Yahoo says be financially fit, buy yo games used.

http://financiallyfit.yahoo.com/finance/article-113856-11806-1-10-things-you-should-always-buy-used?ywaad=ad0035&nc

Video Games

These days most video games have extensive multiplayer modes, many of which will keep people playing for months and even years after they buy. But many gamers will nevertheless tire of a game shortly after completing the single-player campaign, and with even the longest games rarely taking more than 50 hours to complete, used games tend to flood the secondary market shortly after a game is released. That means big savings for patient gamers.

There are exceptions, of course. You'll want to check on the condition of the disc inside the package to make sure it's not scratched, and you'll also want to price compare—we've seen games that can be found new on Amazon or Newegg for cheaper than you'd see them at a bricks-and-mortar used-game retailer. Finally, take heed that game publishers will sometimes offer extra content exclusively to people who buy their games new—for instance, the recent Batman: Arkham City game came with a one-time-use download code that let gamers play as Catwoman.

Still, with new games usually starting at $60, it makes a lot of sense to wait a few weeks after release and check Craigslist or GameStop for a cheap used version.

This is why we can't have nice things. Do you people agree with this crap?

Or you could be financially fit and buy FEWER games. You don't actually need to buy every game you have a passing interest in!

If you want to be even more financially fit you could find a less expensive hobby. I hate money so I buy my games new.

Or just don't have hobbies! They're pricey and take up valuable time you could spend counting all your saved money!

What's wrong with buying used? 99% of the games I buy are new but the USED GAMES ARE EVIL!!! crowd rubs me the wrong way.

@Gargantuan said:

What's wrong with buying used? 99% of the games I buy are new but the USED GAMES ARE EVIL!!! crowd rubs me the wrong way.

I agree with you. Here we go again with this "buying used games is bad" crap.

That actually sounds like sensible advice, if you're trying to save money.

I feel like the onion is a more credible news source than Yahoo most of the time.

Yo, yo, yo.

I'm a little tired of the constant villainization of used games sales. Just because Gamestop is incredibly sleazy about how they handle used game sales doesn't mean that everyone involved is evil. I buy my games new, but I'm tired of the first sale doctrine being callously disregarded by every big corporation thinking that they are entitled to get a cut every time something they make changes ownership. The fact is that the games sitting on the used game racks are sitting there because the original owner got tired of that game. Instead of throwing a temper tantrum, publishers and developers should either determine why that is and add a bit more longevity to their titles, or just deal with it. As much as I love single player experiences like Shadows of the Damned and will never part with my copy, the chances of me playing that game again are very remote just because of the fact that it really gives me no incentive to replay it. If someone wanted to sell that game in exchange for money to buy a new title, then I don't fault them at all.

Along those lines, publishers don't really seem to understand that people's entertainment budgets aren't unlimited. People who buy used games exclusively don't contribute to publishers, period. Cutting off used games would probably get them to purchase a few new games, but those sales would be offset by lost sales coming from people who finance some of their new game purchases by selling their old games. I really don't understand why publishers have so much trouble seeing beyond a single level of indirection in their logic, but clearly they do have major issues with it. Aren't some of the brightest and highest-paid financial minds supposed to be working for these people?

It's very sound advice for consumers out looking to save a buck. Buying a used record for $3 is always smarter than getting it shrikwrapped for $15 when you just going to befoul it in the first place, likewise buying games used is smart if other expenditures take higher priority.

yes. i agree. buy your games used. i buy most my games used. why the fuck wouldnt i? you guys that say its evil dont understand business. they made their money on the game already. now im buying it used. its the same as buying it off a friend. shut up about it.

i have pre ordered and paid for mass effect 3. i bought gears of war 3 and final fantasy xiii-2 new. but i have tons and tons of used games. someone traded them in so they could buy a new game. same as if i traded with him.

Perfectly reasonable advice. Also, gaming isn't particularly expensive as hobbies go anyway. It can be crazy cheap if you really want it to be (even without piracy).

Too bad used hookers don't come with a discount though, would save me tons :/

I'll never understand the guy that refuses to buy a game used but will turn around and get a used car, couch, Blu ray, CD (ya some people still do that, well at least used to), or hell even torrents other shit. At least with the Online pass stuff that 10 bucks will go towards the "server costs" that new user will cause.

@BlatantNinja23: I'm personally waiting for a new user fee to be attached to used cars. The automotive industry is getting cheated out of these used car sales. Used Car salesmen are making a killing.

