Replay is a big factor considering games are selling for $60 these days. GG isn't gonna want to hear this, but that keeps me from Madworld when I hear you can be done with it in about five hours. That's disappointing to me.
Word of mouth is also verey powerful to me. Would I have bought Endless Ocean, Zack and Wiki or Hotel Dusk without good word of mouth? No.
Of course, I love my sequels. If it's Metroid, Zelda or Mario, then count me in. Day one purchase automatically.
Depends on the game.
If its something I know is going to be good (examples: Phantom Hourglass, MGS4, Dawn of War II), then I'll pick it up regardless of reviews.
If it's something I'm unsure of, or wouldn't be a worthwhile investment, I'll want to rent it first. For instance, this is how I loved the Darkness and avoided Alone in the Dark.
If it's something that I have little to no interest in, I'd love a demo, or I'll rent it. For instance, the demo for UFC 2009 has really impressed me, and has piqued my interest to "rent".
Price also plays a factor. $100 is the max I'll pay for any game. 120 is taking it too far.
I have only 2 series that are must-buys, Zelda and Mario (EAD platformers). After that it's pretty much all just on a whim to the way the game appears to play.
And lastly, I never rent. If it's worth playing, it's worth buying. If it's "only worth a rental" I'll gladly hold onto my money and use it towards something better, or at the least buy some random piece of crap for $5.
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Tell me to get back to rewriting this site so it's not horrible on mobile
For me it kind of boils down into 2 groups developed by Nintendo or not developed by Nintendo. If it's made by Nintendo there's not really a set of rules. I can just go by gut feeling and I'm rarely wrong. I don't buy every game they make but I will certainly pay a bit of extra attention to them when considering whether or not to buy them.
Other that than it's usually 1 big thing that drives me towards my purchases - art style. For the most part I find myself driven towards games with unique art styles and as a result that usually means I'm playing niche games. Big budget games usually tend to go towards photo-realism which does nothing for me at all. But give me something like World of Goo, Lost Winds, Mad World, or even Mario Galaxy and I'm a happy camper. When a developer takes the time to craft a beautiful and unique looking game it's usually a clear sign that they are crafting a very good game. Judging a game by the art style has for the most part lead me down a pretty solid path and it's rare I find something that I'm not happy with.
Aside from art style I find myself attracted towards non-violent games. Sure there are exceptions like Mad World, RE4, and No More Heroes, but for the most part I'm more likely to play a game like Harvest Moon, River King, World of Goo, or Katamari Damacy. Unfortunately it's virtually impossible to depend of reviews for these types of games. For some reason it's tough for most reviewers to "get" games where the objective doesn't involve headshots and explosions, so most of the time I have to watch videos or just take the plunge.
) and then I scour sales and eBay and buy whichever one is cheapest... 
I read the stories on The VG Press and promptly ignore them.
I then watch Kevin Pereira on TV and he tells me what I should buy.
I then go to my local GameStop and pre-order everything Kevin Pereira told me to pre-order from the GameStop guy that definitely has a big wang.
In conclusion, I should stop posting on The VG Press after I've been drinking --AND-- I am not swayed AT ALL by Gaming Media and my peers. I am swayed by big wangs.
That is all.
SteelAttack said:Like deblob?
Yup. It's only worth about 1/5 full price. 
If a game is good (reviews and friend recommendations) I put it on my list and when I have money I buy them. Sometimes an awesome game that is released get put forward on the list (like I brought Brawl at launch, because I thought this will allow me to play online with you guys), but then the list goes on. If a game gets a sequel but it is not as good as the preguel I own, then I will get another game first. For example I would not get RE5 immediately because it is not as good as RE5, so I would choose a game like Valkyria Chronicles! I would not get CoD WAW if I already have CoD4!
My list is:
Twilight Princess, Prime 3, Galaxy, Zack and Wiki, de Blob, MadWorld, No More Heroes, LKS. So the next game I will buy is de Blob.
Other games that are on my to buy list: Trauma Center (both of them), Super Paper Mario, House of the Dead Overkill, Deadly Creatures, Elebits, Blastwork, Rune Factory (not sure which version), Mario Kart Wii, Wii Ski and Snowboard, the latest Guilty Gear, feel like I am missing a lot.
The DS has so many games I want, I do not bother to make a list.
I go by reviews also, but I am very selective with reviews. I know there are things like genre bias by many reviewers. Heck if a niche game get high scores I pay extra attention, because those games were not hyped, so I trust the review more. When a hyped games scores high, than in the back of my mind I always think that it might be PR speaking instead of honest opinion.
