The Immutable Laws of Game Purchase

[PsychoFox]

I know some might disagree, but these are my personal rules when it comes to purchasing videogames these days. I post these here to expose them to some critique.

 

NOTE: These are my own views and do not reflect the views/opinions of anyone else here on Accursed Farms Forums (unless they want to adopt them).

 

Rule #01: All games shall be pirated FIRST and bought ONLY IF worth the asking price.

 

Rule #02: No money shall be spent on ANY product benefiting the following entities: Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, [...]

 

Rule #03: No game shall be bought from any retailer that does not have a sensible return policy.

 

Rule #04: No game shall be purchased that has a mandatory online connection for the single-player campaign.

 

Rule #05: No lootboxes shall ever be purchased.

 

Rule #06: No game shall ever be pre-ordered, unless in support of a developer based on good faith, and without any expectations pertaining to the final product.

 

Rule #07: No game shall ever be purchased in Early-access form, no matter the quality of the product, unless in support of a developer based on good faith, and without any expectations pertaining to the quality of the final product.

 

Rule #08: It is allowed, and encouraged, to use piracy to hurt developers that actively employ tactics and strategies that are harmful (monetary and otherwise) to a player or the gaming industry in general.

 

Rule #09: No game shall be purchased that mandates the use of a company-specific client (ala Uplay, Origin) to run.

 

Rule #10: No game shall be ever purchased that requires the signing of a Privacy Policy agreement.

[BTGBullseye]

If we're posting our own personal rules, here are mine...

 

1. If it looks interesting, try it through whatever means are currently available. (this includes pirating, demos, videos, and actual full purchasing)

2. If I pirate it, I do so with the intent of paying for a copy of it ASAP, after testing.

3. If the game ends up sucking, rule 2 does not apply.

4. If it's an EA title, it gets pirated first, always.

5. If it's available on Humble Bundle, (even if it's not in a Bundle) I get it from them.

[Alyxx Thorne]

My rules:

 

1. If the game looks fun, I'll buy it, regardless of publisher/developer or their past business practices. I always judge a game as it is. If business practices ruin the fun, then yes, I won't buy it, but I don't hold any grudges against publishers.

 

2. I will typically try to buy the game on sites like greenmangaming where I can even preorder games cheaper than other places. Humble Bundle also counts since it's often cheaper but in some cases not (Stardew Valley is actually more expensive on Humble Bundle compared to Steam for instance) so I always try to go for the best deal.

 

3. I will preorder the game only if I'm certain I wanna play it when it comes out. If not I'll wait for it to go on sale for a higher discount.

[PsychoFox]

If we're posting our own personal rules, here are mine...

 

2. If I pirate it, I do so with the intent of paying for a copy of it ASAP, after testing.

 

This is a good rule. One should employ their moral compass to a degree and not let piracy hurt developers who are worth the money.

[Alyxx Thorne]

I haven't pirated games since 2007 at the latest...

[rairii]

I haven't pirated games since 2007 at the latest...

Same. I get scoffs from the piracy crowd for saying this but I feel like I've just outgrown it. My philosophy is simple, if it looks interesting enough I'll buy it. If it's not worth my money it's probably not worth my time either.

[Alyxx Thorne]

I haven't pirated games since 2007 at the latest...

Same. I get scoffs from the piracy crowd for saying this but I feel like I've just outgrown it. My philosophy is simple, if it looks interesting enough I'll buy it. If it's not worth my money it's probably not worth my time either.

Yeah, I have the same attitude nowadays. Games are really cheap too in some cases, so for me there's little reason to pirate. It was more of a thing when I had no economy of my own.

[Salika Klixiso]

1. Never, under any circumstances, shall a game be purchased for greater than $60 USD.

2. Emulation shall only be performed on games I own a copy of already. Exceptions to this rule are games that are unobtainable otherwise. (Ex. Earthbound, Mother 3.)

3. Have no expectations of an Early Access game.

4. Piracy of games is acceptable, if the game in question is A. Unplayable otherwise or B. published by EA, and in most cases, Ubisoft.

5. A pirated game shall be purchased at full price if found to be worth it's price.

6. If purchasable, a game's OST will be purchased if deemed worth listening to outside the game, and shall not be downloaded, unless the number of decent tracks is less than 3.

7. The right to a refund of a less-than-satisfactory game SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED.

[Blue]

1. Buy what you want.

2. Do not buy what you don't want.

3. It's only "on sale" if you were planning on getting it anyway.

4. Do your homework and see if a sale is likely to occur.

 

Everything else (content sources and limitations, privacy, lootboxes and all that nonsense) I chalk up to "preference", and things like those are not things I prefer.

 

To that end, I maybe buy like 1 game a year, and I only ever buy what I intend to play. I got Chasm this year and Mini Metro last year. Someone might say my preferences are too narrow, but in my view the jedi are evil I don't need many games or complex games to satisfy my needs.