How do you afford your games?
- Thread starter Azaez
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By saving my money, and following the adage "Only buy something when you can afford two of them."
I usually buy three big games a year. These I acquire with money I've set aside from work. Otherwise, I've gotten then as gifts. I really try to stretch my money, even though I'd love to buy more games. It's just not smart to blow it all.
Cheapassgamer.com I check all the sunday ads and amazon marketplace, but mostly I just wait. Games drop in price a lot, if you just wait 6 months to a year. And never buy from gamestop because the mark up is ridiculous. I also buy games I suspect will go up in price and hang onto them to sell on ebay. It's how I afforded a Wii with no job.
My job pays fairly well, and my costs are low. I rarely buy full priced games on release, but stick to older or cheap indie games. I also game on a PC so games are at least £10 cheaper for a new title.
For a start I only allow 2 launch title release purchases per year, and really shop around for the best prices. Other than that, I pretty much stick to steam sales, or wait until game prices drop.
I also borrow and swap with friends a lot, and sell on old games when I'm done with them, unless they're games I HAVE to keep.
I earn money from a part time job.
I also borrow and swap with friends a lot, and sell on old games when I'm done with them, unless they're games I HAVE to keep.
I earn money from a part time job.
Mostly by waiting a few years before buying anything not multiplayer-related. The game isn't going to rot if I buy it next year.
Although my method of spending usually consists on month-long binges beyond my means followed by six months of ascetic penitence. (Ascetic penitence means you only buy games on GoG.)
Although my method of spending usually consists on month-long binges beyond my means followed by six months of ascetic penitence. (Ascetic penitence means you only buy games on GoG.)
Unless a game is a ridiculous value, I won't pay more than $20 for it. I never pre-order, and I usually wait months or even years after games come out for them to go down in price. I paid a little over $30 for a used copy of DA:Origins Ultimate Edition because it had over $100 worth of content in it, but most of the games I've bought were $20 or less, and most of them were used. I picked up Bioshock, Fallout 3, and Assassin's Creed for $20 each new. I got AC2 used for $20, and I was hardly comfortable with the purchase, but I really enjoyed the game. I got Mass Effect used for like $12. ME2 was technically $40 when I got it new, but I had a gift card, so I only paid $4 out of pocket. I was still mad when the price dropped to $20 a couple weeks later though.
Heck, I didn't even buy an Xbox 360 until last year, and I might wait to see if the PS3 goes through another price drop before I buy one.
Heck, I didn't even buy an Xbox 360 until last year, and I might wait to see if the PS3 goes through another price drop before I buy one.
Waiting. Basically I'll lust after a game for the best part of a year and finally invest once it's a more reasonable price. Amazon seems to be a good option for games a couple years old, everyone's undercutting each other constantly.
If there's a new game out that I simply can't wait for then I'll put away cash in the upcoming months and seriously limit my spending: no surprise nights out, no unnecessary shopping, no expensive train rides to see friends. It's not that hard to withstand a little discipline when you know the reason behind it.
If there's a new game out that I simply can't wait for then I'll put away cash in the upcoming months and seriously limit my spending: no surprise nights out, no unnecessary shopping, no expensive train rides to see friends. It's not that hard to withstand a little discipline when you know the reason behind it.
By having money.
Not much to it honestly, games are not expensive when you get down to it. I have easily enough to buy every game I'm interested in and even if I pick the overpriced CE bullshit, it's still not much.
I think I pay more for petrol than I do for games on a monthly basis when I think about it.
Not much to it honestly, games are not expensive when you get down to it. I have easily enough to buy every game I'm interested in and even if I pick the overpriced CE bullshit, it's still not much.
I think I pay more for petrol than I do for games on a monthly basis when I think about it.
I have a pretty low rent and no car. So I have enough disposable income for maybe 10-15 games a year, depending on the price.
Edit: Oh yeah, I also sell quite a few games back to EBGames, so I get a lot of discounts. More than half the new games I buy are through trade-ins. This seriously helps. (If you play on consoles that is)
Edit: Oh yeah, I also sell quite a few games back to EBGames, so I get a lot of discounts. More than half the new games I buy are through trade-ins. This seriously helps. (If you play on consoles that is)
The only way I really afford new games is in Steam sales. When we're talking full priced, brand new games, I rarely have the option to buy them until they come down a year later or so. When I make exceptions, for games like Saints Row: The Third, which is coming out in November, I'll just go without something else, like food...
