could far exceed the capability of your consoles.
Your best strategy to insure that the majority of games you purchase don’t totally suck. Is to wait at least one week after it’s been released. Then read the reviews posted by actual players. Are there any server issues? You’ll find out in the reviews. Is the game plagued by glitches? You’ll find out in the reviews. Does it suffer from frame rate problems? You’ll find out in the reviews. Does the game just fail to deliver what you expected? You’ll find out… Well you know where this is going.
Now some of you are worried about missing out on all that release day swag. Those special character skins, bonus equipment, or extra downloadable content. Truth be told, most of those release day bonuses are still available one week later. If it isn’t. Are you really going to be devastated about missing out on a character skin that everyone is using? I know I’m not. I get bored of having the same outfit, equipment, or vehicle that everyone else has right quick. Don’t you?
Trust me if you remain patient, and only buy the highest rated reviewed games. You will enjoy your game system that much more. You’ll also have the necessary time to fully explore those fantastically realized open worlds.