Ravenprose said:SteelAttack said:Like deblob?Yup. It's only worth about 1/5 full price.
GG is gonna get a sore butt about this.
SteelAttack said:Ravenprose said:SteelAttack said:Like deblob?Yup. It's only worth about 1/5 full price.
GG is gonna get a sore butt about this.
Well, I did give it a try. It's not a bad game by any means, just very repetitive. And I found most of the missions boring. It is a very charming game, though. I just wouldn't pay more than $10 to play it.
Since I love art, storytelling, and design, some of the things I look for are character designs. For example, does this JRPG have interesting characters that I feel is worth investing so-and-so hours into? Or does this adventure/action game have main characters that'd make me feel good playing as them? I played a few mediocre to bad games based on this alone. If a bad game has a good character that I like, I'll play it. Unless a game has game-breaking glitches that make it absolutely unplayable, I can endure bad game design if the characters are cool. Right now I'm playing Wild ARMs XF for the PSP. It's a pretty poorly designed SRPG that has a lot of potential. It's definitely not as good as Jeanne D'Arc or FF Tactics, but I'm still enjoying it because I really dig the characters.
Another example, that new Damnation games is something currently on my radar. Sure the game looks like a poor Gears of War knock off and can be terrible or a surprisingly good game. But for the most part, it does look average. But the world design, the steampunk setting, the western/sci-fi hybrd and with pretty cool character designs gets me interested. The game might suck, but those other things have got me looking forward to it. A similar game is Darkwatch. I don't think many people liked this game but I thought it was a pretty good shooter. I enjoyed it, not only because the shooting was pretty well done, but because the design and concept was appealing. I kind of like westerns especially with some fantasy in it. Same with sci-fi, like Dead Space. But good thing Dead Space is a great game. Sometimes I get best of both worlds and a game satisfies fully.
And although short games do turn me off, there are exceptions. Shadow of the Colossus is a game worth owning because it's a masterpiece. I guess it depends on the concept. My reason above comes into play with short games as well. Even if it's a great game but the character designs and concept doesn't intrigue me, I think I'd let it pass until a price drop. But if it's a short game with concepts and characters that interest me, I'd probably pick it up, but it has to really impress me to do that for a short game.
And finally, some of my purchases have been just taking a blind chance. Phoenix Wright is a series I had no idea what to expect. When I bought the first game, I didn't take it out of the shrink-wrap for almost three weeks because I was so afraid that I'd hate it. But one day when I was so bored, I opened it and played it. And I loved it. The Ace Attorny series is my favorite series of all-time. That's a good outcome of this, but there have been a few games where I took a blind chance with them that I felt very disappointed with. This may upset some people but The World Ends With You is the most recent example of a game that I took a chance with that I ended up hating. I hated it so much that I returned it the next day. It sucks because I spent $40 for it and ended up getting only $15 back in credit. But I didn't care. I hated the game and was disappointed with it.
Well, that's how I purchase games.
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Now Playing: Golden Sun Dark Dawn, God of War Ghost of Sparta, and DKC Returns
phantom_leo said:My buying process:
I read the stories on The VG Press and promptly ignore them.
I then watch Kevin Pereira on TV and he tells me what I should buy.I listen to him cause he's cute and supposedly has a big wang.
I've heard his Wang had it's own Dynasty.
but there are also the games which skip the list and which i buy full price upon launch. there are many reasons for this: past experience, hands-on impressions etc ... also like robio, art-style plays a huge role in what makes a game appeal to me and a lot of the time like a huge wang sways my purchasedecisions
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Listen to Wu-Tang and watch Kung-Fu
Okay, sorry for the dbl post, but that last one deserved it's own space.
I avoid as much pre-release hype as possible, because I am overly spoiler-sensitive.
I buy games for the following reasons:
- Someone passionate about the game has vouched for it (either from the communuity or a reviewer I know and trust).
- If I think it might be hard to find later on in life.
- I've had previous good experiences with the Publisher (on niche titles) or the developer, or the franchise.
- It's a game concept or presentation that I know won't sell big, but I want to show the pub or dev that I support their risk.
- Any game is under $10 USD.
aspro73 said:Okay, sorry for the dbl post, but that last one deserved it's own space.
I avoid as much pre-release hype as possible, because I am overly spoiler-sensitive.
I buy games for the following reasons:
- Someone passionate about the game has vouched for it (either from the communuity or a reviewer I know and trust).
