5 Things To Learn From The Aliens: Colonial Marines Debacle

2. Audiences Really Need To Think About Pre-orders

The game industry is a very strange market for consumers. Consumers are asked to lay down their money for highly priced new games. On top of that, there might be day one DLC to pay fort, further DLC expansions, microtransactions, activation codes and S on top of all that, season passes for content that allows you to get discounts on content that hasn't even been conceived yet. It is a dangerous wilderness for gamers and their money out there. So it is a wonder why so many consumers are so eager to part with their money before a game has even been able stand on its own two feet. It of course is apart of our consumer culture that we want the new thing, and we want it now, but personally I think the problem goes deeper. It is not always about getting your hands on a game as early as possible, but instead about allegance. This the same basis for console wars between fans. It is about putting your money down and picking a team, the rationale being, 'I must be a bigger fan, because I have already bought it.' But A:CM has shown that it can be very easy to be misled by advertising. Customers may begin to think twice about their purchases, or at the very least, reconsider preorders. As a consumer, you may miss out on the odd bit of digital or physical paraphernalia, but you also will be buying a product that has been proven and you know you want, as opposed to an item you think you know you want.