Truth about Release Date!!!

[ODogg]

Quote: Originally Posted by Briankingsfan

I can see it now ODogg:" We've been watching you, Mr. ODogg. It seems that you have two lives. By day you are a hardworking, respectable contributor to Operation Sports. But you have another life, one lived buying videogames before their legal release date. One life has a future....the other does not......

haha, plus when i buy games before their "legal" date I slink around the store in the shadows with my eyes darting around, wearing a raincoat, waiting to do the evil deed. Some day my life of buying early may catch up with me and ruin my public life but until know that life consumes me and my high of playing a game 2 or 3 days earlier than legal makes me laugh like a maniac while I play it behind closed doors. Nothing quite like it. I'll never stop!!!

[Gman]

Considering the POS they released last year, I would think EA would want the hardcore NCAA ballers to have the new and improved version as soon as possible in order to erase 2005 out of our minds. Street dates to me are senseless and cause more angst than excitement. If it's done and in the store, let the paying consumer purchase and enjoy it.

[ODogg]

Quote: Originally Posted by Gman

Considering the POS they released last year, I would think EA would want the hardcore NCAA ballers to have the new and improved version as soon as possible in order to erase 2005 out of our minds. Street dates to me are senseless and cause more angst than excitement. If it's done and in the store, let the paying consumer purchase and enjoy it.

Yeah a hard street date when the game is already completed in no way benefits the company or the fans. For those of you who may say "well it makes that day an event that will cause more enthusiasm thus increasing sales" I say this...for the hardcore fans like us we will buy it on day one, regardless of whether the date is the official release date or not, enthusiasm does not need to be generated. For the dummies in the world aka those who aren't sports videogame freakazoids like us who would only buy based on the release date they know from reading papers or seeing ads, they would still go to the store on the date to buy the game. Another comment people make in favor of a definitive release date is that they don't want the game rushed. Well if the games already finished then that comment is a moot point.

The truth is releasing the game earlier would benefit EA with increased sales as IMO people often don't buy the game if they know Madden is coming out really soon. It would benefit us hardcore fans because we get our game quicker making us happy. And it would certainly benefit the poor Gamestop/EBGames workers who have to put up with this nonsense of midnight releases and/or one day where they sell 200-300 copies of the same game while the phone rings off the hook with "Uhh do you got NCAA 06 in today yet?"

[AP#3]

All I know is that July 12 is a hell of alot better than a few years ago, remember those late, late July releases, oh they were agony. I can deal with July 12, anything earlier is just a bonus.

[olemiss86]

You are right. I work at ebgames in inventory and my boss told us we will be busy with that few days of inventory. He said no selling of the product until the 12th. He made that real clear to the employees.

[ODogg]

Quote: Originally Posted by olemiss86

You are right. I work at ebgames in inventory and my boss told us we will be busy with that few days of inventory. He said no selling of the product until the 12th. He made that real clear to the employees.

I'm glad your boss doesn't manage the Richmond, VA store!! The manager here is selling it July 11th. He told me I could pick it up at 5:30pm when UPS arrives.

[kodiak]

Ok I am going to try explaining this in a different way. This is from a vendor and retailer ponit of view. Gaming specialty stores used to always get the games before the box stores, movie rental stores etc. So you had the gaming stores selling the games before anyone else. So the box stores did not buy as many copies from the vendor. Then the box stores thought they were at a disadvantage so they went to the vendor and said they would not purchase x amount of copies since they were at the disadvantage. So not wanting to lose those sales, the vendor decided to get the games to everyone at the same time. Thus the box stores would then buy more from the vendor, increasing their profit. Well then what would keep company A from selling before company B? Nothing. Thats why street dates are starting to become a mainstay in the industry. Had the Wal-Marts. Targets, Best Buy's, etc not started selling games, this would be a non issue. The only way to enforce this is by financial and purchasing penalties.

Now the vendor has their money well before the street date so in all honesty it should not matter to them. But if companies A,B, and C complained that D is selling before them and the vendor does nothing, it would end up hurting the vendor. With nothing happening to D the other 3 would not buy as much thus costing the vendor money.

I hope this made some sense and gives an insight on to why the street date for video games is going to become more and more common.

[kodiak]

Quote: Originally Posted by ODogg

I'm glad your boss doesn't manage the Richmond, VA store!! The manager here is selling it July 11th. He told me I could pick it up at 5:30pm when UPS arrives.

It wont be coming by UPS on the 11th, they will already have it at the store. That just goes to show that your Richmond VA manager does not really have a clue as to the whole thing. Which means you might get lucky and get it even sooner. With the merger looming, I think all sorts of chaos could be abound with EB and that little things such as a street date could get overlooked.