- If I think it might be hard to find later on in life.
- I've had previous good experiences with the Publisher (on niche titles) or the developer, or the franchise.
- It's a game concept or presentation that I know won't sell big, but I want to show the pub or dev that I support their risk.
- Any game is under $10 USD.
#2 is also how I purchase games. I have a few PC games that are hard to find...well, legally hard to find. LOL! And YES, I bought these, at Gamestop of all places. Some Gamestop's has some really rare PC games that I couldn't find anywhere else, and for pretty cheap too.
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Now Playing: Golden Sun Dark Dawn, God of War Ghost of Sparta, and DKC Returns
Since this whole week's theme has been why do you buy what you buy, I want to explain exactly what makes me want to run out and buy a game day one and why some games get left out.
Lets start from the very beginning, a game annoucement. Obviously right off the bat a sequel will get more attention from me than an original game. If a new Zelda game is annouced I will freak out, if some new game called "Elf Adventure" is annouced I won't feel anything.
Then comes the information phase, you get some screenshots, a preview and maybe a video. This is where my first opinions on the game gets formed. Here is where I decided do I follow this game or not. Normally if its a sequel and it like a previous entry into a series i like then it gets most of my attention. If its a new game it needs to show me something interesting, something to make it stand out.
Genre is huge, i am probably not going to care much for the next random 2D fighter by SNK. Or the next Blizzard strategy game. Or some Namco JRPG. If its an action game it needs to stand out, like Uncharted did.
The developer is another aspect I pay attention to, if its Nintendo it has my full attention. If its Capcom I need to know if its one of their good efforts or one of their many port efforts. Devs like Insomniac, Naughty Dog, Valve, I know those will be great games so they get more attention from me.
As time goes on and gameplay videos come out I can figure out if I want to buy or not. Basically it needs to be something that when released if I dont own it I would feel bad that I dont have it. If I cant find that desire to want it on the first day from all the info I have gathered then I usually wait, whats the point, i can save myself money if I wait.
The reviews are the final test, by the time reviews come out I have normally made my choice whether I want to own the game or not. But if a reviews come out very negative and gamer impressions start to express many issues with the game then I bail out. The review area is also the time where all those games I normally dont pay attention to in the dev process, whether it be because its in a genre I dont care for or a company I never heard of, have a chance to grab my attention. I do pay attention to word of mouth, I can tell when the gaming community is in love with a certain product. Its how I came to learn about games like Phoenix Wright, PixelJunk Eden, Katamari, etc. Its where games like Little King Story makes an impact, same with Valkyria Chronicles a few months back. Those games have the most to gain from the review process and word of month. Every time a game like that comes out that gets love from a lot of people I do pay attention. I dont put them ahead of the games I mentioned above, seeing positive reviews isn't magically going to make me more excited for LKS than the next RE game will. So I make note of those games and I wait, till I can buy them, usually cheap.
As for graphics and hardware, honestly it doesn't matter much. I know I argue how I like my games on the PS3, obviously if I have a choice to hvae my games look like ass or a look like a supermodel I want the supermodel. And if you dont feel the same way you are lying to yourself. But that really has no impact on what games I want. If RE5 came out only on the wii, I would have been there day 1. All that matters is that they make the best game possible. On the Wii, it may not look as nice but they have the advantage of the Wiimote, do interesting things with that and I will pay attention, like Zack and Wiki. But even that doesn't matter, what matters to me is that its something I find interesting, that is all. It can have the best graphics in the world, or it can be 8-bit, I dont care.
I almost forgot about replay value. This is important, I dont want to pay full price for a game that will last me 5 hours, I might as well rent it. For the most part I like my games to be long or have lots of replay value. Along with this goes price, if your game is cheaper than most I will pay attention to that. I believe Resident Evil 4 Wii came out at $30, I honestly would have waited if it was the full $50, I already owned the game. Cheaper games make me happy.
The process for me does put sequels first, if you hadn't noticed I buy plenty of them cause I do feel many of the best games ever made are sequels, they are usually safe bets in terms of quality and they get me excited. If there is an original game in a genre I love that shows me something amazing, I will be there day one to get it, like Little Big Planet. If a game is made by a developer I trust and its a game that looks impressive, I usually put them ahead, Uncharted is a good example of this. Once I get the stuff that wow me, the stuff I feel I cant be without, then I start looking at all those critical darlings that never showed up on my radar until the reviews hit.
Go ahead and yell at me or explain your process.