What do you Look for in a Game Before you Buy It?

[Krommm]

Unless I've played previous iterations of a series, then I check reviews and gameplay videos. I try to find neutral viewpoints or one overly positive and one focused on bashing said game. I'll check the pricepoint which means I won't usually buy any games that won't last more than a week if it's over 30$ or so. I tend to avoid any subscription games despite playing WoW for way too many years. Difficulty is never a factor because I enjoy both easy and challenging games alike.

Depending on the genre my general criteria would include: (usually in this priority)

1. Gameplay
2. Pricing
3. Controls
4. Story
5. Longevity (replay value and/or consistent content addons)
6. Graphics

I would put Fun at the top, but that mainly comprises my own tastes and a combination of my list. I used to like balanced games, but barring chess there are few that even attempt this. (and actually do remotely well) Anyways, depending on the genre I would completely change some things around. For MMO's Longevity (regular content additions) and controls are very much close at the top. If I'm playing for the story, then I usually like some nicer graphical elements to it. Due to many games being overpriced, I play most games when they are outdated and select only a handful when they are current.

Sometimes an interesting cover will get my attention and I have bought games before due to hype or "it looks good", usually regretting it. I'm sure I'm missing out on many great games, but there is only either so much time or money one can invest. Console games are often avoided due to price and constantly needing to purchase a new console.

D3 was my last "hype" purchase and while the game has become much better it was a huge letdown. It's better to analyze the pros and cons of a game if you are tight on money and/or time like me. It's fine to expect a decent game, but the rampant hype that surrounds many upcoming games inevitably kills some games and the experience when you expect so much.

Conclusion: I look for a good value that provides entertainment value for my interests.
Gameplay(determines fun factor) > All

[Deleted]

1. What kind of DLC (Borderlands is the only game in 5 years that has an acceptable DLC model, you actually get a shitton of content for a few bucks)
2. Is it finished (how many people are discussing problems/bugs)
3. Game hours
4. Is it on steam (I like having 1 library for all my games)

[Mirishka]

Can you provide links to studies showing that piracy is actually hurting profits? Most people who illegaly download software are people who would not buy the game for retail price anyway. Games like Minecraft would never become so widespread if it weren't for millions of "illegal" downloads boosting it's popularity.

Are you trolling, or are you seriously this dumb?

I don't mean that rhetorically, either. I'm literally asking if you are so stuffed full of ignorance as to believe - for even a second - that piracy does ANYTHING but hurt the gaming/entertainment industries. Its common sense. If 5 million people pirate something instead of buying it, the people spending money to make these things have much less of a chance to make their money back. And guess what happens when you don't make your money back? You tend to, you know, go out of business.

I mean, seriously... anyone with an education past the 6th grade should understand this.

In December 2011 The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings sold just over 1 million copies... compared to the 4.5 million times that the game was illegally downloaded. So for every legit, purchased copy, 4.5 were downloaded by worthless pieces of shit who decided they were too good to pay for it, but deserved to play the game regardless.

Seriously, fuck people who do that. Game developers need to pack viruses into 'leaked' versions of their games that wipe out the systems of people who steal it.

But then, people who defend pirating are generally the ones doing it, so I shouldn't be surprised by the retarded 'herp derp r u sure dis hurts teh industry?' replies like yours.

[Deleted]

Are you trolling, or are you seriously this dumb?

I don't mean that rhetorically, either. I'm literally asking if you are so stuffed full of ignorance as to believe - for even a second - that piracy does ANYTHING but hurt the gaming/entertainment industries. Its common sense. If 5 million people pirate something instead of buying it, the people spending money to make these things have much less of a chance to make their money back. And guess what happens when you don't make your money back? You tend to, you know, go out of business.

I mean, seriously... anyone with an education past the 6th grade should understand this.

In December 2011 The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings sold just over 1 million copies... compared to the 4.5 million times that the game was illegally downloaded. So for every legit, purchased copy, 4.5 were downloaded by worthless pieces of shit who decided they were too good to pay for it, but deserved to play the game regardless.

Seriously, fuck people who do that. Game developers need to pack viruses into 'leaked' versions of their games that wipe out the systems of people who steal it.

But then, people who defend pirating are generally the ones doing it, so I shouldn't be surprised by the retarded 'herp derp r u sure dis hurts teh industry?' replies like yours.

Issue here is that you're thinking the exact same way as the music industry, in that if someone pirates something for free, they would otherwise obviously have bought it right? Wrong. Granted, some of the people who pirated it might have bought it otherwise, but plenty of those who did would never have touched it otherwise, so counting it as outright lost sales is therefore wrong.

Furthermore, plenty of people (myself included) purchase the game after pirating it, Witcher 2 is a great example of this. I would probably not have bought the game if I hadn't pirated it first to try it out, but after playing the pirated version I didn't even get through the first "tutorial missions" before I decided that this game was awesome and I should definitely buy it, so I uninstalled it and bought a real copy from steam.

I'm not saying all pirates do this, but there's plenty who do.

Is pirating wrong? Perhaps. But so is paying reviewers to give you a higher score, photoshopping screenshots of your game to make it look better and making use of whatever other deceiving methods they can think of to release a cheap terrible game at a high price. I pay for games I feel are worth paying for, not for garbage.

[DiscoGhost]

a feeling of progression. non retarded characters.

[Djuntas]

AA title / Big studio.

Genre

Polish

That is the biggest 3 for me.

Inn the last many years I have barely bought any games trough....Im very sceptical about spending money on games...I will never get people who has like 50, 100 or more games on steam...No fuck off with you're bundle crap, its complete waste of money from my pov...But then again I despice pointless mini games that last 3-20 hours aka indie crap Before I even buy a game I know proboaly 1-2 years before its out, if I'll buy it.

[Orby]

Not all of these qualities but some of them depending on the game genere; PC capability, User interface, control handling, is it fun, and a good story and/or franchise I can get behind.

If its an FPS or MOBA then there is a high chance I will not be buying it lol