The base game for me at least is ¥9,790 (£45.90 / 52,90€) (the prices of this differs depending on where you live in the world), and also CT is included in the price (which is 10%). That’s NOT the case for US gamers as you are NOT paying $69.99 as SALES TAX exists meaning you’re paying more than that, I wouldn’t be surprised if the same thing defaults at £69.99 & 79,99€ just for the base version.
Is there a notable preorder discount?
If no, then don’t.
The only case would be if you know you’re going to buy it anyway, even if its bad (just to support the franchise or something like that), and if there’s a preorder discount. Otherwise there’s no logical reason to preorder.
No game is worth preordering. Especialy in times of digital distribution!
Digital distribution of games means that no game should be preordered. Ever.
Back in the day, a preorder was done to get the physical media (cartridge, disk, CD) in your hands on release day. The premium was either paying for early shipment, or ensuring a copy was reserved so that you could pick it up on release day.
Then digital distribution meant that you could buy a game and be playing it in minutes. When there is no physical media, there is no need to reserve anything.
The industry responded by turning preorders into bonuses. But almost universally, these bonuses are not worth the premium. They tend to be a single mission, or some custom skins, or other items that were relatively cheap to produce and that serve only to justify charging more for a “preorder” on a product which is distributed digitally.
So:
Is Ace Combat 8 (Deluxe) worth pre-ordering for ¥11,990?
Negative. And neither is any modern game. If you want to play a game, wait until it releases and buy it.
Let the concept of preordering die.
I’d argue that this shall only apply to games that are being made by big, established studios, under big, established labels.
self-published indie games, you should preorder if you can.
As an Ace Combat fan, don’t buy anything other than the base game.
- They’re playing Edition Roulette with a bunch of different bundles hoping to confuse consumers.
- They’re including a mouse pad in some of the bundles. A mouse pad… for a flight simulator.
- The soundtrack on vinyl is great if you’re a vinyl collector, but there will almost certainly be other ways to buy the OST after launch, and without all the other preorder gimmicks.
- Multiplayer bonuses for pre-ordering are literally paying for power. Don’t support Namco’s endeavor to turn this game into another toxic competitive online game.
The only pre-order benefit that I think is remotely worth it is Ace Combat Zero on PC. But there’s huge caveats for that too.
- If you have a PC capable of running AC8, it is more than capable of playing AC0 on emulator.
- it’s a straight port of the game from the PS2, so no new high definition assets, but…
- The Pixy cutscene looks like a bad AI upscale job. Look at his chin stubble in the trailer and you’ll see what I mean, it looks like broken glass.
I’m excited for the game too, but I have reasons to be cautious.
No game is ever worth preordering.
Biomutant was the last straw for me. Haven’t preordered a game or even bought on day one since that garbage. I straight up snapped the disc because reselling that piece of shit felt wrong.
This preorder includes the new PC remake for Ace Combat Zero for free.
The only scenario where I would consider it a positive value. A free game I would normally purchase anyway.
Is it a free game if the pre-order is more expensive?
You get AC0 even if you pre-order AC8’s base edition at 70 USD. Per Namco’s marketing.
Cool, I didn’t see that. I still wouldn’t pre-order personally.
I have a different comment in this thread with more details that would exonerate anyone who chooses not to pre-order.
We don’t know yet if it will be sold separately. AC7 pre-order included AC5 (on Playstation) or AC6 (on Xbox), which were never made available separately.
This is the correct answer
Pre-ordering digitally available games only helps publishers with their financial forecasting. The best case pre-order scenario for a consumer is “early access” by a few days, but that isn’t benefiting the user as they run without day-1 patches and the whole concept isn’t meant to help pre-order players just penalize non-pre-order players.
in general, don’t pre-order stuff. wait till it’s out and then judge wether you think it’s worth it.
especially a digital game. pre-ordering a physical product can make sense if you’re afraid it’s gonna be out of stock, that’s not a concern with digital games. please don’t pre-order.
I can tell you Ace 7 goes on sale for like $6 all the time. Check isthereanydeal.com
This is on PC of course.
Nope
Is the deluxe edition overpriced in the US? For me it’s ¥11,990 ($75):
It’s $89.99 in the US for the Deluxe Edition. Which seems normal for a game and season pass bundle.
Also keep in mind the preorder comes with the PC remake of Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War. One of the three best AC games, only playable on PS2 or emulators, with mixed results. So basically you get two Ace Combat games for the price of one by preordering. It does not need to be the Deluxe version, just a preorder in general.
Game isn’t out yet, so how do we judge if the game is worth the price? Also never pre-order any game, especially if its digital. Why not wait until launch? Then you can watch reviews or read opinions and then decide if the game might be worth it? Also on Steam you can play the game up to 2 hours and have a time frame of 2 weeks to refund, if you don’t like the game (just don’t refund too often like that, as they don’t want you to abuse the service).
In general, pre order hardware and not software, but if you’re excited for the game though then go for it :)
I don’t think anyone can give you an answer yet since the game has not officially released so no one has played to say whether it’s a good game or not, let alone if it’s worth the price they want.
