2014 had so much potential.

Watch Dogs was going to change the face of gaming as we knew it. Destiny was going to bring MMO conventions to the console in the most incredible mash-up of the generation. Assassin’s Creed Unity was going to revitalize one of the most popular franchises of the past decade.

But none of that happened.

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Instead, what we got was one of the sloppiest collection of game releases in recent history. Half of the most anticipated games of the year didn’t work correctly at launch and the other half were delayed to 2015.

Plenty of digital ink has already been spilled over the dangers of preordering, but they say that repetition breeds success, so I’ll throw my hat into the ring.

If we hadn’t preordered Destiny, Bungie and Activision might not already be neck deep in the development of overpriced expansions and a full-fledged sequel due out in 2016. If we hadn’t preordered The Master Chief Collection, we would have known that the multiplayer component of the game was broken before it was sitting on our shelves collecting dust.

This year, make it a priority to avoid preordering games. Yes, you might miss out on a day one release on occasion, but who wants a broken video game on release day anyway? If Evolve launches next month and you can’t get online, it won’t matter whether or not you own it.

So when you find yourself perusing the local GameStop this year, stop and think before putting down $5 for the next big release. Why not wait and see if the game actually works before investing in a product that the developer didn’t finish?