I might never purchase video games ever again.

VanillaGorilla

VanillaGorilla

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Back in October of 2006, I made a decision. I was tired of spending $60 on a game, playing it for 3 weeks, finishing it, and then trading it in or selling it for 40% of its value (if even that). I decided that it would just be smarter, from a financial standpoint, to rent my games. For $22 a month, I can play all the games I would normally buy, for as long as I want, and then just send them back and get a new game. This is an incredible value for someone like myself, who places absolutely no sentimental or collection value on my games. I play games, I don't put them on a shelf to show them off and stroke my gamer ego.

I am currently in school, and I have started to think to myself, that when I land my first big full time job, would I still rent games? I don't really have any other hobbies aside from gaming, so really, what would I spend my money on? It WOULD be nice to not have to wait until the Monday after a game comes out to play it, and I would have enough discretionary spending to not always have to trade in or sell my games to come up with enough money to buy the new ones.

Does anyone else share my situation, in that, you got tired of the cycle of buying a game, beating it, and selling it/trading it in?
 
I only collect my favorites (games I still play once in a while).

The best option (unless you need the newest titles) is to use Half.com and eBay to pick up games 6-12 months after they release.

You'll get a new game for half price or less, plus you can sell it back if you dislike it while only taking a small loss (via Half.com).

Gamefly is good though if you want to stay on top of things, you can also buy your favorites for a discounted price.
 
I see your point on that, but I don't remember the last time i paid $60 for a game. I hardly ever buy games new, and when I buy used, i usually find good deals using CAG. I also usually play my games multiple times, or try to pick up games that have a good online multiplayer (like Halo 3, probably the game that I have gotten the most for my money on).
 
I'd debated it, but the cost is a bit high. $22* 12 = $264. I'm not sure I spend that much on games in a year period. And definitely not since starting to use Goozex etc.

I buy very few games at $60, just something like Gears 2 that I'm dying to play day 1, don't want to get behind online, etc. Combine that with not buying a ton of games and I just don't spend that much.

If I had a rental subscription I'd probably be wasting money just having one game for 2-3 months until I finish it. I'd seldom get through enough games a month to make the fee worthwile.
 
Well I do pretty much the same thing (though I don't buy at full retail and usually do better than 40%). Sometimes I think it would be better to just rent games, but as it is right now sometimes I'll finish a game quickly and other times it takes me quite a while or I decide I want to keep it, etc. I think eventually I'll start buying some games and renting others (on a subscription plan like gamefly).
 
I've actually had more success getting games on the cheap like the $5-$10 range keeping them for years and then making a profit when I'm done with them. It doesn't work for new releases but at this point it seems silly to me to spend $60 for a new game unless its something I really want right away. Even then I usually use some sort of credit I've made by trading in clearance games that I've made a nice profit on. If you only want to play the latest greatest stuff you are probably on the right track though.
 
I actually can't remember the last time I bought a new game or even paid $60 for a game. I've always been pretty frugal with my money and scour the bargain bins to find that one gem that no one saw.

Also after joining GameTZ, Goozex and having a Gamefly account...I really don't need to go out and buy a new game. Goozex is sending me Call Of Duty 4 now, I bought Burnout Paradise from Gamefly for $17 bucks and I traded my completed Bioshock for Mass Effect on GameTZ. I'm sure i'll be able to get GTA 4 on Goozex or somewhere for a good trade or really cheap sometime soon but i'm pretty patient.
 
I agree wholeheartedly, except on the point of renting, be it a monthly or each time fee.

I prefer to purchase games outright, but as used through other members of CAG and Goozex (I refuse to enter a GameStop), and never trade a game of mine for cash, always another game.

I like it, I've amassed over 25 xbox 360 games over the past year and did it on a budget of about $400-500. When I completely finish one, I trade it for another.

Even after I land an Aerospace Engineering job (starts around $50k/year), I'll still be using CAG/Goozex as my trading grounds, simply to keep my library healthy with only games I really want to play (i.e. willing to wait for in trading), and not filled with $60 games I picked up on a whim and only played a few times.

~HotShotX
 
Since I rent, it allows me to take chances on games I normally would never buy, not even used. Games like The Red Star, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, etc.
 
either way youre going to spend money. like someone else mentioned i only buy the games i really have to have at full price. games like gta 4 or gow 2 the kinds of games you cant wait for a price drop to play. anything else i either buy used at wherehouse or ebgames or at a discount with cag deals.
 
