I have a circle of friends who will choose to play something together. Right now it's Deep Rock Galactic If the patient game of choice is cheap enough, well buy the games for those who are deficient for the cost of a beer / latté.
Playing new indie or AA games feels alright. I’m a lot more forgiving of bugs when a game is $40 or less and the developers are actively making making improvements, than I am to a bug filled $70 AAA game.
I am completely on board with this train of thought. I’ve never once done a pre-order. In fact I often wait for GotY editions so I can get all the DLC too.