@DarthOrange said:

This is why we can't have nice things.

It's really about supply/demand. If the demand for the game is low, then the price will need to adjust, typically with used games being on the forefront. People typically have an idea of what they are willing to pay for a product. The used game market is partially a byproduct of that. Developers need to ensure their products have value in order to get those sales at the $60 price point. You can't blame a patient consumer for wanting a product at lower price point.

I play games on PC, so I can't really buy used anyway.

@PeasantAbuse said:

I hate money so I buy my games new.

I imagined you turning the lights on in your kitchen, seeing piles of money on the table and screaming in fist-clenching anger. It made me laugh, thank you.

Next week on Yahoo: A Beginners Guide to Bittorrent

@chrismafuchris said:

@BlatantNinja23 People don't buy CDs? What the hell! What do these people put on their shelves?

I believe people use these things called "books".... honestly I thought we got rid of paper in 2007

@BlatantNinja23 said:

@chrismafuchris said:

@BlatantNinja23 People don't buy CDs? What the hell! What do these people put on their shelves?

I believe people use these things called "books".... honestly I thought we got rid of paper in 2007

Books?! Now you're just being belligerently archaic. I believe these days people are putting "apps" on their shelves.

Or just do what a lot of people do, just don't buy the game new on day1, wait a little while to get it new on a steam sale or when the price drops.

what was the crap part?

seems a sane enough idea if you're trying to save money.

@Lagaroth said:

Or you could be financially fit and buy FEWER games. You don't actually need to buy every game you have a passing interest in!

But I NEED the games! You are just like my mom, you just dont get it!

@LordXavierBritish said:

Next week on Yahoo: A Beginners Guide to Bittorrent

Because spending money legitimately on things is the same as downloading them illegally.

You people that think you are better than people who buy used games are too funny.

I don't usually buy used because honestly these days, they usually drop the price about the time the market starts flooding with used games, but I do sell them. Just sold FFXIII-2 for $38.60. That's legit.

Wow, I thought I was transported back to 2008 with the used car argument. Amazing people are still not ashamed of whipping that one out these days.

@MasturbatingestBear said:

@LordXavierBritish said:

Next week on Yahoo: A Beginners Guide to Bittorrent

Because spending money legitimately on things is the same as downloading them illegally.

You people that think you are better than people who buy used games are too funny.

Developers get no money either way, why does Gamestop or any other major outlet deserve my money. All they do is offer shit service and marked up prices.

Buying from independent sellers is the only sensible middle ground.

If you're gonna buy them used, then you might as well just get Gamefly and save a shitload more money.

I got no problem with used games, I just hate GameStop. Instead of going to them put some leg work and sell/buy your used games directly with people and you'll end up getting more money in the end.

The arguments you guys make for why its ok to buy used are all fine. Buying used games is fine. Hell, I only buy used game for my 360 because fuck Microsoft. However I do have a response to this:

@coryrx8 said:

The fact is that the games sitting on the used game racks are sitting there because the original owner got tired of that game. Instead of throwing a temper tantrum, publishers and developers should either determine why that is and add a bit more longevity to their titles, or just deal with it.

This is why company's like EA are shoehorning multiplayer into places it doesn't belong. Just look at Dead Space 2 or Mass Effect 3. This takes away from the single player. Yes, I realize the single player and multiplayer are almost always done by different teams, but a publisher sets a budget for a game and there is only so much money they have to work with when making there game. That money could have been used to hire some more writers, some more artists, some more testers, etc. Not saying its wrong but this is a result of that mindset.

I buy like two-five games new, not counting Steam sales.
 
Rest is all used, because I really don't think some games are worth the money for the amount of playtime I will personally get out of it.
And hey, they're offering it, I'm buying it.

Yeah, because saving $10 is clearly better than showing support to developers for making a quality game that took years to make, a thing that people poured their hearts and souls into in order to craft it into the best thing they could.

Well, not all games get that much love, but you get what I mean.

@Lagaroth said:

Or you could be financially fit and buy FEWER games. You don't actually need to buy every game you have a passing interest in!

If you want to save money, have a great gaming experience, and not dick over developers, do your gaming on PC. Odds are you already own one that can play the majority of games on the market, and Steam sales regularly beat Gamestop/Craigslist prices.

Or, you know, argue endlessly about the moral ramifications of used game sales on the internet. That's a pretty financially viable hobby too.