This isn't spam its just how I now get my games. Last game I bought for retail price was Gears of War when it first came out. Since than I've been using sites such as yourfree360games.com to fufill my gaming needs. On average a new game will cost me $8 and once I'm done with the game I either sell it on ebay and use that money to buy another game or put it up on Goozex. Either way that originally $8 investment gives me access to alot of gaming.

On a side note, I usually refuse to give GS my business, as I can usually find a better deal else where. But, I just got a Wii and was dying to try Boom Blox. So I traded in GTA4(it was scratched and was getting disc errors ) and another game for a new retail copy of Boom Blox. They had 1 copy left and it was the display model, i.e not shrink wrapped and I still got charged full price! What a shitty policy.
 
[quote name='VanillaGorilla']I play games, I don't put them on a shelf to show them off and stroke my gamer ego.[/quote]

Good job being a dick. I like to keep games I love.

I've never thought of going down that road (rentals) but I have recently decided I don't need the latest releases for the most part. If I can't even start the games I've purchased already, I can wait for prices to drop significantly. I can see me having problems with even starting up a game I rented.
 
I just wait till games are old, buy them, and then sell them without that big of a loss. Lately on "new" games I've just been getting them for free. Either way since I'm really picky about my games I only buy the ones I know I'll keep playing like RSV2. I don't really expect to finish them though.

I'd much rather play a demo than rent. Renting isn't worth it either way if I hate it or if I want to keep it and have to buy it later on.
 
Buy what you want and rent what you want. I think its good that you've rented regularly, its saved you a lot of money on games, and if you can continue to do that... I say why not. Me personally, I own a lot of games, and most of them I don't finish until months, or years later. hell I just finished God of War, earlier this year, and I had that since it first went 20 dollars. I like to own my games because I play at my own pace and I play one game here, and one game here, and I don't usually stick to a game and finish it, in 2 or 3 weeks. On CAG saving money is the golden rule!
 
I only buy games when I know I'll be playing the Multiplayer a lot(Gears 2/Halo 3) or if the single player is a challenging one and I know it will take me longer than 1 week.
 
Hmm let's see when I was doing all those game reviews it made sense to rent. It also made sense to rent games I wouldn't normally buy like Condemned 2 or Gran Turismo Prolouge.

But since getting a job 44 hrs a week, and planning a wedding gaming has taken a back seat. If I don't play it or don't plan to play it it goes to Goozex, CAG, or Hastings.

For example Psi-Ops, great game, I just don't have the time to finish it. Same with Sid Meier's Pirates. Timesplitters FP, The Simpsons game, Katamari Damancy, Shenmue II, all games I've gotten in the last year that's I'm less then a 3rd through and I'll trade them most likey. Shenmue II was gotten for sentimental reasons and I'll never play through it. If I want the game again I can get them cheap. (Timesplitters and Shenmue II may grace Goozex soon the other 2 are already listed)

And even through I have Resident Evil 1, 2, and 3 in my backlog I'll keep those cause one day I'll have the time and dedication to get through them. It's sad to say this but me gaming has started to become less and less of a hooby.

Final note last year, 2006-2007 I spent $1600 on gaming but after selling/trading I got it down to $600 and this year 2008-2009, $173 and after selling/trading stuff $-89. Big difference
 
I collect games, so I buy anything that I think I want I play it, beat it, and keep it. I do occasionally trade games in if I don't like them, but if I like it enough to beat it I keep it. I once was a Gamefly member but I found myself clicking keep it on almost every game, so I cancelled my membership.
 
I still buy all my games and I never trade them in. However, where I used to always buy on release day, and end not playing many of the titles for months on end, I now rarely buy titles at release. I have gotten past the whole "I have to play this game on day 1" mentality and I am more than happy to wait a few months and pick the vast majority of games up on the cheap for 50-70% below their release day price.

Gears 2 is probably the only game I will buy this year at release and for anything close to full price.
 
Renting is a good option if you can find somewhere with a good turnaround time between games, last place I tried (gamerang) it was nearly 10 days between posting a game and getting the next one. Thats a long time to wait.

As others have said I very rarely buy games at release or pay full price, if you wait a few days/weeks/months for something you will get a deal on it.
 
Turn-around time would kill it for me... I'm sooo spoiled by Netflix's just a day later movie that using Blockbuster and taking a week+ is just ludicris..... and looking at where Gamefly warehouses are located....

I'm betting that it'll be 2 weeks before getting games, which is fine for 2 games out but not 1 game out....

