Pre-orders may have more importance than we gamers think. Most gamers think it’s a mere convenience to ensure they get the game they want the day it’s released. Gamecock’s Mike Wilson revealed to Next-Gen the real significance of pre-orders, in particular its effect on small independent titles.
"If someone does like a game and plans on buying it, [pre-ordering] is probably the best thing you can do for a developer or publisher… GameStop is so powerful now that they make up for almost half of the industry sales. Their pre-order program, which they base their buys off of, is so important now. It’s like life or death for some of these original, independent titles."
This double-edged sword has many companies worried due to its unforgiving nature. Gamecock launched a pre-order program where gamers can pre-order their new game for the DS, Dementium, from the publisher’s website. While this will serve as a temporary aid, ultimately they will still need the support of big retail players to succeed.
If you want a game to do well, it’s not enough just to buy it these days. Go out and support your favorite games and developers by pre-ordering. If what Wilson said is true, their jobs depend on it.
