I'm not sure why you're making such a big deal about this. Most people who want this game already know they want it. Waiting for reviews is completely unnecessary.
I'm one of those people who wants the game - which is exactly why I want to wait for reviews. What is the issue with wanting to be an informed customer? What I don't understand is why people like you make a big deal about wanting to still have the full game and still be able to verify that the game is of good quality before purchasing? If the game turns out to be fine, why is that problem?
For my money, NRS has a perfect track record. For PC gamers (which it sounds like you may be), perhaps not.
They don't have a perfect record, in fact they have a downright terrible record - what you are saying is so far, you PERSONALLY have not been affected by their fuck ups. That doesn't change the fact that other people have, and should not have to gamble on it. And if you were a smart shopper, neither would you, just because it's been mostly PC targeted so far absolutely does NOT mean it can never happen to consoles as well, especially if this time around development happens to be particularly, to say, capitalise on DC movie hype. There is no PC release this time around - if something gets rushed out in a shit state its the console version. Maybe it won't be. Neither of us know for sure, hence why I want to be informed before making a purchase. Developers with perfect records come out with stinkers all the time. Dishonored 2 just this year for example - 4th game from the studio, great track record, lot of consumer trust - but this time it was a bug ridden mess.
But beyond that... is a pre-order really so bad? Say you pre-order it, then see reviews that somehow convince you that you won't like this game (extremely unlikely, given the fact that NRS is very transparent before release, showing almost the entirety of the game). Now what do you do? Simply cancel or return the game. Not a big deal.
I'm sorry, but this just exposes that you clearly have a very weak understanding of how the video game industry works.
To get a pre-release copy to review, you have to be on board. These developers have no obligation to hand out pre-release copies, in fact, NRS is one of the developers who don't do this. By the time reviews are readable - you can no longer get a refund.
However, to educate you on why this is bad in general, on a broader scale - the people who get pre-release copies are the people who won't trash a game no matter how bad it is. Nobody can force them to write a good review, but the second this websites/magazines get a copy of a game before release and decide to give it an honest but negative review, is the second they never get another review copy from that publisher, and often from any other publisher who notices it. Even saying something not positive about the company or even the state it's in, will get you your review copy skipped - if you come across as a potential wildcard, they will NOT take the risk. There is plenty of people willing to focus on all the positives and ignore the negatives in return for the massive click revenue that a review of a game before release will generate - these are the people who get the copies.
Trusting anything other than consumer reviews, is a recipe for disaster. The campaign for ethics in video game journalism has been a hot topic in recent years, and regardless where you stand on the movement, it's pretty well agreed that video game journalism = a running joke. 9.5/10 for the new Call of Duty you say? Right below the corner to corner banner advertisement for the new CoD? Well, must be an instant classic!
I hate linking to Kotaku, but this is a very important article that caused a lot of waves and cost them a lot of opportunities in the business - and explains some of this perfectly
http://kotaku.com/a-price-of-games-journalism-1743526293.
here's a video from Jim Sterling, discussing his blacklist and reputation among publishers as a "wildcard", for giving honest reviews and not sucking the industry D.
Pre-order incentives are more for pushing people over the fence who might otherwise wait a couple months for a sale. Not this huge deception conspiracy that you're making it out to be.
It's a marketing tactic that is consumer unfriendly in a massive way. I'm saying it pushes to take the information out of our hands when making our decision, or it costs us content from our games. It doesn't automatically mean the game is going to be shit - Bethesda did the same thing for Doom 2016, and literally put an embargo on reviews - yet it came out to great reviews. However, they also did the same for Fallout 4, which came out in a buggy glitch-ridden state on multiple platforms and is recognised as the worst entry in the franchise, even beating out that Fallout: Tactics fuckery. This happens all the time. It is done by companies with great records. I already gave the Arkham series as a good example of that, and they dropped the ball so hard that it single handedly caused refund system to be implemented into the largest game distribution platform on the planet. Also a WB game. So don't think that our publisher won't rush out content to make a release date. Because it could happen.
And once again, on a positive note, it may not! Maybe the lack of PC release is a good sign. However, why should it be a gamble? Why as a consumer, are you pushing for a more consumer unfriendly practice? Why do you think customers should have to TRUST that the company doesn't screw them over, or get a game with less content? How does this benefit you?
NRS have explained their DLC development when MKX/Goro was releasing. They're developed on different timelines. So once Injustice 2 goes "gold" and starts production, they have until release date to work on and finish Darkseid. That is not the equivalent of "cutting content" from a finished game.
wat
if the content is on the DISC on release day like Goro was, then it's obviously not made after the discs were printed. That makes absolutely zero sense.
Watch this. This is from one of the most respected names in the video gaming for his grounded opinions. Start at 2 minutes to skip the explanation of what prompted him to make the video, if you want. It's not biased, it's not a ranty, it's just an honest perspective on the impact of pre-ordering and what it means, from someone deeply involved in the video game industry. I deliberately found you something that wasn't just some angry or salty hatred of pre-ordering that you would just turn off, I genuinely recommend you take the time out to watch this if you have any sort of an opinion on pre-ordering.
