Pre-played, used, and price bin games.

 So this weekend I took my son to get some video games. I did a little research and discovered a game I really wanted to play and it was a couple years old. I went to Gamestop with the express intent of buying it preplayed. Now, I won't buy newer used games like this because the price difference isn't enough to warrant it, but if I can get a game for 15 bucks and it costs 20-25 new, I am saving 1/4 to 1/5 off of the price. That is quite a difference.

We end up buying three used games. Dead Space for me, and my son picks out two games for himself, Lord of the Rings: Conquest and The Force Unleashed. I walk out spending 40 bucks and get three games, two of which I am looking forward to playing myself. That is a pretty good deal where I come from. All of the discs were in excellent condition, and I expressly asked for nice cases and got them. I really enjoy having a game collection, and I display them on my book cases along side titles like Moby Dick and other classics. A lot of them deserve it and are just as much masterpieces as the classic novels.

I began to ask myself what the purpose of buying a brand new game (that I didn't want to play immediately/ was looking forward to) was. Why spend $50 on a new copy of God of War 3, when I can buy it from Gamefly, used, for $21 (and it plays the EXACT same)?? That is quite a bit in savings. All I do is take a little disinfectant and there you go, Bob's your uncle. I did a little a little research on the PS3 disc, and Blu-Ray in general to get a little info on them. Blu-Ray is engineered to be very scratch resistant. I honestly cannot say I have ever seen a scratched Blu-ray PS3 o movie disc. This is all that really matters when buying a game for me, scratch free disc and clean case. I have found this to be the situation when going to Gamestop as I have purchased now purchased 5 used games from them. I was reluctant at first, but after I played Demon's Souls used I was immediately hooked on the low-price quality games that a used disc can be. Now, in a lot of situations Gamestop is really just ripping you off, maybe taking 3-5 bucks off the price of it new. The key is to buy an older, lower priced game to make the difference a larger percentage.

If that doesn't work for you, I found Gamefly. They don't always have everything for sale, and they don't have a lot of the newer, hotter titles because of the rental demand, but what they do have for sale is normally substantially different than the new, or even used prices at major video game retail stores. Take for instance the aforementioned God of War 3, it's $21 from Gamefly and $40 at Gamestop... that is a price difference of $19. I could buy another used game for that difference. Not to mention that Gamefly's cases/booklets are pristine, as they are put into a bin and never touched until they are sold or thrown away.

I am now, and probably forever more, addicted to buying used video games. Not only does it save you money percentage wise, but it also saves you money because you can research and use GameSpot for what it is for, reviewing games to give you an idea if you will like it. Well, that is until video games aren't sold in stores and can only be downloaded. Maybe then we'll have to buy a key from someone? I wonder how that will work out... 

 So this weekend I took my son to get some video games. I did a little research and discovered a game I really wanted to play and it was a couple years old. I went to Gamestop with the express intent of buying it preplayed. Now, I won't buy newer used games like this because the price difference isn't enough to warrant it, but if I can get a game for 15 bucks and it costs 20-25 new, I am saving 1/4 to 1/5 off of the price. That is quite a difference.

We end up buying three used games. Dead Space for me, and my son picks out two games for himself, Lord of the Rings: Conquest and The Force Unleashed. I walk out spending 40 bucks and get three games, two of which I am looking forward to playing myself. That is a pretty good deal where I come from. All of the discs were in excellent condition, and I expressly asked for nice cases and got them. I really enjoy having a game collection, and I display them on my book cases along side titles like Moby Dick and other classics. A lot of them deserve it and are just as much masterpieces as the classic novels.

I began to ask myself what the purpose of buying a brand new game (that I didn't want to play immediately/ was looking forward to) was. Why spend $50 on a new copy of God of War 3, when I can buy it from Gamefly, used, for $21 (and it plays the EXACT same)?? That is quite a bit in savings. All I do is take a little disinfectant and there you go, Bob's your uncle. I did a little a little research on the PS3 disc, and Blu-Ray in general to get a little info on them. Blu-Ray is engineered to be very scratch resistant. I honestly cannot say I have ever seen a scratched Blu-ray PS3 o movie disc. This is all that really matters when buying a game for me, scratch free disc and clean case. I have found this to be the situation when going to Gamestop as I have purchased now purchased 5 used games from them. I was reluctant at first, but after I played Demon's Souls used I was immediately hooked on the low-price quality games that a used disc can be. Now, in a lot of situations Gamestop is really just ripping you off, maybe taking 3-5 bucks off the price of it new. The key is to buy an older, lower priced game to make the difference a larger percentage.

If that doesn't work for you, I found Gamefly. They don't always have everything for sale, and they don't have a lot of the newer, hotter titles because of the rental demand, but what they do have for sale is normally substantially different than the new, or even used prices at major video game retail stores. Take for instance the aforementioned God of War 3, it's $21 from Gamefly and $40 at Gamestop... that is a price difference of $19. I could buy another used game for that difference. Not to mention that Gamefly's cases/booklets are pristine, as they are put into a bin and never touched until they are sold or thrown away.

I am now, and probably forever more, addicted to buying used video games. Not only does it save you money percentage wise, but it also saves you money because you can research and use GameSpot for what it is for, reviewing games to give you an idea if you will like it. Well, that is until video games aren't sold in stores and can only be downloaded. Maybe then we'll have to buy a key from someone? I wonder how that will work out...