Should I sell my old PS3 games?

[Bob_McMillan]

I honestly don't even know why I kept them, considering my PS3 is broken and the PS4 is backwards-incompatible. I guess there was a little bit of hope left in me that I could somehow play them again on the PS4, like if Sony decided to be not an asshole for once and made some magic software program that emulated Cell somehow. Eh...

Anyway, do you think the games are still worth something and could be sold? BTW, I don't live in the States so Gamestop stuff is a no-no.

 

[tippy2k2]

Answer these two questions...

1. Do you ever plan on playing them again (and from the sound of it, you'd have to buy a new PS3 to do so since there is minimal chance that they will put in emulation to make the discs run; the two systems are too different [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/video-games/columns/experienced-points/10215-Why-the-PS4-Doesn-t-Do-PS3-Games]. It's not 0% but I wouldn't hold my breath for it.)?

2. Can you get enough money for them to make it worth the effort of selling? Personally, I just go to Amazon and see what copies are selling for. Take into consideration shipping and packaging costs when answering the question.

If you answered No and Yes respectively, then sell them. If not, keep them.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Never. Ever. EVER sell your stuff to GameStop. I know you don't live near one, but even if you did, don't do it. It is a rip off. Sometimes they won't even give you a full dollar for your games. My friend traded in over forty games at once and he STILL ended up having to pay a few bucks for a brand new copy of Diablo III.

Whew. Now that I've got that off my chest, I'll answer the actual question. Speaking personally, I never sell any of my games (or consoles) because I like to own my stuff. I still have PlayStation games, despite the fact that I haven't touched them in years and a few of them are rather valuable. The thing is, you're probably going to always be able to get access to an old console. Yep. Just checked ebay, and there are people selling original PS and original Xboxes. For pretty cheap too. And these were the first systems, which means you'll be able to get access to a PS3 for a long time.

Games though? Games are another story. You may have a rare game in your collection and you don't even know it. What happens if one day you want to play it again, just out of the blue, and find that it now costs a few hundred bucks? Me, I would kick myself because I can't play it anymore, but there are others who would be upset because they could have gotten more. I never sell my stuff because I like having the option to go back to play it if I want to. It is nice that companies re-release games, but only some games. What happens if they don't re-release the game you want to play?

So no, I say don't sell them, unless you are positive that you don't have that little voice in your head going, "Well...what if...?"

 

[Iwata]

No.

Just a get another PS3. They're dirt-cheap these days, and you are a lot less likely to regret it than by selling your older games.

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

I am in the "don't sell your games" camp, if you ever plan on playing even a few of them or any other PS3 game agian. You usually won't see much of a return on them, not even counting shady stores like Gamestop. And as said before, PS3s are going down in price. Even if you don't sell immediately and never get another PS3, your collection might be worth something years down the road.

Still, you are the best person to decide for yourself what to do. Just ask yourself tippy's questions and think hard on them. A game could be lost that you may wish to revisit some day. I still kinda regret trading in Metroid Prime 3, when Trilogy came out. (MP3 alone had less compression, so lower loading times, and some tracks weren't cut out of the sound test.)

Also make sure, if you do sell some games, to check online what they are going for (trade-in values, what stores are asking, and what private sellers are asking). It's really heavy blow to find out you could have got a lot more for something you just sold.

 

[MajorTomServo]

90% of the time, when I sell games, I regret it and end up re-buying them down the line.

I wouldn't do it, unless you really need money for food or rent.

 

[NPC009]

Few PS3 games are actually worth something since many titles are easily available on PSN or have been ported to other systems. You might get something like $20 for a game such as Folklore, but that's an exception. And those exceptions are usually the games you may want to keep, because they can be hard to find. Well, unless it's something like NBA Elite 11 (worth over $1000), because that's more of an oddity collectors are interested in because of its rarity than an actual fun and playable game. Some collectors editions of triple A games are worth hundreds of dollars as well.

If I were you, I'd take a good look at the games you have. Is there anything that you may want to play later that isn't available on PSN or Steam? Keep those. PS3s are only getting cheaper, so if you do get the urge to play them, there will only be a small hurdle. Games you don't plan on playing again that aren't worth much? Sell them if you can, give them away to friends/family or donate them. Games that are worth something but of which at the very least the game part is easily replaced (like limited editions of triple A games), sell those. Ebay or similar sites may be your best option of getting a good amount of money for them.

Edit: this may be helpful: http://videogames.pricecharting.com/

 

[Evonisia]

Never. Ever. EVER sell your stuff to GameStop. I know you don't live near one, but even if you did, don't do it. It is a rip off. Sometimes they won't even give you a full dollar for your games. My friend traded in over forty games at once and he STILL ended up having to pay a few bucks for a brand new copy of Diablo III.

So he did that, and then he played Diablo III at launch? Oh my he must have had one shit week.

 

[Bizzaro Stormy]

Do you have friends with PS3's you could give them to? Would you buy a PS3 to play them again? The resale value of used games is normally ridiculously low. If you want the money/space in your place try selling them as a lot on ebay, or a good old fashioned yard sale. Sell your junk on the front lawn and put the games front and center.

 

[JohnnyDelRay]

+1 on not selling them. And another +1 on getting a new PS3, or even a lightly-used one, as the prices can only come down now for a good while. I find this generation gap is hardly worth the jump anyway, and the older games are really just as fun. Hell, nothing is even in full HD *still* at this point, when TV's are going 4K and whatnot. Bit of a joke.

Anyway, just hang on to 'em as long as you have the space and aren't starving...unless you can absolutely say to yourself you aren't interested in playing them anymore, then go ahead and get rid of them.