I've turned into a total tightwad with my game buys... anybody else?

[WCP]

I don't know if anybody else on here is anything like me, but I've turned into this total cheapo guy when it comes to buying games. It's amazing how my spending habits have changed. I know that some frown on the fact that if you're buying used games, you're no better than pirates when it comes to supporting the industry. I understand the theory of this take, yet at the same time, buying a used game isn't illegal or anything. You never hear anybody talk smack about people going to Blockbuster and buying the used DVD's or going to a Indy used music cd store and buying used music cd's. But no, if you buy used games, you're killing the industry.

Anyway, I'm not really trying to start that topic, so never mind with that.


Back to me being a cheap bastard. I used to always pay the full $59.99 for games (plus tax). Usually almost $66 or so. I don't know exactly what caused it, but at some point I just stopped buying games on release day. I think it was because I had a GameFly account, and I just didn't think I needed to do that anymore. Then I dropped the GameFly account, but still didn't buy new games. Now, I try to wait till a game is below $30 (with tax and everything), before I even ponder getting it. Even then, I honestly have a very hard time buying anything unless it's under $20. The last purchase I made was Infamous for the PS3. I was able to pick it up via Craigslist for $16 straight up. That's the other thing.... Not only do I avoid new games, I don't even like paying tax or shipping, lol. So, I avoid GameStop, GameCrazy (RIP), Ebay and everywhere else where you might have to pay tax or shipping. Craigslist is pretty much my retailer of choice at this point. 9 times out of 10 I would say that I'm buying the game from the original owner. I like to think that the $16 that I gave to the dude that sold me InFamous will go towards his downpayment on Red Dead Redemption, but it's just as likely to go towards two grams of the finest greenery.

[kupomogli]

I no longer buy games at release unless they're games I really want.

Games like Demon's Souls, Batman Arkham Asylum, Red Dead Redemption, and Episodes from Liberty City were first day purchases to me. Super Street Fighter 4 also, but I sold it already and made extra due to the $10 credit. Test Drive Unlimited 2 will be a first day purchase(I already preordered it) and if it's better than TDU, will be one of my favorite games this generation.

Unless I can't purchase the game new any longer, I don't buy used. If I can purchase the game new, I'll only purchase it used if they have none in and after making sure it's in pristine condition. If it's not new condition then I still won't get it.

Final Fantasy 13. All I had to wait was a month and I got it for $29.99 new at Kmart. Sure I could have waited until it was 19.99, but then I would have had to wait for atleast a year. I'd like to the $10 was a fair trade and just hope it is atleast a decent title.

Some of my favorite games on the PS3 I actually didn't get until they were under $30. Valkyria Chronicles for $29.99 at a Gamestop gamedays sale, though now it's $20. GTA4 is one of my favorite games on the system and is the only exception of me only purchasing games new. I got used from Blockbuster but I got it for $20 in new condition(I know the store manager so I took the time to look through every PS3 copy there and they had about 30 of them.) This was still when the game was selling for $60, so definitely a wise decision on a game I've really enjoyed.

[Eric Dude]

Buying used games does not equate to piracy. Anybody who implies such is a ninny.

[norkusa]

My rule of thumb is that I never spend more than $20 on a game, new or used. I hit the clearance end caps at Target at least once a week, so I find a lot of sub-$20 deals on 3-4 month old games there. My gaming backlog his huge anyway (still haven't even touched that $20 Valkyrie Chronicles I bought last year), so I don't care about getting stuff on release day unless it's something I REALLY want.

[RASK1904]

It would be awesome to be digging in Target and find some clearance Nes games!!! Lol!

On a real note, I see a ton of games. I buy maybe 4 a week. Maybe. I only pay under half of what I know there worth. I leave alot behind. Being "cheap" is good. I call it thrifty. Sounds smart. This is the one reason I do not have a ton of the 1$ games. No one wants to sell a game for .50$

I do this thing with %. I go for a higher total profit % buy spending less. Good business practice. Safer. Thriftier.

[Damaramu]

Tightwad here! Target price is usually $19.99 on a game. I'll go as high as $29. I'll pay full price if it's a game I really want. Last time I did that was for Street Fighter IV and Battlefield Bad Company 2.

I have no problems buying used as long as the game is pristine shape or close to it.

[emceelokey]

I typically won't buy a game brand new unless it's a game I really want and it's mainly an online gaming experience rather than a single player game. Games like Modern Warfare 2, The Street Fighter IV games, and Battlefield all were basically online games and I'm more inclined to get those on release just to keep up with the community for the first few weeks or so. The oonly other games I've bought on release lately have been God of War 3 and Bayonetta and I even traded some stuff in towards Bayonetta.

For me, I know I'm not really going to get into most games and if I do like I did with God of War III, I'll usually be done with it fast enough to be able to get a decent amount back selling it on ebay or amazon. I still haven't beat Uncharted 2 and that's a great game but I just couldn't get that into it and by now it can probably be found for $30 or so, so I'll just wait the few months and get it cheap.

Not only that but games go down in price WAY faster than they used to back even in the PSX era. I remember it would take two years or so for a game like Mario Kart to go down $20 back in the SNES days, and that's not even MSRP, that's just for a retailers deal. Now a game like Battlefield 2, which came out in February, can be found fairly easily for around $40 or so just 3 months later or so.

[WCP]

My gaming backlog his huge anyway so I don't care about getting stuff on release day unless it's something I REALLY want.

