Topic: Early Adopters vs Hold-Outs

here's what I think. People who buy something as soon as it comes out is an "early adopter" and usually pay top price for the latest and greatest, only to have the novelty wear off sooner than it would for others. A Hold-Out is someone who waits to buy a piece of technology for various reasons (price drop, seeing if the tech will last or remain popular), only to have their products get replaced, updated, or become obsolete shortly after purchase. So, which one are you, or are you somewhere in the middle? And why? Opinions please!

I don't feel the burning need for most gadgets so I'm definitely more of a hold out. I bought a 2nd generation DVD player (and even then there were firmware issues to sort), I bought a Wii nearly a year after release and I didn't buy a flat panel TV until my tube TV died. I haven't purchased an iPhone yet because I'm waiting for O2's exclusivity deal to run out so I can get an unlocked one (I also don't like the choice of tarriffs on offer), so I figure by the time that comes to pass I'll actually be able to fit all my music on one!

I usually hold out, but I'm an "early adopter" compared to my friends and family. I'm not one of those people who wait in line overnight at Best Buy, but I'm not one of those people who still buy VHS tapes either.

Definitely a hold out. In fact, I don't think I've ever got a console within a year of its release. Doesn't bother me either, I love retro gaming so the entire concept of a console being "obsolete" just doesn't apply to me. Heck, there still a small chance that if I find one cheap I might even buy that Dreamcast finally and I've been strongly considering getting one of those neato 2-in-1 SNES/NES console aswell. They supposedly play games from any region so that definitely sounds appealing. And thus, I might get my first NES capable console 26 years+ after it's initial release... So yeah, definitely a hold out here... And damn proud of it too.

For Nintendo products, I'm a early adopter. I got my Wii on April 22, 2007 and my DSi on April 19, 2009. The same can be said for upcoming holiday games that I want.

Others? Not so much.

by that definition, i'm usually a hold-out, mainly because (a) a lot of new gaming stuff comes out right at the holiday season, and I don't want to fight the holiday shoppers, (b) if it doesn't come out during the holiday season, with my luck there'll be some kind of shortage and people will still be fighting over them, which I still don't want to deal with, and (c) i'm generally broke and have to save up for things I want, so I can't get them as soon as they're on sale. if I'm going to 'early-adopt' something, it's gotta be something I really, really want and have known about for at least a few months in advance (to save money toward it). :3

I bought a DSi a couple months after launch, but it was the first time I'd gotten a DS.

Am I an early adopter for buying one right after launch or a hold-out, because I waited for the DSi?

Hardware: I'm an early adopter when it comes to video-cards and Nintendo consoles, but that's about it. Everything else can wait. My phone is 4yrs old now, I'll buy a new one when it breaks, it's just a ****ing phone.

Software: For the first two years of Wii, I bought every game I wanted the moment it was out. Now I have a massive pile of uncompleted games I'm trying to catch up on, and keep passing up on games I would usually buy the moment they are released, it's been painful, but an eye-opener.

I tend to hold out for games until they drop in price.Nintendo consoles I tend to get soon after realease, as often I just can't wait! I bought an XBox 360 at the beginning of this year, though I rarley use it. I bought the PS2 about 5 years after release and only got it to play GTA:SA to see what all the fuss was about.
As for gadgets and the like they really don't intrest me too much.As long as my phone can make calls then thats all I need from it. I stii have an old CRT as my main TV as I'm still not convinced that LCD/Plasma can match it for quality when watching an SD scource. HDTV channels are expensive in the UK and I don't watch much tele anyway. I'll get an OLED when my TV blows as they seem much better than the current generation of LCD/Plasma TV's (hence why the price of LCD/Plasma has dropped like a stone) and by then OLED's should have dropped in price. I only got an ipod this year (which I now love) but as for everything else I'm not sucked in by the big hype machine anymore ,to old and cynical to fall for that crap again

Early adopter for Nintendo home consoles. Hold out for everything else.

I would always hold out. But then I replaced my ds for a dsi this summer. This makes me think that I will be an early adopter of Nintendo's next home console.
It will depend on launch titles & backwards compatability though. At least with the dsi I could play all of my ds library.

Usually, when it comes to consoles, I'm a few years behind - N64, Gamecube, Wii and DS (even a PSone all these years later) and that suits me fine.

However, I did upgrade my DS phat to DSi on release day (by preorder) and I'll probably (cash permitting) get Nintendo's next home console sooner rather than later.

I'm sure it's a bit disconcerting though, buying a new console and you find out the first batch is severely faulty - like those RRODs with the XBox 360s.