@jozzy said:

Wow, I thought I was transported back to 2008 with the used car argument. Amazing people are still not ashamed of whipping that one out these days.

Dealerships get your money through parts and service. I would know, my family owns and runs a dealership. It's the easiest fucking argument to counter, if you know what the fuck you're talking about.

Well $60 is a lot of money....

@the_OFFICIAL_jAPanese_teaBAG:

Yeah, so why spend $55 on a used game when you can just rent from Gamefly/Redbox.

@Mikemcn said:

@PeasantAbuse said:

I hate money so I buy my games new.

I imagined you turning the lights on in your kitchen, seeing piles of money on the table and screaming in fist-clenching anger. It made me laugh, thank you.

And this subsequently made me laugh. It's a laugh chain-reaction.

@Mikemcn said:

@PeasantAbuse said:

I hate money so I buy my games new.

I imagined you turning the lights on in your kitchen, seeing piles of money on the table and screaming in fist-clenching anger. It made me laugh, thank you.

No problem, that's a pretty accurate description of how I start my days.

I buy almost all my games used, most of them cost 60$ used where i live, but i still can't resist getting SSX day one!

I have OCD so I can't stop thinking about what grubby gamestop customer's hands were all over my games as I rub them against my body.

@Gargantuan said:

What's wrong with buying used? 99% of the games I buy are new but the USED GAMES ARE EVIL!!! crowd rubs me the wrong way.

QFT.

It's my fucking money, don't tell me how I should spend it or that I'm a bad person for buying something used.

Out of curiosity - when the next generation comes around and the only way to get any of these games is used (or hell, during this same generation when the games go out of print like or are impossible to find), is buying used still evil?

How'd all you kiddies not around for the NES/SNES eras play the classics that aren't available for digital download? Did you buy used, rent, borrow it from a friend or torrent? None of those are helping the poor, defenseless developers.

Do people honestly think that developers/publishers are losing money over used games? Well they may lose money. However they may not lose money either. Used games have been a thing since the first PC game came out. The only difference is that there's no middle-man like Gamestop, Best Buy, or whoever else gives you $15 for a $55 game. Geez, I remember lending my games out to friends ever since I had Doom 95. This whole used games fiasco only started because Gamestop was seeing a $400 million profit almost every year off of used games.

Developers and publishers are claiming that this is cutting into their profits. Now here's the thing. How do they know that those same amount of people will be buying their games new if there weren't any used games? There's no determining that at all. It's exactly the same argument on the fight against piracy. How would they know that those same amount of people would buy their game if there weren't any way to download it? How would they know that I, Vebent, would pay a full $60 for a game when I see it for $30-$40 used on Craigslist or Amazon? What if I believe that the game isn't worth the full $60? If I see the game cheaper than the original $60 price point a month or two after it's release, you better believe that I will buy it cheaper.

If people literally have a problem with how Gamestop rips off people when buying and selling used games, then don't go there. Boycott them with your wallet. Don't buy from them and don't sell anything to them. This is exactly what I tell people when I hear rants against publishers. Don't like them? Then don't buy their games. I have dignity and morals everyone. I know when to hang on to my manhood and tell the gaming companies that they can't have it.

And to everyone using the used car's as an argument for used games. Please, don't do that. It doesn't work that way because every single dealership (the ones in the US of course) sell used cars. I'm talking about Honda, Toyota, Ford, Chevy, Dodge, etc. They all sell used cars. You can use that argument if publishers decided to sell used games on their websites. I'd say used music, movies, and books is the best argument.

EDIT: I no's speling.

@Nasar7 said:

Too bad used hookers don't come with a discount though, would save me tons :/

Or coupon discounts on "massage" parlors.

What?

I have to go. I'm late for my appointment.

What?

Go grab a donut.

@WilltheMagicAsian said:

@BlatantNinja23: I'm personally waiting for a new user fee to be attached to used cars. The automotive industry is getting cheated out of these used car sales. Used Car salesmen are making a killing.

If the original manufacturers don't earn any money on used cars sales, they may stop manufacturing cars altogether! Used car buyers are ruining the market for everyone.

@chrismafuchris said:

@BlatantNinja23 People don't buy CDs? What the hell! What do these people put on their shelves?

I believe people use these things called "books".... honestly I thought we got rid of paper in 2007

Great advice if you don't want the people who worked on it to get their due, but still somehow dislike piracy.