Yeah, this is definitely a big part of it for me. I have a huge backlog, so I honestly don't even need to be buying anything. If I stopped right now, and didn't purchase a single additional game for an entire year, I could probably just barely get thru my current gen backlog (don't even get me started on my retro backlog... I'd need 20 years in the slammer to get thru that, lol)

I remember it would take two years or so for a game like Mario Kart to go down $20 back in the SNES days, and that's not even MSRP, that's just for a retailers deal. Now a game like Battlefield 2, which came out in February, can be found fairly easily for around $40 or so just 3 months later or so.

You know, that's a really good point. I remember those days, and you're right. The prices would take much, much longer to come down in price. At least the good games anyways. You'd still see your $19.99 clearance games at Kay-Bee Toys, but you'd never see Mario Kart up there with the other $19.99 games. I'm not saying anybody would see Mario Kart for $19.99 this era either, but thats just because it's one of Nintendo's classic franchises, and they don't need to lower the price to move them. But consider games like Bioshock and Mass Effect and Gears 1 and Gears 2. All those games can be had dirt cheap now. Back in the SNES days, waiting for a game like Contra 3 to get into the bargain bins seemed like it took forever! (of course, back then I was buying Contra 3 on day 1, so my buying habits were way different)

[emceelokey]

You know, another thing is, is that people know and actually buy stuff on the first day now. It wasn't until the 32 bit era where games would have a big launch. Of course there were the high profile games and all that but Contra 3 was Contra 3 and that that wouldn't get old until Contra 4 came out...

[MarioMania]

My limit is $20 for a game

I'm on a Very Tight Budget, So I have to find deals under $20 or even $10

[Icarus Moonsight]

I can't even remember the last new game I bought at $40-60 retail (I got Sakura Wars Premium PS2 a while ago for $30 new). $30 has been the top for a while. Very rarely does a $35 buy happen even anymore; last was SMT Strange Journey, before that Knights in the Knightmare and Raiden IV. Unless we are talking about AES carts or other older systems used games, I just refuse to spend the 50-60 full retail anymore. Someone is going to have to grow a set and challenge the price scale, or redirect efforts into different types of games. Then I'll get fired up a bit more about new releases. They put trains in Zelda and everything goes freakin' nuts!

[swlovinist]

Since the focus of my game collection is from 1972 to 2002, I seldom buy new games and definately wait to buy them used or on clearance. While I have the current consoles and handhelds, I have to echo what some others are saying. My backlog of games is huge, and at some point, I am just buying something that sits on the shelf. Of the 100 games I have for the new consoles, I have bought 75 of them used or clearance. I think that the used game market is being targeted by game companies now due to lost revenue. When that happens, you can count me as one person who will be very selective of making new purchases.

[chrisbid]

Buying used games does not equate to piracy. Anybody who implies such is a gaming industry prostitute.

fixed

[chrisbid]

last game i purchased at full price was new super mario bros wii. i figured the probability of me finding an affordable used copy or a new copy at a reduced price were pretty slim.

my collection is roughly 90% used.

first sale doctrine was upheld by the supreme court and codified by congress into copyright law. publishers that bitch can go f themselves

[calistarwind]

For me it is very tough not to buy a game on the first day. I work at a game store and seeing how every tues, weds is like Christmas and also one of my few joys of working long hours. Now occasionally I do buy used but the game has to be in really good shape. I have seen some of the customers habits and don't really want to know what they did with their games before hand.

[jonebone]

Last game I bought at full price on launch day was New Super Mario Bros. Wii and I'll probably pick up Super Mario Galaxy 2 on launch day as well. But I agree, my backlog is also infinitely huge and I really don't need to be buying anything at full price. But I don't mind paying towards a good cause and shelling out for a game that I know I'll enjoy.

[duffmanth]

I wouldn't say that I'm a tightwad, but there are definitely very few games I would spend full retail price on. So far this year, the only games I've paid full price for are Heavy Rain and God War III. God of War III was worth every penny, Heavy Rain...not so much. I probably only average 4-5 $60 games/year, and they're usually games that I REALLY want and have been waiting for for a long time. Gran Turismo 5 will be a day one purchase without a shred of hesitation. When it comes to rare games that I might be after, I 'm usually willing to pay a little more for them. The rest of my game purchases are new games that have been discounted to $30 or less, and used games that are in the $10-20 price range.

[shopkins]

I've always been cheap. Getting things as cheaply as possible is part of the fun of collecting for me. I do sometimes buy new games, but only big releases I've been waiting for for a long time like Mass Effect 2, games with significant pre-order bonuses or games I think might be hard to find, or find complete with all their extras, if I wait for them used, like the Persona re-release for the PSP.

Sometimes I actually catch myself going too far in that direction though and have to ask myself if I'm really going to have as much fun with the four cheap PS2 games I'm buying as I would with the hot new 360 game.

[megasdkirby]

Recently, I have decided once again to cut down on game spending with the hopes of saving as much money as possible, in case of emergencies. That, and because I have enough games to last me a lifetime (way over 1K, though would not be surprised if its between 2K-3K...I really need to make a list).

I will now only purchase games that are dead cheap. Thankfully, I check the liquidation bins in Sears on my time off, so I know what games have been reduced (for the most part, but I like to thank a few forum members for helping me out of said "list".)

Besides, spending $60 on one game versus getting at least 4-6 games for the same amount...it makes a huge difference for me.

[unwinddesign]

I wouldn't say I've become a tightwad, but I've stopped buying as many games. I buy new, always, because I don't want a used copy.

Most games are the same old shit over and over again, anyway, so it cuts down on the number of games I really want. I may buy a game a month, but usually Amazon has cut the price a bit off MSRP and they have some good discounts, too.