People who purchase new consoles upon release

[The Welsh Paddy]

Right, I'm just wondering. How many people pre-order new consoles or purchase them upon their release? Since the Playstation and N64 era, I have never done this. Pretty much because there aren't usually any games I am interested in until almost a year later. Because of this, I don't see the point in getting a new console only to either play a bunch of games I'm not particularly interested in or to just wait until some of the games that I'm waiting for release for said console.

I always wait until there are a good few games that I want before I buy a new console. By that point, the console would have gone down in price by at least a third, and I can also actually enjoy playing it.

If you do purchase new consoles on their release, why do you? The few people I do know who buy consoles the moment they're released tend to be kinda snobbish and just like having the "newest thing".

 

[Shaissa]

Actually I bought the PS3 on it's release and really I wish I didn't or was smarter and sold it right away to get more money for it.
I did it originally cause I really wanted it and two games... and really I got the money for it at the time, and so I actually sat in line for one.
I regret it to this day, firstly they made upgrades for it and less money.

 

[Marquis of Granby]

i dont normally do it.

i stupidly decided to get a wii u just a few weeks ago. and there's what...like 3 exclusive games for it and none are that great. the rest are games that have been out on other consoles for a while but they still charge as if they were new games just cause it's a new console.

i will never do it again

 

[Big Casino]

Im 23, the ps3 came out when i was 16 and i didnt get it on release but i did when i got a job and got my first pay. I cant remember when i had it but i think it was pretty early though it had came down in price because i payed £350 and got my choice of 3 games with it. On release it was around £400 for the console itself.
Every other console ive had prior to that were Christmas gifts from my parents. They were not rich and couldn't afford to get me a console as soon as they were out so i had no choice but to wait. But who could blame them? Game consoles are seriously expensive pieces of kit and not something everyone can just pick up when they fancy it.

I have no interest in a wii u. As for the next playstation and Xbox i would be able to afford to get it on release quite easily but i wont. Its gunna be very very expensive and i think its just good sense to wait and see what other people say about the consoles before you buy them. Maybe theres a bad batch like all the 360s that got the 'red ring of death' back when the xbox was released. There might be other software problems that need addressing as they weren't tested properly etc. On top of that on release there isnt hundreds of games to pick from. Theres gunna be a call of duty and some other new titled games and maybe another Big franchise game but thats it. I think its smarter to sit back and wait, save yourself money in the process.

On an slightly on yet off topic note. The playstation 2 has now officially stopped being produced. Some might not know but they still made PS2's but now production has officially ceased. That machine had one hell of a lifespan. Best catalog of games to ever grace a console in my opinion. RIP ps2 you gave me many a fun time and made me skip so much school.

 

[Tyler Breeze]

If I recall correctly, I think dad bought the Gamecube on release day. I can't remember exactly what games he got with it. I just remember having a lot of problems with the cube not working or a disc not working. I swear, after that first Gamecube we had, we must have got and sold at least 5 more before the original Wii came out. We still have a Gamecube to this day. We only have it because we want to buy and play Mario Party 6. We got rid of the Wii also.

As far as games go, I can only remember in 2008 when my dad waited like, 20 minutes ( ) on line to get WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2009 on release day. When he came home with that, I was so friggin happy! One of my favorite games ever! OMGawd. That was a nice way to wake up on a cold morning in 2008.

 

[Ethics]

I didn't wait in line or pre order any consoles, but I did get the PS3 pretty much right after release. I happened to see one of the demos they had set up in Best Buy, played it and absolutely loved it so I forked over the cash. Never bought the game that sold me the console, though.

 

[Will Graham]

I've never been able to afford a console on its release date so it's never really been something I thought about. Unless there were some really awesome launch games then I guess I would wait a while to get it. Plus plenty of good games are still around for the older-gen that I haven't played, so I wouldn't be bored waiting a year or so to get it. Like Lewis said too, waiting to hear about any big bugs in the first few waves of the system would be a good idea.

 

[Martel]

I've done this twice now, for the 3DS and PS Vita. I didn't get my 3DS until the day after launch, because I was extremely ill on launch day, and I got the Vita on the day. Whilst I got a few nice GBA games out of the 3DS, since I got made a part of the ambassador scheme when it dropped in price, the Vita hasn't really been worth the money thus far.

I bought a 3DS because it came out at around the same time my exams finished, and through University it was my custom to buy myself something nice for after my exams, because why the fuck not? The Vita I bought on launch day because I had the money to: I traded in my 360, which I never used, and figured I may as well use the money to get something I probably wouldn't be able to afford for a while otherwise. I always wanted the newest thing as a child, but I kinda stopped caring about that as I got older, as most people who aren't completely shallow and pathetic tend to do.

 

[Rapture]

I don't typically do it. First, they shove out consoles so fast now that they are usually full of bugs and etc...but the initial game selection is definitely lacking. People who do this are what I would imagine to be the hardcore gamers who always have to have the new console first and have the dollars to pay the highest price for what they want.

I see all negatives to buying a console on release date unless the one that you currently have (or maybe you don't have one yet) craps out and you are looking for the next best thing.

To me it's a waste though...and it's not worth the hassle. I'll let everyone else go out and wait in some ridiculous line outside of a store, get trampled trying to get one once they get in, and have fun beta testing it when they actually get it up and running

 

[Exoskeleton]

I've never done this because I've always been cheap with money. That and I've never really had a BIG interest in current gen games. Games nowadays usually come with updates and DLC and what not so I doubt I'll be too keen to even buy next gen consoles. Every game console I have was bought about a year or a few after the console was released and was either a gift to me or I bought it for a final fantasy game(DS was for FF3 and PS3 was for Versus Bad ideas but other games made it worthwhile).

I'm not one to be that hung up on videogame consoles and I prefer the older ones and older games. Maybe it's just a nostalgia thing. Also I don't really think it's wise to buy consoles that early. After seeing the improvements that had to be made with the xbox and ps3 as well as the dramatic price drop of the ps3 you can see why I'd think this way.

 

[Linnaete]

I took a quick glance at the list of launch titles - as well as titles that were imminently about to arrive in the next few months - of each new launch console or handheld when they came out. No machine has ever had a killer early app that would have ever compelled me to rush out and buy the thing at release day. Well, except for the Wii and Twilight Princess, but one game alone, even if it was Zelda, wouldn't justify an immediate purchase. This was what, 2006? Heck, I was way too busy on my trusty workhorse of a PS2 at the time twiddling my thumbs in anticipation for FFXII. What did I need a Wii for at that particular point in time?

In fact, I don't even get why people do it, other than perhaps for the sheer novelty of it. People will undoubtedly queue up for Orbis and Durango before Day 1 to be one of the firsts to get their hands on them as beta testers while the price tags are freshly high in comparison to what they will go for in a couple of years down the line. And launch titles will undoubtedly leave a lot to be desired.

I am also bloody glad that I haven't purchased a Vita, let alone getting one at launch. Seriously, I wonder how hard and how many times I would kick myself for that mistake.