About 4-5 years ago, I had a bad habit. I would buy video games, play them until I either beat them or got tired of them, and then would trade them in. It got so bad, that I was basically trading in every game I bought, so in essence, I was paying $50 for a game, trading it in for $15-20, and then paying another $30 out-of-pocket for another game. Then I would trade in THAT game, and the process would start all over again.

Well, in about 2006, I had some home and living difficulties, which significanly cut down on my funds available for games. So, I decided to try just renting my games online. And it's probably one of the best decisions I've made. For $22 a month, I can play all the games I would normally buy, plus take chances on games that I otherwise wouldn't ever think of paying full price for.

I am not one of those people who buys a game, and then sticks it on a shelf to show off to others. The size of my collection is irrelevant to me. To me, the most important thing is playing all the games I want to play, and doing it in the most economical way possible. For example, this past fall, I was able to play all these games, and get the most enjoyment out of all of them, for basically $66:

Dead Space
Saints Row 2
Fallout 3
Call of Duty: World at War
Resistance 2
Left 4 Dead
Fable 2

I was also able to re-rent COD4, a game that I got tired of last year.

Now, even if I did make a decent living, money wise (which is doubtful, being in the industry I am in), I can't see myself going back to the days of the deadly trade-in cycle.

I waited in the returns department at a Wal Mart for 10 hours for the Xbox 360. It was rough because it was the same Monday night as a Vikings vs Packers, Monday Night Football game. The electronics clerks couldn't put the game on any of the TV's, so everyone in the store waiting for 360's (they only had 10, 2 premiums and 8 cores) stood by the XM Radio display to listen to it on the radio.

I got there at 2 p.m. and was second in line, and got the last ticket for a premium system. The #3 guy in line, who showed up at about 4 p.m., tried all night to get my ticket. He offered me $300 for it, and I said no.

I also waited in line for about 2 hours at a GameCrazy for Halo 3. Got home at about 1 in the morning and played it all morning until I had to go to class at 1 p.m.