Plus i'm busy, and work and family and just can't dedicate the time for renting to make worth while....

plus it is expensive, more than netflix but agree that one would get more out of a game than a movie.

I'd rather buy a game a month, knowing that I can play it anytime I want.... then having to decide which one first and forcing myself to play it.

This is sort of my mantra for MMOs......I'd rather pay for one with no monthly fees, than one that's free, and pay per month.

Been playing Guild Wars for 38 months now, not a dime more than just the chapters... if I payed for WoW, i'd be first divorced and jobless, but I'd also be out an extra $400 dollars due to monthly fees.

Again I can't compare one game to gamefly...

If this was like somewhere close by, and that I can play and return and get another one in good time, AND I have the time to play... I probably would rent.

hell there isn't even a blockbuster close by... closest one is like 75 miles away..next one is probably 100+...
 
MMO's eh, well free MMORPG's aren't always the best. You need to budget your time to play WOW.

How would you be out $400 in monthly fees from WOW?

What's going to be more fun, WOW or the kids, which is going to cost more in the end? I'm to selfish to have kids.
 
I thought this thread was about not playing games...well I'm glad you're playing!

It's really up to you. I'm different though, I play at my own sporadic and often slow pace so I can appreciate the game the fullest extent, and unless I really really love a game I won't be able to finish it in a week....considering I love sharing that gaming time with other games. And if I love it that much I'll probably want to play it again, again and again. So buying games just works best for me.

I also used to sell games when I was younger, but I've found that's stupid considering I don't get much for what I sell, and I often want to buy those games again later down the line.

However, I do rent for games I'm not super excited or generally not sure about. For example I rented GTAIV for a week, and got enough out of it, while having fun.
 
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Rentals are a really great option if you don't want to replay games and you don't play them for very long the first time.

My problem is, I really like having a large collection. I find myself regularly in the mood for something different, and digging something out of the collection to play for a day or 2, before going onto something else. Also, I would say that about 80% of the games that I play and enjoy I end up replaying at some point (it could be years later, it could be a few months later).

So, this wouldn't work for me, though I wish it would, it would save me a fortune on games.
 
I'm too materialistic to rent games, so I never do anymore (last game I rented was Spy Hunter on Gamecube in 2002). I also don't sell games very often unless there's absolutely no redeeming qualities in them. Actually last year I sold about 20 or so Gamecube and DS games, and I already regret selling most of them and have started rebuying some of them :/

I rarely buy games at full price though, so when I do sell games I tend to break even more often than not.
 
[quote name='kube00']MMO's eh, well free MMORPG's aren't always the best. You need to budget your time to play WOW.

How would you be out $400 in monthly fees from WOW?

What's going to be more fun, WOW or the kids, which is going to cost more in the end? I'm to selfish to have kids.[/quote]

GW isn't free, it's just monthly free MMO... not to be comparied to all those Korean games... this one is US born.

400 was for how long I am playing GW if I had to play WoW and their monthly fees... that 400 probably bought my entire library of DS games...

WoW isn't fun, WoW isn't fair to friends and family. WoW ruins lives.
 
Do what you think is best for you.

I have no issue with buying games I researched or followed and assume I'll enjoy. Sure, there are instances where I'm wrong and the title doesn't appeal to me and I resell it (see: Halo 3), but more of the time I'm right and it becomes a mainstay (see: Call of Duty 4).
 
i still collect..but i havent bought a game at retail unless i really wanted it. see:( wii fit,Mario Kart.Smash,GTA IV).other than that...paying 8 bucks a month to satisfy a curiousity about a game or just beat it and return is great for my wallet. I dont have to spend 50-60 bucks to see if said game is worth it. Only 8 bucks with an option to buy. Id say stick to gamefly and thats it. buy only what you want to keep.

edit:
sorry just looked at the prices. 15 bucks a month with an option to buy is still better than buying outright.
 
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I hardly ever play any of the games I have anymore. Its never been a matter of not having the time, but never feeling motivated to do much of anything. Hell, I have GameTap and I spend more time DLing games than playing them.

Though I really would love to buy SC4 when it comes out, but since I didn't take advantage of the trade 2 next gen titles and get an extra 10 in credit at GS, I'm probably gonna have to wait
 
I went through the same thing last nov, almost gave up gaming altogether.

I realized I only ever really play 3-4 games, while everything else gets played for 10-15 minutes and then never touched again (if that).
 
considering that you don't like to collect video games, i think that's the smartest way to play the games you want.
 
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