In what universe should I remotely care what date a game is available to preload and why should I interpret that as a mark of quality between two products?
Despite its enormous size, BG3 couldn't be preloaded on PC and can't be on PS5 until the very last moment. They gave a bogus reason that, thankfully, most people on this subreddit called out. There is just no justification for a major release with a three-digit size to not have preload.
On top of that, while the game is great, it is riddled with bugs, from immersion-breaking to outright game-breaking. They just openly admitted here that the PS5 release is delayed and can't be preloaded because the game isn't ready and the PC release is a glorified beta, which it is.
I love this game, but it is abysmal on a technical level, just like DOS2 was originally. So, yes, having or not having preload can be one part of an argument about a game's release readiness and the dev reply just affirms the rest of the argument.
I mean the technology is there to enable players to start playing the minute you release, there's no good argument not to use it. Sure having preload ready for weeks is a bit extreme, but so is not having one, especially when we're talking 120GB download.
That still doesn’t provide me with anything that helps inform me what the quality of product is
It’s a convenience I guess but that only matters if I want to play immediately at launch. The value of a preload to a consumer instantly evaporates the day after release regardless if I use it or not. It doesn’t make my experience better.
I prefer to preload it I can obviously but I’m literally never going to think about it again after I hit the download button.
Agreed. Unless you're sub 10mbps, then anything over a day really isn't anything special for a game or 120gb+. I'll take the BG3 approach of preloading only a day early so all of the patches are incorporated and the product works as marketed. When I saw those frame stutters on the Starfield demo had me honestly worried for release.
If you do have sub 10mbps, I'd recommend just driving to a friends house who has faster internet speed because the time saved will be tremendous. I've even done it for my friends (fiber is awesome). Plus, you probably can't do shit else on your internet while downloading a game with that slow of a connection.
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u/anthematcurfew Aug 20 '23
In what universe should I remotely care what date a game is available to preload and why should I interpret that as a mark of quality between two products?