It’s quite easy, actually. I usually play everything years after release, however, if I’m really into a certain series, I’ll buy it right away. If I don’t care for the wait, I probably don’t care enough about whether or not a sequel is being made.

Of course that only works if you don’t get hyped easily. I play a lot of games, but usually only 1-2 per year are released within said year.

The question is moot from both sides of the deal, but understanding why is important.

For something like a game, you will only ever pay approximately what you think a game is “worth”. How you determine that value is entirely up to you and should be based on your own opinions and beliefs. Therefore, if you derive value from supporting niche developers, that’s great for you and you should continue to do so as you wish. If you don’t value that quite as much, then wait for a sale price that does.

Your individual decisions will not affect the decisions of publishers and developers.

Their decisions will take into account the total profit that they think a game can provide over its lifetime. This is determined by the initial price and sales as well as future discount prices and sales. The way they estimate the potential profit of a new project is based on past data. If they see most of their sales at launch time, they will price the game accordingly. If they see more revenue over time from sales, then they will price the game accordingly. As long as they continue to hit those goals, then they will continue making products for those audiences.

Therefore, the best way to support the projects you like is to buy the game when the price justifies the value to you. That is buy it whenever you want. The only way to not support (I am purposefully avoiding the word hurt) the publisher and developer is to pirate the games.

It’s a dichotomy. You have to decide what’s more important. Showing support for a niche game maker, or saving money and getting a stable version of the game.

I think for a visual novel, you’re probably better off buying it near release for full price. Maybe even get the more expensive version that comes with the soundtrack if you like the game.

For other types of games, especially more mass market games, they’re more complex and prone to bugs. Visual novels, not so much. So being patient in this particular case would certainly hurt the small creator making the game more than it will hurt your bank account. Visual novels aren’t usually $60.

Personally I am very willing to pay full price and even occasionally buy pointless extras I don’t care about if it helps reward their passion for a project I see as a valuable contribution. I’ll even pre-order or provide them some free advertising in some cases. Especially if its the sort of dev where it seems like their long-term survival might be in question.

I feel like you can usually tell when the dev needs money or doesn’t.

Buying isn’t supporting. Capitalism is not a social support network.

Companies have spent millions and taken years to convince people that going shopping is a kind of activism.

If I suggested you donate money directly to a video game company, or volunteer your time to help them you’d see right away how fucking weird that whole concept is.

The question can be asked for most things in life really so just do both options. Generally I’m a “value for money” gamer now but If something catches my eye I will make an effort to support it.

In general, it isn’t about waiting for prices to drop, though that’s definitely a part. It’s more about avoiding early adoption, imo. Waiting until there’s some degree of information about the game that isn’t marketing, then deciding.

The goal is to make sure the game is stable, that it’s something you actually want to play, and avoiding hype based playing. If the price drops, or there’s a sale, that’s icing on the cake.

In the case of visual novels, I don’t really think it applies. The only thing you’ll really avoid by waiting is any bugs that need fixing, and they aren’t prone to a lot of bugs that break the enjoyment of the story. It does happen, but it isn’t like the usual mobile game bugfest at launches.

Patient gaming is a budgeting technique, not a strict law you must always adhere to.

I separate upcoming releases into two categories: games I’m so excited for that I would gladly pay full price at launch, and games I’m willing to wait on. Which games go in which category depend entirely on you and your budget.

Just to say that the question might not only concern niche games. Any game that you do not buy shortly after its release might have a negative impact on the franchise (because most sales happen in a few weeks, with rare exceptions of course).

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