It’s here. It’s finally here! That book. That movie at the theater. That video game you’ve been counting your pennies towards, reading articles about and having friendly discourse via Twitter with anyone and everyone in and outside of your social network for well over a year now. “That’s going to be a Day One purchase,” is a phrase video game fans are surely more than familiar with.
Do you have enough money? Could you wait a week or two until that sale you heard about hacks $20 off that $60 game’s price tag? I mean, what could possibly be a con against saving $20?
Well, let’s weigh the advantages:
Pro: Save twenty dollars. (?? Profit!)
Con: The entire face of the Internet.
Twitter. Facebook. Comments on articles. Everywhere you go will be a potential minefield of spoilers. One false step and the entire experience you’ve been waiting for could explode in your face before you even purchase the game. Not to mention being out of the loop if you have to avoid social media to protect your experience.
I’ve realized social media is one of the largest drivers behind launch purchases for media. When the latest George R. R. Martin novel A Dance of Dragons hit the stands this month – my Twitter feed erupted with discussion about X character still being alive and Y character’s latest wild plot twist. It motivated me to read the volume I was currently reading more quickly so I could hurry up and join in on the reindeer games. The video game Catherine just came out this week and that was my latest video game purchase on day one to both support the publisher for daring to bring a game of this nature to the Americas (it’s a Japanese erotic horror puzzle adventure game, try that genre on for size), and to be able to chat about it with my friends online and off.
“It’s out!”
“It’s here!”
“Everyone’s talking about it!”
“You haven’t bought it yet? Boy, are you missing out.”
Do you ever feel subconsciously peer pressured to make your pre-planned purchases or trips to the movie theater sooner rather than later to stay “in the know” on your social networks?