Friendly reminder: Pre-orders are bad for game quality (Destiny)

by Kahzgul, Friday, March 31, 2017, 17:58 (2576 days ago) @ cheapLEY

Activision doesn't own Bungie, though. Obviously we don't know the details, but they have a payment contract--they're not just going to arbitrarily give more money to Bungie if they spend less on advertising. The deal has already been made, with who knows what terms and opportunities for renegotiation.

Very true, but i guarantee they did the calculations of total budget vs. ad budget vs. how much they'll pay Bungie before they entered negotiations with Bungie.

Yeah that's true. FWIW, I generally agree with your point. It's not just about one game or one company--it's a trend throughout the entire industry. Horizon Zero Dawn was first game I've pre-ordered in a long time, and that's because reviews hit a week before the game launched (and were great!), so I was confident enough to take the gamble.

I think this is great. Pre-release reviews leading to pre-orders mean you're still getting the opinion of a reviewer you've grown to trust and are making an informed decision that's ultimately rooted in the quality of the game more than the strength of the advertising for that game.