While some gamers can still say "Gimme!" to their parents and games are magically bestowed upon them, many others are the ones putting down their money to get the latest and greatest games and systems.
If you're the second type, how do you limit yourself on your purchases? Do you set a budget per month, maybe a percentage of your paycheck/allowance? Maybe you have a price limit on what you'll spend, or maybe you just don't care and buy whatever you feel like the day it comes out at full price.
If you can't limit yourself, maybe you just need an RPG bank.I'm a pretty frugal person, so I try not to spend a lot of money on games and such. I don't set a budget, but I try hard to buy things that are under $20 unless I
really want something. I pay attention to the weekend sales on Steam and pick up games that look good for cheap, like the indie game Braid for $4.99 and Team Fortress 2 for $2.49 on Halloween weekend. Many good deals can be found by checking out
SlickDeals often, like one day sales and cash back at online retailers.
I also really try to limit myself in stores. Unless it's something special, I only buy used games from places like GameStop, and I only like to get games that are complete with case and booklet because I want to get the most for my money. eBay is also a good place for cheap games: I've gotten some Japanese PSP games I wanted for only $10, and got some brand new domestic ones for less than $5 each from an auction of seized goods from a police department.
How much do you spend on games? What are your limits? Where do you find deals?
Comments (11)
I buy a ton of games from Play n Trade and thrift stores. Then again, I tend to buy mostly retro stuff so I can get 35 games for $2/each (Super Nintendo, Nintendo, Atari, Genesis & Playstation one) or some Genesis games for $0.99/each.
I spend probably about $50 per year on PC games. Bargain places are: eBay, Craigslist and Steam.
half.com!
currently waiting for l4d2 to go on sale. I spend less than $100 on games per year.
I personally buy very few games and it isn't from a limiting standpoint. I set myself a very high standard for games before I buy them and I make sure I only buy games that I am going to enjoy immensely. Only once have I bought a game that disappointed me (Blazing Hero's for the sega saturn) and that was my last impulse buy. Now I research every game to make sure the gameplay is up to snuff(cause no matter how good anything else is if the gameplay blows you have a problem). I usually buy on Amazon and Newegg, or the local gamecrazy or gamestop, sometimes Target if I'm lazy and don't want to go far.
Anyway for me I don't usually buy a game unless I can get some serious gametime(hours) and enjoyment from it. I don't want to spend $60 for 12 hours of enjoyment when I can spend $60 for 80 hours of enjoyment and the $80 is usually higher quality than the 12 hours cause the people that put the effort in are the ones that make it long. Anyway go for only quality and you still won't spend much and you will get a lot of enjoyment.I try to limit how much I spend - especially since it's costing my $15 monthly already to play WoW.
So, I usually buy used games from Game Stop and look for deals. Even when I purchase games, though, I try to stay with one or two a month so I'm not spending too much.
I'm part of the adoptionist crowd. If I think I'll like something, I get it ASAP. How much do I spend? I buy any title that catches my eye, and it has to be good, and that amounts to a new game every other month or so. I deck out my systems for fighting games, so that comes with at least one joystick; this can cost a lot, since I want good parts. I also buy a new graphics card every year for my PC (there's $500), and this year there's a Windows upgrade and RAM to boot. I'm intending to get a PS3, so that's $300 + $150 (TE stick) + $x (games).
i try not to buy as much games..the more games i buy the more unproductive citizen of society i will be! but ya i always keep game buying to a minimum.
I dont buy many games now, the last one I bought cost me £19.99 in the UK since I live in the UK.
Out of all the gaming machines I have had including ZX spectrum and PC I have probably spent over £1,000 over the last 25 years.
I spend however much the pack of blank dvds cost me. I try not to spend more than 20 bucks for 100 at most.